An industry friend called me to see if I wanted to hit up Wp's fwied cheekan night... Who am I to say no since it's my kryptonite like a horse to Superman. I liked but was not in love with their fried chicken the first time around. Since, more than a couple of months have passed, I thought this would be a great time to head back and see how they're doing with one of my favorite foods in the world.
Wp is not hurting for business, oh, not at all. Their demographics have now been establised. It's definitely the older crowd with money to fling around and this resto can't be more happy about that. The bar area is now a lair for cougars and saberdentures sipping on underwhelming cocktails and the house white. I still love the space since the beginning and space is the keyword. There's enough room to fit a ton of people without rubbing flappy elbow skin which there wasn't a lack of around here. The bar is still my favorite spot to nosh and booze but I will prolly be sticking with the beer selection or tap water in the future since the cocktails have all been blasé which makes me sad since I'm such a relentless dipsomaniac.
Ok, let's get down to business... How was the legendary fried ghetto pigeon these days?
We also tried a $7.50 Mac n Cheese... Is it usually made with ricotta cheese because I was stumped more than a quadruple amputee. Bless his heart.
Was it an off night? Was it me? Was it a dream? Who knows... But if there's a box of that leftover Shake n Bake cheekan in my fridge and a $100 charge on my credit card in the morning then it wasn't a dweam.
They can do so much better than this, I know it and they know it. C'mon, don't die on me. But business is booming, so, it really doesn't matter what I think... Does it? Touché.
1.5 Stars.
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The long awaited and proven Watershed of Decatur has now opened as the Watershed of Peachtree (Wp). I don't care about being the first on line to eat there because most of the time with every single restaurant, the first few days are inconsistent and could potentially be awful. But the fried chicken is a proven dish, so, I ran by on Wednesday to catch a glimpse which is the only day the WFC is available. The place is spacious and decor minimal but effective. I ate at the bar and the bar is pretty large which is great but it needs more chairs/stools. They also need more trained bartenders for a bar this size... 3 green bartenders just will not do. Too many people waiting long periods of time is not how you want to make a first impression. But I really don't give a shit about that, just make my drink proper and my chicken orgasmic.
Let's take a first look and a first couple of bites...
Wp Fried Chicken. For a measly $14.50, half a chicken and two biscuits can be had. Did it taste like the proper old school Watershed fwied cheekan? No, but the biscuits were excellent though. What was wrong with the chicken? Well, it was super salty for one. Brining it makes it tender, juicy and salty already so there's really no sense in seasoning the batter to death and then seasoning it some more after it comes out of the skillet. What is it with all the new restos recently and salt? Despite the heavy helping of salt, the batter and crispiness of it were acceptable, but it didn't taste like it used to... Bottomline: it was good but not great, let's just say you won't find me here much on Wednesdays until it improves. But you might find me at One Ear Stag for their tasty fried chicken night on Mondays. But Popeyes still is tops... How do they do it? Their cheekan is fucking genius.
Wp Burger. Cute little specimen... And it was good. The ground mix was nice and medium rare temp was spot on. Bread was nicely grilled. Pickles and veg filler all worked. Definitely a must for bar grub.
Catfish Gougenettes. These things sounded great on paper but the execution was sloppy. By the time these fish digits came out, they were taking a bath in their own juices and oil, I mean sloppy wet. That white jizz, I assume tartar, seemed like it was violently hand pumped in to the ramekin... Don't forget that spot on your chin. Squirt. The best way to eat this was to go Korean style on it, roll it up in the lettuce and insert it into your piehole. Bypass the tartar since it was tasteless, just unnecessary fat and calories in my ass. I'd skip this dish and try something else.
The place got all the right ingredients and I definitely will be back to try all the main dishes... But the leader needs to lead in the kitchen and not schmooze with all the diners. Joe is a good chef and he needs to focus on the kitchen and the food coming out of it, don't worry about the front of the house, there's enough friggin hostesses, servers and managers to take care of things... Except bartenders. But overall, it's a good start.
Developing...
1820 Peachtree Road NW
Atlanta, GA 30309
404-809-3561http://www.watershedrestaurant.com/
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