EAT

at the counter and be ready for surprisingly vibrant flavors. Get more adventurous with a plate of moussaka or one of the pasta dishes or soups. The restaurant owes its authenticity to its Greek owner, who opened the place in 2017. It has become a staple with locals.

t 215 Jesse Jewell Parkway SE, Gainesville, facebook.com/alphagyrogrill, 678-696-8380

Atlanta Highway

Seafood Market

This popular seafood joint features Cajun specialties like étouffée, gumbo and po boys. The restaurant’s adjoining fish market offers freshly caught seafood including crab, shrimp, scallops, mahi-mahi, gulf snapper and grouper.

Lakeside

Skogies

Located inside Gainesville Marina, this restaurant offers outdoor and indoor dining and a menu featuring shrimp, crab and Skogies’ signature grouper sandwich. Open seasonally, the restaurant also delivers food out to boats docking at the marina.

t 2151 Dawsonville Highway, Gainesville, skogieslakefrontrestaurant.us, 678-450-1310

Fish Tales

As the name suggests, this lakeside restaurant offers seafood, including tuna poke nachos, clam strips and fried grouper fingers. There’s a sandbox for the kids and cold drinks for the adults.

t 6330 Mitchell St., Flowery Branch, fishtaleslakelanier.com, 770967-3775

Lanier Islands

Several restaurants are located at the Margaritaville resort, including Bullfrog’s for casual American cuisine and L Bar for convenient handcrafted beverage options. There’s also the Tiki Bar and Shark Shack at the beachside Chill Zone. t 7000 Lanier Islands Parkway, Buford, margaritavilleresorts.com/ margaritaville-at-lanier-islands

Pelican Pete’s t 8800 Port Royale Drive, Gainesville, pelicanpetes.com, 770-8875715

This floating tiki bar and grill is open during the summer at Port Royale Marina and serves primarily seafood, sandwiches and salads.

Pig Tales

This outdoor bar offers classics like pulled pork sandwiches and burgers along with cocktails, frozen drinks and its signature Tales Ale, a kolsch-style beer with notes of pear, on draft.

t 6800 Lights Ferry Road, Flowery Branch, pigtaleslakelanier.com, 678-828-7676

Casual

Alpha Gyro Grill

Order your gyro or falafel wrap t 227 Atlanta Highway, Gainesville, atlantahighwayseafood.com, 770-287-8277

Big Burritos Mexican Grill

Embrace family, mariachi music and loads of flavor at this restaurant. Authentic Mexican dishes include enchiladas verdes, carne asada and birria de res, beef that’s been braised for hours in a “secret sauce.” Customers can also opt to build their own burrito, which locals have described as “the size of an alley cat.” Yes, these burritos are that big.

t 3652 Wallis Road, Oakwood, facebook.com/bigburritosmexicangrill, 678-989-7214

Big D’s Barbecue

When you’re heading north on Ga. 400 and feeling a hankering for classic Southern barbecue, just look for the building with the big pink pig — Big D’s Barbecue.

Since the early 2000s, Big D’s has been serving up masterfully cooked barbecue in all its various forms, from locations in Forsyth and Dawson counties.

t 236 Highway 53 West, Dawsonville