I’ve been out of town, on a long planned vacation to Japan. I have been blown away. Here are a few photos as I probably won’t be posting until I get back next week.

But for now, let me just say Japan knows what’s up when it comes to eating and drinking.

Sushi is special to me, particularly nigiri, which is synonymous with the word sushi, but I wanted to be clear on what I meant. There is no closer experience to your food and chef. In excellent conditions, one orders, and quickly the chef slices the fish, often time barely dangling it from a finger to avoid increasing the temperature, and with the other hand grabs the perfect amount of rice, forms it loosely but not dropping a grain, which the best can somehow align in a similar direction, magically presses the fish to the rice, and drops it on the wooden board in front of you for immediate consumption. Simple, but there is so much care and execution that goes into this. Top grade sushi chefs are obsessive about cleanliness, and they take excellent care of their hands. Gloves are fucking stupid, they carry filth. How many times have you seen a gloved person touch a contaminated space and continue using them? It’s a facade. If you trust your sushi chefs like I do, then it doesn’t matter at all. If you have reason to not, then you shouldn’t eat there.

That’s why this is ridiculous. Thanks Atlanta health inspection, for being a bunch of assholes.

From Taka - 

I had health Inspection this morning. We violated some. And one of them was not wearing gloves.
I wrote this issue before. We cannot make good Nigiri Sushi with gloves. 
And this is our 3rd violations and I need to go to court later, and need to pay $1000 of fine.
So, I decided not to make Nigiri Sushi. 
Anyway We have to wear gloves when we make sushi. Roll Sushi is fine with gloves.
But Nigiri Sushi is not same.
I tried to make many time. I changed gloves many times.
But naked hands are best.
It is very simple reason. If I cannot make good Nigiri Sushi, I have to quit.
So I decided this. It is better than closing restaurant right?
Please understand. 
And we can give you free sushi rice.  Eat sashimi and become healthy.

Though now he says he will wear gloves.

As I mentioned the other day, I’m still catching up on some out of town posts…I have a Vegas post that is long overdue, but after that and this, I should be current.

Though, I am in Japan right now and that should fill the backlog for quite some time.

Obviously, it’s very important that I stay up to date on telling you what and where I ate.

In April I visited the SC coast, as I tend to do for work. There’s not much that I enjoy in Myrtle Beach, though Habibi’s is a solid option. I enjoyed the labneh, I should order that more often. It’s thicker than tzaziki – more like cream cheese.

But a friend happend to be renting a house south of Myrtle Beach, and he graciously offered to let me crash there two nights, which was a nice change from hotel living. He grilled squid and served it with olives (so simple and good!) and grilled steaks the next evening, opening up a birth year wine for me as the next day was my 32nd birthday. The Chateau Canon was a silly good Bordeaux, but was happy to chase it with a perfumey Echezeax. Spoiled.

After work the next day, a couple of friends came in to Charleston to join me for some birthday fun, such as a three-dude rickshaw ride up to The Ordinary, the new seafood restaurant from Mike Lata (FIG).

It’s clearly an impressive space.

We kept the dining warm-up light – oysters and peel and eat shrimp.

Though previously not on the agenda, we stopped in FIG for a few snacks. We had a steak tartare, the crisped pig trotter, and the nine vegetable salad, which could have been the dish of the day. Beets, radish, potatoes, beans, peas and more (four more if they were honest) with varying textures and temperatures, in a light Caesar style dressing. Just damn good vegetables. The bartenders at FIG are some of my favorite too visit with as well.

We then stopped in to Cypress and met with Chef Deihl, who somewhat agreed to talk to us back in the kitchen, though he’s probably still sore at me for losing his n’duja sausage he asked me to bring back to Atlanta and give to someone. I screwed the pooch and lost it, so my shame is deserved.

