Two Institutions of Higher Wieners
There’s plenty of hot dog joints here in the Atlanta area, but only two are recognized as hot dog institutions, besides The Varsity of course.
Let’s start with Brandi’s World Famous Hot Dogs (1377 Church Street Ext NE, Marietta, 770.422.3681). This area classic started as Betty’s World Famous Hot Dogs. Betty retired and sold the — along with her famous chili recipe — to Brandi.
At what is now Brandi’s hot dog shack, young professionals rub elbows with the white hair overalls set to get their spicy chili dog fix. This chili is so hot the waitresses offer to strain the chili (taking away some of its fiery sting) for the less tolerant. One of these pork/beef dogs smothered in chili will only set you back $1.85. You’ll need at least two. Read more
INC. Street Food Lures In The Ladies
I’m not one to pull the “authenticity” card, nor do I sneer at fusion cuisine. If it tastes good, who cares? I do have certain likes and dislikes though, and thick and heavy — two terms that accurately define our cuisine scene of the ’80s and ’90s — doesn’t exactly fall into my “likes” department.
While eating at INC. Street Food (984 Canton Road, Roswell, 770.998.3114) last week, I found most dishes to be too heavily sauced and entirely too busy, a trait commonly encountered during the old school — largely French influenced — cooking of the ’80s and early ’90s. Read more
Food Find: Biscotti By David Jeffries Kitchen
Remember the eccentric David Jeffries, former pastry chef of Park 75? Jeffries was most known for his kinky flavor combinations, exotic ingredients and extreme presentations. He once served a dramatic elongated, thin cylindrical limoncello creation that sprung from the plate like a rocket, arching up and over the rim some 2 feet in the air. All its glorious decadence aside, the spectacle alone was a fascinating defiance of gravity.
Like all great Atlanta pastry chefs, Jeffries suddenly vanished from the local food scene. But unlike the others before him, Jeffries returned to local soil last year with biscotti in hand. And just as he changed the way we looked at desserts, he’s administered a free-spirited shot in the arm of the humdrum biscotti world. Read more
Cook-It-Yourself at Newly Opened Bamboo Grill & Hot Pot
I’m sure I’ve mentioned in the past Melanie’s deep-abiding love for all annoying cook-it-yourself dining concepts. She, for whatever reason, is immensely entertained by the idea of slaving over a blistering hot cooker while out to eat.
I personally prefer to let someone else do the cooking if I’m paying.
But as most of you married guys know good and well, the wife usually gets her way. So, there we were at Buford Highway’s latest Bamboo Grill & Hot Pot (4646 Buford Highway, Atlanta Tel: 678.580.1727) — only the restaurant’s third day in business — with a yellow pot of seething liquid parked between us. Read more
Burgers & Biscuits At Red Eyed Mule
Too many first-time restaurateurs open big spacious restaurants with hoity-toity dining rooms and insurmountable build-out costs. A recipe for disaster more times than not.
Not the case with Red Eyed Mule (1405 Church Street Extension, Marietta Tel: 678.809.4546), a cheap burger and biscuit dive in Marietta. Husband and wife owners Sabra Wessel and Joseph Wood smartly jumped into the business by opening a very manageable 600-square foot space.
The menu is as tiny as the humble shoebox-like structure. Lunch only consists of 4 burger options and your choice of fries or onion rings. Read more
Smoked Sausage and Frito Bag Chili At Fox Bros. Bar-B-Q
Atlanta didn’t know Texas barbecue until a set of twins by the name of Johnathan and Justin Fox began supplying their spicy, dry rub beef brisket — along with pulled pork and slow cooked ribs — to Smith’s Olde Bar. Remember those hot trashy Rock & Roll waitresses?
Switching gears back to food, when the first plate arrived to the table, some scratched their heads as to why the magnificent purple-ringed meat before them wasn’t served under a puddly, thick, sweet, cloying sauce.
But it didn’t take long for high on the hog Atlantans to be blown away by the brothers’ heady dry rubs — and take notice of cow’s prominent place in the fiercely territorial barbecue world. Read more
Back To Roy’s For Cheesesteaks
Most restaurants struggle with consistency when they first open. Some find their footing with time, others don’t.
Roy’s Cheesesteaks (2900 Highlands Pkwy SE Smyrna, 404.799.7939) is one of those that tripped and stumbled out of the gate. Credit for the find goes to former Atlanta Cuisine message board poster, MoT.
Even though all wasn’t hunky dory in the early going, Roy’s crew appears to be hitting on all cylinders these days. Back when it opened, a first visit yielded near cheesesteak perfection in effortless fashion. The meat generously portioned, well seasoned, and served on the prerequisite squishy Amoroso rolls.
But subsequent visits were a little off mark in one way or another. One day, too skimpy on the meat. Under seasoned the next day. Both skimpy and under seasoned the day after that. I struggled to know the real Roy’s.
Some restaurants, for one reason or another, need a couple months before they hit stride. Roy’s is obviously one of those. I’m happy to report that my last half dozen or so visits have been consistently delicious. The meat nicely portioned, finely chopped, perfectly seasoned. The bread, still that traditional Amoroso roll all Philadelphians come to expect from anything wearing the name cheesesteak. Read more
Soulful Home-Style Cooking At Anna’s Kitchen
Alpharetta and surrounding area has been flexing its culinary muscles the past couple years. Now, interspersed with the many chain restaurants you’ll find true boiled and baked NY-quality bagels, some of the most varied Indian cuisine our city has to offer, and now one of Atlanta’s best stops for Caribbean fare.
Anna’s Kitchen (11550 Webb Bridge Way Suite 3, Alpharetta Tel: 678.339.9930) is a humble passion-driven bare-bones strip center restaurant. The heart and soul of this little Jamaican eatery is in the kitchen.
Price per dollar, Anna’s home-style Caribbean cooking holds its own against anybody in Alpharetta. Read more
950 Pizza Tavern: First Glimpse
Tired of pizza yet? I hope not, the busy restaurant stork keeps bringing more with no sign of an end. The latest to open is 950 Pizza Tavern (950 W. Peachtree St, Midtown 404.881.8884) by the same folks who own Prickly Pear next door.
Anyone who follows the Atlanta food scene to any capacity has recognized a new style of pizza enter the Atlanta market—and with it, new pizza vocabulary. The word “char”—previously only used to describe the outer crispy surface of smoked meats and barbecue—is now common verbiage when discussing pizza. Read more
Gettin’ My Grub On at Cajun Johns
After my Just Loaf’n po’boy article last week, a Marietta reader pointed me to a small dive po’boy shack called Cajun Johns (1175 Powder Springs Rd, Marietta Tel: 770.499.8700).
It’s located in the back of a gas station convenient store. There’s no tables—just pull up to the small box-shaped structure, park, order at the window, and receive a po’boy larger than your steering wheel for just $8. This mammoth sandwich (seen below undressed) requires two hands for proper handling. Read more
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