Just a quick invitation, as I know a lot of friends and friends-of-friends (and soon to be friends) read this blog from time to time. Our 5th annual chili cook-off is coming up next month – it will take place Saturday, February 18 from 4-8PM at 5 Seasons Westside.  We moved it from Red Brick Brewery (formerly Atlanta Brewing) because they increased the cost and last year their service was terrible.

For $20 a person we have the whole upstairs (indoors and patio), a few beers, and hopefully lots of tasty chili competing fiercely in three categories – spiciest, best unusual, and best overall. If you want to enter, please let us know at lpchilisociety@gmail.com so we can plan accordingly (we provide trays, sterno, serving utensils, cheese, chips, etc). If you have tailgating style tables you can allow us to use it is much appreciated. Also check our evite to RSVP so we can plan resources.

All profits will go to Hands on Atlanta. And a big shout out to Jaimie Cohen from Estoria Social Wedding & Event Planning who has been assisting with the event.

Check out cook offs from prior years – Feb 2011 | Nov 2009

After LeRoy’s Fried Chicken closed, I was telling a friend, “someone should open up a hot chicken stand there. All the equipment is ready to go.”

I wasn’t far off.

Curly’s Fried Chicken opened today in the recently failed chicken shack. I noticed a guy hanging out the order window as I was on my way to get have my oil changed, so I decided to add a more tasty pit stop to my previously planned maintenance schedule.

While the menu is very different, the type face and fonts are quite similar. I did a double take when I first glanced at it as I thought it might be the same.

LeRoy’s was a partnership with the folks than own Fellini’s/La Fonda, but in this case the new owner is simply renting from them, they have nothing to do with the operation. The pressure fryers from LeRoy’s are intact, though they are now using canola instead of lard.

I sampled a thigh, wing, and drum, regular style (you have the option of the chicken being dipped in Buddy’s secret sauce).

Whereas LeRoy’s touted the quality of their natural Spring mountain chicken and the use of lard, and attempted to use an interesting but problematic buttermilk dipped crust, Curly’s chicken feels much more like straight forward single flour dip fried chicken.

The pieces are average size, probably not brined, with a simple crust, maybe a touch salty, and it lacked the slippery country style greasiness I enjoy a la Carver’s - it’s by no means earth shattering. But it’s extra crispy, tender, and affordable. A fine quick fried chicken fix if you’re in the area. I wouldn’t rush back, except that I want to try some sides and maybe a fried fish sandwich.

Last night Katie and I tried the new Bell Street Burritos on the Westside. It’s near Flip in the old Social House space, where I once had a stunningly bad breakfast.

Willy’s has been our go-to place on Howell Mill for a quick meal for a long time; It’s close to our home, I think they use fresh ingredients, they’re consistent, and the burritos and beer are inexpensive. This particular location also has a full bar.

The throne is in jeopardy. Not since my last visit to Anna’s in Boston have I day-dreamed of a burrito.

What’s that? You’d like an iPhone photo of a partially eaten pork and green chile burrito? Well tip ‘o the cap to you sir, proceed!

The packed to the brim tortilla is appropriately steamed, dense, chewy and substantial. The shredded pork is tender and moist. Just a hint of heat from the chiles. But the beans! The tender yet firm pinto beans are astoundingly good. I rarely order pintos as they are so often mushy, but these were clearly prepared properly, which is to say, with a watchful eye. The rice was a tad overcooked but one could argue it assists in cohesion. The burrito is massive, by the way, not for the faint of appetite.

We tried the cheese dip and salsas too. They made a good chip selection, substantially thick but not heavy. The cheese dip…is cheese dip, and the green salsa is pleasant, but the thin style red salsa is really fantastic, so flavorful, it’s on point son!

I don’t know if a liquor license is in the works, but if they start offering beer, Bell Street will definitely be up there on my neighborhood rotation.

The Porch at Collier has been open a week or so, in the greatly renovated former Hong Li space, next door to Big Easy Grill and the new location of Verde. I’ve been eagerly waiting for both of these restaurants to open due to the shortage of casual eating/drinking within stumbling distance of my home. The food was terrible at Fox and Hounds, but it was my go-to spot for a quick beer or three.