It was cool to see the setup though. The other big guy in the photo is a visiting chef from Colorado, there just to learn about charcuterie, which has become a serious and nationally recognized operation.

asdf

After a quick drink at Gin Joint, “dinner” was at McCrady’s. It was good, but not the elevated experience I had on my previous visit. A couple of the dishes were perfectly executed and delicious, but a few were just short of expectation, such as the duck, which lacked the depth I found last time. Desserts (such as the carrot further below) were intriguing on paper, but failed to finish the meal on a memorable note, unlike last time when the jasmine egg knocked it out of the park.

The pork dish below, with peas, ramps, and morels, wins the award for most seasonal Spring dish of the year.

A Chartogne-Taillet champagne off the list was quite nice, and an ’04 Arnoux Suchots Burg we brought drank well above its vintage reputuation.

Finally, I rocked a Big Nasty at Hominy Grill. Some dishes are just born winners.

See you next time, Charleston. You know I will always do my best.

First visit to BoccaLupo, in the former Sauced (Ria’s) location on Edgewood, which is helmed by Bruce Logue who opened La Pietra Cucina, back when it was good.

He makes pasta. I ate some. And photographed.

I had a ravioli style deal with mushrooms and young (not as bitter) rapini. Nice and light.

Tomatoes and fregola and capers and okra and olives comprise a vibrant Sicilian style sauce with calamari.

If you ate at La Pietra you remember this dish. As good as ever. Ricotta, soft flat bread, tender prosciutto…it’s great.

Bucatini, red onion, smoked bacon, parsley…it’s basically all’amatriciana but they didn’t call it that, which perhaps is out of respect for the fact that they used bacon instead of jowl (guanciale), which is more traditional. If so, mad respect. It was close. The sauce and onions were texturally spot-on. The special, hollowed pasta, a touch overcooked. Very, very much like the Batali recipe I’ve attempted to recreate a bunch of times. I like more flat leaf parsley on mine though.

Hopeful.

I have a few traveling posts queued up that I will be putting out over the next week or two. If you only want Atlanta content, you may want to ignore the blog. More than usual. Today is Vail and Denver, from a recent bro’ing out ski weekend with my pal Brian. It was a burner. We were there for about 48 hours. I got in Friday night at 1AM. Up at 7AM to ski all day. Dinner, drinks, sleep, repeat. Drove back to Denver and took the stink eye home and straight to work at 8AM. It was a demanding schedule, but it was totally worth it.

There is no outdoor activity to me like skiing. The views, the speed, the air, the après-ski moment where you take off your boots and sip that first beer – it can’t be beat.

Conditions were variable. In two days we had everything from sunshine, to ice, a light dusting of fresh powder, to complete white-out conditions that hit out of nowhere in the middle of a run. That was interesting.

We stayed at the cheapest hotel in Vail proper – The Roost Lodge. It’s totally fine. We setup a nice beer buffet in the room.

We carb loaded at The Little Diner. Hash and eggs and coffee and what not. Appropriate.

Dinner at Nobu Matsuhisa’s. Of course it’s pricey. We had a nice view at the bar. Jam packed. Loud.

Nobu and Tomo have many similarities. High quality ingredients. Too many powders and sauces for me in general, but undeniably tasty.

Ankimo – monkfish liver.

On to Denver – The Squeaky Bean looked good. We had some warm olives and the offal fritto to start – rabbit kidney, duck heart, tendon chicharone dusted with powdered Frank’s hot sauce and ranch. I don’t love offal, but would share this with one or two people. Rabbit kidneys were my favorite.

Beets a few ways, puffed grains, sorrel, yogurt. A pretty trendy dish, but well done.

Colorado leg and shoulder of lamb, cous cous, cauliflower, ras el hanout (which is not the bad guy from Batman, but a Moroccon spice which is actually a blend of many spices, similar to how curry it not actually a single spice). This was excellent. Lamb shoulder rocked.

Open face ravioli with sweet breads, mushrooms, and I think a foie cream. The open face style of this made no sense, it was sort of a mess and was a bitch to share.

The final stop was at Williams & Graham speakeasy/pretend book store. You enter through a faux wall of books (oh wow!) after going through a tired charade with the guy behind the cash til. Service was pretentious and unfriendly. We were certainly not cool enough to be there. Give me a real bar any day. I bet if you know someone or are friends with the staff, this place is great.

