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

LEON'S FULL SERVICE

She says:
Poultry is boring.

This is a lesson I’ve learned the hard way over and over again, and yet it never seems to stick. My mistake is usually born out of boredom with the single uninspired vegetarian option on a menu, and so I begin eyeing the poultry dishes, fantasizing about crispy skin, succulent meat, some new and bold sauce it will be paired with. Somehow this is never the case. The poultry is inevitably safe and boring, the option for people who’d rather be at Applebees. You’d think I’d have learned this by now.

Nope, I did it again.

Leon’s turkey sandwich is the exactly what you’d slap together at home – slices of turkey, cheddar, lettuce, mayo. The bread is better than your typical sandwich bread, but otherwise, there is absolutely NOTHING interesting about this sandwich. What was I expecting? Maybe something warm?

Perhaps my expectations of Leon’s were too high. The first time I went, I had the most creative and delicious cocktail of my life (the specialty cocktail that day) and an incredible bowl of roasted red pepper soup, showstoppers that made their cold roasted-veggie sandwich a pleasant distant memory. My last visit boasted a good, but far less zany, cocktail, some decent Pub Frites with a dipping sauce (the goat cheese fondue) that couldn’t be tasted over the salt of the fries, and the aforementioned turkey sandwich. Perhaps the “mains” are more amazing, but for a gastropub, the cheaper options are underwhelming.

He says:
Underwhelming, indeed. Leon’s is a latecomer to Atlanta’s burgeoning gastropub scene, and it falls short of the standard set by the Porter and Bookhouse Pub. On our waiter’s recommendation I ordered the “excellent” grass-fed burger with Tillamook cheddar, and found it less than stellar. The patty was mushy and tasteless.

More surprising was the soup of the day: a potato-leek soup with crumbled bacon bits. The soup I received was bright orange and tasted strongly of curry. It was only after I inquired that the waiter realized the soup of the day was, in fact, a carrot curry soup. Thanks for the heads up, dude.

She says:
Despite the mediocre food and service, Leon’s does succeed as an inviting, attractive bar with a killer location and fantastic patio. This restaurant serves central Decatur much better than the former antique shop it replaced. Now if they only got into the spirit of things and served their food on hubcap plates and poured their drinks from gas cans.

We say:
Better than it once was and not as good as it should be.




Leon's Full Service
131 East Ponce De Leon Avenue, Decatur, 30030
http://www.leonsfullservice.com/

LUPE TAQUERIA

He says:
It was a sad day in Atlanta when the U Restaurants Group closed Cuerno earlier this year. It was a vibrant Spanish restaurant with delicious tapas and a warm, handsome interior. In fact, it might have been the best eatery in Midtown. Unfortunately it didn’t survive the economic downturn. U Restaurants recently opened Lupe in its place, and while it’s not as good as Cuerno, I can see it being more successful. Why? It’s pretty simple, really. Lupe is much cheaper. And it serves tacos. In times like these, that’s as sure a bet as you can ask for.

She says:
One thing that hasn’t changed is that it’s still a gorgeous restaurant. Sadly, Cuerno’s remarkable life-size bull sculpture, which was pieced together from colorful scraps of metal, has been removed. But otherwise, the small interior is the same: dimly lit, with smooth lines and rich dark colors. A surfeit of candles gives the place a romantic feel. Aside from the considerable noise level, Lupe is a great date spot.

A testament to this is their menu for two. For $25, you get an order of queso dip, 6 tacos (3 per person), and dessert. You might be able to find cheaper tacos at Tacqueria del Sol, but you’re not going to get this kind of ambiance or quality of food. Poblano peppers give the queso a bit of a kick, and the dip comes with freshly made (and still warm!) tortilla chips. The tacos also come wrapped in homemade corn tortillas. Of the three I tried – chicken, portabella mushroom, and shrimp – my favorite was the mushroom, which also included corn, poblano peppers, and cotija cheese. The flavors of all three tacos were far more complex than what you usually find at a taqueria, and the ingredients were noticeably fresh.

