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.

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

Truffled Deviled Eggs. Loved the addition of the shallot mayo. Gluten Free item.

Pimento Cheese Fritter. Light on the pimento cheese in the center, which was a nice touch because it also allowed the spicy pimento jelly flavor to come through as well.

Spicy Rock Shrimp. One of my favorites, the spice was just enough to leave a slight tingle in your mouth, while letting the other flavors come through. Done to a perfect crispness too.

Ceviche. The fresh mango and papaya added a nice sweetness to the dish. And the sweet potato and plantain chips served along side it were fantastic.

Flatbread

Everyone agreed that the classic Cobb Salad is one the best items we sampled.

If you like fish, you are in luck as the Buckhead Diner serves up Cod, Sole, Salmon, Grouper, Trout, and Mahi Mahi on their menu each day. Pictured above the Horseradish crusted Cod with succotash.

Disclosure: Buckhead Diner provided us with the menu samples.

3073 Piedmont Road
Atlanta, GA 30305
404.262.3336

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