Atlanta etc.: Marilyn Wolf's Food Blog and Restaurant Blog

Update: Chef Brian unfortunately displayed his unwillingness to give full hospitality to the disabled on a return visit. The wheelchair ramp was blocked; the chef handled the situation poorly. Grant and Marie invited me to join them for dinner at B's Cracklin Barbeque. I'm glad they did---the food was excellent and the location was great for a fall evening. The restaurant is located in the Riverside neighborhood of west Atlanta. I parked next to the portable smoker; the restaurant also has a much larger BBQ shed. I could smell the smoke as I walked in, always a good sign. Chef Brian stopped by and very graciously talked with us for several minutes. This location is an outpost of the original Savannah location. I ordered the two-meat plate with brisket and ribs. The brisket was excellent, very moist and rich. The ribs were my favorite---very flavorful and moist. It's hard to find a real corn cake and this one was outstanding. The okra and slaw were also exce...

I spent an hour on the phone today working on a bunch of forms. After I finally cleaned up that mess (or at least most of it), I decided to drown my frustrations in pork. So I headed to a food truck I've had my eye on for awhile, Cozy Floyd's. It parks in front of the Ace Hardware on Howell Mill; they tell me they are there on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. Here is their smoker, parked behind their very large and nice trailer. Everyone working there was extremely nice. And here is my rib sandwich. Memories of answering all those questions on the phone just melted away as I munched on the meat, tender yet firm. The spicy sauce had a very gentle kick that left a pleasant after burn. Really fun BBQ! And somehow the location in a hardware store parking lot simply adds to the atmosphere. https://www.urbanspoon.com/r/9/1837213/restaurant/Old-Fourth-Ward/Cozy-Floyds-Barbeque-Atlanta

Roasters is a local Southern/BBQ chain. My Georgia Tech colleagues Linda and Kristen recently had lunch at the Roswell Road location. I tried a BBQ combo platter. Overall, this is competent and perfectly reasonable but not exciting. The meat was well prepared but didn't have any particular smoky feel. The fried okra was OK but a little soggy. My wedge salad was pretty good. I think that gien the choice between Roasters and Folks, I'd choose the latter.

Fox Bros. is one of the many fun establishments in the Inman Park area. It's atmosphere is definitely more upscale than, for example, Daddy Dz's. The vibe is proto-sports bar, with TVs tuned to ESPN. I tried the beef short ribs, which is not a traditional BBQ dish. But it was excellent. The meat was very tender but with just enough of a tug to give you the texture that meat eaters crave. The sauce was very subtle---neither too sweet nor too spicy. The most surprising aspect of the meal was the fried okra. Most fried okra in these parts is made of slices of okra. Fox Bros. breads and fries the whole okra pod. I consider this a noble but not entirely successful experiment. The green beans, however, were excellent. They were cooked with meat that imparted a nice but not overpowering flavor. They make you feel as if you are eating healthily; whether or not that's the case is something that I will leave to the medical professionals.

I got to Dusty's today just in time.  Any later and I might have been trapped there by the snow.  Not the snow exactly, but the ridiculously bad driving of Atlanta residents with even the hint of snow.  One flake and everyone goes into Will Smith I Am Legend mode---shotgun, dog, donuts, bathtub. Dusty's, located near Emory, is very reliable BBQ.  I don't think of their meat as extremely smoky, but it is very tender and juicy.  I usually get the rib platter.  Besides being good, it isn't too big.  Most BBQ restaurants seem to be in business to kill their customers---huge plates of food that come with a cardiologist's emergency number.  Dusty's can certainly serve big food, but most of their portions are human-sized. My secret pleasure on the rib plate is the hushpuppies.  Given the basic nature of a hushpuppy---fried dough---it's surprisingly hard to find at all, let alone find good ones.  The plate is also served with a single pork rind crisp, which is a gre...