Barcelona Wine Bar

UPDATE: 3 Stars.

So, I had to make a few more trips over here and bring some more friends to sample more of the menu and the results were pretty positive. There were 2 major dishes I had to try... Of course, the paella and the whole roasted piggy. Remember, the more people you have, the more you'll be able to enjoy the large selection of tapas. Lookie here...

(Sunday Whole Pig Roast)

Nice display of meat. It was a tad dry and chewy but overall, it was not too shabby. Available on Sunday only... Plus, all wines are half off. Fuck, you know I'm there.

(Paella)

This was the paella for two. Look at the size of that friggin thing! So glad we got the "small" order. While it didn't disappoint in portion control, the paella lacked that oh-so-important "socarrat" or the crispy rice on the bottom of the pan. While there were hints of it in there, they just couldn't fully do it properly in that busy kitchen (lack of burner space). But overall, it's one of the better versions in this town. Is it worth $50 for the 2 person minimum order? I think so because you can feed 6 with that pan.

(Monkfish a la Kiosko)

This was a fun little dish. I love monkfish... It may be the ugliest fucking thing in the sea but this "poor man's lobster" was pretty tasty.

(Ham & Cheese Croquetas)

Cute and tasty. I dared a chick to put one in each cheek but she had a chorizo in her mouth already. Party pooper.

(Fluke Ceviche)

This dish coulda been 10 times better if they didn't flood the plate with a gallon of EVOO. The oil masked the natural flavor of the crudo instead of enhancing it. It was fine but make sure you ask them to go light on the olive oil.

(Crispy Brussels Sprouts)

Who doesn't love roasted brussels sprouts. Good stuff.

(Grilled Hanger Steak w/ Black Truffle Sauce)

Grilled spot on. Order it... It has truffle sauce. Yeah. c'mon.

(Gambas al Ajillo)

Awesome sizzling big shrimpz. Fuck Red Lobster.

(Homemade Empanadas w/ Cumin Scented Chicken, Avocado )

Eh, the only disappointment of the pack. Just didn't have any discernible flavor. Boring at best for something that is usually oh-so tasty.

(Side Salad)

What is this? I'm still trying to figure it out.

(Crepas Salguero)

It's a thin pancake with chocolate sauce. Squirt.

(Churros)

Ok, so there was a cooking malfunction on the first try. There was parchment paper inside one of the churros. C'mon, you're gonna kill somebody!!! Luckily, my friend saw it and started to dissect it and made the discovery. Oh, the first batch was a very sad display visually, thin, limp and lifeless. But the replacement order came out almost as lovely as I remembered the first time I had it... It was a tad undercooked this time. I still think it's one of the best churros in town but when they get it right it's the best in town.

This is a fun place to go with a bunch of friends to drink and of course nibble on the extensive list of tapas. Not all the dishes work but if you choose wisely, you and your friends will eat well and be stuffed like a fat chick home alone in the end.


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Wow, what a change for the better from that outhouse, Zaya... This new semi-authentic tapas wine bar franchise dumped a shitload of cash into this space. And it looks pretty friggin amazing. Covered in basically all wood inside, it kinda reminded me of a really hip spot in EVill, NYC... But instead of Korean Fried Chicken, you have a huge selection of tapas offerings to nosh on. The outside patio has these tiny stools and tables fit for a hobbit. It's usable but after awhile, your ass is so numb it feels like you just got violated by the Hells Angels. The fire place is also a nice touch for the chillier days.

When Sunday nights are dead for most restos, this joint was packed like it was a Friday or Saturday night. Could it be the half off bottles of wine, any bottle... Ah, yeah, I'd say so. But how's the food (tapas)? Looking through the menu, I saw a lot of promising dishes such as the Parrillada, an Argentine mixed grill of pork chop, half chicken, Gaucho sausage, N.Y. strip, papas fritas and chimichurri... Or the hard to get right, Paella with saffron rice, chicken, squid, shrimp, chorizo, clams & mussels. The Monkfish a la Kiosko looked interesting as well. Since, I ate dinner earlier already, a few tapas plates would be a better gauge of what the kitchen can do (yeah, I know I'm a fat fuck, get over it, I did).

