Owen "thebigo" R.'s Profile

I will champion Buckhead Life Restaurant Group any day of the week, let's be honest -- they manage about half a dozen of what many consider Atlanta's top restaurants. Consequently, I hold their restaurants to a high bar of success, and while the food at BluePointe I had this evening was delicious, unfortunately the difficulty with the service definitely left a bitter taste in my mouth.

I arrived, meeting the remaining members of my party about 5-10 minute before our scheduled reservation time, we were told to go wait at the bar despite seeing a number of available tables in the restaurant as I was assured we would be called "closer to our reservation time." Odd, but not a deal-breaker. My and the rest of my party sit at the bar, and in the time it takes us to order and procure said pre-dinner drinks, the hostess comes over to inform us that our table is now ready, delighted we stand up and make our way to the table soon to realize that no member of their staff is going to offer to bring our drinks over. That's fine if I'm eating at the corner mexican joint, but I doubt anybody in the Karatassos family aspires their wait staff to leave these things to neglect.

We are seated at the table, where the server speaks to only one member of our party about the specials for the evening, which sounded excellent, except the vibrating of his cellphone in his pocket made hearing the second and third items of the evening slightly more difficult to hear.

Upon deciding what we are going to order, a member of the party makes a request that one of the listed side items on the menu be 86'd from her order, which is not too terribly difficult considering it was nothing more than a medley of side vegetables however this was met with some level of push-back from the waiter to the point that the person I was with felt uncomfortable for ordering a dish the way they would like it.

The food was good however, the hamachi appetizer was light and a nice balance of flavor,the grouper preparation sounded phenominal and made me wish I was a grouper eater and would want to order it. Myself, I opted for the atlantic salmon which I had rare. The cucumber salad and sauce balanced the fish well and did not make it excessively heavy, or mask the flavors of the fish.

In short, the food was what I would have expected from any fine Buckhead Life establishment, however the service was absolutely amateur, and I'm sure definitely not what this restaurant group is looking for from anybody. I will definitely go back, but not during the late Sunday shift; that line seems more interested in wrapping up the weekend than being there to service customers.

Believe the hype. Seriously.

Nothing about this place has ever been a disappointment, and that includes my first time eating there, and waiting over an hour to eat a burger! First off, the service is awesome, super friendly and knowledgeable staff. It's reassuring, and unfortunately rare these days to be able to encounter a wait-staff that is as knowledgeable and opinionated on the menu as the kitchen-staff. Don't let the fact that this place markets itself as a "burger joint" turn you off; there are as many, if not more non red-meat options on the menu as typical burgers, and on my most recent visit FLIP received multiple accolades from my vegetarian companion. Yes, you read that correctly; vegetarians love Blais' burgers.

I have yet to try anything on this menu I can honestly say anything bad about. The kobe beef burger is obviously one of the flagship items of this spot; and I'd highly recommend giving it a try on your first, or one of your many return visits. I have also tried the corn fed burger, which is delicious, with the blend of homemade sauerkraut, and being topped off with a fried egg. I was worried about the potential for messiness that might have been added by throwing a fried egg into the mix here however, doubt Blais in the kitchen has always proven to be a losing proposition for me, the man knows what he is doing and is single-handedly redefining my opinions of what can be accomplished between a burger bun. Also, I'd highly recommend giving any of the sides a try; the sweetbreads are wonderful, and the fries are probably among the best I have ever tasted, beating out what I remember about the wonderfulness of In-&-Out Burger's fries, a reassuring notion considering eating at FLIP over In-&-Out is a little more convenient to most Atlantans.

...and the milkshakes. Ordinarily I am not much of a sweet-tooth but I have yet to turn down a milkshake from FLIP. Currently to date I have tried the Krispy Kreme, Mole, Foie Gras, and Nutella + Burnt Marshmallow, with the last being my personal favorite... and yes, you did read that correctly, FLIP offers a Foie Gras milkshake. This might sound odd at first, but intuitively speaking, the consistency of the blended foie gras lends itself to a consistency that suits a milkshake well.

Yes, quite clearly, you can see how FLIP is worth going and checking out for yourself and not subjecting yourself to an afternoon of reading Yelp reviews. Let's be realistic, a gourmet chef who has me writing about how delicious organ meats are *TWICE* in a review for a restaurant that proudly serves Kobe beef? Clearly Blais is doing something right.

I am not ashamed to admit it, but when I'm in the mood for Thai in Atlanta, I typically brave the drive from Buckhead out to Jimmy Carter Blvd for the glory that is "Thai Restaurant of Norcross" however, choosing to meet a friend for dinner one evening meant a change of plans, and returning to an Atlanta institution for the first time in years.

Unfortunately, for King and I, I was reminded of why I have stubbornly stuck by Thai Restaurant of Norcross all these years; and this is not to say that the food or service were bad at King and I; just that I felt like for the same amount of money, I had a lower quality of service, in a restaurant with not near the atmosphere or service as the aforemention Thai of Norcross.

Nothing bad here, just nothing exceptional to report... seems like an average run of the mill restaurant, with no real surprises... good or bad.
Unfortunately, my expectations of eating out require a bit more than this.

After reading a couple of reviews, and realizing I have never tried much yakitori, I convinced some friends who are also fans of Japanese cuisine to meet me up there for dinner last night.

