Erbert’s and Gerbert’s is a new sandwich shop located in Decatur, GA. Erbert & Gerbert’s Sandwich Shop opened up about 6 months ago on East Ponce in Decatur. While it is a chain most are located in the Midwest (Wisconsin, Minnesota). The only one in Atlanta is in Decatur. There is also a lone Erbert & Gerbert’s in Denver. Erbert & Gerbert’s is a little different than most sub shops:

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

Guest tables have a tiered stand, offering an assortment of southern favorites and bites crafted by Chef Joe Truex (formerly of Repast), including items like toasted pecans, cheese straws, tea cakes, pound cake and selected sandwiches, such as curry shrimp, goat cheese and cress, and pimento cheese. Sounds like a nice change of pace to me!

406 W. Ponce De Leon Avenue
Decatur, GA 30030
404 378 4900

Thanks Scoutmob, for introducing me to new restaurants I would have never tried had it not been for your 50% off deals. Such is the case with Saba restaurant in Decatur (Oakhurst). Waiting until just two days before the deal expired, I had reason to visit Saba when I picked up a friend from the Airport. Ok, maybe Saba was a bit out of the way, but hey, 50% is reason enough to visit, right?

I checked out the Saba address and was taken to the Emory location (via my Google Maps app on my phone), not the Decatur location as what the Scoutmob deal was for. The Emory location was empty on this Saturday night, save for one couple with their toddler. As we ordered at the counter – no table service here, I presented my Scoutmob deal. Since it was the wrong location, they politely refused to honor it. Had it been my restaurant, I’d have honored the coupon, welcoming the new traffic and increased business but whatevs.

So, we trekked out to the Decatur location. I did feel sorry for my poor friend, exhausted after a 26+ journey from Taiwan. But he was a good sport. Thank goodness the Saba Decatur location was more alive than Saba Emory. So, lively, in fact, there was a band. Not wanting to scream to be heard, we sat outside. Luckily the storms that had come through the area earlier in the day, carried away some of the heat and humidity when they left.

Made up of pastas and sandwiches, Saba’s primarily Italian menu has some unique offerings like Thai Ravioli with peanut and cilantro sauce as well as Vindaloo Tofu Spaghetti. Saba is great restaurant for vegetarians as there are lots of vegetarian options on their menu.

One vegetarian item I had to try was the Pumpkin Ravioli. It is offered as an entree rather than an appetizer. But I ordered it for the table to share, asking our server to bring it out ahead of the meals. It was a good choice, albeit, almost too sweet with it’s brown butter glaze. It was also a little on the dry side. I would have liked to see more sauce to the dish. But all in all, it was tasty and I was certainly not sorry I ordered it.

Caprese Salad:

We all had salads as well. Although they are technically sides for our meals, we asked that they come out with ahead. The plain salad as well as the Arugula salad ($0.50 upcharge) I ordered, while fresh, had no pizzaz. There was barely any dressing and I was hoping for at least a couple grape tomatoes or something, but nothing except some cheese. Glen ordered the Caprese salad a la carte which was the only salad that was exceptional in any way.

Glen opted for the Thai Ravioli with chicken. It was quite tasty. And not spicy at all as some Thai dishes can be. It is like your basic Pad Thai sauce put with Ravioli instead of Thai noodles. George, our friend, ordered the Wild Mushroom Ravioli in a garlic cream sauce. It was very bland and completely forgettable. I heard him mutter the words “Chef Boyardee” shortly after digging in.

I loved my sausage sandwich. It was huge and hearty – well worth the $8 bucks even without a side dish. I was expecting a sausage link on a hoagie bun or something similar, but what I got was ground sausage with onions and red peppers served up on two huge ciabatta buns. The bread here is insanely delicious and so fresh. I fully intended to save the rest of my sandwich but I couldn’t help but share with my dining companions.

It is kind of a shame Decatur is so out of the way, otherwise I could see myself spending a lot of fun evenings there. I enjoyed my evening at Saba, but it definitely is a neighborhood restaurant (read: if you live in Decatur worth visiting) but not a dining destination in my opinion.

350 Mead Rd Ste E
Decatur, GA 30030
770 906 0070
Website

I first read about the Iberian Pig in Daily Candy. Immediately I knew I had to visit…soon. As it turns out, the Iberian Pig was started by the same folks who brought us Sugo, a Greek/Mediterranean rest with locations in Duluth and Roswell. I’ve never been but a consultant friend of mine who has been working out of the Duluth area and frequenting Sugo quite often raves about them. So he was determined to be one of the first to visit their new crib. And I was only too happy to accompany him.

All in all there were four in our party. We had reservations for 7:30 on a recent Thursday night. But due to traffic and mostly because this place is nearly hidden, I didn’t arrive til 8. There’s no sign on the front door or windows (just a small sign above the door) as to the name and no one in the nearby Decatur stores seems to have ever heard of it. Here’s a hint: if you are facing the front door of the Brick Store Pub look to your right and you’ll see a set of stairs. Just beyond those stairs is where you want to be. As of the time of this post, the glass windows simply say “Smith’s” in big letters.

