Ringside Franks & Shakes, Atlanta GA (CLOSED)

The day after Thanksgiving, I spent the morning exhausting my baby boy. He started crawling the day before, and, with his day care closed and potential baby sitters out of town, I took him to work with me. It was one of my short shifts and he got appropriate levels of admiration and tickling, and really showed off some crawling. We then drove to Dunwoody to visit Marie at work and allow her to nurse him and visit with her co-workers, and then he and I went to lunch. He missed it entirely. He fell asleep on the way there, and snoozed all the way through the meal, only waking when we returned home to the suburbs. Continue reading “Ringside Franks & Shakes, Atlanta GA (CLOSED)” →

Hd1, Atlanta GA (CLOSED)

Marie and I found a great way to get stuck in traffic. We went down to Poncey-Highlands to try Richard Blais’s new hot dog place around the time that the Little Five Points Halloween parade was wrapping up. Getting there wasn’t hard, and parking, for perhaps the only time in Hd1’s short, popular life, was no trouble at all. Going home, however, now that was a headache.

But before we joined that long line of cars attempting to move out of town, we enjoyed some pretty good dogs, and some really good fries, at the latest intown eatery aimed at people half our age. It really was a curious visual experience. Like Flip Burger Boutique, the music is entirely too loud to enjoy conversations, and there are elegantly-framed wide-screen TVs behind the bar playing music videos that don’t match the pulsing, robot techno above us. Late nights, they have a DJ. Well, when I was in my twenties, I enjoyed yelling at my friends above the soundtrack of Yakitori Den-Chan in Buckhead. It’s lost its charm. I did enjoy wondering what in the world was on the TV. I think it might have been clips from the film Velvet Goldmine before it all dissolved in a solarized wash of pink pastel, like a bad acid dream. The design is fussy, the seats are uncomfortable and the hot dogs are pretty good.

We split an order of waffle fries, which were completely delicious to start with even before they poured a wonderful, thin maple syrup all over them. I can definitely see myself stopping by to get an order of these fries to go.

The hot dogs were certainly good, but really, my favorite three dog places in the region – America’s Top Dog, Barkers and Brandi’s – have it all over these. They’ve got nothing to fear from Blais. That’s just because those guys are that good, and not because these are in any way lacking. The meat is really good, and I liked the toppings. Marie ordered, if you can stand the cooler-than-you list, a fennel sausage dog with San Marzano ketchup (no Heinz here, of course), fontina and grilled radicchio. I had the red haute dog, which came with brisket chili, pepper jack “foam” and Vidalia onions.

It’s good, but we’re clearly not the target audience any longer, and America’s Top Dog is better. It’s been too long since we’ve indulged over there, anyway.

After supper, we risked the wrath of the parking gods for a quick ten-minute hop down to Atlanta Cupcake Factory and back. We’ve really pushed our luck doing this lately; I think we’ll quit before our parking lot karma runs out. There, we briefly commiserated with the owner, who prepared too many cupcakes on a day that many of her regulars would be unlikely to risk the Halloween parade traffic to visit.

Her regulars obviously are onto a good thing. Marie bought cupcakes for us to take home and share with our daughter. They were really tasty and light, and the time we spent drumming our fingers waiting for traffic on Freedom Parkway to clear move was made worse knowing that we had those desserts in the back seat, and were anxious to try them. They were worth the wait.

Barker’s Red Hots, Roswell GA (CLOSED)

We were very glad to read that Barker’s, one of the two or three best hot dog places in the city, and sometimes, depending on my mood, the very best, was opening a second location, and doubly so when we read that it would be open in the evenings. When the main store on Windy Hill cut back its single dinner-time operation, on Friday nights, that killed our ability to visit much. Mostly, our Saturdays are devoted to getting out of town or trying something new.

Then again, perhaps we’re unusual in that we enjoy trying something new even more than returning to a reliable favorite. Most people in our neck of the woods with a Saturday free and wanting a hot dog, if they’ve any sense, will either head to the Barker’s on Windy Hill or spend the extra gasoline to motor over to America’s Top Dog, because nobody in the city cooks up a dog as good as these places. Well, I suppose the curiosity factor might lead them to Richard Blais’s new place, Hd1, which everybody started yammering about two weeks ago. I may have to get over that way soon.

Typically, during the fall, when we don’t have family plans on a Friday, we might defer to our daughter. She might want to go to a Sprayberry football game or see a movie with friends. While we plan many things in advance in anticipation of trying something new, we sometimes have to wait until the last minute on Fridays to factor in her plans. So a few Fridays back, she had no plans and Marie wasn’t keen to cook, and the girlchild suggested hot dogs, so we drove over to Barker’s new location.

I do wish they had built up our corridor instead of going to Roswell, but that’s just geographic selfishness, I suppose. There’s just no way to get here quickly from us, but if you live anywhere near Woodstock Road and King, around the Roswell High district, this is a fine little evening getaway.

