I have a very soft spot in my heart for Bob Burley, who ran Old McDonald’s Bar-B-Que from 1982 to 2008. When I first started writing (badly) about barbecue – this was when I had a lousy Geocities page about barbecue – I tended to just walk into a restaurant, eat, leave, and write a pompous paragraph, learning nothing and imparting less. Mr. Burley was the first person to take a few minutes and explain his process. Eventually, I started inquiring from other people about the food I was eating, learning more about traditions and styles, and having my preconceived notions upended, and then I quit writing about food for eight or nine years. Continue reading “Old McDonald’s Bar-B-Que, Buford GA (CLOSED)”
Category: georgia
Praise the Lard BBQ, Buford GA
There were a couple of barbecue joints in Atlanta’s northeastern suburbs that had been waiting for us to visit for such a long time. To be honest, once upon a time, we had thought that we’d be going up I-985 / US-23 a little more frequently than we do, heading north to visit Tallulah Gorge, and we’d stop into all these places along the way. But we eventually reasoned that the gorge is no place for a little one, particularly one as rambunctious as ours, and so we are not that way as frequently. We’ve stopped by most of the barbecue places (but not all!) in Gainesville and further north at least once, but closer in to Atlanta, we have left some gaps. So one Saturday last month, I asked whether Matt and his wife would like to meet for lunch at Praise the Lard. Continue reading “Praise the Lard BBQ, Buford GA”
Stockyard Burgers and Bones, Marietta GA
For far too short a time, there was a place on the square in Marietta to get a really, really good burger. It was called The Starlight Cafe, and the area has been all the poorer for its absence. There are some very, very good restaurants in downtown Marietta, but Starlight’s excellent burger was probably the best in Cobb County, and deserved to be mentioned in the same lists as the best in all of the Atlanta area. Continue reading “Stockyard Burgers and Bones, Marietta GA”
Villains, Atlanta GA (take two) (CLOSED)
Hooray! The Villains have been vanquished!
Oh, wait, that’s not a good thing. What the heck has gone on? Continue reading “Villains, Atlanta GA (take two) (CLOSED)”
Hot Wok, Marietta GA
This is Marie, contributing an article about Hot Wok, a mostly take-out place in rural northwest Cobb County. Now, Grant has never been a take-out Chinese food sort of person, but I am. As a result, if it weren’t for me, the teenager would not get one of her favorite dishes, sweet and sour chicken, more than once a decade or so. Since Grant had absconded for the weekend to make one of his periodic great barbecue tours, the kids and I were on our own and we indulged in comfort food. The place has only a handful of tables, so it seemed best not to risk testing the toddler’s patience with a dine-in meal. Continue reading “Hot Wok, Marietta GA”
BBQ Barn, North Augusta SC
It probably won’t surprise any of our regular readers when I say that the Augusta area has always proven to be a little challenging for us here at the old blog. As we don’t yet have any friends in this area, and as the city seems bound and determined to not show off any book shops or record stores that demand our attention, it’s always been a town that we pass through, while simultaneously a town that rolls up the sidewalks pretty early. In point of fact, the last time we were in Augusta, we found the restaurant that we intended to visit, Wright’s BBQ on Barton Chapel Road, closed two hours before the sign on the door said they were going to turn out the lights. Continue reading “BBQ Barn, North Augusta SC”
Gusto! Wood Fire Grill, Atlanta GA
A couple of weeks ago, I met my friend David for lunch at a new place in Brookwood Hills with a neat shtick. Raging against the trends of cooking over gas, which even many of the barbecue joints in Atlanta do, Gusto! loudly and proudly grills their chicken, mushrooms, and shrimp over wood. If this takes off, it will certainly lead to awkward questions. If these guys can successfully cook over wood – there’s a small stack of hickory right in the middle of the restaurant to emphasize the point – then everybody can. Get your acts together, ‘cue joints. Continue reading “Gusto! Wood Fire Grill, Atlanta GA”
Marie, Let's Eat! 