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Grant Park’s Young Augustine’s rose from the ashes of The Standard early this year.  This neighborhood take on the gastro pub is the brainchild of Chris Johnson, owner of The Standard, Andy Gonzales, a well traveled chef, and Kyle Faucher, the manager who I know little about.  While the fate of the Standard seemed set by a series of tragic circumstances, these three gents set out to infuse the space with a bit of life.

Frequenters of 327 Memorial’s previous tenant will remember the joint for its dive bar atmosphere and low-brow bar food.  That’s all a distant memory.  The one notable holdover is the bocce ball court out back.  On the other hand, the interior has been blown open, leaving a community table in the middle and a long, polished wood bar against the back wall.  Taking it all in one Saturday afternoon, and on the heels of some rather flattering reviews, I had high hopes for YA’s.  Unfortunately, the interior was the first thing, and just about the last thing, that I actually enjoyed during my one meal there.

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Fresh out of the groomer, The Thirsty Dog Tavern is now open in Peachtree Hills.  A hot mess of Olive Garden meets The Titled Kilt plus Park Tavern with a touch of Taco Mac, it’s a reworking of Vita, the previous tenant at 2100 Peachtree.  While it’s location is ideal for the nomad in you and me, I was able to coax Deez from his real world responsibilities so that we could enjoy a little lunch at Atlanta’s newest pet friendly establishment.

The restaurant itself is conceptually all over the map, but the food is most similar to those nationwide chains that try their best to serve basic Italian fare.  If memory serves me right, the vast portion of the menu at TDT is a holdover from the previous restaurant.  That is no surprise when you consider that Vita’s Tony LaRocco, as noted by John Kessler, is one of the proprietors.  Along with Dave Heany, formerly of Star Bar, LaRocco has driven out one failed concept and replaced it with a straw-grasping alternative in the hopes of righting the ship.  While little there was horribly wrong, save for the fried food, there wasn’t a single aspect of the meal poking at me for further inspection.

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The Thirsty Dog Tavern is set to open on Monday, March 22nd, 2010 in the Peachtree Hills/Brookwood Hills area.  Located at 2110 Peachtree Rd, the Thirsty Dog is taking over the old Mick’s space (via the defunct VITA).  If that doesn’t help you place TDT, maybe this will: It’s essentially in the same strip center as the Houston’s on Peachtree and just south of Varasano’s Pizzeria.

I wasn’t able to look inside, but judging by the “salacious” pictures and sparse text on their website, this seems like a close cousin to The Tilted Kilt chain.  What I do know is that there is a strong emphasis on being pet friendly and sports, as there are 15 flat-screens on site.

Thirsty Dog Restaurant Address & Information
2110 Peachtree Rd. Atlanta, GA, 30309 // 404.367.8482 // Thirsty Dog Tavern website

Since my initial notations on Publik Social House and Bocado, I’ve made multiple return trips to both.  Unfortunately, things weren’t as good on subsequent visits in either case.  Keep reading for details on these two new Atlanta dining options.

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The  north end of Inman Park is packed with small businesses, a few markets, and a number of restaurants.  Amongst them, the Albert has been a long standing member of the community and the area’s requisite watering hole.  While it might not seem worthy of a foodie review, I can assure you it is.

The restaurant itself sort of meanders back and forth between a dive bar and a pub.  The majority of seats in the place are either at the bar or at a booth; and, a handful of offbeat pieces of artwork, a Golden Tee machine, a pool table, and a few TVs will keep you entertained.

The food is straight up bar fare with chicken fingers, wings, burgers, BLT’s and the like as your options du jour.  It’s all decent, given what it is, and the prices and portions are more than reasonable.  A fixed rotation of daily specials can make a trip to the Albert down right ridiculously cheap, and the chilled out vibe will almost always guarantee a good time.

