General Muir

It's tough being a halfie. One half tells me to eat Popeyes, the other half tells me to eat Ms. Piggy. Most of the time I just say fuck it and give me a bacon wrapped chicken thigh deep fried in pork bouillon enriched fat. So, where can a gentile and a member of the tribe both meet for a meal in this one donkey sauce town? There are no friggin delis in this town... Some claim to be but they are just pulling your Schwartz. Enters, the General... No, not Tso but Muir. The closest thing to a NY deli joint... So, they say. Sounds like a triple dog dare and y'all know how much I like to eat dogs and deers...

MATZOH BALL SOUP herbs, vegetables, schmaltz. Interesting spelling on Matzo or Matzah... Maybe it's because this is their southern version of the classic? Since, I'm part of the tribe, I've had my share of this favorite Passover pastime classic. There's two camps on this, either floaters or sinkers. This one is definitely on the light and fluffy side. While it was a decent ball, I prefer mine a little denser... I'm all about ball bobbing. I suspect seltzer was part of the dough mix to lighten things up. I wished they used more schmaltz, too. The chicken soup was nice and flavorful. Overall, good stuff. I approve.

CORNED BEEF REUBEN sauerkraut, russian, gruyere, buttered rye. Besides the pastrami, the Reuben is the true test of a real deli sandwich. I'm all about Katz's, so this would be hard for me to swallow. But this wasn't. It was a pretty damn good Reuben for a southern joint. It was buttery and gooey but manageable in a hand to mouth manner. Corned beef was nice, not too salty and not too dry. The only thing that they switched up was the swiss for gruyere. The kraut coulda used a little more time fermenting. But I was totally fine with that noise. Can you believe I have nothing really bad to say about this? Wow. I impress myself sometimes. OK, it coulda used a couple more layers of meat flap for the price of admission.

CHOPPED CHICKEN LIVER schmaltz, caramelized onions, pletzel bread. I make the fucking best chicken livers in the world. Motherfuckers travel great distances to swallow my organ and then soil their pants immediately after. So how was this rendition? Not too shabby. Nice spreadable consistency and had a nice bite to it. I prefer it to be more silky vs. dense but it doesn't take away from the flavor. The pletzel bread is definitely a sight for sore eyes, this traditional Yiddish focaccia style flat bread is not common around these here parts. They did a nice job on it.

CRISPY PASTRAM. It's a pretty good pastrami, no complaints but Katz's is still King... There is no substitute. Ever.

POUTINE. gravy, cheese curds, pastrami. They did a great job on this poutine, the gravy was thick and not overloaded, just the right amount. Besides the missing pastrami, the only complaint would be the curds, needed a little infusion of heat to soften it, the heat from the fries didn't cut it. It looked like gnocchi but it was quite tasty and I ate the whole damn thing. That says a lot.

DOUBLE BURGER STACK onion slaw, American cheese, poppy seed roll, fries (substitute for pickled vegs). The ghost of the Bocado Burger... Not bad at all. The huge wedge of lettuce made it a bit difficult to shove that manmeat inside your mouth but it's totally doable with a little practice, relax your throat. I like my burgers greasy like how it should be but this was a tad too greasy. Not a problem though, since I inhaled it within 6 bites. Is it the best burger in da ATL? Maybe in the Top 5 I would say. I didn't want to double up on the fries from the poutine so I got some pickled veggies instead, they were nice, the beets were the best.

PRUNE STUFFED GNOCCHI oxtail ragu, carrots, brussels sprouts. I hope these aren't the curds the poutine was looking for... Nice colorful dish and well executed but doesn't the amount of gnocchi seem a little skimpy compared to all the other accoutrements in the dish? While the gnocchi was a little spongy and coulda used more prunes inside, the oxtail ragu made up for it with it's wonderful flavors. Not saying the gnocchi was bad, just expected it to be a little firmer. It was nice dish overall but overpriced for what it was.

The General Muir did not sink on my voyages here but the lunch and brunch menu is where it's at. It's a "deli" after all, stick to the luncheon meats and bagels. The dinner menu needs a little more variety. I don't know how kosher it is, if any at all (did not witness any beardnets in the kitchen) but I mostly enjoyed everything I have had and I will be back.

L'Chaim! Pass the Manischewitz.

2.5 Stars.

1540 Avenue Pl B-230
Atlanta, GA 30329
(678) 927-9131
http://www.thegeneralmuir.com/