The Smith House, Dahlonega GA (take two)

Okay, so we’re driving up Georgia 400 to the wonderful little town of Dahlonega, and a few miles past that first, always-surprising, traffic light a few miles into Forsyth County, there’s a billboard for the Smith House that encourages traveling diners: “Now, more than ever, rediscover the tradition.” Continue reading “The Smith House, Dahlonega GA (take two)” →

The Bulloch House, Warm Springs GA

Marie and I had set aside a Saturday to take a day trip with the children somewhere for lunch. We decided against anywhere south down I-75 as she and my son had just come back from that direction the week before, so I turned to roadfood.com for a little help. I decided that as long as we’re still living in Georgia, we should try and hit each of the restaurants in the state to get featured reviews on that site. Except the one I’ve heard awful things about, which you’ll just have to figure out from its regular and consistent absence from this blog. This time out, we moseyed down to the town of Warm Springs in Meriwether County for a lunch at the Bulloch House, so you can cross that off the list of “Places Marie and Grant are not going to visit.”

I’d been to Warm Springs only once before, when I was around my son’s age and we took a school trip to the Little White House, where Franklin Roosevelt kept a home, and where he passed away. I think we had packed brown bag lunches; we certainly didn’t have a meal as good as the buffet here. It’s a classic Southern-styled selection, on this Saturday featuring three meats and a variety of veggies and a salad.

It reminded me of the better-known Blue Willow Inn up in Social Circle, although it must be said that the Blue Willow, with its much larger selection, is the better of the two. On the other hand, the Bulloch House still has much to recommend it.

Truth be told, this is exactly the right time to be enjoying big country lunches with lots of fresh vegetables. The salad bar at the Bulloch House proved to be one of the best I have had in ages, with really wonderful tomatoes, pickles and bell peppers. The fried apples were extremely good, as was a soupy serving of spicy stewed tomatoes. Chicken livers and tuna croquettes were nice additions to the meal, and while I wasn’t mad about either the pork or the fried chicken, they got better reviews from the rest of the family. Besides, with veggies this good, I can overlook personal disappointment about the meat.

I have to say that while this place is by no means outstanding, it’s nevertheless quite good and probably the best restaurant in the region, making it a sensible destination for anybody touring the area. We arrived alongside several tables of bikers who were making their way through, along with some antiquers and junkers who were planning to hit the restored downtown of Warm Springs. The place went into a steep decline after the president’s death, the closure of the old spa and swimming pool and the shutdown of the railroad, but it began crawling back to life in the late eighties. The Little White House and grounds is said to be a really attractive park and good for a nice hike, but probably not in the middle of July. We did just a bit of looking around before making our way back home, and it seems like an attractive getaway from the city, really. There’s an old hotel with a teeny little ice cream parlor in one of the front windows, and a couple of bed & breakfasts in the region, and it’s all very cute and quiet. I could totally see the attraction in making this place a fine little escape destination.

Actually, and I’m sure the good people behind the Bulloch House won’t appreciate me saying this, but no matter how good the lunch was, the best part of the trip came a few minutes before we arrived. We got off I-85 near Hogansville and took GA-100 down to the town of Greenville to get there. I had my fingers crossed that if we found a grocery store that close to the Alabama line, we might get lucky and find some Buffalo Rock. Sure as shooting, we did, at an old Piggly Wiggly store which must hold the state record for most anti-vandalism signs pasted up outside a retail establishment. We brought home two twelve-packs and some Grapico as well, and I figure that if I tell enough people that you can buy my favorite soft drink this close to Atlanta after all, then maybe they can afford a night security guard or something.

The 4th of May Cafe, St. Simons Island GA (CLOSED)

This is Marie, writing because I took a trip without Grant. The young man and I went to see my folks and my brother on St. Simons Island for the 4th of July holiday. We had a great time and as usual on the island ate very well. Continue reading “The 4th of May Cafe, St. Simons Island GA (CLOSED)” →

Taqueria del Sol, Decatur GA

Last weekend, Marie and our son took a trip back down to St. Simons Island to visit her family, and had a couple of good meals that she will tell you about presently. In their absence, my daughter and I joined David for a day of record selling – it’s like record shopping, only you come home with fewer things that you didn’t need in the first place and a little more money – and had a pretty good lunch at the Decatur location of Taqueria del Sol. I’ve been meaning to eat at one of these places for ages, and actually tried a couple of times but gave up for lack of parking, so I’m glad we finally got the chance.

We didn’t even have to stand in the line very long! This place is pretty infamous for its long line, but, as the Mendoza Line once sang, it moves quickly. Taqueria del Sol serves simple food very fast, so there’s never a long wait for your meal. I figure that’s how they know who ordered what without giving your table a number or card for the server to find you. In the time it takes you to order your food and get your water and silverware and sit down, your food’s almost finished being prepared, so the server maybe only has two or possibly three different tables which could be the destination.