Last week I was in Creative Loafing writing about Heirloom BBQ. I like that place. How did I not have their Brunswick stew until last week? It’s my new favorite – love the brightness/acidity/whatever you wanna call it.

The week prior I contributed a small bit to Eater’s Burger week. They list some good burgers on their guide; some new ones I need to try too.

I chose the Muss & Turner burger.

I’ve made burgers a lot over the last few weeks. Publix buns are totally fine in a pinch, but I really should pick up some H&F buns as it’s not far from my house.

My latest burger style is the smash method with a medium size patty – not a super thin smash, just enough to create a nice sear – cook for a couple minutes, flip, blow torch the cheese, rest the burger for a minute or two, then assemble. I blow torch because if I wait for the cheese to melt the burger is generally over cooked. I could put a lid on the pan but I don’t want to steam the burger. Not sure if that’s a legit concern, but I’m running with it. I have been using bacon fat in the pan, but I think I’m going to stop that. Everything tastes too much like bacon, and I want it to taste like beef – White Oak grassfed in this case.

BONUS!

I made eggs with ramps and grits.

Geechie Boy grits from South Carolina are outstanding. As are the eggs from Many Fold Farms, found at Peacthree Road Farmers Market. Those will definitely be a repeat purchase, if I can get there early enough.

Villains Wicked Heroes, the anticipated sandwich shop from Alex Brounstein (Grindhouse), Jason McClure (FLIP Buckhead), and Jared Lee Plyes (HD1) just opened in Midtown this week.

Having all week had a strong craving for a satisfying sandwich, I decided to make an early visit, which can be risky. But it’s a sandwich shop, I wouldn’t expect there to be quite the length of time to dial in the kitchen.

Even still, I won’t go on about every single thought. I will say, based on what I read I expected the sandwiches to be a little heftier. I wouldn’t say they are much more filling than a Victory Sandwich, whose sandwiches are at half the price point. The bread is certainly larger at Villians, but I like the amount of filling in a sandwich to leave little dead space.

The patio was fantastic on a superb Atlanta spring afternoon. I may have had a nice Avery Joe’s pilsner for $4 with my lunch, but fret not, I still made it in to the gym after work.

Kingpig of Crime – porchetta, arugula, garlic aioli

Personally, the combined heat from the arugula and garlic is a bit much for me, I’d sub the garlic and create a more cutting aioli. Maybe add mustard.

Hail Nero (kale Caesar salad) & Soba and Kale Salad

Megatron – breaded pork cutlet, pickled radish, cabbage, “Stinger Sauce”

Looking at the inside bar from the outside bar.

It’s been a long time since I’ve had a guest post. In general, my friends are bored of my food hobby and don’t read my blog.

But my friend LEGEND still does, and he also has better tastes in food and wine than I do. In fact that’s how he’s earned the moniker. A young man like myself (ahem, still young at 32, right?), he has traveled and eaten widely (and roundly) and has a very discerning and scrupulous palate. Don’t even get me started on the wines he’s consumed. 

Michael is less forgiving than I. If he tells me it’s good, I take note. And lately, I fahking love BBQ and especially brisket. Can’t get enough of it. Brisket is the Burgundy of meats. There is so much out there that is terrible, but when it hits you, you know what everyone in Texas is bragging on.

Thusly, I bring you his report from a recent Texas BBQ trip a few friends of mine took a few weeks ago. There are a ton of photos, but it would be a disservice to this beautiful cattle to not share them with you. 

Four guys, nine restaurants, a few sushi dinners at Uchiko and MF Houston (formerly Buckhead). Enjoy. — Jimmy 

2013 Texas BBQ Tour –

Brisket and sausage are undoubtedly the King and Queen of Texas barbecue.  They are served at every respectable BBQ joint and even some that aren’t.  Inspired by the BBQ Posse’s most recent trip around the state where they ranked their favorite places this trip included nine barbecue restaurants over the course of 48 hours.

