Morningside Lenox Park

This neighborhood has a pretty good mix of singles, couples, and families.  The people who live in this area tend to be pretty active--out walking, biking, jogging.  This neighborhood is friendly to alternative lifestyles.  Racial diversity is about average.

The social scene in this neighborhood is pretty good.  It's also very close to Virginia Highlands which is packed with great restaurants. Some popular restaurants include:

Agnes and Muriel's:  Great 50's themed restaurant in a quaint old house on Monroe Drive.  Fabulous comfort food.  Selections range from the classic Grilled Cheese to Louisiana Shrimp over Grits.  Get the Sweet Potato fries or Silver Queen Corn Custard on the side.  Finish it off with some red velvet cake or chocolate cream pie.  Nice selection of salads as well.  Excellent brunch.  Valet parking.  1514 Monroe Drive. 

Alon's:  Superb bakery and gourmet takeout.  Excellent selection of cheeses.  Nice wine shop.  Great place to grab something to take to a party.  Great sandwich selection for lunch.  Good coffee.  Desserts and breads are fabulous.  Try the Midnight Cake--you will be amazed.  Perfect place to grab a gourmet dinner for 1.  A great spot for people who truly appreciate food!  1394 N. Highland Ave. 

Caramba Cafe:  Family owned and operated authentic Mexican food.  Great margaritas.  Inexpensive, fast and good.  Favorite Mexican of the local crowd.  1409 N. Highland Ave. 

Cowtippers:  Large outdoor deck, right on Piedmont Rd.  Tends to have a good crowd on Saturday and Sunday afternoons.  Good drinks.  1600 Piedmont Ave.

Food101:  Great choice for a more upscale meal that won't completely bankrupt you.  1397 N. Highland Ave.

Nakato:  Japanese hibachi style restaurant with good sushi as well.  Nice outdoor garden.  Large restaurant.  Friendly people.  Reasonable prices.  Valet parking.  Great for groups.  Kid friendly.  1776 Cheshire Bridge Rd.

Nino's:  Authentic Italian food in a charming old house.  Family owned and operated.  Great people, great food.  Oldest Italian restaurant in Atlanta.  1931 Cheshire Bridge Rd.

Now that you've eaten, ready for a night out on the town?  Try the following:

Smith's Olde Bar:  Smith's is a relatively famous Atlanta music venue.  Their motto:  "The best musicians and the greatest music fans walk thru these doors."  They have a wide variety artists on an ongoing basis, and have hosted such talents as David Bowie, Train, and Drivin' and Cryin' in their 350 person capacity venue.  Also a great spot to shoot some pool or catch a game. Oh yeah...they also serve food (classic bar food, burgers, sandwiches).  1578 Piedmont Ave.

The Heretic:  Popular club with the gay/lesbian crowd.  2069 Cheshire Bridge Rd.

Virginia-Highland:  This neighborhood is right next door to Morningside Lenox Park, and is less than a mile walk from many parts of the neighborhood.  This area has a wide selection of bars and restaurants.  Great for a night out.

Midtown:  The Midtown area is a couple miles away--a short cab ride.  This area has some of the hottest clubs and restaurants in the city.

The overall value in this neighborhood is very good.  Apartment rents are a bit higher in the city, but the location is more than worth it.

Public Transportation
Morningside Lenox Park has the Lindbergh Center MARTA station which is one of the feeding points of the MARTA system.  From this station it is about a 30 minute ride to the airport and a 15 minute ride to Downtown.  Click here for the MARTA rail map.

Bus Routes that serve the neighborhood are the following:
Route 27:  Monroe Drive/Cheshire Bridge Rd, serving Piedmont Park and Ansley Mall

Parking
Parking in the neighborhood is pretty decent.  There is ample street parking available, and most apartments have their own lot or parking area.

Apartment rents can be a pretty wide range in this area and some apartments offer specials from time to time.  It is best to contact several different apartments to determine what the rent rates are and what the availability is like. 

