Posted by foodiebuddha
on June 07, 2010
Nestled amongst Atlanta’s stretch of tasseled "thingies” and institutional eateries is one of the best examples of contemporary American cuisine this side of the Mason-Dixon. Chef Kevin Gillespie, still shy of 30-years-old, has taken Woodfire Grill from the brink of EXtinction to the point of DIStinction. If Atlanta’s hopes of international culinary fame are to ever come to fruition, Woodfire Grill will be one of the handful of establishments dragging our restaurant scene into that arena.
Some two-years ago, the highly regarded Michael Tuohy departed the helm of Woodfire. When that happened, Gillespie took over the Cheshire Bridge hideaway and continued Woodfire’s thematic direction. In the 20 plus months since, the restaurant has exploded and our favorite Yukon Cornelius impersonator has made the place distinctly his own. With that in mind, and motivated by a truly inspirational family event, four of us set out this past Friday looking for a little peace in the midst of our chaos.
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Posted by foodiebuddha
on April 13, 2010
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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Posted by foodiebuddha
on April 07, 2010
Sauced, Ria Pell’s new fusion soul food venture in Inman Park Atlanta, has been motoring along for several months. Though the restaurant came up for a brief breath of air in 2009, it actually opened for real in early 2010. Soon after, Spark Plug and I made it the appetizer stop on one of our habitual dinning excursions. Though it’s taken me a while to recap the less than stellar experience, ATLiens have been treated to several reviews during my hiatus thanks to some of our mainstream media brethren (linkage at the bottom). It seems I’m not alone in my total lack of fandom for Sauced.
Sauced itself is Pell’s attempt to offer entry-level fine dining. After building up her eponymous Ria’s Bluebird to the point where it’s one of the more well-known breakfast places, Pell is now serving "inspired” soul food in the midst of a late 60’s-esc dinning hall. I use the words inspired here loosely because the only true inspiration seems to be coming from the servers. In the world of take it or leave it, this grub is definitely a leave it. To put it another way, it’s never a good thing when someone spends the first part of a review talking about something other than the atmosphere or the food itself. In the case of Meridith Ford Goldman, she talked about the bathrooms. Not a good sign.
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Posted by foodiebuddha
on March 24, 2010
The West Egg, that popular Westside Atlanta breakfast joint, is now doing dinner. Having moved just a short while ago into fancy new digs, the restaurant has decided to expand their hours of operation. (They’re just a hop skip and jump away from their old location). The restaurant is now open from 7am-10pm Monday thru Friday. On the weekends, they open at 8am and close at 10pm. The dinner menu includes a number of traditional southern dishes, including chicken & dumplings, stewed vegetables, and beef short ribs (to name a few). Fear not avid fans of their breakfast material, that stuff is available all hours. In addition, the Egg now offers four bottled beers on tap and a selection of wines. Last weekend, they added Bloody Mary’s and Mimosas to the menu. Starting this weekend, that will expand into a full cocktail service.
For those of you who haven’t seen the new space, check out the amazing photos by Savory Exposure.
West Egg Café Restaurant Address & Information
1100 Howell Mill Rd. Atlanta, GA 30308 // 404.872.3973 // West Egg website // West Egg menu (pdf)
Posted by foodiebuddha
on February 13, 2010
Georgia has long been unofficially known as the Empire State of the South. Now, it looks like we’re finally ready to make that official (at least in the restaurant world). Empire State South is set to be the first foray into the Atlanta dining scene for the accomplished Hugh Acheson. Sporting a progressive take on Southern cuisine, Empire State is destined to add a whole new class level to the meat and three concept. Meanwhile, it will serve as the anchor restaurant for the 999 Peachtree Street office and retail building in Midtown, Atlanta.
For the better part of a year, we’ve known of Acheson’s intentions to open Empire State South. Initially, the opening date was identified as Spring 2010. Now, according to the restaurant’s website, that season has been narrowed down to April of this year. More details after the jump!