(Gambas al Ajillo)

Nicely sauteed shrimp but needed more seasoning. Came out sizzling hot, so eat them quick or else they get rubbery.

(Chorizo with Sweet & Sour Figs)

Looks really depressing doesn't it? It tasted better than it looked... But not by much. Chorizo were ok, not much flavor but the figs gave it that extra kick in the taste budz.

(Steak Paillard)

This brought up a very emotional event... It reminded me of that hellacious Steak Frites at Buckhead Bottle Bar with the fries piled high atop the meat flap. But this tasted 100 times better... Even though it was over cooked a bit. This is a thin piece of meat, don't need to cook it to death. Oooh, lookie, potato sticks!

(Spinach-Chickpea Casserole)

Ewww, what is that? Looks like a warm bucket of hamster vomit. Stir it up and it doesn't look as bad. It tasted alright but you need veggies from time to time... Mebbe I shoulda ordered a Congress approved veggie like pizza instead. That's one tasty veggie the obese American people can get behind.

(Pulpo Gallego)

Octopus and fingerling "potaotes" is always an good idea but oh, Lord, looks like the Devil regurgitated this thing on a plate. Bon appetit!

(Albondigas)

Who doesn't like to stuff balls of meat in their cheeks... I does for one cuz I'm like a chipmunk. These were ok, kinda bland and dry but the tomato sauce helped a little. It's not that difficult to season your balls with herbs and spices... It will do wonders for your sex life.

(Churros)

These churros rocked out with its cock out... Literally. Like in Boiler Room, "Act as if... You had a 9 inch cock". It was a pail of three healthy schlongs, if they served this at Swinging Richards, they would be packed every night... No pun intended but totally feasible. Go ahead use your imagination. But these churros were fried to order, plump, crispy and airy inside like a pillow... Possibly the best churros in town. These imprinted on me like Jacob imprinted on Renesmee.

Barcelona Wine Bar is an instant hit with Atlanta... Why? Because this town needed it. There are other tapas joints that's been around town for awhile but they don't have the whole package like this place. It's amazing how a little change in appearance and food offerings can bring in the crowds. Or maybe it was just the good wine deal on Sundays (I sure took advantage of that liberally). The menu might be a little too ambitious for this crew and space. There were some hits and misses because there is just too much going on. For me, I would like to see them reduce the menu down by half and really put out consistent dishes one after another. Who knows and who cares if they do or not but I'll be back to try the mains and hopefully they will make me soil my pants. If the paella blows balls, there will be hell to pay.

Good first date, hopefully an even better second one.

Squirt.

2.5 Stars.

240 N. Highland Ave, bld 2
Atlanta, GA 30307
404-589-1010
http://www.barcelonawinebar.com/atlanta.htm

Buckhead Pizza Co.

When this franchise started popping up in Atlanta, I really had no desire to waste my time nor my waistline for local pizza since we all know Atlanta style pizza pretty much suck. But after a few months, I kept it on my radar because I was running out of places to eat that I have never been to. Since, this franchise was started up by a former owner of Ray's New York Pizza... Maybe it was time to give it a try. Ray's by no means is a New York 'Za but it was a decent slutty drunkard pizza like Fellini's from what I remember about a decade ago.