He says:
Uptown Girl had better luck with her choices. Of my three tacos, the lengua was the most disappointing; a well-prepared beef tongue should have a soft, silky texture, and Lupe’s definitely did not. The barbacoa de chivo taco was only slightly better. I expected the slow-braised goat meat to fall in the tender, slide-off-the-bone category, and once again it was tougher than it should have been. It also tasted more like bland beef than goat. The slow-cooked pork of the cochinita pivil was the best by default. Sadly the tomatillo salsa and jalapenos on all three of these tacos masked the meats’ flavors instead of heightening them. In the future I need to pay more attention to the sauces since they tend to dominate the platters.

She says:
The only disappointing thing for me was the dessert, an orange soda float, which I felt was a total throwaway. But for just $25 for a filling dinner for two, I wasn’t complaining.

We say:
Judging from the lively crowds since its opening, Lupe has a better chance at survival than Cuerno ever did. Considering that it’s cheap, close to our house, and serves above average tacos, we’ll be back.




Lupe Taqueria
905 Juniper, Atlanta, GA 30309
http://www.sottosottorestaurant.com/

DYNAMIC DISH

He says:
Oh, Dynamic Dish, I’d like to love you. I really would. You’ve gotten so much great press in the local papers and magazines. Everyone says you’re the best vegetarian restaurant in town. Your menu changes daily based on what’s in season. You use fresh, local, organic ingredients. Your décor is bright and airy, like a farmhouse in the Midwest. You have a charming, no-frills website. We should be completely in love right now.

But, you know, it’s just not working out.

Maybe it’s your wacky schedule. We tried to visit you multiple times in the past but have been cruelly turned away. After all, you’re only open for dinner three nights a week. And you know I don’t work close enough to Edgewood Avenue to see you for lunch. The long distance thing is difficult.

Maybe it’s your service. When we last visited you, there were only eight other people in the restaurant. But it took forever to get our water glasses filled. Questions about the tea list went unanswered. Check-ins were infrequent. I really wish you would pay more attention to me.

Maybe it’s the menu. Everything looks delicious. It really does. We were excited for tasty vegetarian dishes. It’s so hard to find the good ones in Atlanta. Alas, it was not meant to be…

She says:
Things started out pretty well... When that bowl of ginger pumpkin soup (which the server happily split for us) came out, I felt that fluttering in my stomach that only comes with a new crush. What a splendid, creamy soup! The zing of the ginger and the crunch of the toasted pepita garnish had me grinning like a fool! I admit, my interest was piqued.

Then I tried the Flammkuchen. It sounded rustic and hardy, but what came out was a delicate flat bread pizza covered with carmelized onions, fennel, and a smattering of cheddar. It was a nice dish, but I have to admit I was a little bored.

Which is nothing compared to the way our vegan friend was feeling, being forced to order salad. Salad!! That’s the ultimate insult, the fallback dish when no other options are available. The tempeh burger with vegan eggplant remoulade seemed like a possibility, but the burger was made with egg. Why? Why even bother offering a vegan remoulade when a vegan can’t eat the burger? It’s like false advertising. And then, like a slap in the face, the only vegan dessert – a sweet little chocolate cupcake just begging to make our friend a happy man – disappeared before we finished our dinner.

He says:
For better or worse, I kept hanging around. My trout was wonderful – fresh and flaky with a clear, smoky flavor. It paired wondrously with the horseradish cream and Georgia watercress. The earthiness of the potato salad gave the dish some needed heft. Its dishes like this that made me think we had a future.

But then our other, non-vegan friend had the tempeh burger. It was fine, but unfortunately it sat on a desiccated bun.

Oh, dear. You do so much so well and yet get the little things wrong. Maybe we can try this again in a few years, when you’ve had some time mature. I hope we can still be friends.

We say:
It’s not you, it’s us. Well, maybe it’s a little bit you.




