File Under: American. Hours: Breakfast and lunch. Features: Counter service. • Opened in 1961, this soda fountain and lunch counter inside a Five Points pharmacy hasn’t changed much since then. Grab a stool and watch the cooks make your fries and bitty burgers. Real cherry and vanilla sodas, plus malts, milkshakes and floats. One of the few real bargains left.

File Under: Mexican and Latin American. Features: Full bar, catering, outside seating, delivery. Hours: Breakfast. Lunch and dinner, open seven days. • A mix of Americanized Mexican and more authentic stuff in a family atmosphere. Normaltown location has a gorgeous rooftop bar with a mural and nice views, plus breakfast Thursday through Saturday now starting at 7:30 a.m.

File Under: Coffee Houses and Bakeries. Features: Wi-Fi.

File Under: Bakeries, Something Different, Vegetarian Friendly. Features: Beer and wine, catering, counter service, outside seating, delivery, Wi-Fi. Hours: Breakfast, lunch, Friday dinner, Sunday brunch • Longtime Athens favorite has a great patio popular with dogs and kids. Biscuits, French toast, continental breakfast, omelets, great sandwiches, quiche, soups, burgers (veggie and non), small but good selection of beer and wine. Baked goods galore, including for special order.

File Under: Downhome. Hours: Breakfast and lunch. • Southern lunch counter inside a neighborhood convenience store is well known for its fat biscuits with sausage, ham, eggs, tenderloin, cheese, gravy and more. Grits, eggs or hashbrowns on the side. Lunch items rotate and include corn dogs, chicken fingers, pork chops and fish on Fridays.

File Under: Sandwiches, Burgers and Chicken. Features: Take-out, outside seating. Hours: Lunch and dinner. • Wings and chicken fingers to go, with 16(!) different sauces and a wide variety of customizations (extra wet, extra crispy, etc.). Also: burgers, corn dogs, meaty salads, fried shrimp, onion rings, fries and fried apple pies on the side. Other locations are in Statham, Lexington, Commerce, Elberton, Hartwell and Royston. Online ordering.

File Under: Asian, Vegetarian Friendly. Features: Buffet, catering, delivery. Hours: Lunch and dinner, open seven days. • Large AYCE buffet with many Chinese, American and Japanese dishes, including crab legs sometimes. You can also order off the menu of mostly Americanized Chinese standards or get take-out priced by the pound.

File Under: Sandwiches, Burgers and Chicken, Vegetarian Friendly. Features: Beer, curbside pick-up, delivery, outside seating, take-out, Wi-Fi. Hours: Lunch and dinner, open seven days. • Local favorite does beef and veggie burgers (made with good ingredients and creative toppings: bacon jam, peanut butter, gouda, etc.) plus grilled cheese, tater tots and milkshakes (including boozy ones). Gluten-free options and a big patio.

File Under: American. Hours: Breakfast, lunch and dinner, open seven days.

File Under: Something Different, Vegetarian Friendly. Features: Catering, counter service, outside seating, delivery. Hours: Breakfast and lunch. • Something for everyone: brunchy-lunchy hot food made to order until 2 p.m., with lots of veggies; stuff in the fridge and freezer any other time, and lots of weekly specials, ranging all over the world in influences. Holiday special orders. Walkers, bikers and bus riders get a 5% discount. Great with dietary restrictions.

File Under: Something Different, Vegetarian Friendly. Features: Buffet, counter service, outside seating, Wi-Fi. • Hot bar inside grocery store includes veggie and vegan stuff, plus chicken, fish, soup and salad.

File Under: Pizza. Features: Beer and wine, catering, outside seating. Hours: Lunch, dinner and brunch, open seven days. • Fancy Detroit-style pizza franchise can make you a gluten-free pie. Also serves burgers, salads, mozzarella sticks, soy and sesame marinated cucumbers, family-style banana or chocolate pudding for dessert, all in the former location of The Grit.

File Under: Something Different. Features: Take-out, catering. Hours: Dinner and Sunday brunch. • Mexican-accented Continental/fusion restaurant does a not inexpensive but very popular all-you-can-eat brunch, plus dinner with steaks, seafood, pasta, jambalaya, shrimp and grits, escargot, chicken in a roasted garlic mushroom cheese sauce and more along the same lines. Specials change weekly.

File Under: Ice Cream. • Old-fashioned drug store with soda fountain counter. Dollar scoops of Edy’s ice cream in a cup or cone. Malts, shakes and floats, too. Sit on the hill outside for the best experience.

File Under: Sandwiches. Features: Delivery, catering, curbside pick-up, Wi-Fi. Hours: Lunch and dinner.

File Under: Coffee/Tea Houses and Bakeries. Features: Drive-thru (Baxter, Greensboro and Epps Bridge), outside seating, art, Wi-Fi. Hours: Vary by location. • The local coffee roaster now extends quite a bit beyond Athens, but the beans are still roasted in town. Lots of specialty roasts benefit different causes. Hot and cold drinks, premium teas and locally baked goodies. Stop by the Tasting Room on Fritz Mar Lane for fresh-roasted beans by the pound—whole or ground; cups of coffee, teas and shots of espresso.

File Under: Something Different, Vegetarian Friendly. Features: Beer, catering, counter service, outside seating. Hours: Lunch and dinner. • Serious bang for your buck, with hefty portions of jerk chicken, oxtail, curry goat, barbecue ribs, salmon, spicy cabbage, spicy squash, rice and peas, fried plantains, mac and cheese, patties, super-sweet tea and cornbread, served with good cheer.