I was hungover and I wanted to go slummin'. When I looked at their website, I saw this anomaly... "We use a specialty pizza oven that cooks at a perfect 500° so our pizzas come out thin and crispy on the bottom." WTF? 500 degrees? Hello, Easy-Bake just called, they want their oven back... Even my piece of shit Sanford and Son gas oven goes higher than that without even doing a Varasano's special. Now, it was a challenge. I had to see and eat this thing. Since, I was in the hood taking care of some unsavory things, I decided to stop in on an early Sunday night. It was dead as fuck can be. Seemed like they were filming the Walking Dead up in this piece. I went straight to the bar, naturally. Bartendress finally appeared after 7 or so minutes later and I ordered my shit ASAP before it went back into it's cave to hibernate...

(The Perimeter Pie, Italian sausage, caramelized onions, sun dried tomatoes, ricotta cheese)

Had to do a large pie, the test of the pizza maker and the oven. Yes, pizza maker not pizzaiolo. It's like calling the head cook at Applebee's a Chef. Yeah yeah, what about the oven? Well, it looked like a cross between a gas and wood oven. Couldn't be sure by looking at it and their website said nothing about it either except that it's perfect at 500° (baffling). But anyways, I was quite surprised by this pie. Thin, semi crispy, no char, toppings and cheese were acceptable. It's not gonna win any prizes but when you want a decent tasting stuff your face kinda pizza, this did the trick. The large pie is quite large, easily feeds 4 normal sized pouches.

(The Perimeter close up)

I can't believe I'm giving it a passing grade... I might regret it later but it's ok since no one reads this shit anyways. BTW- I wasn't even gonna go there with the Margherita pie, not here. It coulda... Wait, it woulda been a disastrous failure.

(Grilled Chicken Wings, sauteed onions, garlic, lemon juice and EVOO)

One thing's for sure, they were jumbo wings... And another thing's for sure, they were parboiled and then thrown on the grill for those lovely grill marks. As if they weren't water logged enough, they then drown them in a vat of EVOO that even Rachael Rey would find repulsive. They have a perfect oven @ 500°, why not just cook them in it like at Max's Coal Oven...

(Meatball Hoagie, fresh tomato sauce, melted mozarella cheese)

WTF... I know cooks like to fuck around in the kitchen like in "Waiting" but what kinda prank is this? A little shake of dandruff, a sprinkle of fromunda cheese or even lather the bread with ballsack butter will suffice... But I don't need a fucking bucket load of horse jizz dumped on top of my meatball sub. This is absurd. Finding the meatballs in this thing is like finding the keys that you dropped in between the flaps of a fat chick. You are basically screwed with this abyss. Maybe I should just look for the wet spots. BTW- The meatballs were weak.

(Caesar Salad)

Yes, it seems so. That garlic knot bread golf ball thinger looked weird on the edge of the plate. It annoyed me, so I flicked it off.

This is not top notch gourmet pizza, this is not NY style 'Za, this is not Napoletana 'Za, this is Atlanta 'Za. Accept it. But this will surely fill you up and get you fat. This location is borderline depressing.

1 Star.

One Galleria Parkway SE
Atlanta, GA 30339
(770) 405-0722
http://www.buckheadpizzaco.com/Galleria

Sushi Itto

It's always an uncomfortable feeling walking in to an empty restaurant during prime dinner hours. Thoughts fill your head as to why... Oh, I don't know, maybe little things such as does the food suck here that bad? But I said fuck it, let's try it anyways since I'm up in this piece already. I made a bee-line for the sushi bar, at least there's someone to talk to about their food... Plus, you usually get a better fish selection at the bar.

It's a clean, no frills kinda joint... Very cookie-cutter for this area but this area was lacking a sushi joint, so it was nice to see one open up here. There's nothing on the menu here that will test your adventurous side. It's like an upscale Ru San's. I was a little startled when I heard the sushi chefs speaking Mandarin. HAHA. WTF. Tell you the truth it really didn't surprise me all that much. I wasn't expecting to find top grade sushi or a master sushi chef here anyways. What surprised me, was that they didn't open a Chinese buffet instead. I'm here just for the ride... Take me somewhere fun.


