Spiced Right Rib House, Roswell GA

Here’s yet another long overdue chapter about a good place in the Atlanta area. Spiced Right is a restaurant that I’ve enjoyed a good deal more since their ownership changed in the early 2000s. In many previous chapters, I’ve mentioned how I used to have an old, ugly, Geocities page about Georgia barbecue restaurants. A reader had encouraged me to visit Spiced Right at what was at the time their only location, in Lilburn. So I trucked on down from Athens and did not enjoy the meal very much. It was my first experience with a barbecue buffet, and, while I can no longer remember details, I did not enjoy the taste of any of the meat. I was, on the other hand, really taken with their gigantic collection of sauces – a collection perhaps rivaled today by Buckhead Barbecue Company in Smyrna – but decided against making a return visit. Continue reading “Spiced Right Rib House, Roswell GA”

Figo Pasta, Atlanta GA

It’s not like we are scheming to visit every one of Figo’s locations in Atlanta, but the road took us to a fourth store on Saturday. The location on Collier Road was actually the chain’s first, and it opened in 2002 for carry-out only. The last decade has seen Figo grow to, at present, seven stores, and inspire at least two imitators in the southeast. We have written about Figo twice before, and don’t often craft revisit articles for the blog, but this was a fun little event that we wanted our readers to know about. Continue reading “Figo Pasta, Atlanta GA”

The Capital Grille, Dunwoody GA

This is Marie, contributing an article about the The Capital Grille. Grant and I were invited to their media preview night for their newest location, in Dunwoody. This is a restaurant that concentrates on making their guests comfortable, in a dressy, low-light setting, as much as concentrating on presenting good food. Continue reading “The Capital Grille, Dunwoody GA”

Izumi Asian Bistro, Woodstock GA

A few Saturdays back, Marie and I were planning to stay in our neck of the woods for supper, having already spent the afternoon inside the perimeter. She said that she was in the mood for Thai, and a quick look over Urbanspoon pointed us toward Izumi, a restaurant on Towne Lake Parkway in Woodstock. We’ve driven past this place many times before without really noticing it. It’s on the corner of a strip mall with a quite nice patio out front, and since this was just about the first Saturday evening in living memory that wasn’t boiling, we enjoyed kicking back outside with three dozen or so other diners, enjoying the music of a good singer and guitarist named Sonny Legaspi. Continue reading “Izumi Asian Bistro, Woodstock GA”

Planet Bombay, Atlanta GA

A few weeks ago, after a trip to Bhojanic sparked hopes that I might find some reliably good Indian food in the Atlanta area after all, I made a shortlist of four to try. First up was Planet Bombay. It’s located in Little Five Points, across the street from the Junkman’s Daughter, in a space that has been home to more than one Indian restaurant. I believe that the business that preceded Planet Bombay here was called Curry House, and it closed in 1998. Planet Bombay opened here soon after, but I have spent many years being mistaken on one point. I honestly thought that this restaurant used to be located around the corner on Euclid and moved here, but that seems not to be true. Does anybody remember what that Indian restaurant that was on Euclid, a couple of doors down from where Criminal is now, was called? Continue reading “Planet Bombay, Atlanta GA”

Holy Taco, Atlanta GA

From what I know of Atlanta’s history, the East Atlanta neighborhood was thriving from the 1920s through the 1950s, which is when the building that is home to Holy Taco was built. It’s an old service station and garage that, like its peer on the other side of the street, was abandoned in the late 1960s, around the time that East Atlanta itself suffered the economic strain of white flight to the suburbs. Continue reading “Holy Taco, Atlanta GA”

Fritti, Atlanta GA

Fritti, a very good pizza place in Inman Park, was the first place that Marie or I ever tried a Neopolitan-style pizza. We’ve had better since – Vingenzo’s, Varasano’s – and we’ve had some exceptionally good pies that I don’t enjoy quite as much as these – Double Zero, Antico – but I will always have a soft spot for this place, since that initial experience with this style was so good. Continue reading “Fritti, Atlanta GA”