I’ll confess that there are some times when I select a new barbecue place purely by geography. I looked over our barbecue map – see the link down below – and reflected that Marie and I just don’t get south of I-20 all that often unless we’re leaving Atlanta entirely. So a few months back, I looked for places in that direction and set out for Miss Betty’s House of Ribs on Bouldercrest. I found it easily enough. It’s in a doublewide between a gas station and a house that, while technically abandoned and posted with no trespassing signs, has an awful lot of clothes hanging out to dry out back. It also wouldn’t open for another hour. My unusual schedule leaves me with a short day to go get some lunch in the city once a week around 10 am. I’m used to bringing books to read to pass the time until most places open for lunch at eleven, but joints that open at noon require a lot of patience. I decided that I would come back some other time. Continue reading “Miss Betty’s House of Ribs, Atlanta GA (CLOSED)”
Ice Castle, Dalton GA
Earlier this year, while looking for some background information about the Kay’s and Kay’s Kastles chains – see our post about the lone remaining Kay’s Kastles, north of Chattanooga – I came across a really fun site called Roadside Architecture, whose owner has a great hobby that we can all appreciate: driving all around the country taking photos of silly old signs and novelty architecture. That sounds like too much fun for words. Continue reading “Ice Castle, Dalton GA”
Champy’s Famous Fried Chicken, Chattanooga TN
In May, I wrote about our lip-biting personal disappointment of a trip to Gus’s Fried Chicken in Memphis. For those who don’t recall that chapter or don’t feel like clicking the link, it was a disappointment because I skipped out on the really, really good food to play “see, yer old man’s not so bad” with my oft-times exasperating teenage daughter and just ordered what she did: tenders. And those were mighty good tenders, but not a patch on the glorious dark meat that Marie shared. Continue reading “Champy’s Famous Fried Chicken, Chattanooga TN”
Pure Sodaworks, Chattanooga TN
One day early this summer, one of those little recommendations on the right-hand side of Facebook actually proved useful. It suggested that I look at something called Pure Sodaworks, and I’m glad that I did. Last year, Matt and Tiffany Rogers and their friend Shawn Clouse opened a little storefront on Chattanooga’s River Street, and also put a cart together to go join the food trucks, wherever they roam. They’re making some very clever and very tasty soda concoctions from an old-fashioned jerk pump, squirting the syrups and mixing them with bursts of soda water. They use natural cane sugar along with “organic ingredients, locally sourced fruits, and focus on funky flavors,” and are in the process of attracting investors to get their bottling operation up and running. Continue reading “Pure Sodaworks, Chattanooga TN”
Urban Stack, Chattanooga TN
We had not been planning to make any out-of-town trips in July, although, happily, we’re about to head out on the road in a couple of days. One evening in July, the baby began his little shtick of bringing Marie one book after another to “read” and we started looking at the damage, in some cases very nearly trashcan-worthy, that he’s ladled out to his favorite books. He barely lets us finish turning the four or five board pages before going to get another, and gnaws and tears at them while we’re not looking. He has quite a little library, but none of it’s in good shape. His favorite book, incidentally, seems to be one called That’s Not My Puppy. A replacement is sought. Continue reading “Urban Stack, Chattanooga TN”
Del Taco, Smyrna GA
…Atlanta store # 3 for Del Taco opened in the middle of July in Smyrna, at the intersection of Cobb Parkway (US-41) and Herodian. Most recently, the building had been home to one of the nine El Pollo Loco stores that briefly found a home in this region. This is the first of the new stores to directly compete with Taco Bell – there is one across the street and a couple of hundred yards south – and also with a traditional tacqueria. The excellent Tacos La Villa is just another couple of hundred yards north. Continue reading “Del Taco, Smyrna GA”
The Greater Good Barbecue, Tucker GA
It has been several weeks since we last mentioned a barbecue place in our blog! We have, recently, been enjoying some pretty good ‘cue, but at places that we’ve visited previously. In July, we enjoyed stopping by Bub-Ba-Q, Ebony & Ivory, and Big Shanty Smokehouse. A couple of weeks ago, Marie and the baby and I also visited a very new place that opened in Tucker last month. The Greater Good Barbecue is owned by Clay Harper and Mike Nelson, who own Fellini’s Pizza and La Fonda Latina, and are, I believe, co-owners of Ringside Franks & Shakes, all of which we enjoy and have also featured here. (I’d link you, but too many blue words in a single paragraph is bad for your eyes, you know. Seriously.) Continue reading “The Greater Good Barbecue, Tucker GA”
Marie, Let's Eat! 