Sushi Bar Freebie - I almost pissed my pants when he stuck this in front of my snout. It's some concoction of surimi, panko, roe, bonito flakes and a couple other unrecognizable filler... It weird to say the least but after a couple bites, it wasn't too bad. Pissing off the sushi chef right off the bat by refusing to try his "crap on a plate" would only lead to a trip to the head later on.


House Salad with Ginger Dressing - It's your run of the mill Japanese style resto salad but what made it a wee bit different was the ginger dressing. That shit was 99% grated ginger! It was totally wack.


Sushi Sandwich - Look at this thing. It was so silly but I had to get just to see what it was all about. Interesting idea but the filler coulda been more creative. It was pretty dry all around and you had to take a sip of water, tea, miso soup or what have you to wash it down. No booze license yet so I was stuck to those lame options. Thank God, they make this thing called a flask.


Up close and personal... Some thin slices of tuna or salmon coulda put this in positive territory but at the end of the day, it's really just a stupid PR gimmick like indoor bocce ball. If I was a POW, I would prolly eat the shit outta it and ask for seconds.


Tempura (Assorted) - This was not on the menu as an appetizer, so you will have to ask for it. And what a steal it was for $5 after looking at the bill at the end. It's your usual tempura suspects- shrimp, onion, broccoli, sweet tater, zucchini, et al... But it's good filler.


Nigiri with Dragon Roll - I tell ya what, not the best grade of fish but for the price this combo plate was a pretty good deal. The fish were all fresh enough, the sushi rice was a tad too cold but this dragon roll with softshell crab and eel that came with it surprised me a bit in a good way. They usually give you some shitty spicy tuna roll made from the scraps. I hate rolls but anything with softshell crab in it makes me happy.



Awww, how cute... A little orange purse thinger... Just like in fancy Chinese resto-want.

This Chinese owned and operated sooshee joint ain't gonna win any awards but if you want to slum it round eye style, this local neighborhood joint has decent quality fish (although pretty limited) and a price to match which makes this a good value... And maybe it will stick around for a bit. Oh, and the service was friendly and not all up in your face even when the restaurant was as empty as Woodruff Park.

1.5 Stars.

2173 Briarcliff Road
Atlanta, GA 30329
404-633-3400

Golden House

I've had my eyeball on this joint for awhile now... How could you not? It's right off the exit to Pleasant Hill, right after Assi market and right next to a fucking Joe's Crab Shack with a giant sign like the Golden Arches that says eat me, fucker. It was looking for attention like a whiny little bitch in Va-Hi... And so it did. Since, it got rave reviews on the intertubes, and Atlanta sorely needs a better (real) dim sum option, it was time to sneak a peak and see what all the fuss was about. I was a bit skeptical since I just came back from Hong Kong eating dim sum on a daily basis.

It had all the signs of something promising... It was so fresh and so clean clean, it had all the Chinese decor and Asian thingamajiggers spewed around the joint like the really gaudy red FOBBY slip covers with the giant yellow bow on the chairs and the menu looked decent enough to eat (supposedly the ex-chef from Bo Bo Garden and Wan Lai)... That is until, I saw Vietnamese on the menu as well. WTF, another hybrid cross breeding creasture. Plus, the hostess and front of the house people didn't speak a lick of Cantonese, only Mandarin. Rut ruh. I don't know about you but mainland China does not do dim sum. But that's another story, let's just get to the tapas, err, I mean dim sum...

(Sampler)

Luckily, most of the dim sum cart ladies spoke Cantonese, thank God... Because pointing at dishes and making caveman noises would be so pathetic. Take a gander at the spread...

Siu Mai- Steamed pork dumplings. A bit tough, chewy, not much flavor.

