Tin Drum is a local chain of Asian-themed fast-casual eateries, with a variety of noodle and rice dishes for just under eight dollars. I’ve always enjoyed their food, and since I’ve somehow evolved into something of a design nerd – I swear, that was never planned – I was interested to read that the new store, which is in a brand new little strip mall on Briarcliff at the intersection with North Druid Hills, is the first to feature a new design and appearance. Normally, that wouldn’t – or at least it shouldn’t – be a pull (“Malibu Stacey has a new hat!”), but since Tin Drum quite badly needed a new look, we wanted to go see it. Continue reading “Tin Drum Asiacafé, Atlanta GA”
Category: regional chains
Marlow’s Tavern, Sandy Springs GA
Marlow’s Tavern is one of the many places in Atlanta that we began to overlook when we started the blog. It was a perfectly good place to eat – I’ll entertain a suggestion that it may have been somebody with whom I may have been stepping out before Marie and I got together who enjoyed it a good deal – but perhaps a bit more of a corporate chain than we typically visit. Continue reading “Marlow’s Tavern, Sandy Springs GA”
Nancy’s Pizza, Atlanta GA
Readers in the south “of a certain age” may recall some TV commercials way back when that advertised some big chain – Pizza Hut, probably – and their then-new “deep dish pizza.” For those of us outside Chicago, this was our introduction to the concept that in the Windy City, they have a very curious regional take on this food. The ads, as I recall them, had the voice of a Barry White impersonator dubbed over some little girls. I don’t believe that the product was a big hit, and I don’t believe that the good people of Chicago thought that it was in any way representative of one of their town’s specialties, but it probably did more than anything else to inform the general public that such a thing existed. Continue reading “Nancy’s Pizza, Atlanta GA”
Opening Night at Zinburger, Atlanta GA
A couple of Fridays ago, our daughter bailed on her babysitting duties – a trip to Six Flags suddenly came up – and so Marie stayed home with the three year-old while I went out to Zinburger’s opening night soiree. They invited the best and the brightest of Buckhead society, and also a bunch of us scruffy bloggers, for their red-carpet premiere event to benefit Camp Twin Lakes, and I’d really appreciate it if you clicked that link and checked out what they do. Continue reading “Opening Night at Zinburger, Atlanta GA”
Pal’s Sudden Service, Johnson City TN
So our spring trip was truncated from four days in western Tennessee to two days in eastern Tennessee. We started the road trip with the main destination, a very good restaurant that I’d wanted to visit for many years, but we weren’t about to leave the Tri-Cities area without a visit to a very neat little restaurant chain. Continue reading “Pal’s Sudden Service, Johnson City TN”
Shrimp Boat, Gastonia NC
There are seven surviving Shrimp Boat / Boats restaurants from that chain that have continued since it folded into the present day. Previously, this blog has focused pretty exclusively on the two remaining from the 1969 period, as those are in the buildings that appealed to my sense of old restaurant architecture. But the other five shouldn’t be dismissed. They’re all part of one large and fascinating story. Continue reading “Shrimp Boat, Gastonia NC”
South 21 Drive-In, Charlotte NC
With six stops plus a photo-only post in Charlotte and its surrounding suburbs on this trip, this city is just killing me with all the great restaurants and things to do. I am miles – miles! – from visiting all of the places here that I want to see, and hope that we’ll be back before long. But one thing was certain before anything else, I had to visit the South 21 Drive-In on Independence Boulevard. This location has been around since 1959 and seen off all kinds of competition over the years, including, reportedly, one of those What-a-Burger Drive-Ins as seen in yesterday’s post, which was apparently just down the street. Still family-owned (Maria Housiadas’s father and uncles, named Copsis, opened the place) and loyal to a small company of awesome carhops who’ve been with them for years, they’re said to make some pretty good burgers and the best onion rings money can buy. Continue reading “South 21 Drive-In, Charlotte NC”
Marie, Let's Eat! 