I tried the pork ramen as depicted above in the photographs, and with the creamy broth it was really delicious, the pork was very tender as well, unfortunately the rain and cooler weather has finally ended so eating ramen in 70 degree Atlanta spring may not have been the best time to try it but it was definitely worth trying.

The yakitori was good but unfortunately my number one complaint about this place is the price vs. what I am getting, between a beverage (non-alcoholic) one order of yakitori, and a bowl of ramen -- leaving a modest tip put me past what I would have expected to pay for the meal. Do not get me wrong, it was delicious and I do not regret going however, I would expect a little bit more in terms of flavor and ingenuity for the price I was paying.

One side note here at the end, it is totally unrelated to the food so don't let this alter your decisions on this place but there was one employee staffed as hostess and waitress for the entire restaurant at dinner on Friday night and I think I counted 5 or 6 people in the kitchen working. Needless to say this made locating her, or getting her attention a little challenging at times, I wanted to try more however wasn't ever really able to find her when I needed to. Hopefully they are not always so understaffed.

It's still early, so... I am not aiming to have an incredibly serious and firm review here, instead, these are my first impressions of a place I am sure I will revisit again soon.

HYPEHYPEHYPE, everybody knows the backstory, not filling you in. The salumi plate appetizer was decent, and I feel like I got a fair amount of food for the price I paid for it. The person I went with had the spinach salad; which was my second choice of antipasti from the menu, the fact there was not any left for me to try will lead me to believe it is probably safe to order.

I got the margherita so I could gauge the quality of the Varasano's pie using a good control group. The amount of sauce vs cheese worked very well flavor wise, not too rich, not too runny. The crust, arguably the most integral part of the equation was not quite what I would have expected either in the realm of texture, or in terms of flavor. Flavor wise, it was agreed upon that it lacked any complexity or body and added an almost bland element to a pie that has excellent balance of flavors everywhere else. Additionally, the crust felt just slightly too thick or perhaps just barely not cooked enough on the bottom; it was still a little more doughy than I would have anticipated from my expectations of what Varasano's presented itself stylistically.

Again, like I said, this is my first visit during the restaurant's first week of being open and as such I don't expect stagnation from any reasonable restauranteur in Buckhead. I'm looking forward to round two

As many have stated this might be the best Thai restaurant in Atlanta (excepting Nan, but quite honestly, that is in a different category altogether). I have been eating here for about ten years, and only recently began shifting up on the menu. The chicken and shrimp in the dishes are excellent, the hot & sour chicken soup is an absolute must.

My recent trips I have been fortunate enough to discover the beef jerky which was a surprising hit, and the panang with tofu. If a meat eater will rave about the tofu dishes in the same review recommending the beef jerky then you know it's for real.

What a cool spot! This an awesome shop with clothing, music, writing materials. A total one-stop urban shop. As Amoura pointed out the owner Rich is one of the more personable shop owners in town, often times I'll go to The Bench to just hang out and lounge and not actually make any purchases.

This spot also hosts a number of music and urban life events, including a regular monthly event the last weekend of the month with some crazy loud music, visuals, and an incredible vibe.

Be sure to pay this spot a visit; it's a totally independent venture by the owner, and he's not afraid to go out of his way to help you find what you are looking for. A lot of the clothing in here is wonderful but doesn't fit me off the rack, it's never been an issue getting him to procure the sizes and styles I want.

It's not bad, but it's not great either. As described in another review, this seems to just be your run-of-the-mill neighborhood Mexican joint. The main draw here seems to be the $1 Taco Night on Tuesdays.

With another, more authentic, and undeniably more tasty Mexican selection down the street it is hard for me to justify Blue Frog Cantina on most nights out in EAV.

This is an Atlanta institution, and a time-warp. Let me clarify it's one of the best time-warps I've ever encountered. A lot of places try and pull off the old-time barber shop feel, and look. Thomas Barber Shop doesn't have to fake this; that's what it always has been, and what it will always be. This is the neighborhood barber shop. If you have been in more than once everybody knows who you are, and the camaraderie extends not only between their wonderful staff and their customers, but, very rarely do you visit any business where there is the same open dialog and discussion between patrons as well. The laid-back neighborhood atmosphere permeates all aspects of the location. Go in on a Saturday and they'll have a box of warm donuts waiting in the back, and a group of locals will be huddled around a television cheering on an SEC football game.

Thomas' Barber Shop is as much a social experience as it is a wonderful haircut, and is the only place in Atlanta I feel comfortable saying "take it short." On top of that, where else in Buckhead can you walk in to get a haircut without an appointment with a $20 bill, tip the barber, and walk out with money left over? This is the type of barber-shop startups wish they could emulate, but never will because you can't recreate a rich history.

I was first brought here by some local friends who live down the street from Sunny Point. Being a native Atlantan, they were eager to bring me there due to the connection to Atlanta's Flying Biscuit. Being a (former) hardcore fan of Flying Biscuit before it was franchised out to Raving Brands, I was eager to check Sunny Point out.

It's difficult for me to do anything other than just confirm what everybody else has already said here. The portions are HUGE, the food is what I wish Flying Biscuit still was. As Sarah P point out, something about the ambience and food at Sunny Point is very "Ashevillian." If I am in Asheville during breakfast hours I'm for sure stopping in to Sunny Point, I have yet to encounter anything there I didn't find delicious, and each time I'm disappointed I can't finish my plate in a single sitting!