Five Napkin Burger is the much-anticipated new burger joint that opened in the old Nickiemoto’s space in Midtown. If you were on Twitter and following any of us foodies, you know there was a lot of chatter going on in the days leading up to its opening. And Five Napkin did a lot of Social Media work to generate a buzz before and during its opening.

I was lucky to snag an invite to their Friends and Family night as well as being invited back because of all the Twittering I’d done. If you ever ate at Nickiemoto’s, it’s safe to say you probably won’t recognize the interior. Five Napkin, with locations in New York, Boston and Miami, has a style they like to keep consistent throughout their restaurants. I really like the subway tile look and unique lighting hanging from hooks. Another unique thing about Five Napkin is the extensive beer and Bourbon list.

On my first visit I tried the Reuben Rolls (see pic below left) and loved them. This appetizer is a good choice because the portion is small (you’ll need to save room for the burger), yet still offers a lot of flavor. And if you are like me and have had those egg roll-like appetizers with pastrami and swiss and been disappointed, this app is nothing like that. It is served in the form of sushi (imagine if a sushi roll were to be deep fried) and even though I don’t like sauerkraut, I mopped it up on this dish. Something about the flavors really come together well in this dish.

I was really surprised to see sushi on the menu. Sushi? At a burger joint? I tried some on the second visit, and they do make it quite well here. Having said that, if I find myself at a burger joint, I don’t think I’d be inclined to order sushi. But I guess it is a good option if you drag someone there who doesn’t eat meat?

As for the burgers, to date I’ve tasted five:
The Original 5 Napkin Burger
The Veggie Burger
The Tuna Burger
The Bacon Cheeseburger
The Turkey Burger

My favorites were the Original Five Napkin Burger and the Turkey Burger out of all. The Original burger with Gruyere cheese and caramelized onions is like whoa! Every bite had gooey cheese and onions. The Turkey burger is topped with peppers and I think there are even bread crumbs inside the turkey to add more flavor. I definitely appreciated how juicy it was as I’ve had Turkey burgers in the past that were completely dried out. Skip the regular or herb fries in favor of the sweet potato fries or humongous onion rings.

They also offer some delicious shakes to compliment the burger, but quite honestly even sharing a shake with my cohorts, left me feeling beyond stuffed. The Original 5 Napkin Burger will run you upwards of $15. Throw in a beer per person and an appetizer and suddenly you are looking at nearly $50 for a couple. So, while the burgers are quite good, they are also quite pricey.

Me, SeanEatsAtlanta, ATL_Events, BurgerandBrew along with some other Tweeps, met up at the Counter Burger in Roswell on a recent Tuesday. Having no idea if five people or twenty-five people were going to show up I called ahead and they told me they don’t take reservations, but they’d accommodate us when we arrived. We asked for a table of ten and were seated shortly after arriving. The group grew to a total of fourteen, but it wasn’t a problem adding a couple people to our table.

The four mini burgers and beers are pre-selected by the restaurant but change up every couple of months. So, there’s no worry about selecting toppings, which, if you’ve seen the Counter Burger’s menu you’d understand. It is a clipboard with a pencil for you to choose your toppings. I liked simply pointing at the signage and saying “I want that.” It was easy ordering for our large group. And I was impressed that they got the food out relatively quickly, although we did have to wait a while for the beers to come out.

The Burgers were a:
Greek burger with olives and feta
Burger with roasted red peppers and teriyaki-soy sauce
Caprese Burger with mozzarella cheese, tomato and pesto sauce
Burger topped with fried onions and hot sauce

The Beers were:
Heavy Seas
Fat Tire
Sweetwater 420
Palm

I was pretty impressed with the quality of all toppings – they were tasty and plentiful. While I enjoyed all the burgers, the Caprese-Pesto was my favorite with the Fried onion topped-hot sauce burger being my second favorite. Several of us noticed that while we asked for our burgers to be medium, they ended up pretty well done (not dried out mind you), but I suspect it is quite difficult to make those tiny burgers anything but well done. The burgers and brews rotate every couple of months, so there’s definitely variety.

Loved the beers and thought they all paired quite nicely with the burgers. Everyone was very pleased with their meal, and we all remarked what a deal this is. Oh, and loved how our server split up our checks without even asking, even down to the orders of fries we all shared. Great place for a group.

http://www.thecounterburger.com

Earlier this year, I was approached by a publishing company, Globe Pequot Press, and asked if I was interested in writing a Food Guide book for Atlanta. I practically jumped out of my skin, I was so excited that they picked me. My publisher just sent me the cover of the book (pictured above) and I wanted to share it with you.

