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Hot on the heels of a new hibachi restaurant (the just opened Sakura Stix), a new barbecue joint is set to open in Westside.  The Bunyan-esc Billy Jack’s BBQ and Shrimp Co. is currently in the final build out stages over at 857 Collier Rd.  In addition to sharing the lot with Sakura Stix, Billy Jack’s will deliver to your door and cater your events.  Their menu is pretty straightforward and includes most everything you would expect at a place like this.  The decor is understated and the place probably seats around 40.  They don’t have a website at this point, but they do have a facebook page.  Meanwhile, be on the look out for their catering truck (named The Barbecue Source).  If you see it … call the cops!!!  More for you once they actually open their doors to John Q Public.

[thanks to reader Julian for the heads up]

Billy Jack’s BBQ & Shrimp Co. Restaurant Address & Information
857 Collier Rd, Atlanta, GA 30318 // 404.351.7979 // Billy Jack’s facebook

Don’t let the name full you, Black Tie Barbecue is more than just a barbecue catering service.  In fact, they are more than just a full-service caterer.  Since their inception, the quadrapedal team has served up a full array of grub.  However, the business has grown beyond that of a traditional caterer and into a full fledged food producing operation.

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Bobby and June’s Kountry Kitchen is a place of romanticism and idealized memories.  Every city has a place (or two) like this, a breakfast joint that serves as a tribute to times gone by from era’s long past.  It’s here we find this simple little shack, nestled in the bosom of high-rises and traffic jams.  Sitting proudly on 14th street in the cleavage between Midtown and Westside, Bobby and June’s bright yellow sign and weather tested wood planks immediately call attention to this Atlanta institution.

It’s a popular eatery amongst those that attend Georgia Tech, as it serves as a comfortable mixture of Waffle House meets Fox Bros.  With its very own barbecue pit, Bobby and June’s moves seamlessly between the world’s of Meat & 3’s and diners.  It was this history that coaxed me out of bed one recent morning, inviting me in for a meal where calories aren’t to be trifled with and organic is a term that applies to the Streak-O-Lean on your plate and not a food movement.  Though I’m much more likely to see a sunrise on my way to bed than on my way out of it, the opportunity to rejuvenate the Ambiguously Foodie Duo was just too much to pass up.

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Todd Richards is fairly well known around these parts. Richards’ restaurant group (Lush Life Group) is the driving force behind Rolling Bones BBQ and One Flew South, that high-end restaurant located in Hartsfield-Jackson’s E-Concourse.  However, his notoriety isn’t limited to the Capital of The South.

Mixed in with his stay in Atlanta, Richards spent time in Chicago, in Nashville, and in Palm Beach as the chef de cuisine at the Ritz-Carlton.  In fact, all that work even earned him a spot on an episode of Iron Chef America.  Nowadays, you’ll find him sticking close to home as he works on a bounty of different projects.  One of the most accessible is his blogs, which is one of the better chef scribed blogs to come out of Atlanta.

But of course, Richards still makes time for we poor plebeians of the pen with a stopover for Inside The Chef’s Kitchen.  So on this Friday of beautiful weather and happenings, take a peek at what Chef Richards has to say.  If you take a liking to Richards’ humor, be sure to check him out on twitter @Rollingbonesbbq. And with that, welcome to ITCK!

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Kevin Gillespie is easily one of the most talked about culinarians in Atlanta.  His showing on Top Chef is a big reason why droves of people now lineup at Woodfire Grill to sample his cuisine.  Meanwhile, his delicious grub keeps people coming back for more.  He’s so popular that I get a near daily report of a Kevin-sighting (the latest being at my beloved Gato Bizco – thanks Lilly!).

Yes, it’s true … people can’t get enough of Kevin.  In fact, exactly one-month prior to this posting, Jennifer Brett interviewed KG on her AJC blog.   In that postification of insights, innuendos, and implications, Kevin confirmed what many in the foodie circles had already heard: he’s hell bent on opening a barbecue inspired restaurant.  As these things tend to go, information has oozed out like jelly from your favorite doughnut.

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I feel like I should preemptively duck for this one.  Community Q, a Decatur meat emporium, is the result of a Triforcean partnership between David Roberts, Jim Laber, and Stuart Baesel.  Backed by Roberts’ foundation at Sam and Dave’s, the trio has set out to save Atlanta from the clutches of the evil Ganon and his barbecue minions.

Not surprisingly, the amount of love doled out on Community Q has been nothing short of intense and swift.  The Geek chimed in (several times in fact), Top Chef did it, and the carnivorously anxious gang at Creative Loafing also made a trip out.  Speckled in between these notations were riblets from the young, the restless, and the truly irascible.  In between all this hustle and bustle, I, joined by a duo of foodies, managed to sneak my way in to dine on some swine.

After seeing what S&D has put out for the past few years, I’d say CQ is playing in that pigpen.  Though people often dismiss me as a curmudgeon, I wasn’t the only one at the table to walk away less than blown away.  This was advertised as something transcendent … alas, it was not.  While one of the better barbecues in Atlanta, there is still a long way to go.  Though I will most certainly be back, this meal did little to make me feel like a drive beyond Daddy D’s or Fox Bros is necessary.

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As time goes by, I am presented with the opportunity to head back to some of the restaurants I’ve already chatted up.  Since my initial visit to DBA Barbecue, there have been a number of changes.  Doug Morgan has moved on, and in his place, we have Drew Kirkland.  Kirkland, who was previously stationed at The Albert, spent four years under celebrity chef Kevin Rathbun.  According to Matt Coggin, one of the three owners, Kirkland has brought with him a Lang Smoker.  I’m not sure if that’s a big selling point or not – my knowledge of smoker producers is definitively lacking.

After a fairly lackluster blind date, I was hopping to see an improvement from the restaurant.  Unfortunately, the food seems lost in the doldrums of barbecue mediocrity.  Given the high price point and the extended opportunity to fix the problems, I would say this return visit was far more disappointing than the first.

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This news is actually a bit outdated, but it’s still worth a mention.  Chef Jay Clark, who previously served as the Executive Chef at The Bureau, has found a home at Fox Bros Barbecue in L5P.  This news brought on a “Well how bout that” moment.  The move is a distinct departure for Clark as his previous stints include time at NYC’s Babbo and some of Shaun Doty’s restaurants.

Regardless, it seems like a needed move from Fox Bros, as their food has always been highly inconsistent.  In fact, it’s that inconsistency that was the main culprit in the review a few months back.  All that aside, with the Bureau now a thing of the past, it’s nice to see Clark resurface.

Osage Farms, located on Hwy 441 North in Rabun Gap, is just one of a handful of local farms that call Rabun County home.  While I haven’t visited any one of those other spots, I imagine that Osage is one of the better options for fresh produce in the entire state of GA, let alone Rabun Gap.

Roughly a month ago, the AJC asked everyone to identify the best place to get produce in and around Atlanta.  The resulting lists contained all of the usual suspects.  The DeKalb Farmers’ Market and the Peachtree Road Farmers’ Market showed up on both top 5s, while the Morningside Farmers’ Market showed up on the staff section.  Meanwhile, two or three people chimed in regarding this highway side farm some two-hours drive from the heart of Atlanta.

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Last week, I posted some thoughts on Rolling Bones BBQ.  Ultimately, I said that I found the new iteration of this downtown joint to be heavy on potential and thin on delivery.  In a bit of surprise, owner/chef Todd Richards himself showed up to share his thoughts on my post.

As I’m not sure people will be as likely to find his words in the comment section of the post, I thought I’d throw them up here.  So with that, take a gander at what Richards said this past Tuesday:

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