2007 Food & Drink Wrap-Up

originally published January 9, 2008

Franchise Frenzy: The story of 2007 in Athens food is largely a story of franchises, or at least that’s how it seemed at the close of the year. Not that formulaic is synonymous with bad. Sometimes the care that’s put into the organization of a franchised concept leads to better results than those produced by independents.

Five Guys Famous Burgers and Fries, which opened one location at Broad and College downtown and one on Epps Bridge Parkway, exemplifies this reasoning to the greatest degree. It’s not that they necessarily have the best burger in town, or that the combination of fast and tasty beats all comers, but consistency is not a flaw. What it all comes down to is whether the food is good or not and whether it meets your needs.

Other chain and franchised restaurants that arrived in Athens during the past year included: Beef O’Brady’s on the Eastside, serving burgers and beers in a sports bar setting; Willy’s Mexicana Grill in Beechwood, which makes an absolutely delicious tofu burrito, and a second Larry’s Giant Subs, in the same shopping center; Jersey Mike’s on Epps Bridge Parkway, in the same shopping center as Five Guys, another location of Johnny’s Pizza and the second incarnation of Five Points Deli, which seems to be moving in a franchisable direction itself; The Tartar House, near Athens Tech, still has only one location, but the seafood concept from Zaxby’s is using Athens to test the waters.

Gnat’s Landing opened on Baxter, and is the second location of a business from St. Simon's Island, though it's not a franchise as such, but owned by good friends of the owners of the original; it's a great example of a place with consistently impressive seafood shack offerings (and a great homemade pimento cheese sandwich served hot on request); Fatz Café on Lexington Road; Zero’s Subs in Watkinsville on Hog Mountain Road; and more I’m no doubt forgetting.

Cold Stone Creamery, on Broad downtown, closed down and is being turned into a Which Wich, yet another franchise. Oconee County is in the process of getting its own location of The Taco Stand, both Agua Linda and Ferrando’s Pizzeria are working on Timothy Road locations and Transmetropolitan is expanding to the West side. Atlanta’s Taqueria del Sol is still working on an Athens location and appears to be making its way through some environmental regulations before it can announce the specific spot.

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One-of-a-Kind: That said, it tends to be the smaller places driven by a particular personality that get me jazzed. Both Taqueria el Sol de Zacatecas (on Tallassee Road) and Taqueria El Ranchito (on Danielsville Road) are seemingly family establishments - the former serving an incredible creamy green sauce you’ll want to squirt straight into your mouth and the latter assembling marvelous and weird sandwiches. Las Conchitas Caliente thankfully remains open in Normaltown, probably more despite than because of its specials like cow heart on a stick, but Athens’ only option for authentic Peruvian also makes wonderful tamales, grilled sandwiches and more.

My review of Saving Grace Café, in Comer, may have created a firestorm on the letters page of Flagpole, but the restaurant deserves to be commended for proudly doing its own thing. White Tiger Gourmet Food and Chocolates, in the Boulevard area, is adorably odd and endearing, wrapping up Nutter Butters dipped in chocolate and preparing greasy breakfast sandwiches to order even at lunchtime.

Brett’s Casual American (Atlanta Highway) may feel a little bit like a franchise, but only because it’s clean, well-organized and shockingly friendly; the food is made to much higher standards than most “casual American” joints that spend more money on their ads than on their menus. Jimmy’s BBQ, on Lumpkin, seems to be hit and miss when it comes to the central product, but the restaurant is buying its ingredients locally, and Mercury Lounge, on East Clayton, continues to serve high-end cheeses in a welcoming environment.

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Singled Out: One of the big stories in the local restaurant biz last year was the opening of The National in the same building as Ciné on Hancock Avenue downtown. One can nibble on the tapas for a pittance, dine vegetarian easily and wonderfully and/ or grab a refreshing glass of vinho verde at the bar for far less than the house white at many restaurants.

Among the other restaurants that should be singled out is La Dolce Vita, which opened upstairs from Broad Street Bar & Grill in a nearly hidden location, offering beautiful plates of carpaccio, salads made with impeccable greens and, generally, combinations in which Chef Antonio Spadea has judged every ingredient to be up to his standards to serve.

Casa Mia took over the space formerly occupied by Rouge, on Hull downtown, and is thriving with its relaxed tapas menu. One can order various combinations of empanadas, patatas bravas and so on with a carafe or half of sangria, making it a perfect place to dine with a large group. Mirko Pasta, in Watkinsville, with another location coming to the Ansonborough development on Gaines School Road, surprised me with its seasonal menu, reasonable prices (especially for dinner) and overall commitment to quality.

