Macon, Georgia: Dining and Activities

My wife and I enjoy travelling to Macon for a great steak meal or for a nice Italian dinner. We can attend a huge flea market, go to concerts, or visit some of the newer museums and halls of fame that are springing up. Macon is centrally located for all.

Quick Tips:

Macon is one of the four largest cities in the state of Georgia. There are a lot of opportunities for dining, culture, and sports. There is a new Arena Football team, several small colleges, a historic area, and a business center.

Best Way To Get Around:

I have found that the best way to travel is by car. There is a nice bus system, but I don't live close enough to the city to be familiar with the routes or the schedules. Most of the activities that I enjoy are spread out, so you would be best served to drive.

If you are interested in a great steak, try the Outback Steakhouse. My wife and I went to the location in Macon and continue to return. If you don't catch the timing just right, there can be a long wait to get seated. We sat one time for two hours waiting for a table. The wait was worthwhile, though.

Once seated, we noticed that the inside of the restaurant is adorned with Australian artifacts and touches. The atmosphere made me think of Crocodile Dundee. Even the Foster's being on tap is reminiscent of the movie. However, the best thing that I noticed was the food. I ordered the Aussie Cheese Fries, the huge Porterhouse steak, and a Foster's beer. My wife had a smaller steak and the Blooming Onion. Wow!! What a great-tasting meal!

The fries were covered with a blend of three melted cheeses and bits of bacon. There was a sauce in which they could be dipped. The steak was seared, then grilled. I don't know what spices were used for seasoning, but the blend added to this savory treat. We both went away stuffed.

The service at the restaurant was excellent, the atmosphere was fun-filled, and the food was marvelous. What more can you ask when you want a meal?

When our favorite restaurant in Macon told us that we had a two-hour wait to be seated, my wife and I started looking for an alternate place to eat. Of course, it was a Friday night. It seems that every restaurant fills early on Friday in Macon. We came across the Texas Cattle Company. They seated us within 15 minutes.

My wife explained that there is a restaurant with the same name in Dallas and in Austin (she used to live near there). However, when we entered, she informed me that this was not the same. In fact, she liked this one better. All of the seats that I noticed were of the high-legged, bar type. They all sat around large wooden tables. The waitress was prompt taking our orders, so I was really pleased to begin. That is about the time that I really started to get excited. The special of the day included a 20-ounce porterhouse with a salad and potato. That thing was about 1 1/2 inches thick... at least. Plus, I noticed that the restaurant had a microbrewery. I was able to order a delicious stout, while getting my wife a nice wiesbier. We were both happy with the selections.

The food arrived in a timely manner, with small loafs of two different breads. As I said, the steaks were really thick. And, they were delicious and savory in the seasonings in which they were seared. Dessert was a home-made cheesecake for me and some Mississippi mud-pie for my wife.

I have to say, this was an exceptional surprise for us, one which we have repeated since. The food is excellent, the atmosphere is Texan, and the service is wonderful. Plus, the wait was less than the other places surrounding it. What a combination! Yee Hah, Texas Cattle Company.

Since moving to Georgia in 1984, I had heard people speak of "going to the flea market." I made my mind up that I would never go to one. However, last weekend I awakened my wife and persuaded her to join me in a new experience. We went 'shopping' at Smiley's Flea Market.

I was surprised at the appearance of the flea market ehen we arrived at the place. I had a mental picture of a small, dusty area with people selling fruit and 'junk' out of the backs of their cars. This was not small, but was a huge area, with six buildings and a lot of outdoor space. It was relatively clean, to my surprise. Yes, there were fruit vendors, and there were people selling things that could be found an many yard sales. But, some of the individual vendors had new merchandise at low prices.

Anna and I spent about two hours walking around and looking at all of the things that people were selling. The flea market had a fair-like atmosphere to it. I don't know if I would return... maybe if I had a need for something that I could find no where else, but it was a unique experience for both of us.

One of the favorite activities that my wife and I have is to follow our friend, Harry O'Donohue, when he performs at pubs around the Southern states. Never had I heard of the Shamrock Irish Pub in Macon until Harry told me that he would be performing there on the following Friday. Macon is much closer to where we live than any of the other venues that Harry plays, so my wife and I decided to take Friday evening and drive the 32 miles to visit the Shamrock.

We left home about 7:30 on a very rainy evening. I had the windshield wipers on high and was still having difficulty being able to see. By the time we arrived at the pub I was ready for something to soothe my nerves. We entered a small building and noticed that there were two main areas: one with a bar and about five or six tables, a second with a larger space (with seating for about 150 people). I didn't see Harry, nor did I see where he might have space to perform. I was almost ready to give up and return home when at about 9pm, Harry came into the pub and set up in a corner. It did not take long for him to begin singing his songs. Instead of requests for the great Irish drinking songs and Irish ballads that Harry does so well, though, the requests from the audience were for country music songs. I really couldn't believe that Harry knew such songs. By 11:15pm, though, the crowd thinned and Harry could play the music that he loves so much.

