Moe’s Original Bar-B-Que, Atlanta GA

Generalizing a little bit here, but if bloggers and hobbyists tend not to be that interested in chains, then barbecue bloggers are ten times tougher on them. The sadly-abandoned Gentleman’s Guide to Swine Dining had a term he used, “the franchise curse.” We all know what he was talking about.

A couple of years ago, I’d heard that the Alabama-by-way-of-Colorado chain, Moe’s Original Bar-B-Que, had opened a location in Atlanta. It’s on 14th Street west of the connector, about a third of a mile past The Silver Skillet and across the street, in the building that once housed Kool Korners. It didn’t seem like anything that I needed to rush to try in Atlanta. One of these days, I’d like to make another trip to the Birmingham area and visit the original Jim ‘n Nick’s, and the original Golden Rule, for example, but I’m just not all that interested in franchises. Continue reading “Moe’s Original Bar-B-Que, Atlanta GA” →

Shrimp Boats: The Story of a Shipwreck and its Survivors

(Second edition, Sept, 2015)

One of the most fun elements of our hobby has been researching long-lost southeastern restaurant chains. It’s comparatively easy to get a little backstory about a single business, but the story can become much more convoluted and fascinating when we’re digging into the past for little traces of what’s left when something distinctive and fun is trying to vanish. We’ve enjoyed learning about the story of Zesto in Atlanta and Columbia, and really loved tracking down what we found about Kay’s, Kay’s Kastles, and Ice Castle. Continue reading “Shrimp Boats: The Story of a Shipwreck and its Survivors” →

Maryland Fried Chicken, Toccoa GA

Here’s a conundrum. How best to explain an experience where the food was really quite good, served well and in a great little environment, but still left me just glum with disappointment? This might make more sense to readers who have been following us for a while, and know that I get a huge kick out of glorious old retro signs and well-maintained old buildings from the middle of the last century. That’s what sent me up the road to Toccoa: not the promise of good food, but the promise of a great chance to take some fun pictures. Continue reading “Maryland Fried Chicken, Toccoa GA” →

Uncle Maddio’s Pizza Joint # 18, Marietta GA

Marie and I were invited to stop by the latest location of Uncle Maddio’s Pizza Joint, a chain based in Atlanta that is rapidly growing through the southeast. The East Cobb Uncle Maddio’s location is the second unit for franchisees John Dayton and David Tracht, who also own and operate another store in Woodstock, which was the first franchised location in the company. Continue reading “Uncle Maddio’s Pizza Joint # 18, Marietta GA” →

Willy’s Mexicana Grill, Atlanta GA

A very brief history of burrito joints in Georgia: for about ten years after the first of the region’s Tex-Mex restaurants, Monterrey, opened, burritos were those things served on hot plates at El-This-Los-That joints, covered in sauce. In the mid-1980s, The Mean Bean in Athens might have been the first in the area to serve up burritos that you could eat on the go, wraps filled with – in their case – deliciously seasoned refried beans and other fillings. Right around that time (1984), a couple of legendary shops opened in Atlanta that gave guests more traditional San Francisco “Mission”-style burritos that, instead of refried beans, used either pinto or black beans. Frijoleros and Tortillas are still mentioned in hushed tones by the faithful. Oddly, Frijoleros fumbled when it tried to open a second location in Athens, failing after a couple of years, and the Mean Bean was even less successful when it crashed and burned in Atlanta’s Little Five Points. I recall that Creative Loafing‘s Cliff Bostock, a loud proponent of Tortillas and their fresh veggies, was utterly baffled by the Mean Bean’s use of refried beans and canned peppers. Continue reading “Willy’s Mexicana Grill, Atlanta GA” →

Gelato in Chattanooga and Froyo in Dalton

Earlier this year, one of our readers, Bobby C., left us a comment suggesting that the next time that we’re traveling through the Dalton area, we should bring the girlchild by a frozen yogurt place called Jandy’s. We love getting recommendations. Personalized recommendations that are aware of my daughter’s blogname and her favorite foods, well, shucks, we’re thrilled that anybody reads us that closely. Continue reading “Gelato in Chattanooga and Froyo in Dalton” →

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)” →