Omnivore Atlanta

RIBS FOR YOUR PLEASURE: Smoky goodness at Rolling Bones

When a restaurant changes hands, it’s a tricky situation. How to retain enough of the original flavor to keep loyal customers happy while making the necessary changes to bring in fresh faces?

At Rolling Bones Premium Pit BBQ (377 Edgewood Ave., 404-222-2324, www.rollingbonesbbq.com), the changes made by new chef/owner Todd Richards (formerly of the Four Seasons hotel and Spice restaurant) and his partners are a big improvement. The drive-thru is still there, the retro diner décor is the same, but the food at this “Southern-style” barbecue joint has received a serious upgrade. The menu is more chef-driven and now includes slight gourmet twists such as Benton’s bacon in the creamy potato salad, smoky sweet “Reggie’s baked beans,” and balanced, flavorful mustard greens. The new owners have also started using Georgia hickory and pecan to smoke the expanded selection of meats and side items. Corn is smoked in its husk and slathered with paprika and butter. The new and vastly improved “Memphis-style” barbecue sauces (hot or mild) hint of tomato, spice, sweetness and tang while the consistency masterfully straddles the fence between too thick and too thin.

Continue reading Cheap Eats

(Photo by Garnish Photography/Courtesy Green Olive Media)

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OPA!: A selection of dishes at Mykonos Taverna

It’s not often that a flock of 20 or so geese greets you outside an Atlanta restaurant, but that was our experience in the parking lot of Mykonos Taverna (2901 Clairmont Road, 404-638-6770) last week.

The geese seemed completely unfazed by our presence. In fact, one quickly waddled toward the car, hoping for a taste of spanakopita. My guess is that they actually live at the office park adjoining Sam’s Club, behind which Mykonos is located.

This restaurant has been opened by the same people who operate Mykonos Grill on Cobb Parkway. As the hostess showed us to a table inside the garishly neon-lit restaurant, she issued an apology. “Have you been waiting months for us to open like everyone else?” she asked. “I apologize.”

Well, frankly, no. I haven’t been waiting. The truth is that of all the world’s cuisines, Greek food is my least favorite. Oh, I love Kyma, because it’s all about whole wood-grilled fish. But I have no taste for the super-garlicky, often excessively oily casserole dishes. Once upon a time, Evelyn’s Café made some of these palatable to me, but that restaurant closed years ago.

Continue reading “First Look: Mykonos Taverna”

(Photo by James Camp)

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Bon Appétit magazine has named Rolling Bones on Edgewood Avenue one of the 10 best barbecue restaurants in America.

Of course, this was on the basis of the former menu. The restaurant was recently sold and I was told a new, more diverese menu was on the way when I visited a few weeks ago. I presume the meats will remain the same.

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NEW 'CUE: The combo plate at D.B.A. Barbecue

Let’s go ahead. Let’s commit foodie suicide, Southern-style. Let’s express opinions about barbecue, the stuff that provokes more manly passions than guns and breasts. And let’s talk about effete intown barbecue!

Everyone knows that the once-popular Dusty’s on Briarcliff Road has closed. When it opened, 27 years ago, it was a complete novelty in Atlanta because it served ‘cue in the style of eastern North Carolina. That means the sauce was untainted by ketchup, featuring mainly vinegar and varying degrees of hot pepper. Since I spent a good bit of my childhood in Charlotte, I loved the place.

But I quit going to Dusty’s when its flavors made a decided turn toward the sweeter Georgia-style. I wasn’t alone in my observation and complaints about this, and I’m not sure if the restaurant ever returned to its roots.

Continue reading “Grazing: First Look: D.B.A. Barbecue”

(Photo by James Camp)

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There’s a new cafe in the Lamplighter building in Grant Park. I’ll have details in a day or two. …

I see that Rolling Bones, the cool barbecue joint on Edgewood Avenue is for sale:

This BBQ restaurant is a cinch to operate with a full staff in place making for a flawless transition. This is one concept poised for major expansion and is a perfect vehicle for national franchising. Everything is needed to take the next step along with great training from current Owner and Staff. Super Intown Metro Atlanta with with hi visibility with hi traffic and walk up trade. 1300/SF with 450/sf patio and drive thru. This building has won major awards for its incredible and very cool design. Well established with same Owner for over five years. All equipment, furniture, fixtures and smokers are in excellent shape. Fully equipped kitchen can pump out any volume. Seats over 40 inside and almost 40 on the outside patio. Gross sales of $700,000.00 with $80,000.00 after paying full staff and expenses. Priced at $95,000.00 for the business with a monthly lease at $3500.00 per month or buy business and Real Estate and all equipment, furniture, fixtures and smokers for $695,000.00.

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Mr. Steakhead accepted my challenge to compare the brisket at Rolling Bones and Fox Bros. B-B-Q. I was sure that if he did this, he would find the former’s superior. It is usually moist and delectably tangy. Steakhead reports the results on his Atlanta Eats blog here. Of course, he found Fox Bros.’ better. He writes:

[Fox Bros.'] brisket may be served dry (without sauce), but the meat is moist and tender. The flavor is much smokier than RB. Nick, my partner in crime for this all day fiesta, raves about the sides at Fox Brothers, and he is right. The baked beans here put to shame the pintos offered at RB. Fox Brothers also offers a bigger selection, including brunswick stew. So, in the end, it really wasn’t that close. Fox Brothers won on all three areas I was judging- brisket, sides, atmosphere.

Alright. I agree that Fox Bros. has the better atmosphere. I don’t like eating-in at Rolling Bones. I also agree with his assessment of the side dishes. But I have yet to taste “moist and tender” brisket at Fox Bros.

Mr. Steakhead reports that following his St. Patrick’s Day progressive dinner, he went to Limerick Junction where he drank “several (maybe more) pints.” Following his colossal bender of barbecue and beer, he stumbled in the parking lot and injured his knee. Granted, this followed his taste tests, but can we be sure of his sobriety prior to eating?…

Dua, a Vietnamese restaurant has opened downtown at 53 Broad Street, according to Mr. Micropundit’s March 24 post on E Gullet. He also reports that Dish, which closed a few months back, will be home to a new project called Diesel. (Original plans for Dish to continue under the ownership of a former chef fell through.)…

Matt, who writes the incomparably hip Rowdy Food blog, has fallen in love with Corner Pizza. He sings:

The crust is better. It is evolving. It is slowly becoming a more uniformly thin pie. The crispy bottom is consistent. Then the bite, when the tooth penetrates the crispy crust and enters an immediate zone of chew. Now we can look at cheese and sauce. This most recent pie had a much better ratio of cheese to sauce to crust. At this rate, we may catch New York?

Matt apparently shares my preference for thin-crusted pizza. Read his entire review here. It includes a link to his You Tube video about the place.

Matt also has a post with some gossip, including this welcome news about Pura Vida:

Hector Santiago will apparently be opening up a new restaurant downstairs from his current restaurant Pura Vida. When Pura Vida gets full, they have occasionally used this space for over-flow dining. In the next month or so, this space will become an small upscale restaurant with a chef’s table. Sounds pretty cool.

We reported this six months or more ago. I hope it’s actually gonna happen now. Read the rest of Matt’s gossip and see some photos of the much anticipated Holeman & Finch here….

Cathy of Live to Nibble reports on a visit to Cypress Street Pint and Plate, which has replaced Toast. Read her comments here.

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