Matt L.'s Profile

Premium pizza.... definitely one of the best in the area.  This is a mighty fine spot.  There are a number of good "pizza beers" on tap... and also Peroni. (I know it's Italian.. but I'm not a fan).  

We ordered a margharita pizza.  The ingredients were top notch and service was friendly and punctual.  They brought out 3 garlic knots which were quite tasty, but I've never quite understood why only 3?  There are two people at the table?  The pizza was brought out pretty quickly.  The crust was really crispy with just a bit of char...  Less than most.  There was a good bit of chewiness but the center was way too thin and soggy.   It's definitely the best OTP pizza I've had.  The sauce was nice with not too much garlic.

My biggest complaint with the place is how pricey it is.  When we're in the mood for some great pizza and don't want far to drive this will definitely be the place to go.

Probably my favorite venue in Atlanta.  It's a converted theater so there's a decent amount of room.  Not needing to deal with TicketMaster is a huge plus!  They sell cheap beer and are located in an area with lots of good places to eat.  Parking is free along the street.

There is also a lot of seating... those people who sit up in the first couple rows of seats? They're amatuers.  Of course there'll be people standing directly in front of you.  If you don't want to sit up in the balcony then get a seat halfway back or farther in the seating area, you'll be fine.

Acoustics are better than you'd expect and it's non-smoking. They get a lot of great acts through here.

Like many of the other recent reviewers I dined here for Yelp Eats.   It was definitely a good value, but I'm certain I wouldn't head back for the full priced menu.  

The strawberry soup was comically served in a huge mug and tasted exactly like a fruit smoothie.  Which is good and all, but it felt like it could have just as easily come in a styrofoam to-go cup.  The goat cheese with phyllo was ultimately tasty, but there were a lot of different flavors.  So it's more a mix-and-match than put everything together kind of affair.  We ordered the mussels and that was one of the better dishes we had.

None of the main dishes were all that great.  The scallops were cooked well, but completely drowned by the broccoli accompaniment. My ravioli tasted less than fresh and was drowned in fruity, nutty gorgonzola. I know I tried the meatloaf, but nothing stands out.

Desserts were ok.  The best part were the muffins for the next morning.  I think the muffins for breakfast were the best part of the experience and raises this from 2 to 3 stars.

The portions were good, and it was nice to get a real feel for the menu during a "restaurant week", but with most entrees clocking in at or above the restaurant week price I'd pass.

I've been to The Porter a couple times now, usually before wandering over the The Variety Playhouse.  Each time the staff has been great.  Very knowledgeable about beer and willing to take on challenges in beer selection (especially trying to find beers for non-beer drinkers... without resorting to lindeman's framboise).

The beer selection is top notch and they always appear to be getting something new in... and still having it available.  Too many other great beer bars are constantly advertising things they don't have.

Food here has been consistently good. I'm a big fan of the bacon-y hushpuppies, but last time they were a bit over fried.  The kitchen could do a bit better in getting food out faster and I've had had to wait far too long to get a new beer a couple times now.  So service does need some work.

The fixed menu can be a bit limiting if you're looking to go beyond sandwiches and fish&chips, but there usually is something interesting on their ever changing list of daily specials.  Their blt is so good right now.

The big draw with this place will always be the beer, but the food has been consistently good... and they have some really good fries.

Atlanta Restaurant Week was the only time my wallet would allow me to visit BLT Steak, but I'm glad we did.

The staff was great, and very friendly.  Now I don't know if they do it for everyone, and some might consider it tacky, but they reminded us that they do validate parking.  Hooray, because at the W parking isn't cheap.  

The decor is basically what you'd expect for a steak house in a trendy hotel.  Lots of chalk boards, dark woods and a great view into the kitchen.

The complimentary chicken liver pate was pretty good, but the gruyere popovers were heavenly.  Mmmm.... I'm going to be craving those for weeks.

The highlight of the first course was the gazpacho.  The tomato taste was perfect and the seemly ubiquitous tabassco sorbet was awesome.  The duck terrine was so-so.  The beet salad hid blue cheese crumbles... an interesting surprise.

The scottish salmon was darn good with just a light breading to for texture.  It was a nicely cooked bit of fish.  The hangar steak was cooked nicely.  They go a bit heavy on the pepper for my taste, but that's usual for me.  I'll say it's one of the best hangar steaks I've had, but I don't usually order it.  It's restaurant week, so options were limited.  We ordered additional sides and were glad we did because while most had a flaw they were still better than most other high end steak houses I've been to.  The jalapeno mashed potatoes that came with the steak weren't to be missed.  Mmmm.  The leek and potato hash browns were very tasty but a bit too crispy.. it was a bit too difficult to split with a fork, and fried potato bits flew out.  The creamed spinach looked full of spinach, but was completely overpowered by garlic and bacon flavor.  All the sides came out in little cast-iron containers.. and one of my dining companions will now probably be ordering a whole set.