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What Else Opened? Lay-Z-Shop, serving sandwiches downtown 24 hours a day; Dos Palmas, on Timothy Road from the folks who brought you the Eastside La Fiesta; Kui Aura Hibachi and Grill on Epps Bridge Parkway; Rachel’s, a meat-and-three in Watkinsville; the reincarnation of Allen’s on Hawthorne Avenue, with a darn good chili dog; China Star Super Buffet in an expanded capacity; Cafe Kirk’s Underground on Clayton downtown; Shokitini, with sushi and private karaoke rooms, in the Gameday building; Picante’s Mexican Grill on Broad Street downtown; Floyd’s Grill and Gourmet BBQ and Catering in Watkinsville; Fruit Glacier Water Ice Co. in front of the Carmike Cinema and Water Wheel Ice Cream at the junction of Hwy. 29 and Hwy. 72; Kingpins Bowl & Brew started serving a New Orleans menu and just reformulated itself into more of a classic bar food place; Tu Metapan, Tex-Mex/ Salvadoran, opened on Baxter over the Christmas holidays.

Steverino's in Five Points reopened in the same old location, while Sons of Italy moved to snazzy new digs down Milledge near the Loop; The Daily Neighborhood Deli and Fox’s Pizza Den opened in the same strip on Hwy. 78 in Oconee; Knuckleheads set up shop on Hwy. 441, in what was once Parson’s.

The Mellow Mushroom on Broad turned into The Tavern, which then closed down and is in the process of moving to the Eastside, and a new Mellow Mushroom opened on Clayton Street downtown; Piedmont College opened its own open-to-the-public café on Prince Avenue; Cabin Creek BBQ Co. opened in Nicholson, and What’s Cooking Mexican Restaurant reappeared on Commerce Road; and Delightful Bitefuls Café and Catering took over the Foodworks space on Baxter Street.

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Sayonara Means Goodbye: Fallen comrades included The Tuscan Market, Los Pepes, Athens Seafood Company, Walt Light’s and Rainbow Seafood, all on Baxter Street; Tres Amigos and Taqueria Mi Tierra, one after the other, in the same space on Oconee Street; Buck’s Pizza; Cheng’s downtown; Sherm’s on Tallassee, which became a Bulldog Wings and More; Bombay Café downtown; and Yellow Kitchen Café, on the UGA Campus, which is still retailing its truffles through The Healthy Gourmet on Baxter.

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More Changes: Lucky Wings moved down Baxter Street into a stand-alone building and began barbecuing. The wholesale bakery aspect of Big City Bread changed hands. La Fiesta, on the Eastside, is renovating its interior after a fire. The Original Smokin’ Stevie’s, in Watkinsville, closed its barbecue restaurant, but continues to offer catering. The Atlanta Highway location of Locos moved down to Timothy Road and into a brand-new stand-alone location. Thai Café changed its name to Thai Spoon and added a couple of pages of menu items.

OK Coffee next to Wuxtry downtown started serving Belgian waffles from its tiny window, and Taco Stand continued to tinker with new offerings, including the Herschel burrito. Eat Hibachi continued to impress with its more authentic Korean dishes, not necessarily listed on the menu board. And Dexter Weaver of Weaver D's snagged an “America’s Classics” James Beard Award in recognition of his restaurant’s endurance and deliciousness.

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What Up in Bar World?: Finally, in libation news, Raw opened upstairs for drinking, with Xhale, for hookah smoking, opened downstairs at the same location on Clayton downtown; The Sandbar and Chapel opened on College Avenue; Sideways replaced Gus’ on Broad Street, and Level 131 replaced Insomnia, farther down the street.

The Pub at Gameday opened in the Gameday Building on Clayton; Trappeze, a fancy beer bar, recently opened on Washington, next to Hot Corner Coffee; and Clint McElroy and Jeremy Long earned my and others’ undying gratitude when they bought and reopened Flicker after its brief closure. DT's changed hands toward the end of the year, as has Eastwood Pub, which is temporarily closed for renovations. Repent, in the old Lunch Paper location, closed down, and, over the holiday break, Detour shut its doors as well.

Here’s to 2008 and to the news that Vietnamese cuisine may be arriving in Athens at long last!

Hillary Brown

Grub Notes is the place for everything you need to know about where to eat and drink in the Classic City. Have you found a hidden gustatory gem or diamond in the rough? Is your favorite watering hole reinventing itself - again? Send in your eating and imbibing news to food@flagpole.com.