My birthday was a couple weeks ago and after several years hiatus, I decided to gather a small group of friends to celebrate. To be clear, I love getting together with my friends, but when you have a Birthday around the holidays it is damn near impossible to get people together. But I digress.

I originally had another nearby pub selected but they didn’t seem too interested in accommodating our group. So, I thought I’d take my chances with the newish (it has been open about six months) gastropub, Wrecking Bar. So glad I did as it turned out to be a fantastic evening.

If you have an interest in architecture and historical buildings you definitely need to visit Wrecking Bar. The Victorian home was built prior to 1900 was designed by Architect Willis F. Denny. Before being transformed into a pub it was once a Methodist Church and even a dance school. For more information about the history, visit Wrecking Bar’s website.

Wrecking bar has about eight beers that rotate out on a regular basis. These are IPAs, Belgians, Ales and others that are brewed on site. Most are available in both a regular and shorty size (for those who like to try a variety). I sampled the Golden Nelson Ale and the Victor IPA. I thought they were okay, but wasn’t blown away by them. The Scotch Ale was much tastier and helped me end the night on a high note. Don’t do beer? They’ve got a mighty fine looking cocktail list.

As for the menu, it has mostly pub food – sandwiches, mussels, fries, house burger, etc. But there is a specials menu that is quite unique. Some items were the Duck Confit Tacos ($7), Lamb Ribs ($10) and Rabbit and Dumplings. Have I piqued your interest yet? We started with the Duck Confit Tacos. They were quite tasty, especially with the garlicky chimichurri sauce slathered on top.

The half rack of lamb ribs with Couscous was wonderful as well. The smoked tomato & mint, cocoa-plum BBQ sauce was just perfect. My friend, Ashley, ordered the Pork Shank ($16), which comes with sides of greens and Poblano grits. It was so huge two could have easily shared it.

They do have a private room in the back, but I don’t suggest it. It seemed small and narrow, really not conducive to any type of mingling. It also smelled like cat pee – not sure what that was about. The main dining area is so cool with its brick walls and concrete columns, why would you want to sit elsewhere?

292 Moreland Ave NE
Atlanta GA 30307
404.221.2600

Are you on Twitter and are anxious to get out and meet some other Twitter fanatics like yourself? Or perhaps you made it a New Year’s Resolution to really get involved and learn this Twitter thing everyone keeps talking about. Well then the Corner Tavern has the perfect event for you. Drink Up, Tweet Up” on Tues, Jan 10 at Edgewood Corner Tavern (Twitter at @AmericanBeerAtl).

The Corner Tavern’s Tweet up is perfect for anyone who loves craft beer, games like darts, pool and of course Twitter! Grab your friends and come join them for a TWEET-UP at Edgewood Corner Tavern on January 10th. Enjoy craft beer specials, complimentary snacks, pool, darts, shuffleboard and more!

Edgewood Corner Tavern serves over 100 American Micro-Brewed beers. While largely undecorated, the concept is to have breweries or a local artists come in and paint craft beer related murals; the first mural (by Sweetwater) was finished on Jan 4th. While it’s not a “chef-driven” restaurant, Edgewood Corner Tavern has better-than-expected food.

Who: You and other Atlanta tweeters
What: Tweetup
Where: Corner Tavern, 464-A Edgewood Avenue, Atlanta, GA 30312
When: Tuesday, January 10, 6 – 8 pm
Cost: Free (Drinks are available at a discounted rate)

Even more info about the Tweeteup:
Food:
Handcut fries with Wasabi Mayo and Curry Ketchup
Wasabi Shrimp Wraps in Thai Chili sauce
Seared Tuna with avocado topped with a bacon vinaigrette
Andouille sausage sliders with a creole remoulade.

Raffle:
Featuring a Epiphone Tito Vodka Guitar- signed by Tito
Hamburger Phones
3: 2- packs of Mercy Hangover preventative from NYC- not sold in GA drinkmercy.com
Lots of Great Beer Swag

BEER:
$6
Allagash Curieux on draft

http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/allagash-curieux/38037/

Ommegang Seduction

http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/ommegang-seduction/161245/

A cask beer from Rogue -TBA

Invite your peeps – Facebook Event Page

The space is stunning. A large dining room is to the left of the restaurant with a large bar area elevated and overlooking the dining room. There’s also a small private dinning room that looks like it would accommodate a group of about ten or so people.

Mr. Ski shared with us that there are several sofas around the restaurant for lounging because he wants people to feel they can come hang out for drinks and appetizers with their friends. And he wants to feed customers late into the night with the kitchen staying open until 2 am on weekends.