Dessert was passable.  The standout was the berry cobbler with chamomile ice cream.  Such a great flavor, good texture and I'm an ice cream snob.  The red velvet cake with cream cheese ice cream was good except for the flavorless coconut that encrusted the ice cream.  All-in-all it was pretty good, but it was obvious that the menu we were working with was a bit constrained for a place like BLT Steak.  

Great decor, excellent wait staff and darn good food.  I'd definitely be back if someone else was picking up the tab.

I finally had the chance to try the foie gras milkshake.... mmm... it was so yummy and buttery.  Caught a late lunch there with some friends.  Blais was wandering around with a Flip camera shooting the place... interesting.  No problems with service. No tables were available but we were seated right at the bar looking into the kitchen.  So service wasn't a problem at all when there are always people right in front of you ready to help.  About the only miss foodwise was the tatertots.  They just didn't have a lot of potato flavor.  Everything else was great.  The addition of the chorizo burger is a winner.  My burger was cooked perfectly and I was surprised how well the bun held up to the juiciness.  My wife's po boyger didn't hold up nearly so well, but I don't know how it could be expected to.  I'll definitely be back.

Best beer store around by a long shot.  The people there are incredibly knowledgeable, helpful and actively looking to hook you up with interesting beer.  The selection was superb, and would be overwhelming if it weren't for the staff.   Aisles and aisles of beer grouped by style.  Yumm.  

My only complaint is that just about half the store is devoted to wine, but no one is over there shopping.  Free up some of the cramped beer aisle space please!  I almost didn't notice the belgian section up in the front.  Good to see that they have home brew supplies as well for when the trek up to Beer Necessities is inconvenient.

This is definitely my new place to go for beer.

Decent for a bar, meh for food.

I've slowly been working my way through the West Village looking for tasty food with some hits and some misses.  McCray's definitely falls into the latter category.  The space is relatively nice.  Lots of outside seating, the place doesn't get too loud and there's a huge bar with a long string of taps behind it.  It's definitely one of the larger beer selections I've seen in this neck of town.

We ordered spinach dip for an app and the dip was acceptable, but the chips were greasy and a bit stale.  We asked the server what he recommended... and he proceeded to list off half the menu without too much enthusiasm.  The first thing he suggested were fish and chips so that's what I stuck with.  Poor choice.  The fish was good, but the breading was soggy and flavorless... frozen fries on the side.  Meh.  My dining companions had similar experiences.  The dishes were alright but there were usually one or two very off-putting characteristics.  The prices were reasonable, but much better food can be found elsewhere.

Another thing that didn't help was that I ordered a very disappointing beer.  This what the first place that I'd seen Newcastle Summer Ale.  It definitely didn't live up to the Newcastle name, and I swear it came out flat even though the bartender said otherwise.  So probably not the restaurant's fault, it still set the tone.

So if you're just looking for drinks and mediocre to poor bar food then this place is probably going to fit the bill nicely.  If you're looking for a really good meal, this place isn't it.

I've had a couple of cheesesteaks now from Roy's and they're always quite tasty.  Good prices and filling food.  The first time I visited they made sure to mention that the cheese tends to melt into the steak and not to worry, it's in there.  Oh man, it is.  Yummy gooey cheese.  It's apples to oranges in style but I definitely prefer Roy's to Woody's in general.  

I've never strayed from the beef... and I'll admit that the sweet peppers are a nice addition.  They have a decent selection on the menu, but once you try a cheesesteak I'm not sure why you'd want to try anything else.

Absolutely wonderful selection of beer in the new hip Mercado development in North Naples.  They have a lot of English and Scottish favorites including Wychwood's Hobgoblin, one of my favorites.   There are a lot of drink specials and appetizer specials. My group ordered a trio of appetizers.  The wings were good, and our waitress suggested getting them with the sweet chili sauce, which isn't on the menu.  It wasn't a particularly spectacular sauce but it was darn good.  A side of the rather sweet, but tasty Pub BBQ sauce was also offered.  I liked it.

The goat cheese dip with a splash of marinara and pine nuts was a winner.  It's served with slightly toasted pita chips and was really good with the creaminess of my Belhaven Stout. (next time a Boddington's would be perfect).  

The spinach and artichoke dip was heavy on the garlic, but if heavy garlic is your thing then you can't go wrong.

We saw a couple orders of fish and chips go out... man that looked tasty. I'll definitely be back to try that.  I've only heard positive things.

The atmosphere and decorations are spot on.  Cute outfits including kilts on the guys.  Lots of British decorations and an absolutely gorgeous and well stocked bar with great beer (anyone with dogfish head 60 minute on draught gets at least 4 stars, 5 for 90 minute!)  This is definitely a great place to hang out and beat the pants off a lot of the established pubs around.  I'll also have to see if they can pull a proper pint of Guinness.. and if it's on nitrogen or not, but beer loves will love this place.