SIX FEET UNDER (Westside)

He says:
We recently visited Six Feet Under’s newest location at 11th and Northside Drive. In contrast to the original’s gritty, dive bar feel, everything about SFU-Westside is more polished, more new… more Midtown. That’s not necessarily a good or bad thing, it’s just different. There is considerably more seating and the booths are more spacious. Instead of an outdoor patio overlooking Oakland Cemetery, there is a spectacular view of Midtown and Downtown Atlanta.

She says:
One similarity between the two is that once the sun goes down, the breeze makes both patios a chilly place to be. Bring a jacket!

He says:
The other constant is the kitchen, which still serves some of the best catfish in town. I ordered the catfish po’ boy, a large filet of fried catfish with lettuce, tomatoes, and remoulade on a hoagie bun. The hoagie could have been toasted longer, and the lettuce could have been fresher, but the catfish was terrific. Moist inside and crunchy outside, it’s still my go-to platter at SFU. The home style chips were better than I expected, but my side order of zucchini potato hash, which the waiter described as a hash brown spin-off, was a limp, flavorless mess. At SFU, I say stick to the basics.

She says:
I had the combo tacos, a great way to try three different types of seafood. One taco comes with fried calamari, another with blackened shrimp, and the third with grilled catfish. Each has its original filling ingredients, from fried jalapenos to fried leeks and cucumber wasabi. All were delicious.

We say:
SFU 2.0 = A-OK




Six Feet Under (Westside)
685 11th Street, Atlanta, Ga. 30318
http://www.sixfeetunderatlanta.com/index.php?id=home

CASBAH

She says:
From the warm and sunny streets of historic downtown Savannah, you pass through a curtained door into a cool, dark restaurant. Once your eyes have adjusted to the dim light, you can see tapestries of red and gold lining the walls and ceiling, as if you’ve been transported into a sheik’s tent from the Arabian Nights. As Middle Eastern music blares, a scantily-clad belly-dancer gyrates her hips to the beat, beckoning with her finger for you to join her… Welcome to Casbah!

We went for the Moroccan food, but what we got at Casbah was far more than a meal… it was an entire evening of entertainment! From the waiter coming around to pour warm water over your upturned hands in preparation for cutlery-free eating to the woman who offers each table her henna tattoo services, Casbah goes out of its way to make dinner an authentic Moroccan experience. The belly dancers are the highlight, though. Not only do they dance provocatively around the restaurant, but they also encourage the patrons to get up and dance with them. Downtown Boy was, of course, the first to volunteer, and got a one-on-one lesson to much applause in the center of the restaurant.

He says:
Shaking your hips and making snake arms is much harder than it looks! The easy part is sitting down for dinner. For appetizers we started with two types of bastila, a savory stuffed philo dough pastry sprinkled with cinnamon and powdered sugar. The Cornish hen version wasn’t very good, with the dry pieces of poultry crumbling apart from the onions, parsley, and almonds before I could even lift it from the plate. On the other hand, the vegetarian bastila was excellent. The broiled vegetables came together nicely, like the interior of a good samosa, and their spiciness contrasted pleasingly with the powdered sugar on top.

Casbah supposedly specializes in lamb, but I was disappointed in my spicy roasted lamb entrée. To be honest, the “tender leg of lamb” wasn’t very tender– I suspect it had been over-roasted – and it didn’t have the gaminess I expect of good lamb.

She says:
I ordered the Cornish hen with caramelized apricots. The baked poultry was mostly juicy, (I was thankful that eating with ones fingers was expected), and the apricots offered a nice contrast to the savoriness of the meat. The saffron rice that came on the side was delicious as well.

He says:
The philo dough “shrine” encasing coconut flakes, chocolate, and a touch of fruit jelly we ordered for dessert was a little too coconut-y for my tastes, but it provided a much needed sugar boost for a second round of hip-shaking!

We say:
Casbah’s food won’t dazzle you, but you’ll definitely have a great time at this Middle Eastern oasis.

(1 fork for the entertainment factor)


Casbah
118 East Broughton Street, Savannah, GA 31401
http://www.casbahrestaurant.com/

FIREFLY CAFE

He says:
Firefly Café is a sunny, bustling eatery located at Troup Square in Savannah’s historic downtown. In a city with far too many tourist traps, it’s a pleasure to find a café where Southern ladies, local SCAD students, and out-of towners (like us) can comfortably mix. Firefly’s motto “Treat the neighbors like family and the visitors like neighbors” definitely rang true for me. Even though there was a sizable crowd waiting on the sidewalks for Saturday lunch, within 10 minutes we were given a wonderful window seat in the restaurant’s airy interior.