Our group started out meal with Calamari, Fish Tacos and Chicken Satay. The sauce for the calamari tasted house made – slightly sweet, slightly spicy it was so tasty, I would have slathered that all over the fish tacos if I could have. As it was the fish was crispy and tender.

For entrees, Short Ribs remained the most popular item at the table. They were prepared perfectly moist and tender. The salmon was another option along with chicken. Both were good portions and left us satisfied. However, I would be anxious to visit Frank Ski’s again and have the whole fried snapper.

Some Europeans visiting the restaurant, simply asked their server to “give us Atlanta” and Frank didn’t think twice about suggesting the Short Ribs. And to our group, he even served up one of his menu favorites: the sweet potato tots. So marvelous, we couldn’t get enough of them. If you visit Frank Ski’s promise me to order the tater tots.

2110 Peachtree Road
Atlanta, GA 30309

Skip the guacamole in favor of the special house made cheese dip (pictured at the top). Called, Queso Compuesto, it comes with seasoned ground sirloin and pico de gallo. Chicken dominates most of the menu, and the house special dish is the Chicka-Chicka Boom-Boom. What makes these chicken enchiladas special is the Boom Boom sauce that covers it. Beware – it isn’t for those that don’t like hot and spicy.

If you like seafood, go for the Baja tacos. With your choice of fish or shrimp, these are very flavorful, although they were a bit on the salty side. We chose the fried shrimp and these jumbo shrimp were delicious. We also sampled a steak burrito that was bursting with flavor too. While all in our group agreed it was tasty we had had the same sentiment – it’s no Uncle Julio’s.

Smashburger already has several other locations in Atlanta (Buckhead, Alpharetta and Johns Creek) and opened its latest in Kennesaw off of Barrett Parkway. The chain is a quick service or fast casual restaurant. Patrons order at the counter and the food is brought to their table.

Smashburger offers fresh ground beef burgers or chicken burgers. Guests can choose from Smashburger combos or create their own. Prices start at around $4.99 for a small burger and go up to $6.99 for the large. Sides range from $2-3.

I got the large smash, which is a large burger. I would have preferred them to make it a double patty vs. one large patty which hangs over the bun. I also thought the burger was rather dry. The ingredients – lettuce, tomato, and jalapenos all tasted very fresh. For sides, the veggie fries (beans and asparagus) were quite tasty, albeit very salty. And although I usually favor sweet potato fries over regular fries, I liked the regular better because I thought it went well with the rosemary and olive oil drizzle on top. They also offer a special burger that compliments each city. For Atlanta they offer a peach topped burger, of course!

Disclosure: The meals provided for these reviews were complimentary.

Their produce is locally grown or organic
They bake their own bread (even Gluten-Free just ask)
They don’t serve pre-packaged products

Think of it this way, if Subway competes on price, Jimmy John’s on speed, then Erbert & Gerbert’s buzz word is Fresh. But don’t mistake the fact that products are organic and not pre-packaged that E&G is expensive. Subs are prices between $5 and $7. They also have over 30 soups and chili’s that rotate out. Owner, Ed Andrist, invited me to sample their sandwiches recently.

Image Courtesy of Erbert & Gerbert’s

Their soups are delicious. Of the ones I sampled the Chicken and Wild Rice as well the the Cheesy Asparagus were my favorites. Oh and and on a blustery winter day, the slightly spicy Blanco Chicken Chili would certainly hit the spot.

I stuck to their line of Signature flavors which included the Quatro – Cranberry Wasabi, The Titan – Turkey with Pesto Mayo and cucumbers and the Pompeii with chicken, sprouts and sweet chili sauce. All were mighty tasty however the Titan with the Pesto Mayo I found to be the most flavorful. While the Cranberry Wasabi was a close second, I was expecting more heat and just didn’t taste it.

Image courtesy of Erbert & Gerbert’s

I ordered a couple sandwiches to go as I couldn’t eat them all in one sitting. I loved that the bread held up to the contents, not collapsing under the weight. They also put a small piece of bread on top of the sandwich which helps hold the sandwich together and prevent it from getting soggy. So, if you pick one up and take it back to the office you don’t have to worry about it being mushy.

Erbert & Gerbert’s might be off the beaten path, but if you live or work close by, it is a nice break from the other establishments. Oh, and they do a lot of catering, so think of them for your next office luncheon.

2752 E. Ponce de Leon Ave,
Decatur, GA 30030
404.370.6009
Erbert & Gerbert’s Website