Chow Down Atlanta

My sister and I went to a very good friend‘s wedding and stayed at the W Hotel in downtown where the bridal party/family/friends are all staying. After dancing ourselves silly at the event (we were literally the last ones there, by the way), we headed up to the Drink Shop for the after-party. All these worked up an appetite, unfortunately, the bar only serves food up to 10PM. So guess what we did: order room service!!! This is our 3AM burger. It was thick, juicy, delicious. Served perfectly medium on a buttered, sesame seed bun. The fries were amazing — crispy up to the last bite. Yummy!!!

This awesome burger is from BLT Steak (which also provides all in-room dining at the hotel 24 hours daily).

The scoop:
BLT Steak
45 Ivan Allen Jr. Blvd. (use W. Peachtree Place if your GPS can’t find the newly-named street)
Atlanta, GA 30308
(404) 577-7601

Technorati Tags: room service, W Hotel, burger

I’m probably the last one to post a review on FLIP.  I’ve been here a handful of times and each time, we’ve had to wait a good 45 minutes for a table. It didn’t matter whether we came on a weekday or a weekend, mid-day or peak time. There was a wait. But tables do turn fast and it’s nice to people watch while waiting or ogle what people are eating.

On this last visit, my sister insisted we sit at the bar where Chef Mark Nanna was in action. So we gave up our table twice for the much coveted bar seats. Believe me, it was worth the wait — Chef Mark in a graceful cadence, focused, yet still having fun.

I do have to point out that the burgers here are smallish (5.5 oz uncooked). I have to have at least two. They are bigger than a slider yet smaller than the norm. I did see a few ladies eat just one and a good many who ate two. Most guys eat two or more. I had three. Burgers are made with hangar steak, brisket, and shortrib so there’s a good amount of good tasting fat in them. My all-time favorites are the FLIP burger and the Butcher Cut. The FLIP burger is pure, unadulterated burger goodness. You can’t go wrong with it. It is simple yet a consistently good all-around burger. The buttery brioche the burgers come in is definitely a plus and makes the burgers as good as they are.

I really like the Butcher Cut. It’s got caramelized onions, blue cheese, and red wine jam. The jam cuts into the fattiness of the meat which is really nice. The Po Boyger, sadly, is my least favorite. I really love shrimp but a thick patty of ground shrimp tastes, well, shrimpy. In small quantities like dimsum, they’re great but the minute you use a whole lot of them, hmm, I don’t know — they’re just hard to handle. I did see a lot of people order them and didn’t have any problems finishing them. I’m sure it’s just me.

For sides, the onion rings rule. The thin, crispy batter is excellent. The tempura rutabaga wasn’t as big a hit. I guess I just find the breading too thick — they were more like sliced rutabagas encased in doughnuts. Our fries this visit was a let down. They were so oily and I know the oil that the fry guy used just wasn’t hot enough. We had to send it back and the replacement was a tad better but not as good as when we had them before.

I find the Krispy Kreme milkshake a little sweet for my liking. But I do like the Nutella milkshake. It actually tasted more chocolatey than Nutella and I like the bits of nuts for crunch. Loved the toasted marshmallow topping although I personally think they put too much of it.

Verdict: A fun, trendy place to have unique burgers.  Service can be slow but efficient, nonetheless. Average tab per person $25 (two burgers, a side, and a shake).

Insider tip:
Shakes can be shared and will be served into two smaller glasses. Additional parking across the street.

The scoop:
FLIP Burger Boutique
1587 Howell Mill Rd NW
Atlanta, GA 30318
(404) 352-3547

[tags]FLIP Burger Boutique, West End, Howell Mill, burgers, shakes[tags]

Here’s another burger joint to hit our city recently. It’s a transplant from California that is settling in very nicely in suburbia. The concept here is that you can build your own burger — on paper. So instead of barking out your preferences to a server, you simply write it down yourself.

I got a 1/3 pound burger with Tillamook cheddar, Bermuda red onions, tomatoes, and my favorite burger topping: a fried egg over medium. I chose the garlic aioli for my sauce (additional $0.50). Nice bartender dude gave me the “2-o’clock-Special” so my burger came with a side of fries. I wanted to try the fried onion strings so I also got a side order of it.

The burger was perfectly cooked medium. Though tender, it was a bit bland for my tastes. The fried egg went very well with my burger and the onions were really crunchy; the tomatoes fresh and crispy. I’d say it’s a good burger overall although it’s not in the same class as H&F. The fries were definitely frozen but they were nicely fried and seasoned. The side of roasted garlic aioli was really good. Mix it up with ketchup and you’ve got a fantastic dipping sauce for your fries.