I genuinely do not care at all about reporting news about which fancy restaurant is employing which big-name chef, and my eyes glaze over whenever I see such business in blogs, but in this case it is worth a mention. Taqueria del Sol’s menu was devised by a guy named Eddie Hernandez. Once upon a time, he was in charge of the food at a wonderful place called Sundown Cafe on Cheshire Bridge Road where I never ate enough. I’m happy to note that the food is very similar at the taqueria, which was devised as sort of a quickie kid sister to Sundown and eventually took it over. The table salsa – available as a separately-priced Salsa Trio on the taqueria’s menu – seems to be the same, for starters.

Mr. Hernandez never really stops experimenting, so there’s apparently always something neat to try here. Sundown Cafe was known for having wonderfully eclectic and fun specials, and this tradition carries on here. Last week, they were offering tacos with the chicken fried in a potato crust, and I found these to be very tasty. I had one of those along with a fish taco and a “Memphis” (pork and slaw, natch). The tacos are very tasty, served quickly and cost only two bucks and change each. If it wasn’t for the line, you could call it fast food, really. Skip the chips and salsa and you’ve got a fine meal for seven dollars.

Taqueria del Sol has expanded to a small chain with four locations: the one we visited in Decatur, which is across the street from Farm Burger and one of our town’s best record stores, Decatur CD, the original on Cheshire Bridge, one on Howell Mill and one on Prince Avenue in Athens. It’s certainly worth another visit soon; I have more tacos to try.

Other blog posts about Taqueria del Sol:

Adventurous Tastes (Aug. 7 2008)
Amy on Food (May 1 2009)
Food Near Snellville (July 10 2009)
Foodie Buddha (Sep. 18 2009)

The Vortex, Atlanta GA

You know that saying about how I may not agree with what you say, but I’ll defend your right to say it? And how sometimes, people say and do things obnoxious enough to give you a little bit of pause and make you wonder whether you really mean it? I’m not necessarily talking about politics, though heaven knows certain BP apologists in Texas really make a man wish that “gag orders” actually entailed the use of ballgags.

The Vortex is an example of what happens when you stick by that rule. It’s democracy in action. You can praise a restaurant for having the greatest, most lovable, take-no-prisoners attitude about stupid customers in the city, if not anywhere. You can cheer when a business stands up and says that, actually, the customer is not always right, and lets you know that in their house, you will follow their rules or get lost. You can shout from the rooftops that finally, there’s a place that gets it, that won’t compromise principles and will not allow idiots to waste their time when they have a business to run. When their business involves selling the best hamburgers that I’ve found in Atlanta, it’s even easier to say “Damn right, the Vortex is exactly the place for me.”

Then you get to stop cheering with your fists in the air when they enforce a rule that you don’t like at all. Hey, mac, you’re the one who demanded that freedom in the first place.

Some years back, the state of Georgia enacted one of the few laws that our legislature has ever come up with that was worth a damn when they restricted smoking in restaurants. Basically, they told restaurants that if they insisted on allowing idiots to smoke, then they couldn’t allow anybody under 18 in their place. The Vortex was one of those places which figured they’d handle the loss of family customers by becoming a haven for smokers, and really didn’t appreciate the government telling them how to conduct their business.

It annoys me that of all the weird predictions that the Judge Dredd comic has made about our society that have come true, we’re stuck with riot foam and constantly expanding waistlines and artificial food, while the best future invention of all has yet to appear. In Dredd’s Mega-City One, smoking is only allowed in buildings called smokatoriums, and nowhere else. They don’t sell the best hamburgers in the city in a smokatorium and they don’t have the best bartender in the city there, either. Her name is Carla and on those very rare occasions I visit the Vortex, it’s an absolute pleasure to sit at the bar and be served by somebody so damn perfect at her job as she is.

It’s not just that I object to smelling cigarette smoke. Heck, I dated a smoker for a few months in 2004, but, as I’ve mentioned a few times previously, that was something of a mistake-filled year. No, it’s not just my own objection to smoking, though I remain convinced that the best burger I’ve found in the city would be even better without that stench in the air, but that I can’t take my family. Marie gave it a try one early evening a couple of years back before the haze got thick, concluded that their burgers are indeed amazing and left in a flash, blinking in the sunlight and breathing with her head between her knees. The kids? They’re not welcome. The signs in the front lobby restating that no, seriously, they really will not seat you if you’re under 18, and that if you have a problem, take it up with your congressmen are hilariously worded, but they’re also a little saddening.