On the list were Frankin, LA Barbecue, Louie Mueller, Black’s, Smitty’s Market, Kreuz Market, City Market, Snow’s, and Pecan Lodge.  The idea was to incorporate some of the new guard (Pecan Lodge, Franklin, LA Barbecue) along with the history and tradition of Texas BBQ.

Four guys in total, with two hailing from Atlanta, one from Boston, and one true-blooded Texan took on this brave challenge to find the best BBQ in Texas.  While there is more to Texas BBQ than brisket and sausage (there were a couple of pork sightings, as well as ribs, and even turkey) we, as a group, only focused on those two items.  No other meats or sides were judged (they were however ordered).  Each person was given a scorecard that ranked brisket in 5 categories (1-10 scale) broken down into the following – Bark, Smoke, Rub, Tenderness, and Moistness.  Sausage was judged on Snap, Spiciness, and Moistness (also on a 1-10 scale).  Brisket was always ordered as “fatty” or  “moist” and sausage was always the “original” version.

The first stop was Franklin as the line is notoriously long and with the schedule we were trying to stay on waiting in line for hours just wasn’t an option.  With an 8:50 am arrival time our group was 10^th in line (on a Friday, YMMV on other days, etc…).  Franklin opens at 11 am and if you aren’t in line early be prepared to wait.  There are people renting chairs ($5 btw), groups camped out with cases of beers, and families throwing footballs.  This can be an all day experience if you want it to be……that said, no freaking way am I standing on a Texas asphalt parking lot for hours on end.  If you want to be some of the first people to eat I’d consider getting in line no later than 9:20-9:30am.   Even then you’re still looking at 25-40 minute wait until you get food from when the doors open (based on observations from that day).

These barbecue restaurants are more like markets where you order by the pound at the counter and the price of your meal is based on the weight selected.  Note – you don’t have to order a ½ or full lb or meat, you can order by the slice if you’d like.  This offers a great flexibility if you want to try multiple meats, etc….

Franklin (like most Texas BBQ joints) only has 1 person cutting meats, so this doesn’t help with the speed of the ordering process.  However, it does allow for you to view your meats as they are being cut and it does give a great interaction between you and the cutter.  As a side note, if you are with a large group, Franklin does offer pre-ordering where they allow you to order 5lb of meat (can be mixed, ie 3lb of brisket, 2lb of sausage, etc…) for pick up before they open.  This process is only available via email and spots are limited and do fill up early so plan ahead.

After leaving Franklin we attempted to hit John Mueller Meat Company but due to lack of screening around his pit he has been temporarily shut down (looks to reopen very soon).  This turned out to be a blessing in disguise as our next stop was LA Barbecue “Cuisine Texicana”.  John Lewis is the pitmaster here and was formally the assistant to Aaron Franklin at Franklin Barbecue.  While the brisket was no slouch (5^th overall) the sausage (called “Hot Guts” on the menu) stole the show.  A combination of brisket, beef heart, and beef liver this sausage ranked #1 as the top sausage of the trip with an average of 28.5 points out of a possible 30.  If you are in Austin, this is a can’t miss bite of food.  Thumbs up to the free keg of Lone Star (tips appreciated) and some great live music.

Next up the group headed south to what is considered the heart of Texas barbecue, Lockhart, TX.  Three of the most famous Texas barbecue restaurants are located within minutes of each other.  Knowing the lauded reputations of these three legendary locations my expectations were high to say the least.  Expectations are one thing….being able to deliver on those expectations is another.  Overall Lockhart was a sad disappointment of BBQ (Texas or not).  It was a sad disappointment because of the BBQ, not because of my (or the group’s) high expectations.

Black’s was up first and while the brisket (6^th overall) had flavor, it was improperly cut.  Yep, this is supposed to be one of the best in Texas and even at this level stupid mistakes happen.  The brisket was cut with the grain versus against the grain, which caused the brisket to be tough, and added some chew into the equation.  The flavor was good as was the rub, moistness and smoke level but the group just couldn’t get past the extra chew.  The sausage was good, but nothing to write home about (6^th overall).