Dynamic Dish
427 Edgewood Avenue, Atlanta, GA 30312
http://www.dynamicdish.net/

ACROSS THE STREET

She says:
If I were to create my perfect neighborhood business district, it would look something like this... a funky independent coffee shop with fabulous baked goods, a romantic little Italian bistro, a cozy pub with yummy chowders, a cheap Pho shop, and a cute Mexican restaurant with a sunny patio that serves great summery drinks. Across the Street happens to be that cute Mexican restaurant. It’s the perfect neighborhood joint, right down to its appropriate name. (When Downtown Boy asked where it was, I answered “it’s across the street from Highland Bakery).

Across the Street has a small indoor space decorated with local art, but the patio is where the action is. With an outdoor bar, an overhang to protect against sudden rainstorms, and a pleasant view of the Freedom Parkway running path, it’s a terrific place to enjoy a margarita and mojito.

He says:
And that mojito is pretty darn terrific too. With fresh mint and lime, and a hypnotic balance of vodka and sugar, it’s the best mixed drink I’ve had all summer. Even better was the queso dip. Neither too goopy nor too thin, it comes with a hint of chili-infused heat that lifts it above all the other cheese dips I’ve tried in Atlanta. Along with the freshly made tortilla chips, I could eat it all day and night, it’s that good.

The chicken chimichanga is yet another winner. What it gives up in originality it more than make up for in size. Stuffed to the max with the usual suspects – black beans, corn, cheddar cheese – it’s roughly the size of a Chihuahua. I found the chicken breast within unusually tender, which was another plus.

She says:
I didn’t love the shrimp enchiladas, mostly because they are smothered in the exact same cheese sauce as the queso dip. It's good, but unoriginal. However, we both enjoyed the tres leches, a sweet, moist white cake made with three types of milk.

He says:
I admittedly have not been to many Mexican restaurants in Atlanta, but so far this place is my favorite.




She says:
The entrees may be hit or miss, but if we could transport Across the Street closer to our neighborhood, we’d be sitting on their patio every beautiful summer evening with summery drinks in hand.




Across the Street
668 Highland Ave NE, Atlanta, GA 30312
http://across-the-street.com/default.aspx

ECCO

She says:
I’m mulling over the meal Downtown Boy and I had last week at Ecco during Midtown Restaurant Week, trying to capture the essence of our uninspiring dining experience. “Ecco… Ecco…” I repeat to myself. And then it strikes me: Ecco is perfectly named (albeit misspelled). It is a restaurant repeating something good, something strong and original, but is merely a reverberation, an act of mimicry, an echo, if you will, of better restaurants.

The interior has a classical touch of old Europe, which is appropriate for the “seasonally-inspired European cuisine” they serve (according to our waiter), but it mostly aims for the modern sophistication of newer restaurants with its open kitchen, long bar, and dim lighting. It’s a ubiquitous look, and if you’ve eaten at any upscale New American restaurant in the past year, then you’ve been here before.

He says:
The perpetual sense of déjà vu continues straight into the menu. The oak-grilled asparagus, drizzled in olive oil, has a nice smokiness but otherwise tastes exactly like the asparagus you cooked last night in your own kitchen.

The roasted organic chicken tastes, like, well, chicken. The breasts are well roasted and moist, but the salsa verde blanketing the chicken doesn’t add enough oomph to make this dish stand out.

Fortunately the steelhead is more interesting. This Atlantic trout is highly reminiscent of salmon due to its similar river/ocean life cycle. It is beautifully grilled, and the braised celery provides an earthy contrast to the dish’s overall butteriness.

She says: For me, the most original item was the fried goat cheese. The small balls of fried cheese have a salty outer shell, and are dipped in honey and sprinkled with black pepper. It provides a full symphony of flavors.

