Dustin "Daddy" B.'s Profile

I didn't realize that Hudson Grille had moved, but I figured I would give Whitehall Tavern a try.  The best part about my visit was the service and the plates.  I enjoyed the style of the plates more than I did the food.  I ordered lemon pepper wings, and they tasted like wings that had been soaked in lemon juice for two or three minutes.  The friend I was with let me nibble on her fries but that didn't last too long because I didn't like the fries either.  I won't go back.

I stopped in to make a purchase-- Dolly Parton has a Cracker Barrel exclusive.  It's a CD/DVD package.  The guy operating the register was super nice.  I'd go almost anywhere for Dolly.  :-)

Damn good burgers.  Okay.  Do you get that?  Black Bear Tavern has damn good burgers.   And, our server was as hot as my burger was damn good.  I love it when I can have good food and eye candy.  It's the simple things in life that make me happy.  Since Black Bear is near work I know where I'll be going to get my burger fix.

I stopped in at the Elder Tree Public House before heading over to Bound To Be Read Books for a poetry reading.  We hit the bar.  My girl friend had a beer, and I had two vodka cranberries.  My drinks were strong; therefore, they were good.  The bartender was pleasant.  I'd stop in again for a cocktail.

Yesterday morning I ate breakfast at Radial Cafe with two friends who were Radial virgins.  I immediately "twisted their arms" to get one of Radial's infamous cinnamon rolls.  It was almost like a scene from When Harry Met Sally; yeah, they enjoyed that cinnamon!  

I ate the Have-It-Your-Way Breakfast Sandwich-- a bagel w/ egg, cheese, and bacon.  It was  a hell yeah kind of good.  I also tried a side of cheese grits.  I never liked grits growing up as a kid.  I wanted to try to tap into my Southern roots, but I couldn't do it.  I did eat half the bowl because there was a good flavor but the texture of grits is what does me in.  But my guess is this-- If you enjoy grits then Radial's cheese grits will rock your socks.  

Our server was Chris.  He was friendly, and it didn't hurt that he was also cute.  But looks aside he did a good job.  Everyone at Radial is friendly, which is a treasure because in this day and age it seems that good customer service is dying.  

Overall, I spent 13.99 (pre tip) for my Have-It-Your Way Breakfast Sandwich, large side of cheese grits, and coffee.  I think that is very doable for a restaurant that is keeping an eye on their carbon footprint.  

Bottom Line:  I'll be back for breakfast.

The interior is definitely not fancy, but there is a country home feel to the place.  That being said, I don't expect my BBQ places to look or be fancy--- I only expect good BBQ, and I got what I expected today.  I ended up at One Star Ranch because two friends had been raving about it so we went on a double date.  

For appetizers we had onion rings and fried pickles-- both were fried goodness.  The onion rings I had today are probably the best I have ever eaten.  I'm not a huge onion fan, so I appreciated that the onion rings are thinly sliced.  The fried pickles looked that had been cut into quarter slices, so I was in love.  Up until today I had only eaten fried pickles in thin slices.  Yum!

I had the BBQ Beef Brisket plate that came with two sides.  I opted for Brunswick Stew and fries.  The BBQ Beef Brisket was out of this world.  The Brunswick Stew was good-- I honestly feel like it could have been seasoned a little bit more but it was by no means bad.  The frees were delicious.  Everything was good and tasted fresh.

Our server was Jamie, and she was damn good.  Our glasses never went below half full.  She chatted with us and quite friendly.  Jamie is definitely good people.  

And, they have a clean men's bathroom.  Hey... no laughing... this is important!  

With all of this being said, I wouldn't complete if the BBQ plates were a buck or buck fifty cheaper; however, you do get what you pay for......... You'll get good BBQ at One Star Ranch.  I'll definitely go back again.

This was the first Mexican restaurant that I've been to that did NOT have complimentary chips and salsa.  I'm going to have to ask for their Mexican restaurant card back.  Isn't this some form of Mexican restaurant sacrilege?  I have to admit the queso was delicious-- thank God and Saint Dolly Parton.  I probably would have lost my marbles otherwise since I wasn't getting my salsa fix.  My shrimp quesadilla might have been better than what I've eaten at El Azteca; I can definitely vouch that Red Pepper Taquería puts more shrimp in their quesadillas than the average Mexican restaurant or at least they did for me on Sunday.  Not to be a negative nelly but our waiter was less to be desired.  Okay.  Let me be frank-- he sucked.  He rarely checked on us.  My water glass stayed empty for way too long.  I wasn't impressed in the least bit.  It will be a while before I go back to Red Pepper Taquería because I work too hard for money to be ignored.

I had a spicy crunchy shrimp roll and tuna roll.  NomNom.  Good stuff.  The waitress was friendly and on top of keeping our party of 6 with full glasses of water.  Everyone in our group seemed to enjoy their meal.  Overall it was a very delicious visit.  I'd definitely go back if I'm in Decatur.

I'm typically a Regal guy; however, I have to admit that I think the staff at the AMC Phipps Plaza 14 were the nicest movie theater staff I've ever encountered.  They were chatty yet helpful.  The cashier at the snack counter pointed out how I could save a dollar-- I'm cheap so that won me over but I think my marriage proposal to him might have been more of a thank you than he wanted. I kid. I kid, but only about the proposal-- the excellent customer service provided on my trip to watch The Hunger Games was no joke.

I was in Asheville for a conference last weekend, and I needed to make a beer run to get some dark brew for a lesbian friend.  .... Go ahead, make some typical lesbian beer jokes....  Back to the review.... This Ingle's has a beer section like I've never seen before.  I'm not really a beer drink and I was amazed.  Not only was there a huge wall of beer but there was a freaking beer cave.  I didn't browse the massive beer cave because I found what I needed on the wall, but I was impressed.  If you're in Asheville and trying to be mainstream instead of being cool and hitting the local breweries then Ingles is your place.