A family of Atlanta chickenistas has moved into the little Westside building that briefly housed LeRoy’s Fried Chicken. While this restaurant also focuses on fried bird and the street sign and building are basically as they were before, there are several distinctions between the patriarchal Curly’s Fried Chicken and 1021’s former tenant.
First, Curly’s doesn’t focus on the locavore movement (aka – no “gourmet” Springer Mountain chickens). Second, in lieu of lard, Curly’s uses canola oil to fry their product in. Third, the prices at Curly’s are more inline with those of most chicken shacks (LeRoy’s was hella expensive). There are a handful of other differentiators, but those three points alone establish a very different playing field for Curly’s, and by consequence, produce a very different type of expectation for a meal at Atlanta’s newest fried chicken parlor.
If a person was to ask you to explain the definitive dish at the institution of Roscoe’s Chicken and Waffles, your response might read something like this:
Chicken and waffles: noun – 1) a deleterious combination of crunchy waffles and crisped chicken skin, met in the middle by juicy, intensely seasoned chicken meat under an onslaught of airy, melted butter and slathered in a bath of hot sauce, gravy, and maple syrup. 2) death on a plate.
One of the oldest symbols of inbred fusion cooking, an order of chicken and waffles is, for better or worse, a staple of Southern food and an expose of its soulful influences. While it is most oft-identified with the Deep South, where places like Gladys Knight’s rule the roost, the Los Angeles based Roscoe’s House of Chicken ‘n Waffles, might be the most famous purveyor anywhere.
Well, leave it to the better half of the Ambiguously Foodie Duo to spill the beans. As first noted by @EatItAtlanta, Curly’s Fried Chicken has now opened at 1021 Howell Mill, the previous home to Julia LeRoy’s eponymous LeRoy’s Fried Chicken. According to the Curly’s website, Curly is Steve’s dad and Steve is the dude who runs Curly’s.
The menu at Curly’s is a little more expansive than LeRoy’s as it includes white fish and fried shrimp in addition to fried chicken and some classic Southern sides. Prices are much more reasonable than they were under the previous tenant. I’ll hit y’all up with the 411 re: how the food tastes just as soon as I have more time on my hands. In the meantime, Jimmy already walked up and tried it. See what he had to say.
Andrew Zimmern is known as the guy who will eat anything. Appetite for Life is his new web show featuring the “best in Southern culture.” It turns out, Zimmern filmed a bit for the show while tailgating in Athens before the Georgia vs. USC game.
I’m not sure when the episode will air, but if you want to get a glimpse of some behind the scenes action, check out this little video that shows Zimmern doing some mugging up for the camera. So watch this and then go check out the Appetite for Life website.
It’s a typical Atlanta summer night. My windows are ajar, the shades open, and the late night sun has finally dipped beneath the event horizon. However, I’m not on my porch puffing a cigar nor in my media room kicked back and taking in the comedic barbs of Jon Stewart. No, I find myself curled up in bed, lights off and prostrate to the world. I’m suffering from one of the most intense food hangovers I’ve wrestled with since I began this online journal. Such is the result of my meal at LeRoy’s Fried Chicken, a Westside take-out food stand that has opened with a thud.
Recently fried (aka opened Wednesday) on the Westside, chef Julia LeRoy, Clay Harper and Mike Nelson have introduced LFC in the spirit of a culinary rage. Fine dining is out whereas food trucks, fast casual grub, and playful rifts on the traditionally simple seem effervescent. LeRoy’s finds itself somewhere in the middle of this world. Save for the slightly edgy fried chicken liver sandwich, this is a traditional and no frills soul food endeavor. As LeRoy’s espouses the use of locally raised, ethos conscious chickens, this is simplicity for simplicity’s sake in all of its glory.
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.
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.
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.
The West Egg, that popular Westside Atlantabreakfast 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.
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 Streetoffice 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!