Kreuz Market and Smitty’s Market were up next.  Kreuz is a huge facility with seating for over 600 people and 24 gigantic pits.  At both Kreuz and Smitty’s Market the pits are hot, 600+ degrees hot.  This isn’t the low and slow method of BBQ that you’re used to…and it shows.  The brisket at both locations was beyond poor with Smitty’s Market being the worst offender (scoring 25 points out of a possible 50).  Overcooked would be an understatement.

Smitty

The final stop of the day was in Luling, TX at City Market.  Also another famous institution of Texas BBQ, City Market has been around for decades.  This wasn’t a good way to end the day.  Yes, a step up from Smitty’s but more like a baby step as City Market had the greasiest/fattiest sausage on the trip.  It was truly disgusting the amount of grease that cascaded out onto our hands while eating (note – no forks at City Market).  The sausage finished in 8^th place (out of 9) with a score of 17.75 and the brisket wasn’t much to talk about either as it ended up in 8^th as well with 29.75 points.  Total points of 47.5 landed City Market with an overall place of 8^th.

Day 2 (Saturday) kicked off with an hour long drive from Austin to Snow’s which is located in Lexington, TX.  Snow’s is only open on Saturday and is owned by Kerry Bexley with Ms. Tootsie Tomanetz maintaining the pit.  They have been open since March of 2003 and in 2008 were named the best BBQ in Texas by Texas Monthly Magazine.  They open at 8am and while the line has shifted to places like Franklin this is still top quality BBQ.  Snow’s is something special as was demonstrated by the second helping that was had by the group…yes, seconds.   In the second helping we ordered a slice of lean brisket that was nearly as spectacular as the moist.  The moist brisket was spectacular with the proper balance of smoke, seasoning, tenderness, moistness, and proper cooking.  Snow’s brisket was the top of the trip with a score of 44.5 points and the sausage came in 2^nd place with 25.5 points.  An excellent showing lead Snow’s to be the overall winner (70 points). This is easily worth a trip if you are in Austin or Dallas (3 hr drive), and honestly, might be flight worthy.

Up next was Louie Mueller Barbecue in Taylor, TX which is a short 30 minute drive from Lexington.  If you are in the area at Snow’s, there is no reason not to go to Louis Mueller.  In fact, it’s worth a trip of its own.  The brisket is huge/thick with ample seasoning, crust, and tender.  Known for their extensive black pepper seasoning, the meats here aren’t lacking any seasoning.  The extensive black pepper was a welcome change to the other (similar) flavors in previous rubs.  The brisket was so good that it placed 2^nd overall with 40.75 points. Although it wasn’t rated, the brontosaurus sized black pepper crusted beef rib was spectacular.  The Rib is enough to easily feed 2 grown males.  Louie Mueller also has multiple types of sausage that were quite tasty.  The original (sausage) placed 4^th with an overall score of 24.25 just behind Franklin (25 points) and Snow’s (25.5 points).  The chipotle sausage was a welcome change that provided a nice kick of spice and a bit of extra flavor.

Final stop on the Texas Barbecue trip adventure was Pecan Lodge that is located in the Dallas Farmer’s Market – Shed 2.  This relative newcomer has quickly become one of the most highly regarded barbecue restaurants in Texas, and for good reason.  The brisket ranked in at #3 on the overall standings scoring 37.75 just 1 point behind Franklin and only .25 ahead of LA Barbecue.  The sausage was good, but didn’t show as well as the brisket coming in 5^th overall with a score of 22.75.  Pecan Lodge takes a bit more liberty with the offering of menu items than some of the south Texas BBQ spots.  These included things like fried chicken (yeah, it’s pretty damn good) and “The Hot Mess” (Jumbo sea salt crusted sweet potato stuffed with barbacoa, cheese, chipotle cream, green onions, and crumbled bacon).  Even though it wasn’t scored the burnt ends were spectacular chunks of double smoked goodness.  One of the best bites on the trip.