Ngau Yuk- Steam beef meatballs. Tender and moist but bland.
Char Siu Bau- BBQ pork buns. Straight outta the bag.
Wu Gok- Fried taro dumplings. I love these thing with a passion and only skilled chefs can make this. It was soggy, oily and flaked off in sheets, it should be delicate, light and crispy. Failed.
Daan Taat- Egg custard tart. This was ok. Pastry was flaky and the custard had good consistency. Could be a tad sweeter.
Lo Mei Gai- Lotus leaf sticky rice. Rice was fine but they were cheap on the filling. Like nothing inside. No Chinese sausage except in my pants.
Jian Dui- Seasame balls with red bean paste. It was like eating a Hacky Sack. But the Gwai-lo's seem to love this thing.

And there was some other shrimp dumpling hybrid that mysteriously appeared on the table that had no name. That dim sum skank musta snucked it in. There were so many other fake dim sum dishes getting pushed around that it almost made me think they wanted to cater towards the round eyes... But the initial crowd seemed mostly Asian, even though it was a mixed Oriental group. Keeping your ears open and listening to other tables is a good way to judge the demographics which dictates the food.

(Har Gao)

Holy Mary, Jesus and Chairman Mao... What the hell is this? Looks like an Albino's ball sack. Why are they upside down? Is Sir Mix-A-Lot making this shit in the back? Cuz shrimp dumplings got back. Har gao and siu mai are the two most popular dim sum dishes... And you just have to get them right. Period. Or else just close shop and go home. Well, these were pretty miserable. The skin was too mushy and the shrimp inside was rubbery, how long has this been sitting in the steamer? It broke apart when you tried to pick it up. The wrapper stuck to each other and basically fused to the bottom of the non layered metal baskets (wax paper ain't that expensive, bro). This was a piss poor display of a Cantonese mainstay. Maybe it was a fluke, so I ordered another one 20 minutes later with the same result. Fail.

(Har Gao - Redux)

A week later, same piss poor results... What is with the upside down shit? I need to see the 9 required pleats on each dump. Christ, is that so much to ask? I've had better ones in the frozen dim sum aisle. I didn't even bother with a pic of the 3 rd visit.

(Lau Bak Go)

Turnip Cake- Looked pretty decent but after a couple of bites into raw turnip pieces, the bitterness basically ruined it. The second time around didn't fare much better. The prepackaged ones from the Asian markets are 10 times better. How? Jesus, help them, please.

(Cheung Fun)

Assortment included shrimp, beef and BBQ pork... This wasn't too bad but the rice noodle were over steamed a bit and turned mushy like the Har Gao. What is it with them about steaming the shit out of these delicate morsels? So pissed.

(Cheung Fun- Redux)

Much improved but still not right... Look closely at the scoring. If they're trying to speed up the cooking process, this is not the right way. Too much moisture gets in the slits and makes the damn thing soggy.

(Spicy Tripe)

Holy shit, this is lame. Paper thin, rubbery and bland. Look around the room, it's like a bunch of camels chewing this thing. They totally rushed this out and left out a few ingredients... Like black beans, chili and something called flavor. This is a time that I wouldn't mind a spoonful or three of umami... That's right, M.S. fucking G. The real tripe dim sum is thick honeycomb tripe and bathe in a delicious spicy brown sauce.

(Tripe- Redux)

Worst than the first time around... Holy moly. What are they smoking and can I get some, STAT. Anything tastes good when you're stoned as a mofo, but this may not be one of them.

(Silken Tofu)

Disgusting. Looks like sperm whale jizz. This is what parents feed to their toddlers when the adults are Yumming Cha.

OK, enough of the bad dim sum... Let's try some classic main dishes.

(Beef Chowfun)

Everyone knows I friggin love this dish with a passion and it's also a test of a competent Cantonese cook. I was so happy when it came out... That is until they put it down in front of me and my jaw dropped. Thin rice noodles and chunks of beef... Not thin slices of beef but chunks of meat like in a Vietnamese Shaking Beef. Did I order the Vietnamese version? No way because I told the waiter in Cantonese what I wanted. Not only did this dish lack any of the classic flavors, the chunks of beef were barely cooked. On the outside it looked fine but the first bite was pure mush and cold inside. So, I spit it out to examine it and it was totally raw inside! Lookie here...

