The Downwind Cafe:

I went to one of my favorite restaurants in Atlanta last night. The Downwind is a bar and grill located in Peachtree Dekalb Airport, the second busiest airport in Georgia. The airport itself reminds me of a different time, to get to the Downwind you walk through a building holding airport offices. It looks like an old elementary school, except that when you turn a corner, you can see inside a hanger where mechanics are fixing up a couple of Learjets. On ground level, you are separated from the tarmac by a six-foot high chain link fence, and about thirty feet from the fence, there is a playground.

The restaurant consists mainly of in indoor bar and an outdoor deck that overlooks the runways. On a nice night (the weather in Atlanta has been absolutely beautiful all week, 75 for a high and sunny), you sit out on the deck and watch the planes come in. You can look up at the sky at twilight and see a string of bright lights flung out against the sky, little prop planes waiting for their permission to land.

The food is OK, nothing special. It's a mix of Greek food (the owner is Greek) and typical bar and grill fare. All of it tastes pretty good, but the atmosphere is what brings me back. The Downwind is one of the truly unique places I have eaten at.