ROLLING BONES

He says:

Atlanta has some pretty awesome barbecue. Daddy D’z. Fox Brothers. DBA Barbecue. Joining this list is Rolling Bones. This isn’t a new BBQ joint, but it is under a new management team that has been getting positive press from local papers and food blogs. The buzz is warranted.

The pork ribs are incredibly smoky, chewy, and huge. With the $12 half-slab you could easily feed yourself for two meals. Meanwhile the barbecue sauce might be the best in town – it negotiates a fine balance between sweetness and acidity better than any other ‘que sauce I’ve tried.

If you prefer your BBQ pork fatty and tender as I do, then skip the half-slab and order the rib tips. Carved off the end of the bone, these shanks of tendon and meat are softer and more flavorful than the rib meat. At $9 it’s a terrific bargain.

She says:

Their smoked chicken also finds that equilibrium between moistness and dry smokiness.

The “maple butter sweet potato” is a disappointment, however. Rather than a mash oozing with butter and syrup, it’s a whole sweet potato, barely cooked through. I had to go back to ask for the maple butter, and received a frozen scoop of butter on top of my potato. Cold lard … yuck.

He says:

Rolling Bones has its flaws. As Uptown Girl hinted at, the few side items offered are terrible. A bland potato salad comes in a plastic tub straight out of the refrigerator. The dining area also leaves much to be desired. While DBA has gone the upscale route and Daddy D’z has ghetto fabulousness to spare, Rolling Bone’s spartan white interior, four rickety tables, and uncomfortable chairs don’t do the barbecue justice. This is not the kind of place you want to linger with friends. Plus, everything the restaurant serves comes in a Styrofoam container. You could kill several manatees with all this junk.

We say:

Great barbecue but the eating experience is lacking.

Rolling Bones

377 Edgewood, Atlanta, GA30312

http://www.rollingbonesbbq.com/index.html

DUSTY'S BARBECUE

He says:
“I think this is the wrong place,” said Uptown Girl.

A good friend of mine had popped into town, and when he mentioned he loved barbeque, Uptown Girl and I sprang into action. We researched the best BBQ joints in Atlanta, found Creative Loafing’s top pick for 2006, and drove over to Daddy D’z for the best ribs the South had to offer.

Unfortunately, there was a mix-up.

The bright yellow sign in the parking lot said “Dusty’s Barbecue.” And the menu, from which we had just ordered several platters, also said “Dusty’s Barbecue.” Somehow, in our rush and ravenous hunger, we had ended up in the wrong restaurant on the wrong side of town. “Who knows?” my friend said. ‘Maybe it’s better than Daddy D’z.” Alas, we were not so fortunate.

The Brunswick Stew that kicked off dinner tasted like the over-sweetened tomato base of Spaghetti-O’s. The Baby Back Ribs were dry and tiny; it was like chewing on twigs. They weren’t covered in BBQ sauce either; you had to squeeze your own from a squirt bottle supplied on the table. The pulled pork wasn’t bad, though only following a generous dollop of BBQ sauce to give it some kick.

To be fair, Dusty’s is not trying to surprise you. It is what it is—a little barbecue shack at a big intersection. It has low prices, a friendly staff, and a red checkered tablecloth at every table. The food isn’t very good, but that’s probably not a surprise either.



Dusty’s Barbeque
1815 Briarcliff Road, Atlanta, GA 30329
http://www.dustys.com/

DADDY D'Z BARBECUE JOINT

He says:
After a subpar dinner at the wrong barbeque joint (see “Dusty’s Barbecue” review) I still had a hankerin’ for some quality ribs. Although Uptown Girl and my friend were both quite full, I made the executive decision to seek out Daddy D’z Barbecue for Dinner #2. We were on a mission for excellent barbecue that night and I’d be damned if we didn’t find some.

We drove across town, passing some of the sketchiest shopping-cart-strewn neighborhoods in Atlanta until we reached the corner of Memorial and Hill. Daddy D’z looked like a depressing roadside bar from the outside. The inside wasn’t much better. The uncomfortable booth seats, rickety tables, and mismatched chairs look like they belonged to five different diners blown apart in a tornado and inexplicably reassembled in East Atlanta. And what, exactly, is that abandoned flower garden doing in the dining area?

Even if Daddy D’z décor makes you scratch your head, it’s kitchen will blow your mind. If you love meat, this is the place to be. Their menu features ribs, pulled pork, chopped pork, pork chops, half chicken, quarter chicken, chicken tenders, hickory wings, shrimp and fries, chopped beef, and more, all in every portion size and combination imaginable. In contrast to Dusty’s, the ribs at Daddy D’z are huge, tender, and slathered in a rich, smoky barbecue sauce. I gnawed them down to the bone. And the pulled pork sandwich that followed may have been even better. The pork had been smoked to perfection, the tangy sauce wondrously complementing the awesome richness of the molten fat. My barbecue-loving friend, full as he was, took one bite and groaned from pleasure. Is there any better endorsement than that?

Daddy D’z is an ugly restaurant in an ugly part of town, but who cares? It’s barbecue nirvana.



Daddy D’z Barbecue Joint
264 Memorial Drive, Atlanta, GA 30312
http://daddydz.com/