The unbelievable mob at our city’s first Shake Shack, part of the new Buckhead Atlanta development and located right on Peachtree Road, underneath Gypsy Kitchen and The Southern Gentleman, gives us some indication what the crowd might be like should In-N-Out Burger ever open in our fair town. About a month ago, Marie treated me to lunch here for my birthday. Our friend David joined us and it was quite a crowd. David commented that he’d never seen a restaurant dedicate one staff member to “queue control” duty. Continue reading “Shake Shack, Atlanta GA”
Tag: georgia
Pauley’s Crêpe Bar, Athens GA
Since many of my travels with Marie are done with the three year-old in tow, we often arrange lots of fun family activities with him in mind. On this trip to Athens, we spent a long time playing at the awesome playground at the Southeast Clarke Park, visited two friends with children, and spent an hour reading books, rearranging stuffed animals, and spinning pennies around the wishing well donation bucket at the public library. Then I figured that crêpes would be a good, friendly food for somebody his age, and we spent forty-odd minutes at Pauley’s hoping the kid didn’t fall off the high-top chairs and bust his head. Continue reading “Pauley’s Crêpe Bar, Athens GA”
The Taco Stand, Athens GA (take two)
Back in November, I started prepping an old story that I’d written about the dearly missed Mean Bean for a reprint here. Doing so made me crave their nachos something fierce. It also sparked a craving in Marie; she wanted a spinach quesadilla from the Mean Bean’s competitor / cross-town rival, Taco Stand. She loves those things. We love Athens and miss it a lot, and would have gone that weekend, but had plans on the Saturday and saw that rain was on the forecast for the Sunday, and taking our three year-old to Athens and not letting him play at the Southeast Clarke Park is as close to child cruelty as can be imagined. We waited it out for a week. Continue reading “The Taco Stand, Athens GA (take two)”
Iron Works Coffee Company, Athens GA
We received a suggestion to check out Iron Works Coffee, which opened in early November. It’s a little cafe in the lobby of the new Graduate Hotel, and while we don’t actually care for coffee, Marie loves tea and I don’t mind hot chocolate, so we stopped by for a light breakfast before going to visit one of Marie’s friends and drop off some clothes for her new grandson. Continue reading “Iron Works Coffee Company, Athens GA”
Blaxican Mexican Soul Food, Roswell GA (CLOSED)
I’ve been a huge fan of Will Turner’s cooking since the first time we stumbled upon the Blaxican food truck. It’s been a go-to ever since; when we go to food trucks, I’m more likely to want to have a couple of his tacos and that amazing “Mexi mac and cheese” than sample something from anybody else, which isn’t really in line with our mission, but heck, we’re only human. Continue reading “Blaxican Mexican Soul Food, Roswell GA (CLOSED)”
Old McDonald’s Bar-B-Que, Buford GA (CLOSED)
I have a very soft spot in my heart for Bob Burley, who ran Old McDonald’s Bar-B-Que from 1982 to 2008. When I first started writing (badly) about barbecue – this was when I had a lousy Geocities page about barbecue – I tended to just walk into a restaurant, eat, leave, and write a pompous paragraph, learning nothing and imparting less. Mr. Burley was the first person to take a few minutes and explain his process. Eventually, I started inquiring from other people about the food I was eating, learning more about traditions and styles, and having my preconceived notions upended, and then I quit writing about food for eight or nine years. Continue reading “Old McDonald’s Bar-B-Que, Buford GA (CLOSED)”
Praise the Lard BBQ, Buford GA
There were a couple of barbecue joints in Atlanta’s northeastern suburbs that had been waiting for us to visit for such a long time. To be honest, once upon a time, we had thought that we’d be going up I-985 / US-23 a little more frequently than we do, heading north to visit Tallulah Gorge, and we’d stop into all these places along the way. But we eventually reasoned that the gorge is no place for a little one, particularly one as rambunctious as ours, and so we are not that way as frequently. We’ve stopped by most of the barbecue places (but not all!) in Gainesville and further north at least once, but closer in to Atlanta, we have left some gaps. So one Saturday last month, I asked whether Matt and his wife would like to meet for lunch at Praise the Lard. Continue reading “Praise the Lard BBQ, Buford GA”
Marie, Let's Eat! 