I’ve been to Verde twice now and think it’s solid within its genre. They changed the salsa recipe last week, and it’s improved. They really did a lot of work on that space, it’s very spacious and cool, easily a place to watch a bunch of football. While the food format is very similar to Taqueria del Sol, I like that there’s table service and it’s more of a place you can hang for a bit.

Back to the point. I was on the way to lunch in Midtown but discovered I had a blown tire so I put on the spare and decided to stay close to home, thus my chance to visit The Porch. Helmed by Ryan Stewart, formerly of The Glenwood, Eno, and Farmstead 303, the Porch at Collier is a big space, with an amazing roof top (just in time for Winter!), with a feel somewhere between modern lounge (read: purple couches and shiny things) and casual pub. There’s a mix of regular tables, bar style high tables, “loungin’ areas”, and a long wood bar. I sampled two items from their lunch menu, a safe mix of wraps, sliders, soups, salads, and a few other unfocused selections.

I started with the calamari, just because I wanted to try a couple of things. Calamari usually “is what it is” but something fried and crunchy sounded good. The cornmeal crust is well done, and the chorizo and romesco-like sauce add interest to this huge portion. If you want fried calamari, I’d recommend it.

My main was the lamb sliders. I tried to improve my putrid photo by using some of those fancy image filters available in Flickr. It really worked well, huh? Having just enough lamb funk, with a good bit flavor from the goat cheese and pickled onion, I enjoyed these, except that the well toasted but otherwise simple buns were too large for the patties. No matter, I just tore off the edges. The small side of french fries were exactly like hot McDonald’s fries, which is not a complaint.

While not destination worthy in my opinion, my two selections were of better quality than anything I had at Fox & Hounds. I just hope the place catches on as a bar hangout, I think it will be critical to their success. They did have a separate cocktail/beer/wine menu which looked decent. I do worry that the upscale/loungy vibe won’t draw those that are simply looking to hangout and quaff a few suds in a familiar place. But I plan on going back soon. The dinner menu appears to have a few more selections with potential.

A friend recently gave me this as a gift. Obviously, it’s a wine bottle cut in half, then converted into a candle by Perrine’s wine shop on the Westside. I think it’s a great idea. There are some special bottles that I’d like to save, such as this ridiculous ’91 Rousseau with an incredibly gorgeous label, but it looks a bit uncouth to have empty wine bottles sitting around the house. I think the candles look much more presentable and one can commemorate a special occasion for around $20-$25, depending on bottle size. They have some bottles cut and ready for purchase, but the lovely Perrine just told me you can bring your own bottles and they’ll take care of you.

** JULY 19 UPDATE TO THE POST BELOW **

I stopped in at LeRoy’s Fried Chicken on Howell Mill with some buddies last week. The new walk-up-only chicken stand had been open three days, it was a Friday afternoon, and we decided, hey, let’s go hang out at one of two umbrella-less tables on their porch and sweat until I have a nice ass print in my khakis. Yeah, I didn’t really think that one through.

I ordered quickly then forked over my $11 (plus a buck in the tip jar, labeled “chicken feed”) for my two piece with mac ‘n cheese and a coke.

And then I waited, and perspired. But at least I had some entertainment. Maybe fifteen minutes into our wait, a lady who had been waiting ahead of us inquired, “what oil do you use for frying?”. Julia smiled a bit and proudly replied, “lard!”.

The woman’s face instantly fell, as if someone has pissed on her snow cone. “Lard. That’s pork right? I can’t eat that…you have to cancel my order. You have to refund my money”. Yeah, it’s not Muslim friendly fried chicken. She had been waiting out in that sun for over twenty minutes to find out she couldn’t eat it. Wha Wha.

Oh well, I got mine! So there it is, pressure fryer lard cooked fried chicken. I love the deep color. I thought it was a nice indication of flavor to come.