The chocolate terrine is like many other decadently rich flourless chocolate cakes, but I wasn’t complaining. Some things don’t need inspiration. It comes with large chunks of nut brittle that give the dish an interesting textural contrast, if not a break from the sweetness. For better or worse, I polished it off, while poor Downtown Boy reveled in his own skewed sense of dessert heaven, raving about the mushy bread pudding thing he was spooning up.

He says:
Oh dear. According to Uptown Girl, if it ain’t chocolate, it ain’t dessert. I liked my sour cherry bread pudding just fine. Like the chocolate terrine, it was a serviceable if unremarkable dessert.

We say:
Most people will like Ecco. The food is solid, and it’s a perfectly nice restaurant that won’t leave a hole in your wallet. But whenever we go we can’t help but get the feeling we’ve eaten these unoriginal dishes – in better incarnations – before.




Ecco 40 7th Street NE, Atlanta, GA 30308
http://www.ecco-atlanta.com/index.htm

PARISH

He says:
Midway through a Saturday night dinner at Parish, I turned to Uptown Girl and said, “Don’t you wish Bacchanalia or Rathbun’s had a place like this?” She immediately concurred. To say that Parish is a beautiful restaurant is to traffic in understatement. This New Orleans-inspired market and eatery is, without question, the best-looking restaurant in Atlanta. The handsome decay of the Big Easy is discernible in every scraped stone tile in the ceiling, every wrought iron chandelier, and every brick peeking out from behind the crumbling plaster. Never has degeneration looked so gorgeous or organic. There are touches of New Orleans everywhere, like the beaded curtain at the front entrance and the corroded statue in the dining room, seemingly purloined from Lafayette Cemetery No. 1. And when the lights are dimmed, Parish just might be the most romantic spot in the city.

Such a wonderful location deserves wonderful food, and that is where Parish falls short. We ordered the beer can chicken pastry appetizer hoping it would be super moist (as it should be), but the kitchen made the mistake of shredding the chicken breast and thus robbed it of its succulence.

My Mississippi Stuffed Catfish entrée was significantly better, with the crab stuffing and smoked macque choux lending the catfish some serious punch. My only complaint was the dish’s overt saltiness, which kept me reaching for a glass of water the rest of the meal.

She says:
The Crawfish Pie was disappointing. The crawfish tails were not very fresh. The lemon and tomato stew it came in was heavy and buttery, almost overwhelming. The herb biscuit drowning in the middle of it was a nice touch, but it wasn’t enough to cut this dish’s gumminess. This is definitely not a good summer dish.

The chocolate pecan pie was decent but not chocolatey enough. The mint ice cream was an attempt at innovation that didn’t quite hit the mark. It’s just not the best combo.

We say:
Imagine what Harrison & Quatrano or the Rathbun brothers could do in this space! Until then, we can only hope …




Parish
240 N. Highland Ave.
Atlanta, GA 30307
http://www.parishatl.com

4TH & SWIFT

He says:
This past weekend, I treated Uptown Girl to a special Valentine’s Day dinner at 4th & Swift, one of Atlanta’s hottest new restaurants in 2008. And what says “romance” more than a 4-course prix fixe menu for $75/person? With Bacchanalia-level prices, though, there also come the expectation of a creative menu, top-shelf ingredients, and unexpected pairings that challenge the palette.

Could 4th & Swift deliver?

She says:
For the first course, Downtown Boy and I both chose the poached Maine lobster. If they were going to charge us an arm and a leg for dinner, we were going to get the most out of it! They were generous with the lobster meat, which was buttery and delicious. It came atop a pile of cauliflower “risotto,” which was, unfortunately, just a bland pile of steamed cauliflower. Also absent was the carrot-ginger emulsion… there was a butter sauce on the bottom of the plate, but it lacked any distinct ginger or carrot flavor.

My second course involved Yellowfin tuna prepared two ways. The first, a slab of tuna lightly seared and set on top of seaweed salad, was uninventive. The second was tastier and more creative – a spicy tuna tartare mixed with avocado and topped with wasabi tobiko (roe).