She says:
My grilled veggie sandwich was simple and perfect: grilled eggplant, mushrooms, and zucchini, a smear of goat cheese, all on toasted French bread. The Caesar salad that came with was made with fresh Caesar dressing and big crunchy croutons – delish.

He says:
The ingredients in the grilled salmon club I ordered reads like a Downtown Boy greatest hits list: grilled Alaskan salmon, apple wood smoked bacon, a toasted croissant. Yum! I’d devour each of these items by themselves, but they’re even better when piled into a sandwich. The salmon fillet was overcooked near the edges, but the fattier sections were melt-in-your-mouth tender. The crunchy bacon provided an excellent textural contrast, and I didn’t have to pick out the tomatoes because they were actually in season. The side pasta salad was alright, but if I’d known the Caesar salad was as good as it was, I would have chosen that.

We say:
It’s hard to beat the Firefly Café for simple, delicious fare in Savannah.



Firefly Café
321 Habersham St., Savannah, GA 31401
http://www.fireflycafega.com/

BHOJANIC

He says:
In the world of dashed hopes, there are letdowns, and then there are letdowns. I am sorry to report that Bhojanic falls into the second category, which is unfortunate because I really want to like – and recommend – this north Indian restaurant. Heaven knows Atlanta needs some good South Asian food.

Earlier this year Uptown Girl and I took Indian cooking classes at Cooks Warehouse with Archna Becker, and after 3 hours of crazily running around the communal kitchen trying to keep pace with Archna’s madcap exuberance, we feasted on some of the freshest and best Indian cooking I’d ever had. At the end of the meal, Archna told us to visit her family’s restaurant, Bhojanic, where the food was even better than what we’d just tasted. Needless to say, we were thrilled to drive over to Decatur to try the finest Indian cuisine in Atlanta!

She says:
At Bhojanic, you won’t find the garish decorations typical of Indian restaurants; instead, live jazz, colorful décor, and a front patio attempt to make the dining experience a bit more modish. Happy in our outdoor seats, we so wanted to love Bhojanic!

We started with the samosa chat, which was a potato samosa topped with yogurt, tamarind chutney and mint chutney. Although the samosa was on the bland side, the chutneys and yogurt added an interesting tangy and sour relish. We also tried the daal canai (lentil of the day); it tasted like a watery bowl of unflavored black beans and so we left it mostly untouched.

For entrees, rather than eating family style, you create your own platter and pay according to how many meat and vegetable dishes you choose from the menu of specials. Downtown Boy and I both got the punjabi, which included one meat dish and one vegetable dish, along with rice pullao, chapati, pappadam, raita, and salad. For the meat, we both ordered the chicken tikka masala, remembering how scrumptious this dish turned out during our cooking class. Unfortunately, Bhojanic’s version wasn’t nearly as good as Archna’s. The chicken that was so fresh and spicy the first time was now goopy and tired. As for my veggies, the okra I ordered was so salty that it was inedible. Fortunately, the waiter had accidentally delivered the wrong platter, so I also ended up with chickpeas, which turned out to be the best dish of the night.

He says:
I agree with Uptown Girl. Overall, the food was underwhelming in terms of flavor. In fact, I don’t even remember much about my side items, they were so boring. Another oddity was that the meal was served on a stainless steel tray, like something you’d see in the mess hall of the Citadel.

After such a disappointing appetizer and dinner, Uptown Girl and I opted to skip dessert. Can you blame us?

We say:
Alas, the search for great Indian in Atlanta continues …



Bhojanic
1363 Clairmont Road, Decatur,GA 30033
http://www.bhojanic.com/

AMERICAN ROADHOUSE

She says:
The first thing you should know about American Roadhouse is that it is not open for dinner, only breakfast and lunch, despite what other reviews may lead you to believe. We learned this the inconvenient way. The second thing you should know is that if you arrive at noon on a Sunday, you are going to wait for a table for a loooong time, despite the large capacity. It’s a popular place. The third thing you should know is that whatever you order from the extensive menu, it’s going to be big. As our friend who ate with us so insightfully noted, “This is called American Roadhouse!” Even the restaurant’s website states that it serves “some of the largest portions in the country.” And in this country that’s quite a claim to fame!