(Shaking beef raw)

Must be the Vietnamese side of the menu... I lurv shaking beef but don't put it in my chowfun. This beef chowfun was easily the worst I have ever had in this town. Disgraceful.

(Eggplant, garlic and pork casserole)

Can it get any worse? Oh, it totally can, it's almost expected... But this dish was the only winner in my entire experience with this place. Came out bubbling hot. The eggplant was spot on, delicate and tender, the bits of pork were sinful, the garlic sauce was a tad sweet and needed more garlic but after the dim sum and chowfun fiasco, who can really complain. This is Bo Bo Garden shining through. Stick with what you know and stop fucking around with the dim sum.

Overall, this place could have potential... The dim sum needs a total renovation because it is a mess. No self-respecting dim sum chef would put this slop out to paying customers. Maybe they thought no one would notice with all the luxurious decor and appointments. Or maybe they just don't care if it was good or not since Atlanta lacks real dim sum, so people would be happy with anything new. But to me, if it's shit, it's shit and I will tell you why it's shit. Non Asians will probably think this place is a Godsend, no I guarantee it, and the Asians who think this is authentic are just plain Jook-sings who grew up eating McDonalds.

Get your shit together Golden House or I'm gonna take another Golden Shower on you next time. Prove me wrong and cook some real Chinese food for crying out loud, we need it here. And take that fucking Vietnamese translation off the menu. Be one thing or the other, not both... Because you just ain't that good.

PF Chang's smirks at you.

Splash.

1.5 Stars.

1600 Pleasant Hill Rd
Duluth, GA 30096
770-921-2228
www.goldenhousega.com

HD1

We all know the burger craze has exploded all over Atlanta like Jerry Sandusky on a 5th grader. It's like a giant greasy wet dream and there's no end in sight... Well, it's kinda hard to see the end with all these fatties in the way. But can Atlanta handle or even care about a hot dog/sausage craze? I don't think so but let's entertain the thought anyways...

So, the unrelenting trail Blais-er finally won the title of Top Chef All Stars after years of staying on the show until he did. After completing his goal on TC, he jumped on the burger train with Flip. Getting tired of round buns, he shifted his attention to top split buns and tube steaks... And hence Haute Doggery was born. Like in true ADD form, before the doors were even opened to wiener heaven he was focusing on another project, the Spence. So, don't expect to see him cooking here ever but that's another story, we're here for meat shafts and ye shall have meat rods in ye mouths.

This whole concept seemed pretty much thrown together to me. It feels like a pet project that was done just to spread his seed and manhood around, so no one forgets his name when he moves out to Cali (just speculation, wink wink). But anyways, the decor is dark and dreary, it's almost funeral-esque. Is it a speakeasy? Is it a noshery? Is it a bingo hall? I'm just a simple caveman, I don't understand your modern styles and sensibilities. Let me just look at this cave wall and see what's edible.

The ordering operation is a clusterfuck. If you're gonna hire someone to be a hostess/order taker... Make sure she knows how to run the operation up front. Because it seemed like she can't even run a bath. Case in point- On one of my earlier visits, I asked the hostess on duty what beers where available (since there's no beer menu written on the wall but they do have a decent selection of cute suds) and it suddenly turns into an Abbott & Costello routine. So, here's her response:
"What you see on the wall there behind the bar."
Ok, I'll have a Sapporo.
"Oh, we don't have that, it shouldn't be on there."
Why not?
"They were for the opening party or something."
Hmmm. Fine I'll have the blah blah blah beer then.

Not 2 minutes later after grabbing a seat, I see a buddy at the bar drinking a fucking giant can of Sapporo. I asked him where he got that, he said from the bartender. Wha Da Fuk?! That fucking nitwit... So pissed. Mebbe the food will make up for it...

