Posted by Foodie Buddha
on January 07, 2012
I strolled into Asha Gomez’s fresh faced Cardamom Hill half expecting the second coming. Tucked away in the Berkeley Heights section of Westside, Cardamom Hill is the full-service, fixed location manifestation of Spice Route Supper Club (Gomez’s previous endeavor).
It’s a cozy little Indian restaurant, somewhat out of place in a strip center; and, it comes backed by a whole heck of a lot of of word of mouth and media chatter love splooge. Gomez, who serves as chef and owner, endeared herself so well to the many people who previously sampled her take on Indian food, that she is, so far as I know, the first to take a local supper club and turn it into a brick and mortar. Mind you, this ain’t a new trick … just new to Atlanta, where we follow trends instead of set them.
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Posted by Foodie Buddha
on December 13, 2011
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.
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Posted by Foodie Buddha
on December 02, 2011
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.
Curly’s Fried Chicken Restaurant Address & Information
1021 Howell Mill Rd, Atlanta, GA 30318 // 404.872.7888 // website // menu // tw // fb
Posted by Foodie Buddha
on November 30, 2011
The rise of the fast-casual restaurant, including the new Westside Atlanta location of Bell Street Burritos, owes a great deal to the burrito. This Tex-Mex tradition is perhaps the burger of that fused cuisine. Like the burger, the burrito is generally a massively hulking inclusion of typical toppings. But as the trend to produce these wrapped time-bombs of gastrointestinal danger has risen, so too has the diversity of their staple composition.
The Atlanta restaurant space is now ripe with burrito shops. We’ve got the big boys like Chipotle, Willy’s, and Moe’s. Then there are single location operations like Decatur’s hot spot of love, Raging Burrito [REVIEW INTERLUDE: Speaking of Raging Burrito: Blow up the receipt at the right and then check out this post, which never got a lot of attention. Now back to our fair city and the series of burrito purveyors found within]. While these restaurants are a dime a dozen, and their food is often indistinguishable from the competition’s, Bell Street owner Matt Hinton has set out to differentiate Bell Street. With the opening of his second location, it appears he’s well on his way to that goal.
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Posted by Foodie Buddha
on November 23, 2011
Bell Street Burritos has officially grown from a food stall into a fully functional business. While the Sweet Auburn Curb Market location is still fully functional, you can now get your Bell Street fix of burritos, tacos, quesadillas, and nachos during normal business hours at 1663 Howell Mill Atlanta, GA 30318 in Westside.
Now that they don’t have to worry about Sweet Auburn’s limited hours, you can grab some BSB at dinner time. Though I don’t have the specific hours for the Westside location, they are serving lunch through dinner Monday thru Saturday – I’d guess 11am to 9 or 10pm. Now to hustle over there and see how it tastes! With the holidays upon us, BSB won’t be open again until Monday the 28th. Their hours moving forward are 11a-9p M-Th and 11a-10p on Fridays & Saturdays.
Posted by Foodie Buddha
on November 16, 2011
Toscano & Sons Italian Market sits unassumingly in Westside quietly providing Atlantans with some of the city’s most consistent panini. For the better part of the past five years, the tiny emporium and Italian deli has offered up tasty sandwiches in addition to a variety of worthwhile cheeses, wines, and prepared Italian classics.
When owners Kathy Boehmer and John Reed opened Toscano & Sons back in 2006, Westside was a neighborhood waiting to happen. Even so, already established eateries like West Egg Café and Star Provisions made for a crowded marketplace. Yet in the shadow of these more noted restaurants, Toscano and Sons has been chugging along ever since. Regardless of the dramatic rise in nearby eating options, as a value proposition alone, the pressed sandwiches at T&S easily best anything in the vicinity.
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Posted by Foodie Buddha
on October 24, 2011
Time may be running out for that blue and red neon sign at LeRoy’s Fried Chicken; rumor has it that there’s trouble in fried chicken land for chef Julia LeRoy and her Westside chicken hut. According to a a few people very close to the situation, Clay Harper and Mike Nelson, the La Fonda/Fellini’s duo who backed LeRoy, are considering shutting down LFC.
