in late july, during my 3-day staycation, i was up late watching tv. we all know that at 3am it's difficult to find quality programming. i ended up on pbs because of the food title "Get Delicious! Atlanta's Hidden Restaurant Treasures". uhh, yes please!
the host was a big burly dude with a long ZZ Top goatee, he looked like the epitome of all tasty food knowledge. *straight face* thou shalt not judge...so this guy knows what he's talking about. he led the show by tossing out his credentials. Jim Stacy, a self-proclaimed "foodie" owns and operates a corn dog/tamale cart and is the manager of the Starlight Drive-in. He took us to about 8 different places where he ate and critiqued and suggested the most popular things each restaurant had to offer.
this is the type of show i need in my life. i love when someone does the work for me and all i have to do is show up.
so i made a list of all of the places of interest and promised i'd take myself to lunch the following day. and please note that all of these places are wallet-friendly.
this is the type of show i need in my life. i love when someone does the work for me and all i have to do is show up.
so i made a list of all of the places of interest and promised i'd take myself to lunch the following day. and please note that all of these places are wallet-friendly.
day1 - Carver's Country Kitchen
i arrived later than i had planned, around 2:40pm, since i had hella errands to run that day and the starvation i was feeling was slowly sending me into a depression. luckily they still had food available. the food is lined up in a window, and the specials change daily so there's no menu. Jim Stacy had suggested the fried chicken that was a Carver's staple, but they were all out. so i went for the country fried chicken (or was it steak?). naturally mashed potatoes with gravy and green beans go well together so i added them plus a biscuit and sweet tea to round it all out in the most southern way possible.
it was delicious! one might say that i felt so happy with my meal b/c of the starvation, but that's not the case. i was impressed. and the customer service matched. i ate there, oblivious to the fact that they close at 3 - my bad! but they assured me it was not a problem and told me to take my time.disappointed about missing out on the chicken, i went for the other highly recommended coca cola cake. it was so good and moist, like somebody's grandma would make.
i will be back.
i had been to The Beautiful before, but i didn't eat. it was roughly 5 years ago and at the time, the beautiful was a popular after hours spot. they've changed their hours, i'm guessing to keep the hooligans out, because business was most definitely booming.
anyway, i didn't wanna eat alone again and since i knew my sister was working from home, i invited her. (she's preggers right now, so she doesn't turn down food. she's usually all about low carbs, grilled chicken and salad. this is where we differ.)
Similar to Carver's, there's no menu and the food is on display. The Beautiful has a cafeteria feel in that there are people lined up ready to fix your plate and you're in a single file line with a tray. here, they offer more of the deep south (slave food, as i like to call it) - oxtails & neck bones are definitely available. i chose to keep it simple.
that's crab-stuffed flounder, mac n cheese and string beans with potatoes. i really like string beans. everything was good, but it wasn't great. it's funny that every time i see something labeled as "crab-stuffed" i go for it, yet 90% of the time i'm not into it.
and by funny, i mean irritating.
however, the mac n cheese was solid. even though i love it just like the average person, i rarely order it b/c i think people are really lazy about it. i CAN'T STAND mac n cheese that doesn't taste cheesy. <-- pet peave. all in all, it was cool. it was inexpensive. i'll probably try them again. been thinkin bout oxtails...:)
anyway, i didn't wanna eat alone again and since i knew my sister was working from home, i invited her. (she's preggers right now, so she doesn't turn down food. she's usually all about low carbs, grilled chicken and salad. this is where we differ.)
Similar to Carver's, there's no menu and the food is on display. The Beautiful has a cafeteria feel in that there are people lined up ready to fix your plate and you're in a single file line with a tray. here, they offer more of the deep south (slave food, as i like to call it) - oxtails & neck bones are definitely available. i chose to keep it simple.
that's crab-stuffed flounder, mac n cheese and string beans with potatoes. i really like string beans. everything was good, but it wasn't great. it's funny that every time i see something labeled as "crab-stuffed" i go for it, yet 90% of the time i'm not into it.and by funny, i mean irritating.
however, the mac n cheese was solid. even though i love it just like the average person, i rarely order it b/c i think people are really lazy about it. i CAN'T STAND mac n cheese that doesn't taste cheesy. <-- pet peave. all in all, it was cool. it was inexpensive. i'll probably try them again. been thinkin bout oxtails...:)
day3 - Ria's Bluebird
this idea actually came from an Atlanta Magazine article. in every issue they do restaurant reviews and this was maybe my 3rd time seeing it mentioned. they referred to it as an "atlanta staple" which apparently i can't resist. i try to read reviews on yelp.com before making decisions. i like to read 3 good and 3 bad and then proceed from there. a bad review won't keep me from going somewhere i wanna go, but it helps to lower my expectation. anyway, all signs pointed to 'yes'.this time, i picked up my brother for a late brunch. i'm a good samaritan and figured he'd be good company.
he wasn't. but that's neither here nor there.
Ria's is one of those places that serves breakfast all day. i love breakfast, so i ordered a basic breakfast for lunch. we were sat at the bar, which i also like. i can see better or something.
do you see how regular my food looks? it had a taste to match. i've had more happiness on my plate at IHOP. but then again i love ihop, so perhaps the comparison is unfair. either way, booooo! the bacon tasted a bit like spiced leather boots, the eggs hadn't been seasoned and that ramekin of thin, runny syrup was sad. never again.
my bro ordered a steak quesadilla. it certainly looked better than my food, but i didn't taste it and having an incessantly-starving man review food is like having a rapist review coochie. can 1 really be better than another?
another low point is when i asked my server for more runny syrup, an additional charge showed up on my bill. really? that isht shoulda been free, but she still could have said something.
Ria's, i won't be back.
Ria's, i won't be back.
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