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

I was immediately impressed with their beer list. Whether you fancy pilsner, lager, wheat, they’ve got you covered. Beers come in the liter or half liter size. You can order some by the bottle, but trust me, with such a terrific beer list, you won’t need to look any further than the selections on draft. For the quality of beers and pours, they are a quite a deal at only $5-$6 for the half liter size.

Visiting with a group of four on a Saturday evening, we started things off with the giant Pretzel and the Wurstplate, featuring three different kinds of sausage and and house made mustards and sauces. The pretzel is indeed, on big ass pretzel.It was warm, gooey and probably what someone on a no-carb diet has wet dreams about. While it may have been a bit much for two people to share, it was perfect for our double date. The Wurstplate, made up of Bratwurst, Knackwurst, and Wiener Wurstchen (mixtures of pork, veal and beef) complimented the carby pretzel well.

I think it kind of goes without saying that Der Biergarten is not for vegetarians. Besides the Wurstplate, which can also be ordered as an entree, choices also include a pork shank, trout, chicken and breaded veal or pork cutlets (ie schnitzel). Our friends chose the trout and chicken, but the Jagerschnitzel was calling my name – breaded pork topped with a sauce of mushroom, bacon and onions served along spatzle? Sign me up. The Jagerschnitzle comes with with two pork cutlets so with that and ordering two sides it was plenty enough food for me and Mr. ARB to share. The sauce perfectly complimented the dish – and we made short work of mopping it up.

300 Marietta Street
Atlanta, Ga 30313
Der Biergarten Website
Extra: During Octoberfest there’s no better place to be than Der Biergarten.

Someone has a new menu!!

This is my first time at  Don Shula’s Steakhouse. Little did I know that they have a full featured restaurant outside of the white-tablecloth fine dining establishment. Shula’s 347 Grill is an upscale sports bar of sorts that is located at 3405 Lenox Road Northeast Atlanta, GA 30326-1308. The inside is immaculate. Here’s a professional shot of what you can expect when you show up.

New (or reconfigured) on the menu – that we tried is the Buffalo Shrimp, Sweet Potato Fries, Crab Cakes, Ahi Tuna, Spicy Meatballs, Calamari Fries, Tempura Asparagus, and Sweet Chili Chicken. Here’s a copy of the Menu for their own description. Courtesy of Karen Canavan PR I sampled the above. My brief description:

Buffalo Shrimp – Nice light and tasty. Tempura fried gives it a nice texture and flavor

Sweet Potato Fries – Typical, nothing special, but still delicious

Crab Cakes – I continue to be impressed by crab cakes at steak houses. Excellent lump meat, good (not great) flavors – depending on the quantity, it’d be a solid appetizer with friends

Ahi Tuna – The wasabi cream made the tuna sing

Spicy Meatballs – YES! I love meatballs as an appetizer

Calamari Fries – I don’t think I’ve ever had calamari in fry-form. They had a really good texture.

Tempura Asparagus – I’m a fan of tempura frying, it’s more healthy than the heavy bread coating on most things. These asparagi were forgettable.

Sweet Chili Chicken – Sweet Thai Chili Sauce is pretty delicious on most things. If you’re a fan of that sauce, this appetizer rocks. However, it’s pretty uninventive.

I’d go back. 7.5/10

I’ve found myself going out to a lot of lunches lately, one of the tastiest being at the One Eared Stag. One Eared Stag is the newish restaurant that took over the old Shaun’s space. This, being my first visit to One Eared Stag, I went with a seasoned patron, who’s explored lots on the dinner menu. I love going out to eat with my friend, Josh – he’s every bit as enthusiastic about eating as I am.

We started things off light with an order of Mussels with sofrito, Chickpea fries, Chicken liver spread, and Pork belly and Kimchee. Of course, that meant I needed to get a Kimchee Bloody Mary to compliment my Pork belly. And it was certainly a treat. I’m not really a chicken liver lover, but Josh is and he mopped it up. We both enjoyed the Pork belly with Kimchee immensely, served with lots of fresh lettuce, meant to be eaten like lettuce wraps.

The mussels were huge and I am always a sucker for any kind of yummy mussel broth. I liked that we ordered the Chickpea fries as it was a twist on Moules Frites. Dousing the fries in the mussel broth, they were like a sponge, absorbing the broth, and could only be eaten with a fork. While I liked it, it would have been nice if there was some sort of dipping sauce that accompanied the fries too. By themselves, they are quite bland.

For my entree I settled on the Trout wrapped in bacon with a salsa verde sauce in the center. What a great combo those flavors add up to. It was served with an almond salad. It was delicious. So was Josh’s Crab Roll. Light on mayo, and with such a beautiful presentation, it was almost a shame to dig in.

At the time of this post, the website doesn’t have much information, not even a sample menu. Hopefully they’ll change that soon. The menu does change very frequently – weekly, if I’m not mistaken, to keep up with what is in season and what is available from local farmers. So, you’ll need to go often to taste the variety of what’s available. I know I’m interested to return for dinner and sample that menu.

1029 Edgewood Avenue
Atlanta GA 30307
(404) 525-4479

Truth be told, I wasn’t sure what to expect driving up to Tavern 99 in Buckhead last month for a media dinner. The outside is a bit rustic looking, and I had low expectations about the food. However, I was pleasantly surprised. Tavern 99 has several rooms – the main room has a stage for live music with plenty of high top tables. We were seated in the private dining room which was set up for owner, Francisco Vidal, to serenade us with his lovely guitar music while we dined.

Our group was treated to a menu sampling and we got a taste of the diverse offerings at Tavern 99. Starting things off with Cherry rubbed baby back ribs and Peach Glazed Shrimp, I was impressed. The ribs were tender and meaty. The shrimp was delicious and sat atop a fried grit cake.

Next up were another duo of appetizer samples: the Bruschetta and Beefsteak Caprese. Once again, I was surprised by the quality of the food. Everything was very fresh and the Balsamic and Herb Oil came together so well in the Caprese. Definitely put this on your “must try” list when you visit Tavern 99.

I’m lamb lover and am always up for a tasty Gyro. Tavern 99 did one better by providing us with a deconstructed Gyro. The individual Gyro pieces were topped with garlicky hummus and a strategically placed piece of pita bread. So yummy – it was my favorite dish of the evening.

The food was much more high end cuisine than I was expecting when I first set foot inside Tavern 99. Definitely a lot more on the menu than your usual pub grub. Tavern 99 has 27 different beers on tap. Wine lover? Don’t fret – they’ve got 40 to choose from. There’s something going on each night whether that’s drink specials or live music.

128 East Andrews Dr
Atlanta, GA 30305
404 835 8311
Tavern 99 Website