Overall a great trip was had (approx 700 miles in the car….), some disappointments (I’m looking at you Lockhart, Texas) and some high points (Snow’s, beef rib at Louie Mueller, burnt ends at Pecan Lodge, and sausage at La Barbecue).

Hopefully the Carolinas are next……

Overall Winners -

Brisket – Snows (44.5 pts)
Sausage – LA Barbecue (28.5 pts)
Overall Combination – Snow’s (70 points)

Worst of the Worst -
Brisket – Smitty’s (25 pts)
Sausage – Smitty’s (15.75 pts)

Lowest overall combination – Smitty’s (40.75 pts)

Brisket -

Snow’s – 44.5
Louie Mueller – 40.75
Franklin – 38.75
Pecan Lodge – 37.75
LA Barbecue – 37.50
Black’s – 35
Kreuz – 33
City Market – 29.75
Smitty’s – 25

Sausage -
LA Barbecue – 28.5
Snow’s – 25.5
Franklin – 25
Louie Mueller – 24.25
Pecan Lodge – 22.75
Black’s – 20
Kreuz – 18
City Market – 17.75
Smitty’s – 15.75

Combined in order of “best” to “worse”
Snow’s – 70
LA Barbecue – 66
Louie Mueller – 65
Franklin – 63.75
Pecan Lodge – 60.5
Black’s – 55
Kreuz – 51
City Market – 47.5
Smitty’s – 40.75

Been a while since I’ve had a Gavage post, in which I dump a bunch of content not necessarily appropriate for a single topic post. You could also call it the “hey, look what I’ve been doing” series, or the “yeah, I eat and drink a lot and my doctor said I may have a fatty liver” post.

Fatty liver he says? Like foie gras from a goose? Fatted up by gavage? Basically, he’s saying there’s a chance I gavage myself. That’s some full circle shit I just dropped rightcha.

We have a lot of work to do, let’s get started. Above – fried chicken at Star Provisions. A little crackly, but under appreciated.

Below – Individual lasagna. I need to do more of these and freeze them. This one is based on duck ragu I had in the freezer. Easy lunch.

Mikkeller beers. A new obsession, especially the sours. Expensive. Worth it. Available at Le Caveau and Hop City. Elsewhere too, I’m sure.

Calle Latina – Decatur. Tacos, arepas, empanadas. A solid option near the square. Chicken arepa was my favorite.

 
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A tour of Ponce City Market. It’s going to be badass. Office, retail, residential, and many, many food options. From the developers of Chelsea Market in NYC (and Westside Provisions District, for a more local view of their flavor).

It’s basically a couple million square feet of this right now. Super creepy at night, by the way.

Bachelor party in Asheville. Visited Highland Brewery. Fun. Good beer. I went to Monday Night Brewing last week and I thought it was a similar venue and vibe. I highly recommend both.

I didn’t get to do as much eating as I would have liked in Asheville. We ate brunch at a place called Limones. They handled a large group well. The menu read more interesting than the dishes turned out to be, but hey, it’s brunch.

Been a while since I’ve been part of an impromptu Burgundy tasting with buddies. A very solid showing. The magnum of white Burgundy was the ticket, a slap-punch reminder of why I got into in the first place.

I’m not a dessert-thrill-seeker, but Rowdy’s duck fat biscuits with warm apples, filled with salted caramel ice cream and topped with creme fraiche was outrageous. Salt/fat/warm/cold – yes.

The Meatball Shop vegetarian meatballs. Lentil base. Walnuts, carrots, celery and a few other items round out a very hearty and satisfying veg experience.

New items at Miso Izakaya. On one side – a drunk slut-fest of hamburger topped with sweet, salty gravy and poached egg with fries. The other, crisped scallops with maitake mushrooms and corn-miso puree. They’ve had a new menu for a few weeks, and it’s more enticing to me than ever. And Fable Jeon is making some very excellent cocktails. Try the Unsung Hiro with a tea salted ice cube. Don’t drink it too fast and check out what the salt does to the ice.

