This is Marie, contributing an article about another location of a place we’d been to and enjoyed, and we wanted to see what (and how) the original was doing. Booming business, it appeared; the place was completely packed and there were ridiculous lines for the food bar. But I get ahead of myself. Continue reading “The Real Chow Baby, Atlanta GA (take two) (CLOSED)”
Tag: local chains
The Sheik, Jacksonville FL
In the 1960s, as fast food really began to take off, every business owner was looking for an angle. In Jacksonville, a fellow named Tarzan Akel came up with a winking little way to get attention. Several of the area’s delis had been building sandwiches in pita bread for a few years, looking to win the attention of the city’s large Arabic population, and he decided to go full-bore into middle eastern imagery. In 1965, he opened the first of what would be a six-store chain called The Sheik, specializing in a pita sandwich filled with ham, salami, bologna, cheese, lettuce, tomato and onion, along with a special sauce. It’s called a camel rider. Continue reading “The Sheik, Jacksonville FL”
Familiar Flavors in Different Locations, Macon GA
Late last month, Marie and I took another short trip to Macon to meet her mother and let Marie drive her the rest of the way into the traffic and sprawl of Atlanta. This gave us another chance to quickly visit a couple of places before those two went home, leaving me the chance to mosey on home at my own darn speed. Continue reading “Familiar Flavors in Different Locations, Macon GA”
Shakey’s Pizza, Warner Robins GA (CLOSED)
Shakey’s Pizza was not part of my childhood, but it was a part of a whole mess of other people’s. Every so often, it sparks a happy memory or ten among some of the regulars at forums where I visit. If you’re in California, you’re never too far from a Shakey’s, as there are still about fifty stores in that state, but only ten others in the country. In the southeast, there is one in Auburn, and one in Warner Robins. Every week, a delivery truck comes east, bringing food for both of these stores. Perhaps they still have local-market TV ads for Shakey’s in California. Here’s one from the early 1970s, starring Kathy Coleman, who’d later play Holly in Sid and Marty Krofft’s Land of the Lost. The ad shows what Shakey’s used to be: a bizarre mix of Tudor design and Dixieland jazz with styrofoam boaters. Continue reading “Shakey’s Pizza, Warner Robins GA (CLOSED)”
B & D Burgers, Savannah GA
I had hoped that on this most recent trip to south Georgia, we would be able to do a much better job covering the city of Savannah and exploring its restaurants. Unfortunately, we only visited one new place, but it was certainly a terrific one. Marie had originally wanted to spend a couple of hours enjoying some good toddler time at the recently-opened Savannah Children’s Museum, and while they played, the girlchild and I were going to visit a couple of places. Unfortunately, it was raining. This children’s museum is still in its initial fundraising stages and has only opened one area to the public, and it is outdoors. They didn’t want to play in the mud and rain, madly. Continue reading “B & D Burgers, Savannah GA”
Martin’s, Austell GA
Ages back, sometime in this blog’s infancy, I intended to follow a metaphor to its conclusion and tell you good readers a little about Martin’s. As metaphors go, this is not the most accurate, but you know how Birmingham is home to a fast food chain called Milo’s and it is surrounded in the suburbs by another chain called Jack’s? Well, Zesto in Atlanta is similarly surrounded in this city’s suburbs by Martin’s. Kind of. I mean, there are something like 140 Jack’s all over north Alabama and peeking into neighboring states, and there are only fifteen Martin’s, almost all of which are in the northwestern suburbs and nowhere near an interstate exit, but it’s a little bit similar. Continue reading “Martin’s, Austell GA”
Circumnavigating the Tennessee River Valley – part seven
Because when I’m on a circumnavigation I am constantly racing against the clock, it is very difficult to actually schedule time to meet with anybody. Any time I can shave a few minutes here or there, the better! However, since this trip would be taking me into the Huntsville metro area, where our friends Vincent and Helen live, I wanted to make certain that we could break some bread together. Finding the right place would be a little challenging. Continue reading “Circumnavigating the Tennessee River Valley – part seven”
Marie, Let's Eat! 