Macon and Augusta food guide: hot dogs, pimento cheese and river towns

Macon and Augusta are two of Georgia's older inland cities, each on a river, each with a famous food and each with a calendar that changes how easy it is to find a table. Macon has a long-running hot dog restaurant and a deep musical history. Augusta has the Masters golf tournament and the pimento cheese sandwich sold there. Here is how to eat in each city, what to order and how to plan around big events.

What is Macon known for eating?

Macon is in the middle of the state, on the Ocmulgee River. Its best-known institution is a long-running hot dog restaurant that serves red hot dogs topped with chili sauce and slaw, with several locations in and around Macon. A slaw dog with chili, mustard and onion is the traditional order.

What else is there to eat in Macon?

The city's downtown has a growing set of restaurants, cafes and bars in old brick buildings along Cherry Street and Poplar Street, and it is a good place for a walking dinner. Macon is a music city, known for Otis Redding, the Allman Brothers Band and Little Richard, and live music venues are close to restaurants. Southern cooking, barbecue and soul food are the staples, and meat-and-three lunches are easy to find. In spring, the Cherry Blossom Festival fills downtown with visitors, so check dates and book ahead if you plan to attend.

Macon's neighborhoods beyond downtown, such as the area around Mercer University and Vineville Avenue, have cafes and neighborhood restaurants where locals eat. A drive through Fort Valley, a short way south, reaches peach country in the summer. If you are visiting for a music event or a festival, book a table early, because the city is small and a single big night can fill the best restaurants. Sunday brunch is a church-crowd tradition, so some places are busiest right after services.

What is Augusta known for eating?

Augusta, on the Savannah River at the Georgia and South Carolina line, is best known for the Masters Tournament each April. The pimento cheese sandwich sold at the tournament, wrapped in green paper, is famous, and local caterers have supplied it for decades. Augusta's restaurants serve pimento cheese in many forms, on burgers, with crackers or as a dip. The city's downtown, along Broad Street and the Riverwalk, has restaurants and bars, and the nearby historic neighborhoods have small cafes. Barbecue, fried chicken and seafood are standard.

Augusta's riverfront has a paved walk along the levee and the Savannah River, and a few restaurants face it. Broad Street is a long main street with a mix of old storefronts and newer cafes. The city also has a distinct barbecue style that sits between Georgia and the Carolinas, and mustard-based sauce appears on some menus because of the South Carolina line. Ask the server what the local style is, and try a small taste first.

How does the Masters change eating in Augusta?

During Masters week in April, the city's hotels, restaurants and rentals are fully booked, prices rise and tables are scarce. Many residents rent out their homes. If you want to eat out, book weeks or months ahead, expect a limited menu at some places and plan extra travel time. After the tournament, the city returns to normal. Visiting in another season gives a much calmer experience.

Are there markets and local food?

Both cities have farmers markets in the warm months, usually on Saturdays, and roadside stands along the highways sell peaches, tomatoes, boiled peanuts and corn in season. Check each market's own page for hours. Boiled peanuts, sold hot from a pot at roadside stands, are a Georgia snack worth trying.

How do you find what is good right now?

Use a dated local list from the newspaper or a regional magazine, then check the restaurant's page. In smaller cities, a restaurant's social page is often more current than a review site. Ask at a coffee shop or a record store where people eat on a weeknight.

How much does it cost?

Both cities are cheaper than Atlanta or Savannah. A hot dog and a drink at a lunch counter is inexpensive, and a sit-down dinner is mid-priced. Sales tax is added, and the usual tip is 18 to 20 percent for table service.

What about children, allergies and a plan for each city?

Both cities are family friendly, with casual restaurants and parks. For allergies, tell the server and ask about shared fryers. A hot dog stand's chili and slaw may contain ingredients you should check, and pimento cheese contains dairy and eggs.

In Macon, have lunch at a hot dog counter, walk downtown and see a music site. In Augusta, walk the Riverwalk, have lunch on Broad Street and try a pimento cheese sandwich. Check hours and events first.

How do you remember the best slaw dog and pimento cheese in Georgia's river towns?

Two cities, two signature foods, and a lot of Southern cooking in between. Mosey is a food app for finding, rating and sharing places to eat, and it rates by the dish, so the slaw dog in Macon and the pimento cheese sandwich in Augusta each earn a score of their own.

Tag your ratings with Must-Try or Hidden Gem, build a list for the trip and share its invite link with the friends who came for the music or the golf. Follow someone who lives in either city and their ratings tell you where locals eat on a weeknight.

Rate your favorite bite from the trip in the Mosey app.

More guides to read next:

• Georgia's Golden Isles food guide: St. Simons, Jekyll and Brunswick
• Vidalia onions and Georgia peaches: when to buy them and where to eat
• Georgia boiled peanuts and pecans: what they are, where to buy

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