Thanks in part to fried chicken that has never been good, the food stand is struggling to draw crowds. Word around the campfire is that Harper and Nelson are looking close down LFC and replace it with a second Ringside Franks & Shakes, their recently opened Roswell Road hot dog stand.
Hot dogs are super trendy right now, so the rumor certainly makes sense in that respect. However, the space doesn’t seem to have much in the way of indoor seating (not without some remodeling), so we are left to wonder exactly how a concept change would come to fruition. Keep in mind that this is simply a rumor (albeit one with some real teeth), so until something official gets released… it’s business as usual for the troubled food stand.
[post 1,000!!!!!!!!!!]
Posted by Foodie Buddha
on September 14, 2011
A Hamburger Today is the “all things burger” outlet for Serious Eats, a big time food blog most everyone into food should read. Atlanta is fairly well represented on the blog thanks in part to Todd Brock, a local ATLien who moonlights as a foodie.
A few weeks back, Brock wrote about his stuffed burger at The Nook. He didn’t enjoy it. However, he did take time to make note of Battle of the Burgers, a charitable food festival dedicated to gluttonous glory by way of the burger. I was one of the inaugural judges; however, I’m on vacation right now and I won’t be back in time to reprise my role. While you wait on me to give the event its proper write up, you should visit the BotB website and get yourself ready to attend. The event is scheduled for October 1st, 2011.
Soon after The Nook post, Brock paid a visit to Houlihan’s, that slowly dying food chain. Then, just as we wiped the juices from our grubby hands, Brock hit us yesterday with an opus to the Bocado burger. It’s a double stack delight that I adore even though I have less than stellar things to say about the rest of the food/service/etc. On the way out the door, Brock mentions the similarities between the Bocado burger and the Holeman + Finch burger. It’s a comparison chef Todd Ginsberg will continue to hear even if he refuses to acknowledges his rendition’s eerie similarities to that late night treat.
Bocado wisely employs the H+F bun and perhaps even the pickles. Even if it is a near copy … it’s a damn fine piece of meat. Big ups to Bocado for making this thing available all hours too. Personal feelings aside, if you are hankering for a double patty burger during regular eating hours … Bocado is your best bet in Atlanta.
[that delicious looking bite above is in fact the Bocado burger and comes courtesy of MelissaLibbyPR.com]
Posted by Foodie Buddha
on August 08, 2011
Do at the View (as in dough – as in do-re-mi – as in not in pizza dough) is a relatively new Westside pizzeria that hasn’t gotten a ton of attention [at least from those of us interested in the food]. Opened in May, my first visit came during “the dark ages” – aka that time when I decided not to post for a while. I will leave my comments on the food for another time but I thought y’all would be interested to know that Wired magazine just did a little blip on the Italian eatery.
As Wired is a technology based endeavor, it follows that their article on Do has a distinctly technophile theme to it. Essentially, the article focuses on the restaurant’s all out plunge into the world of technology.
Not only do customers order using an iPad, but they are also tortured by treated to a bevy of lame impressive features thanks to Do’s fondness for technology. Gimmicks abound as customers can chat with each other online, fight over the music blaring on the speakers and tell the valet they want their car … all from the provided iPad. Wired also points out the lack of mirrors in the bathrooms (you guessed it – cuz of the iPads mounted over the sinks).
Author Charlie Sorrel isn’t exactly laying on the charm and I’m not sure if he’s been to the restaurant. However, I can confirm, through first hand experience, that this gimmicky system is likely to give people a headache.
[from COM via Wired]
Posted by Foodie Buddha
on July 27, 2011
I checked out the very new Westside Pie pizzeria last week and needless to say, I wasn’t running home to write them up. Owned and operated by part of the team that brought you SLICE, that two-headed Downtown pizza chain, you’ll find Westside Pie at the foot of the Apex Midtown apartments on the outskirts of Westside (sometimes called West Midtown).
I don’t know much about owner/operator Karen Smiley other than she hails from Savannah and has something to do with the aforementioned SLICE. There seems to be more to the ownership arrangement, but even so, Smiley is the one who is front and center.
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