Yeah, yeah. We know the names of the gentrified soul food spots, but when we are jonesing for the real thing, we go to RED'S TASTY EXPRESS at the Sweet Auburn Curb Market. Climb onto a stool at the counter, giving your back to the piles of cured entrails on refrigerator cabinets, and sample the ladies' flawless fried chicken and vegetables simmered with smoked meats. The menu changes slightly from day to day. You can eat meat loaf one day and pig's ears the next. Fried green tomatoes are worth the extra wait and 50 cents when added to your meat-and-three plate. The ladies also operate a bakery. "209 Edgewood Ave., Sweet Auburn Curb Market. 404-681-0054." less...

Folks tend to disappear into their plates when they eat at THELMA'S KITCHEN. Maybe Thelma Grundy's fried chicken - salty and crispy in all the right ways - reminds people of their childhood. Maybe the food is just so damn good that conversation seems pointless. Choose from a lip-smacking array of meat and vegetable dishes (collards and mac-n-cheese are particularly yummy) from the cafeteria-style steam table and grab a seat. Downtown office workers in suits comprise the bulk of the crowd during weekday lunches, but everyone should make the pilgrimage here at some point. It's an Atlanta classic. "768 Marietta St., 404-688-5855." less...

810 Martin Luther King Drive 404-525-9212 For decades the venerable, invariably crowded diner in Southwest Atlanta has been a sanctuary for Southern cooking, providing not just comfort food but a cozy, comforting environment. Squeeze up to the counter or into a booth for smothered pork chops, piping hot corn muffins or dishes fried to perfection, be they okra or chicken. If you've been looking for a place that knows how to do home-style whiting, chitlins and oxtails, without costing a lot of money, follow the buzz to the Busy Bee. less...