Andrew Zimmern doesn’t quite get The Varsity, but that doesn’t stop him from placing an order. During his interview with GAFollowers, he explained what keeps him going back—and why lemon pepper wings aren’t on his Atlanta must-eat list.
The conversation started with wings and widened into a discussion of Atlanta’s changing food scene. Along the way, Zimmern weighed in on steakhouses, described his ideal afternoon at Jeju and offered a rule for surviving a Georgia cookout.
Watch the interview segment on YouTube if the player does not appear.
The Varsity has one thing he definitely orders
Near the end of the segment, Zimmern brought up The Varsity himself after being asked which food opinion could start an argument at a Georgia cookout. He said he doesn’t get it, then explained what he enjoys about a visit.
“I may have a hot dog, but I’m definitely ordering the onion rings,” he said.
He also likes watching the onion rings being made when the restaurant isn’t crowded. His take wasn’t that he refuses to eat there; he has a specific reason to stop in.
He loves wings—just not that flavor
Earlier, the conversation turned to Atlanta’s attachment to lemon pepper wings. Zimmern made a distinction between the chicken and the seasoning.
“I love wings in Atlanta. I am not a lemon pepper wing guy,” he said.
He described himself as a chicken-wing lover, including someone happy to take the wings when other diners pass them over in a fried-chicken basket. Lemon pepper simply isn’t something he hunts down when he visits.
“I’m not yucking on anyone’s yum,” he said, explaining that it comes down to his own taste.
Atlanta food is bigger than one tradition
Zimmern pointed to Buford Highway while discussing the communities shaping what Atlanta eats. He argued that the city’s food identity is changing alongside the people who live here.
He placed Lazy Betty’s cooking in the same conversation as Miller Union and other restaurants associated with Southern ingredients and traditions. In his view, those different approaches all belong in the story of Atlanta food.
Jeju over a steakhouse
A steak dinner is less compelling to Zimmern than an afternoon at Jeju. He described moving between heat and cold plunges, getting a scrub, taking a nap and finishing with cold buckwheat noodles.
His criticism was directed at the steakhouse format, not the people working in restaurants. He emphasized his respect for people in the business before explaining why a steak, baked potato and wedge salad don’t interest him when dining out.
His cookout rule: don’t start a food rivalry
Asked what would start an argument at a Georgia cookout, Zimmern joked about praising another state’s beans, coleslaw, potato salad or peach pie. He then offered a simpler approach when someone has cooked for you.
“Keep your food opinions to yourself, unless you’re being asked them while you’re sitting on the hot seat.”
Source: GAFollowers’ interview with Andrew Zimmern. Wings: 0:24–1:23; Atlanta’s food scene: 1:30–3:09; steakhouses and Jeju: 4:10–6:43; cookout comments: 7:22–8:53; The Varsity: 9:07–9:29.
