Anybody looking to our blog for coverage of beer is bound to be disappointed. Barbecue we’re pretty good about, and Buford Highway we’re getting better with, but since only one of us drinks, and only occasionally at that, we are scattershot journalists at best. But this visit to Kickbacks wasn’t about getting better coverage for our blog, it was because I wanted to marvel at their selection and try something new for myself. I crossed my fingers that I might leave with a new favorite, hoping that Kickbacks’ reputation might show off something new and neat. Continue reading “Kickbacks Gastropub, Jacksonville FL”
Category: beer
Nostalgia Burns in the Hearts of the Bulldogs
I gave in to an absurdly nostalgic day in the Classic City a couple of Fridays back, revisiting old haunts, walking around, having some beer and reading. I did not eat as much as I might have; my trip coincided with a social media-led lunch at Weaver D’s, the world-famous meat-n-three that has been having some financial difficulties. When word got out that Dexter Weaver needed his guests to come on back, they did so in droves. I don’t know whether it sparked enough of a reminder to get people back here regularly; time will tell. It didn’t for Harold’s Barbecue in Atlanta. Nevertheless, there was enough of a mob and parking was impractical, so I wished him well and moved on. Continue reading “Nostalgia Burns in the Hearts of the Bulldogs”
JCT Kitchen, Atlanta GA
I decided to treat myself to a nice lunch a couple of Fridays ago, and made my way to the Westside Provisions complex on Howell Mill. I’d parked here once before, about a year previously, when the family all met up with some friends from Nashville at Osteria del Figo, and was generally aware that there was another good restaurant or two in this complex, but I’d never visited any of the others, and never walked around. What an incredibly nice place this is! The management has done a super job making this old industrial facility – a hundred years ago, part of this was a meat packing plant – into a really great pedestrian mall, full of bridges and little hidden treasures – Oh! So that’s where Ormsby’s is! – and honesty, every retail space in Atlanta should look half this good. And on the back side of one of the large buildings, Ford Fry’s JCT Kitchen has been packing in crowds for about five years. Continue reading “JCT Kitchen, Atlanta GA”
Up and Down Tiger Town
The road took me north, as hoped, to Clemson, which, as college towns go, is a little underappreciated if you ask me. Sure, it’s no Athens, Chapel Hill, Morgantown or Oxford, but it’s a darn sight more impressive than Starkville. Plus, the campus is a real beauty. Continue reading “Up and Down Tiger Town”
Mellow Mushroom, Marietta GA
In the late 1980s, when I thought that I liked hippie music – turns out I don’t; go figure – I became aware of the small Mellow Mushroom chain. Fueled not just by Jefferson Airplane records, but by the character of “neil” – always lower case – in TV’s The Young Ones, I probably talked about having a pizza here for years before I actually did. I always said the name in an approximation of neil’s voice. “Mellaww Mushroooooom,” usually with a slight nod and two fingers for peace. Ah, teenagers. The restaurant was started here in Atlanta in 1974. I think that the second store didn’t open for another eight years. They’ve had a presence in downtown Athens since 1986. While still mostly in the southeast, the chain now has a presence in seventeen states. Continue reading “Mellow Mushroom, Marietta GA”
Lucky’s Burgers and Brew, Roswell GA
Marie’s brother Karl was in town a couple of Saturdays ago and in the mood for a burger. I don’t know that Marie and I were being the best of hosts by not taking him to a reliable favorite instead of taking the chance on something untried, but we wanted to visit someplace new for our blog and so passed on a trip to Farm Burger or something excellent like that, and instead looked on Urbanspoon for the highest-ranked burger joint in Atlanta within a reasonable drive where we had not visited. Continue reading “Lucky’s Burgers and Brew, Roswell GA”
Brewer’s Pizza, Orange Park FL
Readers with quite long memories might recall that Brewer’s Pizza was the place that our friend Chris wanted us to eat when we were in Jacksonville one year ago, but we ran afoul of their hours and wouldn’t have time during our brief visit. Brewer’s is actually located about an arm’s length outside the Jacksonville / Duval city and county limits, in suburban Clay on the southwest side of the metro area. Clay County has stricter policies about the times that a restaurant may serve alcohol on Sundays, and, consequently, Brewer’s doesn’t bother opening up until 2 pm, missing out on the possible revenue of the early NFL games. Now that I’ve been here, and seen the reasonably-sized crowd watching football and spending money, I remain baffled as to why they chose to open in Clay. Continue reading “Brewer’s Pizza, Orange Park FL”
Marie, Let's Eat! 