Mind you, it’s a place for the everyman, where tattoos, button downs, and everything in between, are welcome.  Sure, sometimes the food is a little overcooked, and you might catch a few too many lit cigarettes if you’re a non-smoker, but as a hangout spot, the Albert is well oiled.  They aren’t trying to offer the beer menu of The Brick Store or the gastro-inspired food of The Porter, they’re just trying to be themselves.  Though I’ve never actually grabbed a table, the staff and service are always friendly, and I’ve never left feeling fleeced or cheated.  Similar to The Local, The Albert has become a popular hang out, and for good reason.

Note: The picture, starring Todd the bartender, came courtesy of the Albert website, hopefully – they don’t mind

The Albert Restaurant Address & Information

918 Austin Ave Atlanta, GA 30307 // 404.872.4990 // The Albert website // The Albert menu
The Albert on facebook

Publik Social House sits right at the corner of Peachtree and North Ave Ponce (thanks Peter!).  As the restaurant is directly next to the Fox Theatre, across from Gary Mennie’s Livingston, and near quite a number of other eateries, it might seem a less than ideal.  Normally, I’m really apprehensive when ownership takes one concept, uproots it, and then comes back with something totally different.  On the surface, it would appear that the owners of Publik, who previously operated Bazzaar out of the same space, did just that.  However, such isn’t exactly the reality.  Open just a handful of weeks, it was high time I had some food there and check out this renovated lounge.

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Publik Social House, the new pub from the owners of the now closed Bazzaar, has gone live next to the famous Fox Theatre in Midtown.  Today is a busy day for me, so I don’t have time to post any real thoughts on the food and the experience.  However, it’s worth noting that you now have another pub option available to you.  Though parking can be somewhat problematic, the location should flourish as a restaurant.  With all the foot traffic for shows, eating is much more of a priority than partying on that block.

I was sad to see Bazzaar go, but the minor tweaks to the space have gone a long way to assuaging my concerns.  The food selection is somewhat limited and their website is just a landing page, but stay tuned and I’ll give you guys and girls something to go on.

Publik Social House Restaurant Address & Information

654 Peachtree Rd, Atlanta, GA 30308 // 404.885.7505 // Publik website

Engine 11 is the latest tenant in the cemetery that is 30 North Ave.  Despite being within walking distance of Georgia Tech, the Fox Theatre, and a number of Midtown residences and hotels, this location  has been a death knell for all previous comers.  With a complicated parking situation and a busy roadside, any restaurateur that has taken on Fire Station No. 11 has had a lot of obstacles to overcome.

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This is just a quick little get up for ya’ll.  I’m heading out the door for a business trip and haven’t had time to finish writing either of my two latest reviews.  I hope to have at least one of them ready to post by the time I land.  In the meantime, here’s a quick little heads up.

First up is Engine 11, the pub that now occupies the old fire station on North Ave.  While the building itself is pretty damn cool, the location seems to be a death knell for all who open there.  Stylistically, not much has changed since The Spotted Dog, the previous tenants, closed up.  Menu wise – it’s a bit of a mix and match with over priced appetizers and par for the course grub.  Details to follow.

Meanwhile, Mykonos Taverna has finally opened.  Roughly three-months behind schedule, this Greek eatery is hoping to capitalize on the huge buzz with a mind boggling array of menu options and a distinct decor.  To my surprise, that opening announcement has been on of the more popular posts on the blog (currently 3rd as of this writing).  Meanwhile, the initial meal left me absolutely perplexed, but not so much that I’m ready to burn down the place (yet…).

The title says it all.  It appears that Ron Jeremy, or a person closely resembling the dude, showed up at the widely popular Brick Store Pub. Earlier today, Lee Dickson posted the following tweet:

http://twitpic.com/b7zy6 – Is that Ron Jeremy at the Brick Store Pub? www.brickstorepub.com

The picture, seen at left, lends me to believe that the gentleman in the center is indeed the “First Man Of Porn.”  If that is the case, the Decatur pub easily wins the title of most lascivious celebrity sighting.  And now back to our regularly scheduled programming.