No such luck. The exterior, which I’ll call a batter, was too thick, soggy, uneven in parts, and grossly under-seasoned. In appearance it reminds me of the Ad Hoc fried chicken, which goes with a coating of flour/seasoning, followed by a buttermilk dredge, followed by more flour/seasoning. The result of that is a thick coating, an entity unto itself, a delicious shell of crunchy flavor, rather than an extension of the chicken itself. It’s different than what I do at home (single thin flour dip) but it’s a tasty rendition, mostly due to the amount of seasoning in Keller’s recipe, particularly the double-take inducing amount of garlic and onion salt. LeRoy’s chicken fails in that regard.

Second is the issue of the texture. I watched the dredge/coating process through the window and it didn’t appear that they were letting the buttermilk (or egg wash, I couldn’t tell) sufficiently drip-drain from each piece before coating with flour. I believe that this results in an excessively wet batter that becomes chewy and soggy on the inside of the shell during cooking.

When I’m cooking fried chicken, I will often let the post flour dip chicken sit for thirty minutes on the counter, or an hour or more in the fridge to remove as much moisture from the exterior as possible. Perhaps in the mad dash to push out as much chicken as possible on a busy Friday, LeRoy’s doesn’t have this luxury of time.

I will be back, because these problems are easily addressed, but I expect more at that price. Oh, and can you throw us a combo meal for under $10? A drink and a side included? The mac was enough for three people, which is fine if you are sharing, but ends up being pricey and wasteful for a party of one.

** JULY 19 UPDATE **

I went again yesterday to see if things had changed, and the lunch situation is indeed improved. There’s an $8 combo meal with two pieces of dark meat, a biscuit, butter, and a lemonade or sweet tea. There are also umbrellas which make the few minute wait more bearable. I enjoyed the biscuit too, though mine looked different than other photos I saw online. Perhaps they changed the recipe? It’s super buttery and satisfying. The chicken, however, still needs some work. The crust is still too thick, overcooked, gummy, and just plain not crunchy enough. I dislike that the wet batter peels away so easily, exposing the should-be-but-isn’t crispy skin of the chicken thigh. I hope it’s still a work in progress…or maybe it’s just my personal tastes interfering?

I love taking photos in natural light at lunch time, it makes me look like I know what I’m doing with this big camera. On occasion wait staff will ask me if I’m a photographer. Sometimes I tell them I just like to take photos of my food, other times I reply, “No, I’m in construction”, offering nothing else but a blank stare. It amuses me.

These are the smoked wings from Moe’s Original BBQ, the chain out of Vail, Colorado (by way of Tuscaloosa). This was my first visit to the former Kool Korners locale; of course the original building has been completely replaced, so the few month old BBQ restaurant is new and clean and surprisingly spacious, with a number of tables and booths, a long wood bar, and a nice elevated deck by the parking in the rear.

The menu has all the usual suspects. The wings were good. Not close to touching Fox Brothers smoked wings, but they were smoky and tender enough. I had some corn and collards as sides, both of which were fine too.

I also shared some ribs (below), which were also good enough. Tender, meaty, a bit of pink under the bark, but fairly uninspiring. Again, nothing offensive, but I haven’t given them another thought until today. On the other hand, I day dream of Heirloom BBQ every time their daily specials show up in my Facebook feed.

I think Moe’s would satisfy a BBQ craving if you are in the area, better than Pappy Red’s or Billy Jack’s.

Tom’s Folly recently opened up in the space on Howell Mill across from Mr. C’s (my eyes! the smoke, oh Lord by eyes!). It used to be Khima, a Moroccan restaurant with a friendly owner and pretty good food, but it just never caught on. Since my first visit to Tom’s Folly, a couple of weeks into their opening a few months ago, I’ve wondered if they would suffer the same fate. I had a fine roast beef sandwich, and met the new friendly owner, who bought me a beer for being a first time visitor.

To be candid, I never went back for the same reason I didn’t visit Khima often – it sort of makes me sad to see a place so empty. I realize this may be backwards logic (if I visit, it will help them succeed, no?) but it makes me sick to think about how much money and sweat equity can be lost in restaurant ventures. Sometimes I don’t have the stomach for the restaurant business.