My wife and I were impressed with the Shamrock's warm inside and the lively crowd. The meal that we ate included some form of steak. It had a great flavor, but I was unfamiliar with the style in which it was prepared. One of the negatives that I had about the Shamrock was that while advertising to be an Irish pub, it really had more of a country/western flavor. It was difficult to get Irish beers or Irish whiskey. What other ethnic pub fails to serve the ethnic drinks? We had to settle for English beers and a shot of Goldschlager. Overall, this evening was not as pleasant as an evening at our favorite places in Atlanta, Savannah, or Columbia, SC, but being able to visit with our friend and have a great time together compensates for a lot of the displeasure that we had with the atmosphere of this pub.

The only way that I would not return to Shamrock Irish Pub would be to see Harry when he returns in about three months. There was nothing wrong with the Shamrock as a pub, but when I go out looking for a cultural "fix" I expect to be immersed in the culture, not just be within another American bar. My wife and I left this place happy for our friend, but disappointed in the overall experience.

My wife and I returned to Macon this past weekend and visited the Macon Museum of Arts and Sciences. Although I consider myself to be quite cultured, I preferred the Science area much more than the Arts area. We visited the planetarium, the nature trail, and walked through (and watched) the exhibit called Beakman's World.

Although this was geared mostly for children, all ages had fun in the different parts of this exhibit. We were invited to explore the universe in Space Travelers, journey to the rainforest in Jungle Journey, check out the human body in Body Invasion, track down dinosaurs in Prehistoric Passage and discover the laws of motion, acceleration and gravity in Beakman's Home Place. This exhibit used a hands-on technique for us to explore different ideas that were being explained.

The museum also had the Nike (Winged Victory) on loan to show their visitors. We were able to look at this ancient sculpture (carved about 200 B.C. in Samothrace, Greece) and marvel at the craftsmanship that was used to make this figurine.

As we prepared to leave the museum, my wife asked me to stop in the museum gift shop and look around. This time I was lucky. We left without spending more than $100 (as we usually do at these places). This was an thrilling trip for us. It is much nicer than one would expect in "backwards Macon". This was a first-class museum of science.

A weekend with nothing to do and feeling cooped in the house gave my wife and I the opportunity to go exploring. We drove the 35 miles to Macon and began looking for something different to do. We decided to try the Hay House.

In the mid-1800s, William Butler Johnston was the keeper of the Confederate treasury. He built a mansion that is the real treasure he left behind. Inspired by the palazzos of Florence and Rome during a three-year honeymoon in Europe, Johnston and his wife, Anne, spent four years building an 18,000-square-foot Italian Renaissance Revival mansion that is now a National Historic Landmark. My wife and I took the tour to explore this palace.

The Hay house boasts beautiful 18th-Century furnishings, Italian Carerra marble fireplaces, some of the country’s finest examples of marbleized and trompe l’oeil finishes, a music room with a 30-foot clerestory ceiling, exquisite plaster work with 24-karat gold leafing and spectacular stained glass. We were thrilled as we passed from room to room.

There is a museum shop which features Victorian inspired gift items, decorative art glass, authentic North Georgia pottery, books of regional interest, reproductions of architectural remnants such as finials from iron fences and brackets, and Georgia food products. I don't usually buy that type of thing, but both my wife and I enjoy looking at them.

We were told that the house is available for special occasions, such as bridal receptionsand guided tours.

In all, the tour was informative. I was impressed with the efforts at restoration for both the house and the authentic decor. I really liked the gold patterns worked into the plaster. For those who want a taste of the old South, this is the place to visit.

My wife and I enjoy listening to a variety of music. While passing through Macon to go out for supper, we noticed the Georgia Music Hall of Fame, then we returned on our next time in town.

We parked in a large parking area directly beside this hall of fame. Upon entering, we passed by a reproduction which included an indoor Georgia town where a perpetual music festival is happening. There were life size buildings representing a Rhythm & Blues Revue, Jazz & Swing club, Vintage Vinyl Record Store, Coca-Cola Drugstore, Country Cafe, Backstage Alley, Video Theatre and a Gospel Chapel. Typical music from each was played as you entered each representation. Both of us were excited as we passed from building to building. Inside the buildings we saw memorabilia and artifacts from real locations.

Another area in which we were interested included representations of the famous Georgia musicians of past and present who have made an impact on the music scene. Included in these were Otis Redding, Johnny Mercer, REM, Lena Horne, James Brown, Chet Atkins, Alan Jackson, the Allman Brothers, the Reverend Dr. Thomas A. Dorsey and Little Richard. We listened to some of the music made famous by each of these musicians and were pleased to have found another place to call 'ours'.