The problem, of course, in taking the family to Barker’s is that it really can get expensive for a family to eat here. I blame the restaurant for having so many yummy things. Their sweet onion rings have a strong claim for being the best in the state, and the beef on weck sandwich, again clearly the best around, really is priced quite high at nearly eight dollars. Normally, we just get water when we go out, to conserve on calories and cost, but their Loganberry punch is just so wonderful that we keep coming back to it. I really do wish they’d offer some combo meal options.

Of course, I could have saved a little money had I just got two dogs like I normally do, but I just couldn’t resist this beef on weck. The meat is just so good, and the salt and horseradish complement it so well. I wish it came with fries. Yeah, okay, so they throw in a bag of Lay’s, but, really, who likes Lay’s? This absolutely delicious roast beef on such a chewy, salty and wonderful bun is not at all served well when accompanied by this imitation “potato” flavored cardboard.

Marie got two original red hots, one with slaw and one with chili. The difference between this slaw dog and the one that I had earlier in the day at the Dari Spot, north of Gainesville, was like Jekyll and Hyde. Honestly, I do have a taste for fast food dogs, but the simple satisfaction of a boiled dog with a mayo-heavy topping is, nevertheless, totally blown out of the water by a charcoal-grilled dog served with a much better blend of slaw, with the mayo not overpowering the flavors of cabbage and vinegar. What’s done over charcoal here is all the difference. One day, my daughter will consent to actually having one of these bad boys, but she is still perfectly satisfied with her steamed “city” dog, served with a ladle of melted cheese.

We’ll probably go to Hd1 before long and see what they have to offer, but for my money, Barker’s is in a very rare class indeed. I’m glad they’re serving the Roswell High community. But seriously, guys, there are some empty storefronts around Sprayberry that could use a big charcoal grill installed. Consider us for your next location, would you?

(Update 8/23/12: Sadly, this location closed in August 2012. The Windy Hill store remains open. Better luck with the next expansion, friends!)

Cook’s Place, Columbus GA

A couple of weeks ago, Marie and I took the baby to Columbus and Phenix City for a day of eating, walking and visiting friends. We visited five restaurants and I’ll write those up over this and the next two chapters. A sixth, Fountain City Coffee, was intended, but we completely exhausted the almost nap-free baby, and so retired a little earlier than planned so he could get back in the car and go to sleep. Continue reading “Cook’s Place, Columbus GA” →

Grand Champion BBQ, Marietta GA

A few Fridays ago, my plans got stymied and so I decided to try out a new suburban barbecue joint that’s getting a lot of press and hype. It’s called Grand Champion and, while elements of it were admittedly pretty impressive, it was an expensive lesson in not necessarily letting the hype of the day overwhelm common sense. Let’s get one objection to this place out of the way first thing. Somebody at the post office has assigned this place the 30075 ZIP code and has been making the pretty bold claim that it’s in Roswell. It is not. I’ve lived here for many, many years, friends. This is Marietta. Cobb County. The Pope High School district, to be precise. In a pig’s eye this is Roswell.

Grand Champion is the latest place to claim lineage from the old Sam & Dave’s BBQ of Marietta. Co-owner Robert Owens worked there for a spell, before Sam and Dave split up. By my count, there are now five restaurants in the region that are run by members of this team. In fact, Owens apparently bakes his mac and cheese per David Roberts’ recipe. I actually tried Roberts’ mac and cheese at Community Q just a few days before and didn’t like it very much, so I passed on it here. Speaking of Community Q, I think that might be my ceiling. They charge eleven bucks, even, for a pork plate there. Any higher than that, and I’m going to start asking why. It costs $11.50 at Grand Champion, before tax. They’re located next door to a Dollar Tree, so please don’t tell me they’ve got steep ground rent to cover.

I went with a pulled pork plate with collard greens and Brunswick stew. Sadly, it appears that Owens picked up the most obnoxious lesson from Huff and company, and considers Brunswick stew a “premium” side and charges more for it. This atop the already steep price. Can we cut this nonsense out right now, Atlanta? There are five hundred barbecue joints in this state and somehow, the only ones who think that stew – stew! – is a premium anything are in the northern Atlanta ‘burbs.

Having said that, some of the food is pretty good. I’ve frequently bit off more than I can really chew with collards, and lose interest quickly, but these were better than most. The stew was indeed very notable, and rich with flavor. The sauces, in squeeze bottles on the table, were also good. The North Carolina vinegar was nice, but I really liked the dark brown Kansas City sauce a lot.

Unfortunately, the pulled pork wasn’t very smoky and it was also quite greasy, so I’d have to dock quite a few points for that. I don’t know what on earth they did to make it so greasy as to remove or overwhelm any taste of smoke from this pork, but it had the consistency and character of crock pot roast beef. It was limp and forgettable, until the Kansas City sauce brought it to life. I hate to sound like a Woody Allen character, but the food wasn’t very good, and the portions were so small!

