A few Sundays ago, our friend Leslie from The Food and Me invited us to join her at one of her new favorite restaurants. CousCous opened just last year, tucked back on Dutch Valley Road a few doors down from One Midtown Kitchen, and it’s been doing its business pretty quietly, flying under everybody’s radar. She and some friends had visited several times, taking advantage of some offers on Groupon or Scoutmob to sample many things on the menu. Continue reading “CousCous, Atlanta GA (CLOSED)”
Category: goodbye
Dixie Barbeque Company, Johnson City TN (CLOSED)
When we went to the Tri-Cities, I knew that we’d be having some very unique and original barbecue at Ridgewood, but I wanted to try some more traditional pulled pork in the area as well. We arrived at Dixie Barbeque Company, a couple of miles north of downtown Johnson City and on our way back to I-81, in a quiet lull between their lunch and dinner rushes. A gentleman named Alan Howell opened this place in 1990, after spending almost twenty years in a couple of other restaurant jobs. In the 1980s, he owned a burger joint called Richard A’s, but eventually realized that he enjoyed barbecue even more than burgers. Apparently, some of the locals howled in protest when he closed Richard A’s, no matter how good his barbecue is, because while barbecue will always spark friendly disagreement, everybody concurs that the Tri-Cities haven’t had a hamburger as good as the ones that he used to make. Continue reading “Dixie Barbeque Company, Johnson City TN (CLOSED)”
La Tagliatella, Atlanta GA (CLOSED)
Recently, the local PR team for La Tagliatella reached out to us to see whether we’d like to give one of this very large chain’s two Atlanta stores a try. We were certainly aware of the company’s entrance into this market in 2013, but never found time to visit. Atlanta, after all, has lots and lots of restaurants. I was curious about the chain, and, looking around, see that not too many other local writers have visited. Is it because, in Europe, La Tagliatella is a huge chain? Would bloggers in England balk if somebody opened an Olive Garden there? Continue reading “La Tagliatella, Atlanta GA (CLOSED)”
Photo Post 16: South Cobb Drive
There used to be a great site called Not Fooling Anybody. It’s been stuck on this “Please Stand By” page for years, but some of its backmatter still exists if you play on the Wayback Machine. Our friend David recently reminded us of this hobby that we love – spotting and documenting conversions of old restaurants and businesses – when he found a newer, similar site, Used to Be a Pizza Hut. I figured there were a couple of converted Pizza Huts that I could shoot for these guys. Then I figured that a few more things stood out in my memory, and they’re all on the same stretch of road. Well, almost. Continue reading “Photo Post 16: South Cobb Drive”
Umezono, Smyrna GA (CLOSED)
There’s a strip mall at the intersection of US-41 and Windy Hill in Smyrna that’s been there forever. It’s been home to many things over the years, including at least one strip club, a venerable country-western bar called The Buckboard, and the Lionel Play World which, one fine day in 1982, received a gigantic truckload of three year-old French-Canadian Mego superhero dolls and priced ’em for $1.89 apiece (happy days!). Continue reading “Umezono, Smyrna GA (CLOSED)”
Chub’s BBQ, Ila GA (CLOSED)
Ila is a tiny little town in Madison County, about twenty minutes north of Athens via GA-106. Curiously, I did not have reason to ever put a tire on this stretch of road in my life before September of last year, when we visited Scott & BJ’s Bar-B-Q, which is located at the southern end of the little corridor. Two trips to the Classic City later, and we found ourselves driving along it for the very first time. It’s a fun little straightaway, full of rolling hills and low visibility with all the dips. This trip was between the two big winter ice storms that hit the area. We noted that this road would be impassible with slippery ice. Continue reading “Chub’s BBQ, Ila GA (CLOSED)”
Veni Vidi Vici, Atlanta GA (CLOSED)
Here’s a neat case of a very good restaurant that is continuing to evolve and turn out some terrific food even though it’s almost thirty years old. In the case of barbecue in the middle of nowhere, we desire stability and structure, figuring out the right way to do something and never, ever changing. Fine dining in a busy metropolis with high-end competition on every corner? That’s a different story. Evolve or be abandoned for the next trendy place, that’s the world where Veni Vidi Vici operates. Continue reading “Veni Vidi Vici, Atlanta GA (CLOSED)”
Marie, Let's Eat! 