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Posted by foodiebuddha
on December 28, 2009
If you take a trip down to the corner of Edgewood and Waddell, you’ll find yourself smack dab in front of one of Atlanta’s newest southern food spots, albeit a slightly modified one. Sauced, a new rendition from the gang at Ria’s Bluebird, is just about ready to rock and roll. As you’ll see from the image above (taken from the Sauced website), they’re really going to get it started on NYE. However, they were open for a bit at the end of August and have already started letting people in the door over the past few days.
In the news as early as this past January, Ria Pell’s newest venture is a step towards the high-brow. Keep in mind, that is a statement of relativity. The food is cost conscious and there is a lot of focus on the sauces. That said, I don’t believe they’ve employed a saucier (that’d probably be a little too fru fru anyway). While you sip on your Courvoisier, you and the Ladies Man can chilax on the big couch in the midst of the brown and cream space. If you are heading down there in the next few, make sure to be liquid – it’s cash only.
I’ll wax-foodetic once I work through my back log. In the meantime, check out their facebook page, as it already has quite the following, and get ready to munch away.
Sauced Restaurant Address & Information
753 Edgewood Ave, Atlanta, GA 30307 // 404.688.6554 // Sauced website // Sauced on facebook
Posted by foodiebuddha
on November 20, 2009
On a recent working weekend, after Adam and I were rejected by Busy Bee Cafe (they are closed on Saturdays), we were forced to look elsewhere for grub. We volleyed back and forth until Adam suggested Paschal’s, a long-standing highbrow soul food joint. It’s amazing to me how many times I’ve visited Castleberry Hills for a meal, only to drive right past Paschal’s. Furthermore, it’s not a particularly good sign that when pressed to come up with a place to get my Suth’un fix in, Paschal’s almost never comes to mind. This despite the fact that it is in close proximity to where I work/live.
Started as a motor hotel by a couple of brothers way back yonder, this Atlanta mainstay has gone the way of corporate America. As my only previous visits to Paschal’s occurred around the time I just started to learn my two plus two’s, I cannot really speak to what once was. What we have now, for better or worse, is the fine dining version of Mary Mac’s Tea Room.
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Posted by foodiebuddha
on August 18, 2009
Overall: 
Few Atlanta institutions are as unheralded as the White House Restaurant. While it may not have the following of the Colonnade or the name recognition of the Varsity, the White House holds up just fine in a comparative analysis. Part Greek diner and part meat and three Southern eatery, this Buckhead breakfast/lunch spot has been around in one form or another since 1948. Walk in on any given day, at any given time, and you’ll find a number of devout followers getting their fix.
Demosthenes Galaktiadis took ownership in 1970 and relocated the restaurant some four years later. Ever since, the restaurant has sat comfortably in a cookie cutter strip center on Peachtree marked by a truly bland facade. To put it another way, there is nothing about the place that will remind you of its presidential namesake, save for a handful of pictures of past Commander in Chiefs and some knock off presidential seals.
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Posted by foodiebuddha
on July 01, 2009
Last night, I had the pleasure of hitting Wisteria with CND. Unfortunately for Wisteria, the majority of the enjoyment was the company I was in and not the food I was served. Part first impression, part quick hits, this was my first full meal at Wisteria and my first visit of any kind in over a year. As such, I’m not really in a position to comment on qualities like consistency of food and service. Still, I think this restaurant experience is worth noting.
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Posted by foodiebuddha
on June 18, 2009
Overall:
JCT Kitchen just donkey punched me… alright, just had to get that out of the way.
I’ve been all up and over the Westside recently. In that spirit, it’s no surprise then that I found myself dining at JCT Kitchen yet again. It’s time to throw some more stars out, and so JCT gets the nod.
It’s a restaurant I’ve dined at a number of times over the last couple of years; early on, I felt the food drifted toward decent and solid. The unfortunate fact is that the more I visit JCT, the less I like it. In fact, elements of my last couple of meals have ping ponged back and forth between passable and horrendously terribly unforgivably bad (take that senior English teacher!). Alright peeps, no pictures for this one (crushing I know), but plenty of things to discuss.
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