Cliche Pun on Book Title

March 23rd 2011

young augustine’s

This was my second visit to Young Augustine’s, but the first time I had food there. The bar/restaurant reminds me of what The Brick Store was probably like before it got insane. YA has a great beer list with about a dozen different quality brews on draft in any given night. The dining room is small enough to feel cozy, but large enough where you can usually walk in and grab a table.

Reasonable prices and crave-worthy (although certainly not heart healthy) dishes make this a fun bar to unwind at with a group of friends. The food is inventive and different from any other menu I’ve seen in town. They do tacos, and especially good gourmet hot dogs:

The one on the right is an homage to New York’s David Chang (featuring bacon and kimchee), while the one on the left included pork belly and an entire fried egg. The corn in the middle is available as a side or appetizer and is Mexican-style corn (elote) with mayo, lime, chili and parmesan cheese.

I had the Pimp-Fill-eh, and it was everything Chick-fil-A wishes it could be:

Crispy fried chicken breast with Duke’s mayo (it’s a southern thing, google it) and pickled jalapenos on a brioche bun. For my side I picked the brussel sprout/cauliflower hash. Two detested veggies make for one delicious dish. If every kid had their veggies like this at dinner, there’d be no complaints.

So, venture down to Grant Park and take a break from the crowds. This is the perfect spot for a dinner with friends and lingering over some beers.

Posted at 11:02pm and tagged with: young augustine's, beer, bar, grant park,.

January 23rd 2011

snowed in with beer

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I was temporarily confined to the house during Atlanta’s snow storm in early January, but I had luckily just visited Ale Yeah!, so I had plenty to keep me busy. Here’s some of what I was doing:

Hitachino Red Rice is a Japanese beer that tasted unlike anything I’ve ever had before. There’s a strange, but not altogether unpleasant, hint of strawberries in there. Nice and light, very refreshing. I would recommend you try it at least once. It’s not going to be a staple in my life, but it was definitely worth drinking.

A classic. And a *serious* beer. If you’ve had it, you know what it’s about. If you haven’t, go buy one now.

Had this one at the Brick Store Pub during the snow week. It’s another HUGE beer with lots of flavor and alcohol. I had it at the end of my night, and it blew my socks off. In the same way that it’s recommended to do a cheese plate from the most mild cheese to the strongest (ending with blue cheese/rocquefort/etc) I would recommend drinking this one last. Not subtle, but mega tasty.

I’m cheating now, as I had this one last night. Same Japanese brewery as above. This is a dark beer (a stout) with a strong coffee flavor, also some chocolatey flavors in there. Upon doing some research, it appears the brewery uses a Russian Imperial Stout as the base, then adds the espresso beans. This beer would make a nice dessert.

Posted at 5:28pm and tagged with: beer, ale yeah, one column,.

January 23rd 2011

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A dark, strong beer with a strong alcohol taste, mainly due to being aged in Whiskey barrels. I personally enjoyed it, but people I was drinking with were a little put off by the aggressive alcohol taste. Purchased at Hop City.

Posted at 5:13pm and tagged with: t Smisje, beer, hop city,.

January 13th 2011

ale yeah!

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Ale Yeah! is a new craft beer store in Decatur. I stopped by last week to check it out, and was pleasantly surprised. It’s a small space, so they don’t have the selection or variety that Hop City provides, but I don’t have to drive across town to get great beer anymore. (Don’t worry Hop City, I still love you.)

The beer is arranged on high, narrow shelves along the sides of the store, and it’s organized by style. Ale Yeah tends to stock more 750s than 6-packs. They also have some rare stuff that I haven’t seen at other stores (see list below). The Belgian section is particularly weak however. The website promises they’ll also be selling cheeses, but the case was almost empty when I stopped by. The store also stocks supplies for homebrewing, if that’s your thing.

I met the owner, Eddie, and he was incredibly friendly. I overheard him helping out other customers and he was making some good suggestions, no judgment on people’s ignorance about beer. Definitely not snobby/pretentious, but still knowledgeable. (also- he complimented my taste in beer, and flattery will get you everywhere with me)

So, my haul:

6-pack of Victory Storm King
Trappistes Rochefort 10
Hitachino Nest Red Rice Ale
Hitachino Nest Espresso Stout
Mikkeller Chipotle Porter
Mikkeller Beer Geek Breakfast
Mikkeller Beer Geek Brunch (“Weasel”)

That set me back about $70. Anyone else care to weigh in on whether that seems like a fair price? (and speaking of prices, the bottles aren’t very clearly marked- some have price stickers, others…just guess?).

Anyway, great to have a new beer store, especially so close to my house. I definitely support Atlanta’s growing craft beer community. But I still love Hop City, especially my main man Kraig who has hooked me up with some killer wine suggestions. (Ale Yeah! has no wine). Anyone else been to both, or have opinions?