Well when I read Christiane Lauterbach’s positive review in the recent Knife & Fork, I was given the little push that I needed. Plus, it’s just down the road from my house and I pass it nearly every day. No excuses.

I’m glad I went – the corn and potato chowder with bacon was just what I needed on a brisk day, and it was wonderfully filling and had that you-know-it’s-homemade consistency.

Another special of the day was the slider trio – one pork belly, one meatball, one burger slider with their homemade tater tots. The seared and slow braised pork was really good – tender enough to not slide off the bun with each bite, but still firm enough to constitute a sandwich. The meatball and burger both utilize spicy homemade pork sausage, though the burger doesn’t use much. But the use of sausage still means they cook the burger medium-well, an unfortunate requirement even though I enjoyed the spice, as I found it to be a bit tough. The bread is too large for the filling, and I prefer a steamed bun on a slider, but I was happy with my order overall.

The “tots” aren’t exactly what I expected, they’re really more like mini potato, cheese, and chorizo croquettes…and they are fantastic. There’s only a few of them on a side order, but they are filling and my arteries thank the kitchen for their portion control.

I was told business had doubled since Christiane’s review, and I was happy to hear that. Sometimes a little spark is all that is needed.

The overexposed photo above was a request from my bride to be, as Fox & Hounds is where we met. Sorry, not all how-we-met stories are very romantic, though I do believe I picked up her vodka-heavy tab.

Fox & Hounds was dirty, smelly, and though they banned smoking near the end of its life, a decade of hard living is a sheen not easily removed. But it was my neighborhood pub, the place I stopped off at for a beer on the way home. An easy place to meet friends and sip a few suds on the patio, maybe play a little pool, watch the game on TV. On one special night my roommate Aaron was convinced that he wanted people to throw darts at him, right before he bought a round of Jager-bombs for everyone in sight. All this around 6PM on a Friday.

I still haven’t found a good replacement for my care-free, easy decision hangout, though Katie and I sometimes go to Fellini’s for a slice and a beer, or maybe Willy’s for margaritas and nachos.

As such, I was happy to hear Verde was opening their new location in the old F&H space, and that The Local is opening up next door in the weird barn-like building that has been a curiously empty Chinese restaurant for at least a decade.

I may be biased because one of my friends is part owner of Verde, but I see myself dropping in there a good bit. A lot of bloggers have shit on them, and I decided to stay out of the fray and never post on them because of my association. But I have a lot of objections to comments that have been made about quality and value. I know for a fact that pretty much everything is made in house. I’ve seen first-hand the effort and care they put into opening and subsequently running the restaurant, and I have a hard time being critical when we’re talking about a neighborhood taco joint. A place where you can sit at the bar and drink a cold beer and have a taco for a few bucks. It was never meant to be a “destination”, but online critics went out there the first week and declared their salsa to be store-bought and the buffalo chicken “a bit dry”. So the bloggers don’t write about it anymore, but damned if Verde isn’t packed every nice Atlanta afternoon.

Sometimes I even get sick of myself, with all the foodie “where do you eat” and “what’s the best ___” pretense, so if none of them are to be found at Verde, then even better, I’ve found my neighborhood solace.

It’s been a while since I’ve been to Spoon. It seems every time I want to visit, it happens to be Sunday, and they weren’t open. On my visit this past Friday I saw signage that says they are now open on Sunday evenings. So, there’s that.

I’ve come down with a cold, and thought a bowl of tom yum gai and some spicy curry would be the perfect complement to the chilly temps and my congested sinuses. It hit the spot. I love spooning the sauce over my rice, and it saves me from embarrassing myself by drinking the last remnants of the curry directly from its bowl.

I’d rate the meal as above average, though it was pretty much your standard tom yum soup and red curry. The vegetables in the curry weren’t soggy, a problem I see occasionally. Prices on the lunch menu were fair. It was super crowded for Friday lunch, but service handled it fairly well.

I’d like to try some of their more differentiating dinner entrees, though the prices of the dinner specials listed on the blackboard were between $25-30, definitely not a drop in the bucket, probably only bested by Naan for priciest Thai food in Atlanta.