One day last week, I sat at the bar and enjoyed the living daylights out of a Spanish Fly, which is an amazing hamburger served with ground chorizo and Monterrey jack cheese. On this occasion, I had some fries as a side. I only visit maybe once a year, and usually I can’t help myself and order some tater tots. I think the Vortex is principally responsible for the citywide trend of offering the darn things. I don’t know why I ordered them for so many years. It’s not like you’re getting anything from tots other than the nostalgia factor of saying “Hey! I had these in public school,” so heaven knows what the appeal might be. I need to quit that and try the potato salad or something next time.

The Vortex offers a huge list of burgers, and gleefully emphasizes the ones that just aren’t good for anybody. Bacon, fried bananas, eggs, habanero relish, peanut butter… it really is a remarkable menu full of delicious, dangerous things. I’ll really enjoy taking my son in about five years’ time.

I’ve thought about placing a carry-out order for burgers and having a picnic with my family over in Freedom Park. That way, everybody gets to experience how good the food is, but we miss out on the thrill of being in the place. The interior is a trip, a wild, loud, dark, bric-a-brac filled mess that’s somewhere between a dive bar and a very weird diner. So by mixing such a fun design with incredible service, excellent food and their uncompromising attitude, this should be the best restaurant in town.

If only if it wasn’t for that “allowing smoking” business…

Frankie’s Italian Ristorante, Marietta GA

I don’t remember exactly what prompted us to stop into Frankie’s that first time, only that the situation was awful and my kids, very small at the time, were upset. They’d suffered some disappointment or other, their weekend went wrong and they were cranky and aggravated and wherever we were going to eat supper was closed or something. I figured Frankie’s, a small place on Canton Road north of us, would be an expensive dinner, but one which might just cheer them up a little. Indeed it was pretty pricy, but it was excellent and did the trick perfectly. I then spent the next two years with my wallet locked away with the kids whining that they wanted to go back.

Honestly, I protest too much over a reasonable evening out for a nice meal – dinner for four will cost you about $60 – but this was back when I was raising the two children by myself on a pretty tight budget. Until I got my student loan paid off, I didn’t have the extra dollars. I bought a lot of garbage I didn’t need and deprived myself of some good meals, but we all make poor decisions.

That first trip, we had pizza and sandwiches. As befits a New York-styled Italian-American joint, they do these extremely well, but it wasn’t until Marie and I started dating quite some time later that I came back. I discovered the chicken scarpariello then and I don’t know what the heck else is on the menu anymore. This stuff is amazing.

Have you ever had chicken scarpariello before? It’s said to mean “shoemaker’s chicken” and it mixes sausage and chicken with mushrooms, olives, potatoes and pepperoncini in a thick, slightly spicy brown sauce. It’s not really Italian; it apparently was first concocted in Boston. I found a recipe for the dish at Almost Italian; that site suggests making sure you have bread to sop up the sauce. A wonderful blend of olive oil, wine, lemon and spices, I’ve been doing that for quite some time now.

After we got back from Memphis, we didn’t eat out for a couple of weeks, save to two places that we’ve already written up here in this blog. Last weekend, I suggested that Marie pick a place that we haven’t written up, either someplace new or an older favorite we haven’t visited in a while. It didn’t take her long to come up with Frankie’s. We have an excellent meal every few months here. It’s a small place, cozy, with a small parking lot. They have a second location a few miles away on the other side of Marietta which I’ve never visited. This one does us just fine. With its cute caricatures of Italian-American icons like Dean Martin and Don Corleone, it skirts the side of tacky but it pulls it off all right.

Marie usually has the pasta primavera. The kids don’t have favorites yet, but I think my son might want to have the stromboli again the next time he goes. It does the same things that the big chains do – endless garlic bread, bottomless salad – but it does it a whole lot better and with a really unique and classy style. Why anybody in Marietta would want to eat at an Olive Garden instead of Frankie’s is beyond me.

We’ve enjoyed meals here with each of our families and, last year, when we returned from getting married down on St. Simons Island, this is what Marie and I had for supper our first night back. I could stand a 20% off coupon every once in a while, but you know the place you enjoy your first married supper together and the place you eat with your folks? That’s a special place, really.

White Tiger Gourmet, Athens GA

I forget where I first heard of this wonderful little place that opened in Athens last year, but it was almost certainly either from Hillary at Flagpole, or that delightful Foodieville WordPress blog which doesn’t get updated very frequently. Either way, somebody whose opinions I trust told me that there were some really good burgers waiting for me at the intersection of Boulevard and Hiawassee. My daughter and I stopped in one day in the spring to try it out and were very satisfied. Continue reading “White Tiger Gourmet, Athens GA” →