He says:
My second appetizer of pork sugo and herb gnocchi was disappointing. Ground up into a Bolognese-style ragu, the pork was as bland as the tomato base it came with. It didn’t help that underneath the parmesan flakes it looked like Hamburger Helper. The accompanying gnocchi was delicate and tasty, but it wasn’t enough to save this dish.

My “counting sheep” entrée – a North African inspired dish that included 3 types of mutton – fared much better. The merguez (spicy sausage) was rich and smoky. Two generous chops came with a creamy tahini sauce. And the slow braised shoulder, while tame, paired well with the moist bed of couscous and a spicy harissa.

She says:
On our server’s recommendation, I selected the roasted North Carolina pheasant for my entree. It reminded me of Thanksgiving dinner. First, the late fall/winter flavors were all there… the tender roasted pheasant meat, the buttery mashed sweet potatoes, the cabbage hash, and a sort of cranberry and nut chutney. And second, it was far too much food. I definitely enjoyed the dish, but I also wondered if 4th and Swift was trying to justify the price of this prix fixe meal through quantity rather than quality.

Consequently I could only manage a few bites of my dessert, a spiced chocolate pot de crème. The custard was fine, but missing any real intensity. I was put off by the cinnamon “churros” that came alongside, as they were not cooked through, leaving the interior unappetizingly gooey.

He says:
The parsnip and apple cake, 4th and Swift’s avant garde version of carrot cake, was a complete letdown. Any notes of either parsnip or apple were lost in two successive layers of maple cream cheese frosting.

Another letdown, I might add, was the restaurant’s décor. The entire “faux warehouse” look of backlit brick face walls and exposed piping is just so played out. It’s the de facto look of restaurants that are too lazy to create an authentic vibe. And I guess that’s my major problem with 4th & Swift, overall. The kitchen here is talented, but too many dishes are lazily prepared, or formulaic, or just plain boring.

We say:
Good food in search of true inspiration.




4th & Swift
621 North Avenue NE, Atlanta, GA 30308
http://www.4thandswift.com/

SUN IN MY BELLY

He says:
I feel like I’ve been searching for a neighborhood café like Sun in my Belly ever since coming to Atlanta. With tall windows that face the College Avenue train tracks and abundant sunshine lighting up three handsome rooms (one area for on-the-go orders and two dining rooms), this former hardware store has cleaned up beautifully. It’s clean, well-mannered, and instantly homey. Joggers in running shoes dine next to funky young couples and families dressed in Brooks Brothers. Unlike the noisy, free-wheeling atmosphere found in other Atlanta brunch spots, Sun in my Belly exudes a certain reserve, a quiet confidence you might say, borne from its belief that high-quality, no frills organic food can prosper in Atlanta.

And you know what? They’re right. On my first visit, after hemming and hawing over the quiche of the day or the scrambled egg and cheddar Panini, I went with the quiche – a most fortuitous decision. It was remarkable. Large, generous strips of prosciutto and mushrooms were layered in custard so smooth and rich that both Uptown Girl and I swooned after our first bite. The crust was wonderful too, buttery and flaky and crisp.

My side of cheese grits tasted fine, but were slightly gummy. I should really stop ordering grits at restaurants. No one in town comes close to competing with the Flying Biscuits’ version.

She says:
I went with the other special of the day, an omelette with turkey, jalapenos, tomatoes, and cheddar. With this promising medley of ingredients I was expecting something spicy, but the omelette that came out was so bland the only kick associated with it was me kicking myself for not ordering the quiche! I should have known… tomatoes are way out of season and thus bound to be tasteless. The real disappointment was the jalapenos, which had as much heat as a green pepper.

I did enjoy my biscuit, though, which was vastly different from the biscuits you get at Flying Biscuit. Instead of being fat and airy, it was extremely dense and buttery, almost like a pastry crust. A sprinkling of rosemary added a touch of complexity.