File Under: Sandwiches, Vegetarian Friendly. Features: Catering, counter service, outside seating, art, take-out. Hours: Lunch. • Sweet little cafe in Watkinsville does deli sandwiches (including pimento cheese, egg salad and hummus) and salads, both lettuce-based and mayo-based. Order ahead online if you like.

File Under: American, Vegetarian Friendly, Bars. Features: Outside seating, art, full bar, vegetarian friendly. Hours: Dinner and weekend brunch. • Crowd-pleasing restaurant mixes Southern and Southwestern cuisine; veggie and vegan choices, plus fish and seafood are highlights. Large dessert case. Plan ahead for lines at brunch. Well-stocked bar, with a variety of single malts, as well as aperitifs/digestifs and a long list of wines, many available in half bottles. Large outdoor dining area.

File Under: Italian and Pizza, Vegetarian Friendly. Features: Buffet, delivery, beer. Hours: Lunch and dinner. • Casual, family-run pizzeria of long standing with budget prices, salads, subs, pasta, hot wings, calzones and more.

File Under: Sandwiches, Vegetarian Friendly. Features: Catering, counter service, delivery, outside seating, Wi-Fi. Hours: Lunch. • Longtime Athens lunch spot guided by the spirit of its late founder is popular for catering, too, as well as for take-home entrees and casseroles that are great for new parents or anyone who doesn't want to cook. Big salads, scoops of pimento cheese and chicken salad, sandwiches, sweets.

File Under: Something Different, Bars, Vegetarian Friendly. Features: Reservations, catering, curbside pick-up, outside seating, Wi-Fi, full bar. Hours: Lunch and dinner. • This place always pleases, whether for date night or an upscale lunch. The menu is Spanish/Mediterranean-inspired, with lots of vegetables (try the "power lunch") and high-quality ingredients. Roasted chicken with za'atar, Portuguese custard tarts, pizzettes and a lot more. Great wine list and cocktails. Hosts occasional pop-ups from small operations.

File Under: Asian, Vegetarian Friendly. Features: Beer and wine, delivery, take-out. Hours: Lunch and dinner. • Elaborate decor and Chinese-American standards. Big menu covers all the standards, with lots of vegetarian options. Sizzling rice soup comes with many of the pre-set dinners, and soups in general are more interesting than you would expect.

File Under: Smoothies. Features: Catering. Hours: Seven days.

File Under: Downhome and BBQ. Features: Buffet, catering, counter service, take-out, outside seating, checks. Hours: Lunch. • Old-school Southern restaurant opened in the 1970s serves an all-you-can-eat weekday buffet. Expect fried chicken, steak and gravy, barbecue, meatloaf, turnip greens, black-eyed peas, fried okra and Southern desserts.

File Under: American. Features: Full bar, catering, Wi-Fi. Hours: Lunch and dinner, open seven days.

File Under: American, Vegetarian Friendly. Features: Full bar, Wi-Fi, take-out, delivery. Hours: Lunch and dinner, open seven days. • UGA Hotel restaurant has been around for ages, serving strawberry ice-cream pie and celestial chicken, but also does shrimp and grits, salads, meatloaf, Southern vegetables and more.

File Under: BBQ. Features: Cash and checks only. Hours: Lunch and dinner. • No website, no credit cards, just a family-owned place you might have seen on "True South" on the SEC Network. Barbecue pork, chicken, beef and ribs with beans, hash, slaw, potato salad, collard greens and seasonal vegetables. Sauce is hot and thin.

File Under: Asian, Vegetarian Friendly. Features: Beer and wine, catering, delivery, outside seating, take-out. Hours: Lunch and dinner, open seven days. • Noodles (available with various proteins), rice entrees, soups, salads, curries and a Thai dessert selection. Spice level can be serious. A couple of Thai beers among the domestics, sakes and a section of organic wines.

File Under: Downhome. Features: Catering, checks. Hours: Breakfast and lunch. • Open since 1960, this unassuming place out on Atlanta Highway serves some of the best Southern food in town. Menu changes daily but always includes fantastic biscuits. You might also get fried chicken, ribs, catfish, pork chops, mashed potatoes and gravy, creamed corn and greens. Good desserts.

File Under: Mexican and Latin American. Features: Full bar, outside seating, drive-thru. Hours: Breakfast, lunch and dinner, open seven days. • Central American and Mexican food at this cult favorite. Pupusas, massive tortas, regular specials and fantastic mole; lots of seafood options. Breakfast, which includes chilaquiles, starts at 10 a.m. and is served all day. Margaritas, beer and aguas frescas.

File Under: Downhome. Features: Catering, counter service, outside seating. Hours: Lunch and dinner. • A legend, in Athens and far outside it, and thankfully still open. Look for the bright-green cinderblock building and the sign that reads “Automatic for the People.” Fantastic fried chicken, squash casserole, mac and cheese, collards and the like, varying a bit daily.

File Under: Something Different, Downhome and BBQ, Vegetarian Friendly. Features: Catering, counter service, delivery, take-out, art, outside seating, table service, full bar (Watkinsville). Hours: Lunch and dinner, weekend brunch (Watkinsville). • Original location is in an old-timey grocery with high ceilings and a ton of outside seating under fairy lights. BYOB. New candy-colored "Deluxe" edition is in Watkinsville with cocktails, beer, wine and dance party bathrooms. Both serve amazing cheeseburgers, pork and tofu barbecue and excellent veggie sides.

File Under: Italian and Pizza, Vegetarian Friendly. Features: Beer and wine, catering, counter service, delivery, Wi-Fi. Hours: Lunch and dinner, open seven days. • Locally-based franchise does personal- and full-size customized pizzas. Lots of topping, sauce and cheese choices, as well as several doughs. Vegan and gluten-free choices. Panini, pasta, bread bowl salads, gelato, beer and wine.