Posted at 11:27am and tagged with: ale yeah, beer, decatur, hop city,.

December 15th 2010

the porter

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Obviously, we all know the Porter has a great beer selection. (or if you don’t know, get there immediately!) I’ll save that for another post.

(image: Creative Loafing)

Less attention has been paid to the awesome food the kitchen is cranking out. I’d especially recommend checking out the nightly specials. There are some crazy-inventive offal dishes, and then just a cool variety of other stuff the kitchen feels like making.

I had the skirt steak tacos the other night and they were perfection. Soft tortillas with high-quality meat, tomatoes, onions, peppers and cilantro. They had the ideal level of spice, just a slight kick.

I’ll definitely be returning soon to try some of the other specials. Maybe the lamb neck? Bourdain says it’s the new pork belly.

Posted at 4:20pm and tagged with: atlanta, beer, restaurant, the porter, one column,.

February 13th 2010

ormsby’s

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Ormsby’s is a new bar in West Midtown located under the Room & Board furniture store.

I don’t think it will be possible to truly get a feel for this bar for a while, at least not on a weekend. I’m glad they’re getting a lot of business, but the crowds are annoying to me. I love the concept of Ormsby’s, love the focus on craft beer and love the games (esp the vintage arcade cabinet). But until the buzz dies down, I’ll be sticking with Twain’s in Decatur. Similar vibe, much bigger space.

(protip: free parking garage next to the building)

Posted at 4:04pm and tagged with: atlanta, beer, ormsby's, west midtown, two column,.

July 25th 2009

hop city

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I read about Hop City in a Creative Loafing column a while back, and only recently had the time to check it out this summer. It’s a beer and wine store, but really more of a beer store. They have a staggering selection of multiple styles of beers and also stock equipment for homebrewers.

The beers are (logically) organized by style. I tend to love Belgians, so I snapped a few photos of their belgian selection:

I also took some video of the beer racks, I’m going to see if I can flip it. Apparently you need to hold your iphone sideways when recording video? But, I digress.

The selection at Hop City is probably the best I’ve seen in Atlanta. They also hold weekly tastings and offer a free member card that lets you track and rate your purchases on their website.

Hop City Craft Beer & Wine

1000 Marietta St, Suite 302

Atlanta, GA 30318

404-350-9998

Posted at 3:57pm and tagged with: atlanta, beer, hop city, two column,.

May 13th 2009

the publican

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This past weekend in Chicago, I had a chance to try Paul Kahan’s new restaurant: The Publican. It’s supposed to be a gastropub focusing on beer, oysters and pork. So, that’s what I had when I visited.

We wanted to take public transportation so we could have plenty of beer and because we were having drinks at the Violet Hour before dinner. That made getting to The Publican a bit difficult. The el brings you within about 2-3 blocks, but you’re walking through a random part of town. I’m sure I’m not wrong, nor am I probably the first person to say this, but it seems like the area Paul Kahan chose (Fulton Market) is similar to the meatpacking district in New York, but just now turning in Chicago.

The restaurant just won a James Beard Award for design. The main dining room feels like an old European beer hall. There’s lots of wood, and the main table is a long communal table that seats about 100 people. We were sitting in a booth that had doors on the side, so it was essentially a little box.

The beer list is extensive, but well-edited. Some places (cough, Brick Store Pub) have an almost overwhelming menu, but this one was quite manageable (samples are on the website if you’re curious). I started with Three Floyds’ Gumballhead. My second beer was New Holland’s Dragon’s Milk. The Milk was actually, unsurprisingly, milky. It’s a very dark, thick, rich beer. I’d recommend waiting until after dinner to have it.

We had the Chef’s selction of oysters, featuring my favorites: kumamoto, among others. We also had the Chef’s selection of three hams. Honestly, the hams blew me away more than the oysters. These were pretty decent portions and the quality was absolutely top notch.

The fries with the egg on top were good, but the real standout here were the pork rinds. They were lightly spiced and crispy without being greasy.

For our entrees, we shared the potee and the country ribs. In both dishes, the meat was fall off the bone tender. The veggies were also superb. But while I loved the entrees, I felt that the appetizers we had were more special. If I went back, I’d just go for beer and apps.

For more pics, check out my flickr.

food- 25

decor- 26

service- 24

Posted at 9:26pm and tagged with: beer, chicago, food, oysters, pork, the publican, one column,.

February 4th 2009

fancy beer

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Eric and I went to The Brick Store Pub last Friday with Andrew and Elliott. We got the following beers:

Left to right: ola dubh, delirium nocturnum, weihenstephaner

Posted at 8:05pm and tagged with: one column, beer, brick store pub,.