That is the least amount of food that I have ever paid for as a “plate” in a barbecue restaurant, and very nearly the most money that I have spent. Say what you might about inconsistency in the kitchen, an off-day, or different palates and different tastes, but honestly, there’s an understood rule about judging barbecue places that, while rarely spoken, trumps all other considerations. Simply put, if I’m going to pay $12.46 for a plate of barbecue with two sides, I better not be leaving hungry. I left hungry.

Fortunately, I had business in north Cobb about an hour later, so it wasn’t much of a detour to pop into Cherokee County and swing by Hot Dog Heaven in downtown Woodstock and get something to eat.

I have read much about Hot Dog Heaven over the years, and I’m very sorry that I visited on a day when Miss Becky was not working. There are many great stories about this superhuman example of effervescent Southern hospitality dishing out Chicago-styled Vienna Beef brand dogs at low prices, and I regret that I didn’t get to recount one to you dear readers.

What I can tell you is that here, you get a great big treat for not a lot of money. I did just have lunch, and didn’t want to overindulge or load down on calories, so I just parked out front by the Betty Boop and had only a “Maxwell Street”-styled Polish sausage with grilled onions, sport peppers, and brown mustard, and chewed that delicious thing down while the Travel Channel had one of their peculiar programs about food that only very weird foreigners eat. I don’t know who the market for octopus or beef tongue ice cream is, but I guarantee you that the hot dog that I was enjoying was superior.

Woodstock might just be a little bit of a drive for a Vienna Beef dog, Chicago-style, but the wonderful, laid-back and silly atmosphere is a great little place to kick back and get away from things. I’d like to stop by again the next time I’m in the area, and try a few of the other things on their menu.

Willie’s Wee-Nee Wagon, Brunswick GA

I have mentioned that I keep a little to-do list of restaurants that I hope to visit one day. Actually, it’s gone a little past the point where we can call it a list. It is more like a novella. Towards the end of February, I read a short mention of Brunswick’s famous Willie’s Wee Nee Wagon and decided that we needed to stop by. At that point, we were actually just about two weeks from a visit to the coast, but, as you might have ascertained, Marie and I sort of plan our trips out somewhat in advance, and I already had plans that didn’t include swinging past the Wagon. So I was a little surprised when we did. Continue reading “Willie’s Wee-Nee Wagon, Brunswick GA” →

Delia’s Chicken Sausage Stand, Atlanta GA

When Marie and our friend Victoria were each in the later stages of their respective pregnancies, we met up near their new apartment in the East Atlanta neighborhood for ice cream at Morelli’s, and resolved to get together again after our babies were born. Victoria and James were raving then about Delia’s Chicken Sausage Stand, a collaboration between Delia Champion, who started our city’s much-loved Flying Biscuit Cafe, and Molly Gunn, who I understand co-owns The Porter. Weeks went by, babies were born and I started getting impatient about when the heck we were going to get together so’s I could try one of these dogs. Or slingers, as the restaurant would like to term them.

Make no mistake, though. These may be called slingers or chicken sausages, but they are definitely from the same mold as hot dogs. This is a good thing, as Marie and I certainly love good hot dogs. The new take on them here is incredibly neat and fun and very tasty. Champion and Gunn are using buns baked by the popular Holeman & Finch and locally-sourced, organically-grown chickens for their meat. The results are just a little different from even the best hot dog places in town – America’s Top Dog, Barker’s, Brandi’s – and make for a very interesting and unique taste. Plus, they’re open absurdly late. Like four in the morning late. If I lived in that neighborhood, they’d be seeing me pretty frequently in the middle of the night!

The one thing about Delia’s that does not please me is the lack of seating. There’s only a small indoor area with air conditioning to place orders, and six picnic tables outside to eat. As Atlanta enters its utterly miserable summer, this is going to keep us from paying them another visit for a few months. This is a real shame, because the food is quite wonderful.

Acting like I had not eaten anything in a month, I ordered both a Naked Slinger – far from naked, it was the sausage with their “comeback” sauce and a little of the firey five-pepper mustard – and their signature Hot Mess, a slinger buried under melted cheese, chili and jalapenos. This really is too messy a thing to eat in polite company, but somehow I avoided spilling any of it on Victoria and James’s couch.

Honestly, though, the sausage is so good that it doesn’t need all the crazy toppings. I really preferred the Naked Slinger, and thought that the meat’s flavor was really brought out by the mustard. Meanwhile, my daughter enjoyed eating the chicken as traditional sliders, and Marie had the Italian Stallion, which has the slinger served with onions, peppers, mozzarella and marinara sauce. Everything was really quite excellent.

I just amused myself, wondering whether the slinger could turn into an iconic Atlanta variety of dog, just like half-smokes are in Washington. I wish I had a TARDIS so I could pop forward a few decades and check that out.