If you will be commuting from this area, being on the eastern side of the neighborhood will reduce the time it takes you to get to one of the major highways (75, 85, 400).  If you are working in Midtown or Downtown, there is easy access on back roads to these areas.

This neighborhood is very pet friendly.  There are many parks where you can play with your dog, and people are always out walking their dogs.  There are some places, like the Park Tavern and Trader Joe's in Midtown, that provide watering stations for pets.

Pet Care
There are two animal clinics in the neighborhood:
Ansley Animal Clinic provides veterinary care as well as pet boarding and sitting.  It gets rave reviews from its customers for having a friendly and knowledgeable staff.  It is located at 593 Dutch Valley Rd NE (corner of Monroe and Dutch Valley).  404.873.1786.

Pets Are People Too provides veterinary care and emergency services.  It is the closest emergency service provider in Morningside Lenox Park.  It is located at 1510 Piedmont Ave.  404.875.7387

Pet Supplies
There is a great pet supply store in Ansley Mall called Pet Supermarket.  They sell small pets (rabbits, birds, ferrets, hamsters) as well as all kinds of pet food, toys, clothes and equipment.  Prices tend to be very reasonable.

Parks
There are several parks in this neighborhood:

Sidney-Marcus Park is between Cumberland Rd. and Sherwood Rd.  This park has all new playground equipment, a sandbox, and a ground cover made out of recycled tire material.  There are several picnic tables here for outdoor dining or parties.  It is a fairly large park, with a lower level area that is flat--perfect for a frisbee game or some pick-up football.

Sunken Garden Park is across the street from Morningside Elementary and Haygood Preschool on Rock Springs Rd.  It is nice and shady, but can be buggy at certain times of the year.  It has a nice flat grassy area as well.  This park is used for soccer practices and other sporting events occasionally.  The fact that it is below street level is nice--don't need to worry about stray balls rolling out into the street.

This neighborhood is also within walking distance of Piedmont Park in Midtown.  Piedmont Park is the "Central Park" of Atlanta.  There are two restaurants in Piedmont Park--The Tavern, which has great live music on Sunday afternoons;  and Willy's--a great Mexican place.  It also has a large playground, lots of flat grassy areas, and smooth sidewalks for roller-blading, bike riding, or jogging.  There are many festivals, concerts, and outdoor movies in this park throughout the year.  Last summer The Dave Matthews Band had a big concert in this park.

Bowling
Morningside is the home of Midtown Bowl, which is newly renovated and smoke-free.  It has a full bar and food service.  Midtown Bowl hosts bowling leagues, parties, corporate events.  A great place for a casual Friday night of bowling and beer.  1936 Piedmont Circle NE, Atlanta, GA 30324

Botanical Gardens
The Atlanta Botanical Garden in Midtown is a great place to spend a relaxing Saturday afternoon.  They have a variety of exhibits throughout the year.  The Botanical Garden also hosts a variety of events and has gardening classes and childrens programs.  The Botanical Garden is right next to Piemont Park, at 1345 Piedmont Ave.

Movie Theatres
There are two movie theatres near this neighborhood. 
Landmark Midtown Art Cinema has 8 screens showing a variety of films ranging from independent to blockbuster.  This theatre is a bit older, but is a nice choice because of the more upscale snack bar.  The popcorn comes with real butter.  There are a variety of coffee choices and a selection of finer chocolates and other desserts.  It is located in the Midtown Promenade Center at 8th & Monroe.

The Tara  is a United Artists theatre that has 4 screens and often shows some interesting independent films.  It is located at the intersection of LaVista Rd and Cheshire Bridge Rd, at 2345 Cheshire Bridge Road NE.

The majority of the streets in this neighborhood are nice, and there are a variety of choices for apartments in Morningside Lenox Park.

Groceries
Kroger and Publix are about 1 block apart.  
Kroger is at 1700 Monroe Drive.  It has a better produce section and a much bigger health/organic food section.  Also has a nice wine shop with knowledgeable staff.  Pharmacy offers flu shots on a walk-in basis.  Has a Starbucks inside, which is the biggest incentive for shopping there!

