Shaun Doty and Lance Gummere’s latest chicken restaurant, Chick-a-Biddy, opened earlier this summer in the Atlantic Station development. I confess that I was in no particular rush to visit this place, but purely from a blogger standpoint, and not from an eater’s. Earlier this year, I stopped by its sister restaurant, the equally bizarrely-named Bantam & Biddy. I didn’t particularly enjoy that meal, but that’s entirely my fault. I’ve never liked poutine and wondered whether some celebrated Atlanta chefs could change my mind. They couldn’t; enough said. Continue reading “Chick-a-Biddy, Atlanta GA”
Month: August 2013
Little Thai, Sandy Springs GA
A few Fridays ago, the kids and I fought the rush hour to meet Marie for dinner and spare her the rush hour commute home. We invited Emily from Spatialdrift to join us; Adam had the good fortune to fly out to the San Diego Comic-Con that weekend. This prompted the umpteen millionth discussion between my daughter and me about the difference between “lucky” and “fortunate.” I really, really hope that she gets this point one day. This wearying discussion concluded, I was happier to then show off the nearby fire station to the toddler, for him to smile and laugh about the fire trucks. Little Thai is in a curving strip mall on Sandy Springs Circle just before it meets Johnson Ferry. The section where we parked overlooks the fire station, and is perfect for kids to yell greetings to firemen. Continue reading “Little Thai, Sandy Springs GA”
Hottie Hawg’s Smokin’ BBQ, Atlanta GA (take two) (CLOSED)
If you follow anybody in this hobby of writing about food and restaurants, you might have sussed that Hottie Hawg’s has been on a publicity blitz lately. The restaurant appeared last month on Lifetime TV’s Catering Wars miniseries and as the owner, Kyle Vaughn, was thinking about where they stood among other barbecue restaurants in our city, he noted, correctly, that most of the region’s bloggers have never really written about them. So his team went to work, sending out invitations to several of us. If you have not read about Hottie Hawg’s in the last two months, it’s not for lack of trying. They have had quite a few of us hobbyists in for a meal. Continue reading “Hottie Hawg’s Smokin’ BBQ, Atlanta GA (take two) (CLOSED)”
Shakey’s Pizza, Warner Robins GA (CLOSED)
Shakey’s Pizza was not part of my childhood, but it was a part of a whole mess of other people’s. Every so often, it sparks a happy memory or ten among some of the regulars at forums where I visit. If you’re in California, you’re never too far from a Shakey’s, as there are still about fifty stores in that state, but only ten others in the country. In the southeast, there is one in Auburn, and one in Warner Robins. Every week, a delivery truck comes east, bringing food for both of these stores. Perhaps they still have local-market TV ads for Shakey’s in California. Here’s one from the early 1970s, starring Kathy Coleman, who’d later play Holly in Sid and Marty Krofft’s Land of the Lost. The ad shows what Shakey’s used to be: a bizarre mix of Tudor design and Dixieland jazz with styrofoam boaters. Continue reading “Shakey’s Pizza, Warner Robins GA (CLOSED)”
Sal’s Neighborhood Pizzeria, Saint Simons Island GA
This is Marie, writing a story about a restaurant on Saint Simons that was recommended by a reader named Lyndon earlier this year. We recently had the opportunity to visit Sal’s Neighborhood Pizzeria on our most recent visit to south Georgia. My mother, familiar with the restaurant, assured us with great vigor that unless we wanted a toddler-tantrum-inducing wait, that we’d have to get there before 5:30. We got there just about at 5:30, and there was already a half hour wait. Luckily the toddler was gracious about it. Continue reading “Sal’s Neighborhood Pizzeria, Saint Simons Island GA”
Twin Oaks, Brunswick GA
Brunswick reminds me of Columbus in the late 1990s. There’s life to be seen, and people who want their city to shine, but there’s some kind of kick in the pants needed to get the local economy moving. In the case of Columbus, that was the twin engines of an uptown that embraced several bars, coffee shops, and boutique stores that catered to the younger people of the city, and then Columbus State University deciding to invest heavily in building some dormitories on top of the growing noise, giving constant turnover of people to frequent the businesses on their block. Last we heard, some busybodies in Muscogee County had been griping that Young People Trying to Study don’t need the temptation of the demon drink, but I don’t think they’ve got far. I have it on good authority that the Uptown Tap on Broadway does a wild amount of business on Monday evenings. Continue reading “Twin Oaks, Brunswick GA”
Gary Lee’s Market, Brunswick GA
When Brunswick’s Georgia Pig closed in the spring of 2012, many people agreed that was a shame, particularly since finding good barbecue on that corridor has always been a little tricky. Over at Roadfood.com, a user called Greymo suggested that about four miles inside the highway, away from the coast, much better barbecue could be found at a little place called Gary Lee’s Market. I added it to our to-do list in the region, but a few lines down from the top. In fact, it was so far down the list that, back in January, when we came down US-82 through Tifton and Waycross, we drove right past it and I turned to Marie and said “I think that was that place that I read about on the internet that time.” I am certain that many of you have said much the same thing to your own loved ones. Continue reading “Gary Lee’s Market, Brunswick GA”
Marie, Let's Eat! 