EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO DO ON A TRIP DOWN TO MACON

Do you remember about 10 years ago, when everybody in Atlanta was first starting to buzz about Chattanooga and Birmingham? Of course you don’t, because you were living in Chattanooga or Birmingham at the time and you moved here right around then because there’s no place like Atlanta. However, if there was such a thing as a new version of these cities as they were a decade ago, a pre-boom Chattingham or Birminooga if you will, it might very well be Macon, Georgia.

Closer than both cities (only one hour south) and within the state, Macon is actually a great value of a road trip from ATL if you know how to do it right. And lucky for you, I'm here to help you with just that.

BOTTOMS UP

Sample Macon's great local beers

Macon Beer Company, which opened two summers ago in the Downtown area, is making a lot of beers with Macon in them. Those include Macon Progress, their flagship 5% ABV pale ale, and Macon Love, their pink-tinted blonde rye ale brewed with sweet cherries. Also check out Ocmulgee Brewpub, named to honor the city's historic Indian mounds, where burgers and hand-cut fries are served to accompany their Muscogee Curse citrus IPA and creamy Oxbow American stout. Then hit Piedmont Brewery & Kitchen to try their low-gravity farmhouse ale or the White Rabbit Belgian Wit paired with a large pretzel, smoked wings, or your choice of brisket sandwich, such as a patty melt, Philly, or banh mi. And if you’re there toward the end of September, check out the arrival of Society Garden, an eight-tap outdoor beer garden of local and seasonal craft brews.

Eat the most delicious burger south of ATL

The Rookery, which has been around since America’s leader was Jimmy Carter, is well-regarded for its burgers. Decide what type of patty you want -- black Angus, prime, turkey, chicken, or veggie – then pick from styles that include the Jimmy Carter with peanut butter and Applewood smoked bacon, or the Jerry Reed, which boasts jalapeños, Sriracha mayo, and pepper jack cheese.

Find out what the hell Macon-style pizza is

Macon-style pizza seems to follow a theme: They give you a metric shit ton of toppings. The locals will tell you to go to Ingleside Village for their excellent white pizza. But you should also try the mom-and-pop operated Macon Pizza Company, where the pies have wider crusts and thick layers of toppings, particularly on the 14-inch Big Kahuna, which is covered with pepperoni, mushrooms, green peppers, sausage, ground beef, black olives, onions, tomatoes, banana peppers, and ham. And then there’s Sauced, which is near Mercer University and offers fancier pies such as The Popeye (a ricotta-base pie with double cheese, feta, spinach, mushrooms, and prosciutto) and The Pimento (fried chicken, fried green tomatoes, bacon, and pimento cheese). If you’re not entirely sick of pizza after all that, try the relatively new Macon location of Milledgeville’s pizzeria The Brick, where you should snatch the supreme Brick House or the Pizza of the South, which is studded with fried chicken, ham, and honey mustard.

Embrace your inner nerd far, far away from your social circle

Basically the Macon version of ATL’s Joystick Gamebar (but of course ain’t nothing like the real thing), Reboot Retrocade & Bar has seven pinball machines and 35 arcades that hold a total of 50 games, plus events like movie bingo on Thursday nights, fighting game tournaments (Tekken, Mortal Kombat, and Street Fighter), and a two-hour "Big Kids Brunch" on weekend afternoons with $6 Sriracha Bloody Marys. They also display and sell geek art for local and regional artists, so if you’ve been looking for a new market for that pervy Blanka-meets-Chun Li watercolor you've been working on, look no further.