Neon Atlanta

Just when I go around badmouthing the Southern Phoenix, it shows me a good time and makes me feel bad for doing so. On Monday night, Atlanta treated us to a great vintage movie in an antique theater, followed by the (ultimately failed) pursuit of donuts and coffee, ending up under the neon marquis of a diner that's been open since 1929.

We (Myself, Stacey and our friends Joan and Ken) started out our evening at the Plaza Theater on Ponce de Leon, where we watched Mad Max 2 (known as The Road Warrior to us here in the U.S.). What a terrific film that is, I had forgotten how riveting it could be. The story held up surprisingly well and although there were certain elements of the film that appeared dated (lots of mohawks in the future?), it was still a blast to see it again. I was also struck by how good the soundtrack to the film is, enough to come home and order it off of Amazon. (Another interesting aside is that as we were watching Mel Gibson drive like a drunk person in the film, he was apparently doing that in real life as well...just before he got his DUI.)

Afterwards, in pursuit of Southern Comfort in the form of sugar and coffee, we went down the road to Krispy Kreme donuts. We are disappointed to find that the landmark donut shop is no longer open past 11:00 p.m. I was particularly devastated, since I was really looking forward seeing the thousands of donuts coming off the conveyer belts.

So, it was back down the road to another Atlanta landmark, the Majestic Diner. The last time I had visited it, perhaps 8 years ago (?) it was really a hole in the wall. But these days it's got a fresh coat of paint on it, along with some nice "no smoking" signs that help keep the paint from turning yellow, and it's not looking too shabby! Heck, even the service was pretty good. Now, a purist would say that bad service and haze is what made the Majestic a classic, but I have to admit I kinda appreciated the new approach. The coffee hit the spot, and the conversation with our friends was nice. We're going to miss them both.

Later in the week, we're heading to the FOX Theater for more fun under the Neon and a viewing of a couple classic films. The viewings end rather late in the evening, so maybe it's time for beignets at Huey's afterwards? It's not donuts, but awfully close.