(Fried chicken livers, mustard greens & HD hot sauce)

I love fried livers but is this a joke? It was 90% batter, 10% chopped liver. How do you fuck up fried chicken livers to this degree? And how do you even let it out of the kitchen? They were absolutely dismal. A few stringy pieces that looked and tasted almost like the shit tube you take off the back of a shrimp. It was an insult... And a rip off at $6 for a couple of measly pieces. Mustard greens were ok and hot sauce tasted like rusty pipe water.

(Pig in the Sheets)

Sounded interesting enough... Why not? When it came out, I was like... Hot Pockets! I actually had some that was more exciting than this. The minced pork thinger inside was dry and bland, the pastry tasted like it was cooked the day before and had that old gummy texture to it. The sauces didn't make it any better. A real snoozer.

(Louisiana Lobster Roll, mirliton salad, shrimp head aioli)

As you can guess, it doesn't contain real lobster like Zabar's Lobster Salad, it's all crawfish tails. Surprisingly, this was pretty good. At $10 a pop, it's a fair deal but I wouldn't get it again. The crawfish were nice and tender, no evidence of a shrimp head aioli, the "slaw" was pretty good, it coulda used some more seasoning but you know what, the top split buns made up for it. I really like them a lot. They sourced some great bread here. When it's buttered and toasted, it's like heaven not matter what you put inside... Ok, well, I won't go that far but the buns are killer.

(Chicken Apple Sausage, herbed creme fraiche, walnuts, sour grape relish)

A sausage is not a sausage if it has anything else besides meat. Poultry or anything with wings do not qualify as sausage. It's the same concept as a vegetarian burger, it is not a burger, it's a patty of crap not even my dog would eat. The chicken log had no flavor, you taste more walnuts than anything else... But the bun! The bun was excellent.

(Beef Pastrami Dog, ox tongue & tripe hash, rusky dressing)

You would think this would be a flavor explosion in your mouth but all you can taste is salt. It was salty as hell. The tongue and tripe hash did nothing for this dog. What the hell is a rusky dressing? Russian dressing? Like in a Big Mac? I don't get it. But that buttered and toasted top split bun, man, was it good.

(Eastbound and Down, house frank, Carolina pulled pork, sweet mustard slaw, mop sauce)

First bite, that overly salty pulled pork was all you can taste. Push it off the dog and it wasn't half bad... Might as well just got the plain classic house dog. Guess what the best part of this dog was? Yeah, the fucking top split bun.

(Irish Bangers & Mash with Onion Gravy)

A very mediocre display... mash was barely warm and pretty dry. Needed more salt and a cup of butter. The banger (singular) was also barely heated through and really nothing noteworthy in taste. Onion gravy tasted like it came from a packet. Sounded good on paper but so did the Communist Manifesto.

All these fancy toppings and names on the menu is just for show. With so much stuff on top, all the different types of dogs all kinda tasted the same after awhile... Some were bland and others way over the top salty. The plain house frank is prolly the best bet because you can actually taste the wiener. One thing that made me laugh was how they were grilling the dogs... They shoved a thermometer up the wiener's butt while it was on the grill cooking. Talk about fuzzy internal temp. No wonder why every single dog I had was luke warm at best. I also sampled the Red Haute Dog and the Chicken Wing Confit with Lemon Curd & Szechuan Pepper... Nothing really stuck out to me in flavor or taste.

The menu read well but the product and execution was nothing more than any other local bar has to offer except for higher prices. If I'm paying more for better ingredients, I would actually like to taste a difference. Would I come back in the future? I don't think I can handle another disappointment. As with all celebrity gimmicks, they wear thin after awhile.

PS- I know where they source their top split buns... No need to come back here. And no, it ain't H&F.

1 Star.

664 North Highland Ave
Atlanta, GA 30306
(404) 815-1127
www.hd1restaurant.com/