Last weekend friends were in town and they wanted sushi. Huku delivered a top tier experience. Afterwards, The Spence delivered uber wine geekiness. You may notice on the nigiri (bass with uni riding piggy back) a slight glaze of sauce. This is called nikiri, which I noticed Jey-San has begun to use with regularity. Top sushi chefs often brush this sauce, a proprietary mix of sake, soy sauce, dashi, and mirin, on each piece as they hand it to you. If nikiri is used, you are not to dip the sushi in soy sauce as the appropriate amount has already been applied for you. Many of the very best sushi restaurants don’t even offer their patrons soy sauce, opting for nikiri application only.

My brother made an electric smoker out of flower pots, using instruction from Alton Brown. It’s bad-ass. I want to make one now.

Braves opening day. No, I didn’t get an H&F burger. The Ted added Kevin Rathbun steak last year, H&F burger’s this year, so if this timeline is correct, we should expect Heirloom BBQ to appear right around the 2016 season.

Speaking of which…Heirloom.

I also eat fish. Fish sandwich at AJ’s Seafood in Snellville. It’s serviceable. Super cheap.

The most elusive restaurant in Atlanta, somewhere on the Westside.

Finally, I went to St. Pete/Tampa earlier this year. It was beautiful, but a little cold.

We fancied it up at Bern’s for a couple of nights, but I ate fish sandwiches there too, this one from Woody’s Waterfront, and it was more than serviceable.

The Don Cesar in St. Pete.

Hanging at the pool, drinking some fuzzy wine…

First there was LeRoy’s Chicken (Leh-Roy, not Lee-Roy, bubba). They had everything going for it – high quality chicken, a classically trained and respected chef, rich and trendy pork lard for frying, and beautiful broasting fryers. Everything, except a consistently well executed fried chicken with an enjoyable (read: not flacid and falling apart gummy) exterior. While I’m told it eventually improved, they never recovered from the initial miscues.

The veneer, signage, and most importantly, those broasters, remained. Then came Curly’s Fried Chicken. The color scheme changed, prices went down, product became consistent though unimportant (yet they found their way on to Bourdain’s The Hangover in what was surely a logistical filming convenience), and….they promptly closed, citing a search for a new venue.

Enter Ben’s Brown Bag, which opened yesterday. They bill themselves as “Atlanta’s newest fast food restaurant”. Sloppy Joe’s, burgers, and PB&J. Take-out only.

$5 for a burger. $2 for cheese. The website menu says $1 for cheese. $2 for fries. I asked if the sea salt and vinegar was a seasoning on top of fries. Affirmative. Five minutes later my bag lunch arrived.

I ate in the car. Wait. Those are chips, not fries. Though, they are good. Hot, right out of the broaster! Nobody wants to move those damn things. If they ever come up for sale I’m putting one in my dream kitchen.

The burger. Very soft, slightly sweet toasted bun. Nice.

Interior shot. Gross to see half eaten food, I know, but it gives you a better idea of what we’re talking about here. It went down quickly.

Though it’s local (North Carolina local) beef and a homemade soft bun, this is not a gourmet burger. Simplicity. A touch of sweetness. It’s an order at the counter burger. It’s a tastes-like-beef burger. It’s a makes you happy, snarf it down…fast food burger.

I’ve had this burger before. It took me a few hours and I just remembered. Sorry for the terrible pic but this is me eating a Pat Lafrieda Custom Burger from the Delta terminal at LGA. The Lafrieda beef is a little juicier, fattier, but they are very, very close. It was clear combination of sweetness and beef that triggered my taste memory. They are very much the same. No frills, just satisfying in a fast food context.

I’d like it if Ben’s went back to the initial plan of $1 for cheese and maybe a touch bigger patty to accomodate the larger bun. Cook it a smidgen less as the fat content seems low. You got a winner.

Parking is tough here. It’s all to-go, and there is no indoor waiting area. I wish them best of luck. I will be back to try more.