Publix is in Ansley Mall (see below).  Publix has a great deli for take out subs and a great bakery for special order cakes.

Whole Foods is not in the neighborhood, but is not far away at all.  At the corner of Briarcliff and LaVista.  2111 Braircliff Rd.  Great selection of prepared food for easy take out. 

Trader Joe's:  Trader Joe's is in Midtown at 10th and Monroe (the neighborhood next door).  This is a great place.  Really good food at great prices.  Nice selection of breads.  Good wine at unbelievable prices (the home of Two Buck Chuck).   Cheapest place to buy flowers.  All kinds of really good frozen foods to heat for just one, or a dinner party.  Their Chocolate Lava Cake is unbelievable.  Also enjoy their Mandarin Orange Chicken.  Staff is SO friendly and helpful.  Tip:  Check out the far back corner for some really great samples and free coffee!

Ansley Mall 
Ansley Mall is a shopping center at the corner of Piedmont and Monroe with lots of essentials, including
Starbucks
LA Fitness
CVS
Publix
Blockbuster
Pier1
Moe's
Philly Cheesesteak
Hallmark
Pet Supermarket
Phidippides (locally owned sporting goods, specializing in running shoes)
Toy Store
Picadilly
Luxury Nails
Smoothie King (which also has Jake's ice cream)

Coffee
At the intersection of Piedmont and Monroe you can find a Starbucks (Ansley Mall), and a Caribou Coffee.  There is also a Starbucks in Lindbergh Plaza, at the intersection of Piedmont and Sidney Marcus.

On the other side of the neighborhood, you can grab great coffee AND a fabulous pastry at Alon's Bakery and Market. 

And, just on the border between Morningside and Virginia Highland is a San Francisco Coffee, on N. Highland Ave.

You won't be without your caffeine fix in Morningside.

Fitness
There is an LA Fitness in Ansley Mall.

Sonz:  This popular neighborhood fitness program is just on the border of Morningside and Midtown.  Locally owned/franchised, the concept is group personal training, based on the CrossFit program.  Each day there is a new workout--you never know what to expect.  The trainers:  Sharon, Paige, AJ, and Q are knowlegeable, great people.  Very motivating.  Most folks who go here get amazing results.  They have some good video of their program on their site.

Boot Camp:  There are a variety of boot camps run in Piedmont Park.


Banks
Wachovia:  1605 Monroe Drive (across from Ansley Mall);  2349 Cheshire Bridge Rd.  Click here for a map of these locations.
Bank of America:  1674 Monroe Drive (next to Ansley Mall).  Map.

Other Favorites
Spa:  Natural Body Spa, 1402 N. Highland Ave.
Boutique Shop:  Festivity
Chiropractor:  Dr. Jack Brink

Schools
Morningside Lenox Park is home to one of Atlanta's top rated Elementary Schools--Morningside Elementary.  In fact, many in Atlanta choose to rent apartments in Morningside just for the school district.  Here is a link to a site with parent ratings, test scores and reviews on Morningside Elementary.

Inman Middle School, located on Highland Avenue in Virginia-Highland is the Middle School for Morningside Lenox Park.  Here is a link to parent ratings, test scores, and reviews on Inman Middle School.

Grady High School, located at 10th and Monroe, is the High School for this neighborhood.  Here is a link to parent ratings, test scores, and reviews on Grady High School.

Fun Things to Do
The Little Jumping Bean, located in Amsterdam Walk, is a great place to spend an afternoon.  Filled with giant sized "indoor inflatables", it is a surefire way for kids to burn off some energy. 

Atlanta Botanical Garden has some excellent programs for kids.  (see the Entertainment section of this wiki)

Wired & Fired, in Virginia-Highland is a paint-your-own pottery studio where kids (and adults) can make anything from a dog bowl to for the family pet to a coffee mug for Mother's Day.