The fried onion strings were a bit greasy. I would have liked it better if they had used sweet onions. Will not order these again.

I also had the chocolate milkshake. I wasn’t impressed with the milkshake. It wasn’t chocolatey enough.

Verdict: pricey. My lunch came to $20 before tip. That included the +$1 topping and $0.50 aioli on the burger, milkshake, diet Coke, and an order of onion strings. I know, I know. But I do have a big appetite. I finished my burger, the fries, half of the strings, 2 glasses of soda, and quarter of the milkshake. Still, in this economic times, $20 is a bit much for lunch. Burgers are okay, fries are okay, onion strings are oily, and milkshakes are mediocre. Service, atmosphere, and the whole counter burger experience are all thumbs-up.

The scoop:
The Counter: Custom Built Burgers
850 Mansell Rd
Roswell, GA 30076
(678) 461-9661

Technorati Tags: The Counter, burgers, Alpharetta, milkshakes

I hope all of you had a wonderful Thanksgiving as much as I did. Now back to regular programming.

I’ve been eating at chains the past week and one of the stops I made was at Red Robin up in Cumming at The Avenue Forsyth (a brand new outdoor mall). It’s fascinating to note that every single food establishment in and around this mall is packed to the rafters every single weekend. Packed.  With 45 minute waits. Every single one of them. Even the yuckiest of them all. If I was gonna open a restaurant, it would be here. It’s a gold mine.

But back to my chain dining… The place looks like a chain, smells like a chain, even sounds like a chain. As with any other chain, it’s bright and it’s loud. Really loud. With a bevy of over-eager teen-aged servers.

My order of choice was obviously a burger, seeing that it’s their specialty. There are quite a few burger choices on the menu but I settled for a cheeseburger since it’s easier to compare with other burgers. Burgers here come in two temperatures: “pink or no pink”; which is their chain speak for your preferred doneness. They also come with bottomless steak fries.

The burger was meh. In fact, I wanted to shout, “where’s the beef?” I could not taste the beef at all with the large amount of toppings. First of all, the beef patty was tiny and the buns were huge and tasteless. Then, it didn’t help that it also had a whole handful of shredded lettuce, two huge slices of tomatoes, 2 slices of cheese, 7 onion rounds, 4 big pickle slices, and 3 teaspoons of mayo.  It’s like eating a salad sandwich. And although the steak fries were steaming hot, they were limp and bland. For around $10 I prefer to go to Five Guys where I can get 4 burgers which are far more superior in taste and quality.

Inside scoop:
Flavored teas have free refills

The scoop:
Red Robin Gourmet Burgers & Spirits
370 Peachtree Pky
Cumming, GA 30041
(770) 781-0200
Sun-Thurs: 11a-10p; Fri-Sat: 11a-11p

My family used to go to Ted’s a lot when it first opened.  Until the novelty wore off.  Then we totally forgot about it for a couple of years.  We visited again three times in the last two months.  Most everything is still the same, except for a miss or two.

First the hits.  The Bison burger is really fresh and very good depending on the location.  The one in Norcross (at The Forum) and the one in Midtown both make consistently great burgers:  the ground meat is seasoned very, very  lightly before grilling, just enough so that the real bison flavor gets to stand out.  I also like that my burgers always come out at the perfect temperature. The one in Cumming (The Avenue), unfortunately, makes theirs bland. And they tend to overcook their burgers.

The Bison Chili is fantastic.  Always. It is meaty and flavorful and only has a few beans in them. I don’t like beany chili — I’ve had some where there are more beans than ground meat. The chili here is really so good. There are big clumps of ground meat despite having been simmered for hours. Partner this with their heavenly fresh baked rolls and it’s already a meal in itself.

The Bison Meatloaf is also very good. But I’ve gotten one or two orders at different places that were dry. This meatloaf tastes just like beef meatloaf so for those who are apprehensive in trying bison, this is a great way to initiate yourself. I really love bison meat because it tastes great — it’s not gamey at all and it actually tastes much like beef. No to mention it is leaner and contains less calories and cholesterol than beef or chicken.

The Pot Roast lately, has been watery most times especially at the Cumming location. However, when you do get a good one, it is fork-tender and the sauce is smooth and flavorful. It is available on Saturdays and one day during the week.

If ever you get a craving for a bison burger or just want a light lunch of bison chili, head on over to Ted’s on Midtown or Norcross. They make it good. All the time.

Insider tip:
You must leave room for the Malted Chocolate Milkshake made with Haagen-Dazs ice-cream.

The scoop:
Ted’s Montana Grill
For locations, click here.

Technorati Tags: Ted’s Montana Grill, bison burger, bison chili, bison potroast, Midtown, Norcross