One of parts of town I regret not having time to explore more is Buford Highway. However, since writing my book, I have had several treks up and down Buford Highway exploring the many diverse restaurants. And I’m trying to make it a point to hit up restaurants on that side of town even more frequently. One restaurant I’ve made several trips to is Crawfish Shack Seafood restaurant.

As far as ethnic cuisines go, this is one of the less intimidating restaurants (ie easy to communicate with staff, English menu, recognizable menu items) on Buford Highway. Crawfish Shack has developed quite a following, especially since it was written up in the New York Times. It can be hard to locate, so make sure you use your GPS as you could easily drive right past the strip mall in which it is located. Once you do find it, you’ll like the seafood-esque decor.

The menu is a mix of both steamed and fried seafood, Po-Boys and of course Crawfish. Although I’d wanted to give the Po-Boys a try, I haven’t been able to resist their meal combos. They come with choice of Shrimp, Crawfish, and fish (Grouper, Catfish, Tilapia, Snapper) and two side item choices. At under $10, they are a deal!

The fried shrimp and fish are quite tasty. Sides of fries, potatoes and corn on the cobb were equally delicious. However, don’t pay the $2.00 upgrade to get eggrolls with your meal – totally not worth it. Each time I’ve been to Crawfish Shack, I’ve hoped to get their house made Beignets, only to be told they were sold out. The cashier told me they tend to run out of them every day. Hmmm, here’s and idea, maybe you could, I don’t know, make more?? No matter, I’ll still make the trek over to BuHi to have that tasty Cajun fare.

4337 Buford Highway Map
Atlanta, GA 30341
404 929 6789
Crawfish Shack Website

The Capital Grille has recognized that people still want to experience a terrific meal and are doing something to accommodate those guests: offering a $15 lunch menu. The Capital Grille recently invited me in to sample their lunch menu, which consists of fall specials like the Porcini Bisque and the Butternut Squash and cranberry side dish.

So, here’s the deal – for $15 choose one from each category:
Starter: Clam Chowder, Porcini Bisque or Salad
Entree: BLT, Steak Sliders or Lobster Roll
Side: Truffle fries, Butternut squash or Green Beans

Lucky us, we tried them all. The bisque complete with chive oil looked and tasted wonderful, but if I had to pick a favorite of the soups, I’d pick the Clam Chowder. The salad, with heirloom tomatoes champagne dressing is nothing to sneeze at either.

While I fully expected to enjoy the lobster roll more than the sliders, it was those tasty sliders that won me over. Prepared medium with only the slightest amount of cheese, they were delicious and, oh my, how tender! They do almost melt in your mouth. The lobster roll didn’t skimp on lobster meat, using no filler and very little mayo at all. Good luck getting a lobster roll complete with starter and side for just $15 at other restaurants in the city – it is usually $15 – $20 for the sandwich alone.

Up against those heavenly sliders or lobster roll, the BLT, the other option on TCG’s $15 menu, isn’t likely to be ordered by me, but I did get to sample it. In fact there was so much food on our table, I took half the sandwich home. Even the next day, the sandwich tasted like it had just been delivered to my table. Even after trying several times, I haven’t been able to duplicate that tasty of a BLT on my own…

I don’t think Capital Grille has any plans to remove the $15 lunch menu, but do hurry in to be able to sample the current specials before they are gone.

255 East Pace Ferry Road
Atlanta, GA 30305
404.262.1162

In the week prior to opening, Ocean Prime had several events for media and bloggers. We attended and sampled a bevy of delicious of cocktails (Cucumber Gimlet = magic!) and appetizers. We loved the Truffled Mac ‘n Cheese, Lobster Bisque and Chocolate Peanut Butter pie the most. Check out Atlanta Restaurant Blog’s video on Ocean Prime below.

3102 Piedmont Road
Atlanta GA 30305

Amy heard lines can be long and they do run out quickly (sometimes within 90 minutes), so she suggested we arrive promptly at 11 to ensure we don’t miss out. Even at 11 there were about four people ahead of us. We didn’t have to wait too terribly long for our sandwich, though.

Souper Jenny’s Lobster Roll comes with a bag of chips and you can add lemonade or ice tea (there’s a table with drinks, napkins, forks, adjacent to the truck) to your order for a buck. Since the restaurant isn’t open, you can either choose to take your sandwich and go or sit at one of the tables outside. Most took their food to go as it is quite unpleasant to sit outside in the middle of summer in Atlanta. Tip: if taking your Lobster Roll to go ask for them to pack the hoagie separately from the lobster meat, otherwise the sandwich will be completely soggy by the time you are ready to eat it.

The Lobster Roll is huge and quite filling, chock full of lobster meat with none of that extra filler crap. I wasn’t hungry again for another ten hours. It was tasty (albeit pricey) and we all devoured our sandwiches in no time. Looks like you still have time to get your Lobster Roll fix in as they’ll still be serving them today, Friday, the 26th and Monday, the 29th of August.

56 East Andrews
Atlanta, GA 30305
Twitter @SouperJenny

Fishook Grille, with locations in Roswell and Atlantic Station, is the reincarnation of Boneheads, although I really can’t see much difference in the two. The menu remains pretty much the same and the fast-casual approach remains intact at Fishook Grille. As of the time of this post, everything on the menu is under ten dollars.

They really seem to be into technology here. There’s a small display where you place your order to input your cell number to keep with their deals via text messaging. The card stand (where you display your number so they know where to bring your food), doubles as a QR image display. When you scan the QR code you can be taken to their Facebook page.

Me and my two cohorts ordered varied menu items: tacos, snapper and fish n chips. I didn’t try them but I understand the fish n chips were only so-so, pretty salty and according to my friend “not much better than Captain D’s.”

The snapper came with rice and choice of a side. Mr. ARB, went with the healthy option, zucchini. The two pieces not only had pretty grill marks on them but were seasoned nicely. Although the snapper piece was rather thin – I think they must have access to the same meat slicer that Arby’s uses to cut it’s roast beef – it was very tasty. In fairness, what kind of slice of snapper would you expect for nine bucks?

The best deal are the tacos. You have a choice of chicken, shrimp or Tilapia. Had the selection been something like Cod or Mahi-Mahi, I would have gotten one fish taco, but I’m not the biggest fan on Tilapia. I really enjoyed both the chicken and shrimp tacos. The Peri-Peri sauce, slightly sweet and slightly spicy was perfect in both tacos. The three for nine bucks deal is plenty, especially with the sweet potato fries I chose as my side.

I really like the clean look of the restaurant and the fresh taste of the seafood at Fishook Grille. The creative fish toppings are another standout. Think Mango-Apricot Salsa an Mediterranean Tepenade. Prices are reasonable for lunch and super inexpensive for dinner. Also, there’s a Tuesday lunch special of the an entree + drink for eight dollars.

660 Crossville Road
Roswell, GA 30075
770-650-6770
Fishook Grille Website