He says:
On my second visit, I tried the Napoleon Complex, an excellent panini with brie, prosciutto, red onion, and fig jam on toasted focaccia. A little sweet, a little salty, a little creamy, and a little crunchy, it’s the perfect lunch time snack. And the curry carrot soup on the side was absolutely killer.

On the other hand, the ham sandwich with roasted red peppers and Dijon mustard was bland and floppy.

We say:
There are knockouts and letdowns at this quiet cafe, but with fresh ingredients and an ever-changing menu, we’ll definitely be back to stuff our bellies.

He says:



She says:



Sun in my Belly
2161 College Avenue, Atlanta, GA 30317
http://www.suninmybelly.com/index.html

ZOCALO (MIDTOWN)

She says:
Zocalo is our classic fall back restaurant in Midtown. This isn’t the most flattering thing to say about a restaurant, but this “creative Mexican” cantina honestly never disappoints. It always has solid food, moderate prices, and a friendly atmosphere that makes it a great place to entertain guests on a budget.

He says:
Like most Mexican restaurants, Zocalo offers a bottomless basket of warm tortilla chips and salsa as soon as you get your seat (and this may take a while on a Friday or Saturday night!) The guacamole is fresh-made and usually quite good, though the kitchen can be stingy with the serving size. However, the last time I visited the guacamole wasn’t particularly creamy since avocados are way out of season.

My favorite item on Zocalo’s menu is the Alambre, a giant grilled cheese tortilla stuffed with beef, bacon, peppers, and onion. It’s folded into a burrito, with a deliciously crisp exterior. It tastes as good as it sounds.

On our last visit I tried the Pollo Tres Zetas, chicken breast mixed with asadero cheese, poblano peppers, and mushrooms in a cream-based tomatillo sauce. I loved the sauce, the tomatillos adding a nice bite to the creaminess. I would have preferred the juiciness of dark meat instead of white meat in this dish, but overall it’s still messy and filling – and sometimes that’s just what you need.

She says:
I usually order the enchiladas, which Zocalo makes just how I like them. A zangy green chile sauce coats substantial corn tortillas stuffed with cheese or shredded chicken. I prefer the cheese enchiladas, as the chicken is a tad dry. Served on the side is a generous scoop of refried beans and Mexican rice.

The margaritas, mojitos, and sangria are all on par as well.

We say:
This creative cantina isn’t all that creative, but a meal at Zocalo’s is a sure bet.




Zocalo (Midtown)
187 10th Street, Atlanta, GA 30309
http://www.zocalocreativemex.com/

GEORGE'S BAR & RESTAURANT

He says:
When talk of the best burger in Atlanta pops up, the Vortex and the Earl are frequently mentioned. Hence when someone recently named George’s in Virginia Highlands as the best around, I raised an eyebrow. Was it true? Could the tastiest burger in a city renowned for its burgers be located less than a mile away from our house?

As it turns out, not so much.

The chili cheeseburger I ordered was messy and yummy alright, but it fails to reach the sublime heights of its burger brethren. The beef patty wasn’t very juicy or fatty. The chili tasted generic. This is not to say the burger isn’t good, because it is. In fact, it’s very good. It’s simply not great.

I did enjoy their mozzarella sticks, which are of the supermarket freezer variety I love so much.

She says:
Unfortunately, my black bean burger wasn’t up to snuff. Like most black bean burgers it was pretty mushy, and although the waitress warned me it was spicy, it was really bland. One of our friends also tried the veggie burger and said that it was mushy too.

Besides the disappointing veggie options, George’s other fatal flaw is that they don’t serve milkshakes, which is a big disappointment at a burger joint. That said, their onion rings were awesome… large, fat rings coated in just the right amount of crisp batter.

We say:
George’s might stand out in a city with a less awesome burger scene, but in Atlanta it’s just a typical burger joint.

He says:



She says:



George’s Bar and Restaurant
1041 N. Highland Ave. NE
Atlanta, GA 30306
http://georgesbarandrestaurant.com/