I’ve had so much fun over the last several months visiting restaurants around Atlanta and talking to staff and chefs. It has been a wonderful experience writing the book and I definitely have a new appreciation and respect for both authors and editors.

As you are reading this, I’m down in Florida for a short break and celebrating finishing the book!

Cheers!

Although Grindhouse Killer Burgers opened quite some time ago, I only got a taste recently when I met up with some tweeps. You see, we were lucky enough to get a tour of the Sweet Auburn Curb Market where Grindhouse Killer Burgers is located, and we made a pact to return to sample some of these good looking burgers.

So, as I said, Grindhouse is not in a freestanding building (at least the one downtown isn’t). It is located inside the Sweet Auburn Curb Market. This is a nice change of pace, as you can shop for other goods (crawfish, frogs legs, oxtails) they got you covered. But note that parking here is pricey. I ended up spending $3.00 for just about 20 minutes. Grindhouse does validate but only for 90 minutes, so don’t dilly dally.

We all agreed to meet up at noon. Good timing as we seemed to arrive before the throngs of people got there and the line was about 20 deep. Grindhouse seating consists of about ten or so stools at their counter. Our group snatched those up quickly. There’s other seating to be found around the market, which we should have found our way to, as our seating arrangements made it really hard to talk to anyone other than those seated right next to you.

When ordering, you are free to build your own burger or choose from their pre-selected menu items. Cheeses are $0.50. Veggies and sauces are free, and all other condiments (besides onions) range from $0.75 – $1.00. If you do take the time to do the math, you’ll find ordering from one of their burgers styles doesn’t save any money. Even still, I went ahead and ordered the Apache burger which comes with Pepper Jack Cheese, Grilled onions and New Mexico Green Chiles. I made it a combo with Vidalia Onion rings and a drink which was over $9 after tax.

I don’t know if it was just not able to live up to the hype but I didn’t think the burger was that phenomenal. Don’t get me wrong, it was good, but it just didn’t taste like the explosion of flavor I was expecting. The patty was rather thin (think Steak ‘n Shake thin) and I struggled to taste it at all over the bun, cheese and toppings. If I were to have another burger I would get the double patty just so I could actually taste the meat. As for the toppings, I was expecting a better taste or flavor from the New Mexico Chiles. I picked a couple off my burger to taste them and the flavor was very bland.

However, the side of Vidalia Onion rings were delicious. I loved those. The thin rounds were crispy and the batter was just enough to give it crunch but didn’t take away from the onion flavor in the slightest. For the price, the long drive downtown, and the hefty parking fees, I’d just as soon head over the Five Guys and have a burger that’s just as tasty with all the free toppings I want.

Sweet Auburn Curb Market
209 Edgewood Ave
Atlanta, GA 30303
Tel: 404-522-3444
Website

I entered and saw some small aisles with fruits and spices, marinades and other grocery-esque items. There is also a large seating area in the middle of the market and I suspect it gets rather full on weekends. They have a deli and prepare New York sandwiches. They use Boar’s Head meat and also offer homemade sides of chicken, tuna and egg salad. But the most popular item is their BBQ. I sampled the Smoked Beef Brisket and it was divine. It is slow smoked for 12 hours. Owner Tom tells me they are the only place in Atlanta to offer pulled beef brisket. Sandwiches are a deal at only $4.99 each.

The real highlight of the Butcher’s Market is the meat of course. In talking with owner, Tom, he tells me that they cut the meat right there which is not a luxury available at most grocery stores nowadays. At grocers, all meat is pre-cut and pre-packaged. I wish I had visited the Butcher’s Market last month when decided to cook Short Ribs. They have a much better selection than the two sad packages I found at Kroger.

In addition to a great selection of steaks, The Butcher’s Market makes their sausages in house. The selection was plentiful. There was even a ton of bacon to choose from. Pork lovers rejoice.

The prices seem pretty reasonable from what I can tell. I don’t buy steaks a lot but, I’m willing to pay a bit more for a fresher and better cut of meat. Sausages and bacon were about 5 -6 dollars a pound which is just a bit more than what I’ve seen at the grocer. But I can only imagine how much better the taste is when something is made fresh in-house. And bacon without all the nitrates that are found in the packaged variety? Yes, please.

If you have reason to be up in the Marietta/Woodstock area, I highly suggest a trip over to the Butcher’s Market. Stock up on their unique sausages or get a great Ribeye to throw on the grill. After you’ve picked up your meat of choice, stay for a Beef Brisket Sandwich.

14205 Ga. 92
Woodstock, GA 30188
770 288 2437
Website