One of the best things about writing my blog is the fantastic people I’ve gotten to know. Besides some of the twitter foodie friends I’ve made along the way, I’ve also met so many chefs, restaurant owners and other folks in the restaurant biz. Recently, I was invited to check out Blue Moon Pizza and got to meet Mandy and Kelvin Slater – what a nice couple of people. You can tell talking to the Slaters that they are passionate about their business.

Both with backgrounds in the food industry, the Slaters opened the first Blue Moon Pizza nearly ten years ago in Marietta. Since then, they’ve garnered a loyal following and expanded to four locations in the Atlanta area.

As I sat down at Blue Moon Pizza, I spied the Slaters walking around, tending bar, and making sure customers were happy. I was surprised at the large Blue Moon beer logo on the wall of their bar and asked them about any copyright issues with the beer company of the same name. The Slaters said they get along splendidly with Blue Moon beer manufacturers and they even came out to paint the logo on the wall. Speaking of Blue Moon beer – the winter abbey (available now) is a fantastic pairing with their pizzas!

Looking over the appetizers, the garlic rolls with parmesan looked appealing as did the Bruschetta. However, as I was about the be eating a lot of dough, I decided to get the stuffed mushrooms. These are basically Portabellas filled with a Bruschetta ingredients (they refer to it as “Grandma Sauce”). Normally they come with goat cheese, but I got mine sans any cheese and they were still rather tasty.

Build your own or choose from the 14 specialty pizzas they offer. We ordered three specialty pizzas in the personal size. These ain’t no Pizza Hut personal pan pizzas. They are 10 inches in diameter and have six slices per pizza. For two, you could order an appetizer and easily share one of these pizzas and leave very satisfied. Most personal pizzas are around $11.50. Medium pizzas (16″) are around $21 and the large (18″) are around $25.

It is worth noting that you can even get pizzas as small as the personal size divided in half. We got: The Luna (chorizo sausage, caramelized onions, jalapenos, spicy ranch, black olives, cilantro) and Sante Fe (Seasoned black beans, chicken, jalapeno peppers, red onions, spicy ranch, cilantro, fresh avocado) on one pizza and the Jerk Chicken (Seasoned chicken, caramelized onions, bell peppers, cayenne-candied bacon, with a Jamaican jerk sauce) and Thai Chicken (Seasoned chicken, spicy sesame peanut sauce topped with bean sprouts, carrots, and cilantro) were on another. As the Grandma sauce is the Slaters favorite we ordered that sauce on top of one additional personal pizza. The Grandma pizza is actually a 16″ Sicilian style pizza but they will let you put the sauce on a smaller size if you like.

Each pizza was unique in its own way, and ALL the ingredients were quality but my personal favorite was the Luna. I’m a sucker for chorizo, so I kind of knew I was going to love that one. The Sante Fe is rather similar and is a good alternative if you don’t do pork. Mr. ARB’s favorite was the Thai Chicken, although I didn’t care for the peanut sauce on a pizza. We both agreed our second favorite was the Grandma. With its simple ingredients of tomatoes, basil and roasted garlic, it was lovely too.

Thinking of stopping in for lunch? They have some great lunch specials. Mandy shared with me that they’ve had the same lunch special since they opened and have never gone up on the price. $4.99 for two slices of cheese pizza and a drink.

One of the new things they are doing is offering Take and Bake pizzas. They’ll pre-load the pizza with all the toppings and you take it home and bake it for your party or evening in. The pizzas are generally good for three days in the refrigerator. This is especially good information for those who may get a Blue Moon Pizza craving on Sundays (when they are closed). Your uncooked pizza comes wrapped tight and complete with baking instructions, fresh condiments and a tray to bake it on. Cost is the same as dine-in.

Want them to come to you? They’ll do that too! They’ve taken a 1961 International Harvester Fire Truck and converted it into a pizza machine, complete with a stone pizza oven, a refrigerator and a sink. The cost for Blue Moon Pizza to come out to your site is $12 per person and a minimum of 50 people. I asked Mandy about this and she said they’ve gone as far as Helen, GA. The night I visited they had a movie crew booked to go and feed. Blue Moon Pizza has locations in Buckhead, Sandy Springs, Vinings and Marietta.

Blue Moon Pizza Website

Extras: There are $5 Martinis at each Blue Moon Pizza location on Thursdays and offer a variety of gluten-free menu items.

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 chose Botekim for my Birthday dinner, opting for a low key evening out. The space is not much to look at from the outside. However, it is pretty inside with hardwood flooring and exposed duct work. We started the evening with two of Botekim’s cocktails – the Scottish Mule and their version of a Margarita. Both were overly sweet. But the wine list is quite nice. So skip the cocktails and focus on the wine. There are some unique wines like Pinot Gris or Douro that you won’t find elsewhere.

For starters we chose the Yucca fritters and the Sausage with toast points. Both were delicious and the highlight of our meal. The Yucca fritters are like a pastry filled with savory ground beef. The sausage was perfectly done and had a wonderful smokey flavor. Both of these appetizers were $8 and if you have a large group the sausage app is where you get the most bang for your buck. Drive ITP and you’d get half that size for the same price. My only regret is not having a glass of red to savor with that sausage.

We noticed that there is a prix fixe menu available: 2 courses for $19 or 3 courses for $24. So we opted for the 2 course option (apps were part of that offering) and got the Flounder and Shepherd’s Pie for our entrees. The Flounder had a sauce with shrimp, capers and other goodies that was just delicious and I wouldn’t hesitate to order it again. I ordered the Shepherd’s pie because one of how much Cliff Bostock of Creative Loafing gushed about how delightful it was. He must’ve tasted something very different than what I had because most of what I tasted was salt. It did have a nice flavor but was completely overpowered by the salt.

We were quite full and got our dessert to go, but I wish we would have skipped it altogether. The flan was super tiny a way too rich for what I was expecting. Totally not worth the money. I’d definitely stop in again if for nothing else than those tasty appetizers. The service was another highlight, with the owner making recommendations and checking in to make sure each table was enjoying their meals.

1410 Terrill Mill Road
Marietta, GA 30067
678 402 7584
Botemkim Bistro Website

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