I tried the breakfast burrito, your typical combo of flour tortilla, scrambled eggs, cheese, sautéed onion and green pepper, jalapenos, and salsa. I’ve decided that this dish is impossible to screw up – I’ve yet to have a bad one. Downtown Boy even whipped one up from the dredges of our fridge a few weekends ago that was pretty damn good. My only critique of American Roadhouse’s burrito was the dryness of the tortilla, which is also my complaint about the biscuit that came on the side. I’ve never tasted such a terrible, dry biscuit. Pillsbury does better than this! The other side dishes I selected – fruit and soy sausage – were unremarkable.

He says:
Creative Loafing said American Roadhouse had a great catfish sandwich. I couldn’t find catfish on the menu, but the fried haddock sandwich came close enough. This was one humongous fish. The fillet was as long and thick as my forearm, and I do dumbbell curls. The fillet wasn’t particularly fresh, but it was golden brown and wonderfully crunchy. After eating this 12-inch monster in its hoagie bun, I didn’t have to eat for the rest of the day. The accompanying French fries were a pleasant surprise, fresh cut and spiced with herbs. I rounded out this enormous meal with a mocha to go. It came in an American Roadhouse-sized cup, which is equivalent to a Starbucks venti. I can eat a lot, but this was overkill!

She says:
As for our friend’s beautiful waffles, she noted, “A waffle’s a waffle.”

We say:
The food may not be extraordinary, but it’s plentiful and cheap.




American Roadhouse
842 North Highland Ave., Atlanta, GA 30306
http://www.american-roadhouse.com/

OSTERIA 832

She says:
Osteria 832 is the type of place I would go back to again and again. It’s not that the food is amazing – we’ve certainly eaten at restaurants of higher caliber – but the Italian fare is good enough, and much more affordable than the usual suspects. The setting is pleasant and low-key… the type of place that you feel comfortable ordering a glass of wine while wearing sneakers. From my experience, it’s pretty hard to find a dinner spot in Atlanta that meets these criteria (good food, casual neighborhood setting, and affordable) that isn’t a burger joint, BBQ shack, or Thai restaurant.

Be warned: part of that casualness is a no-reservations policy, which makes for long lines on weekends. We arrived at Osteria around 6:00 pm with the kid-toting crowd, and only had to wait about 15 minutes. But by 7:00, the bar was packed with hungry people eyeing our table.

He says:
We wanted some Italian comfort food, so we started dinner off with fried calamari. The squid was perfectly fried, chewy but not too rubbery. For my entrée, I went with the Bascaiola – shell pasta in a cream sauce with pancetta, mushrooms, peas, and plenty of parmigiano. I was hoping for the pancetta to come through more strongly, as it is one of my favorite cured meats, but it was barely indistinguishable from regular ham. The creaminess of the sauce also overwhelmed the mushrooms and peas, but for a filling $9 platter, it’s not bad.

She says:
My dish, Melanzane alla Parmigiana, was comprised of enormous slices of eggplant covered with mozarrella, along with a bed of spaghetti covered with Osteria’s delicious pomodoro sauce. It’s perfect for the eggplant lover, and with slivers of sautéed garlic sprinkled throughout the dish, for the garlic lover as well.

For dessert I had the special – a crepe filled with caramelized banana and drizzled with nutella. It was ok, but I found the banana filling to be too sweet and the nutella on the sparse side.

He says:
The mascarpone cheesecake was both less sweet and denser than regular cheesecake, which I appreciated, but overall I would say the dessert was just average.

We say:
Judging from the crowds, we’re pretty sure everyone in the Highlands has figured out Osteria’s secret – good eats without a lot of fuss. We’re happy that we did too.




Update:
Uptown Girl wrote in our initial review of Osteria 832 that she would go back again and again. So we did, and now we’ve changed our minds. On our second visit, the pomodoro and ricotta appetizer had the sophistication of Pizza Hut breadsticks. In fact, that’s exactly what it was: a few sticks of cold bread to dip into tomato sauce. The pomodoro entrée (spaghetti in a basic tomato sauce) was so salty as to be nearly inedible. Before we labeled Osteria 832 as “Good eats without a lot of fuss.” Our recommendation to the kitchen: a little more fuss may be in order when it comes to the food.




Osteria 832
832 North Highland Avenue, Atlanta, GA 30306
http://www.osteria832.com/