B.W.D. - (Benton's) Bacon Wrapped Dates

I was late, really late. The other 3 were generous enough to wait for me before giving up and giving in to the great smells wafting around the restaurant. As I sat down, I noted the owner was standing over our table talking to my dining companions having just delivered a complimentary order of the B.W.D.- bacon (benton’s variety) wrapped dates stuffed with Manchego cheese and almonds with some sort of dipping sauce, perhaps a roasted red pepper. It was the perfect start to our evening, really kickstarting our taste buds.

By this time, drinks were in order. Perusing the menu, I had sort of made up my mind that wine would pair well with this food, a Camemere perhaps. But there were no takers for wine, and one in our party was a bartender in a previous life, and when he saw the offerings on the drink menu insisted we all give them a try. So, it was 3 Horchatas (a drink made with rice milk) and 1 bacon infused cocktail.

I enjoyed my Horchata, which is similar tasting to a White Russian, but probably wouldn’t order it again. The bacon infused cocktail was tasty, not greasy as I imagined it would be. As I looked around the completely full restaurant (what recession?), I saw their board of rules near the bar, kinda cheesy with sayings like “gentlemen should only approach ladies if an interest was shown. Management suggests sending over a drink first” – yeah I just bet they do!

We sat forever starring at the menu, not sure what we should get as everything looked so good, especially all the tapas offerings. This was further complicated when the owner came over to tell us about the specials. The entree special of the evening, a ribeye, whose description was I think longer than this post, had us all sold. So, we compromised each of us picking 1 item from the tapas menu and quartering the steak special of the evening.

As an aside, I wanted to try one of the meats from their charcuteria – the Jamon Iberico, restaurant’s signature meat, but at $12 for 2 oz, I just couldn’t make myself commit, maybe next time. If you’ve tried it, please let me know how it was.

Tapas selections:
Huevos con Trufa – Rustic bread, slow roasted pork, poached egg, black truffles
Calamares (not a misspelling – this was taken off their website menu)
BBQ Octopus
Spanish Meatballs (special appetizer of the evening)

Huevos con Trufa

Calamares

The calamares, instead of being the small rings you get almost everywhere else, were very substantial, but unfortunately you can’t see much of it in the picture. Although the presentation was pretty this dish was the dud of the evening, completely lacking any flavor. And the Huevos were a slight letdown to me, more even than the calamares because the description builds it up to be so much more than your taste buds ever get treated to. “Rustic bread, slow roasted pork, poached egg, black truffles” sounds delish, doesn’t it? I never tasted the truffles and the rest of the dish was just bland.

BBQ Octopus and Potatoes

Now the stars of the evening were the Octopus and the Meatballs. I was hesitant that I would be disappointed by both, the Octopus because it is in a fennel sauce (i hate fennel) and the meatballs, because, well, on a menu of items like chorizo in port wine reduction or mussels in a sherry-saffron broth, who orders meatballs?

Meatballs

The octopus was flavorful and most definitely not rubbery or tough as it has been when I’ve had it at other establishments. Definitely a standout on the menu. And the meatballs although only 2 in our plate were large enough for the 4 of us to share. And the mixture of the salty cheese within the meatball and the sweet tomato sauce had a perfect combination.

Steak

Lastly, after our tapas were done, our steak was brought out. Served medium it was huge, good thing the four of us were sharing. I thought the steak itself was tasty, but for all the “fluff” in the description I may just have been expecting more. I liked it, but it had already been outdone by the prior tapas.

I definitely find myself leaning to tapas over mains here. There wasn’t really anything on the main entree list that stood out. I’ve already decided the pork cheek tacos and eggplant fries on the tapas menu are what I’ll try next and a bargain at $10 for both. Tapas range in price from $5 to $9 and entrees hover around the $20 mark. Bill total was $120 prior to tip. Service was right on the mark, helpful and friendly but never pushy.

121 Sycamore St. Decatur, GA 30030
404.371.8800
Website

Wahoo! Grill

Wahoo! is pretty difficult to find as it seems pretty far off of the beaten path. Not only that, but it isn’t a pretty sight from the outside. Given all of this, you would think there is no need for valet parking right? Wrong. Unless you are one of about 15 -20 cars to snag a spot on one of the two side streets you will need to valet.

We got the last side street parking spot, and Glen (an Atlanta native) was able to demonstrate his parallel parking prowess. But, on to the restaurant. We walked in, and were seated right away, (thanks, call-ahead seating). Wahoo’s policy is not to take reservations for small parties but they do allow call-ahead seating. Actually, the place wasn’t busy at all, so I’m sure we could have just walked in and been fine.

The layout of the restaurant is kind of interesting as they have 3 different seating areas. The main restaurant seating is the most boring. It is small wood tables which give a view to the open kitchen. Nothing exciting about that. If you go, get a seat on the enclosed patio. It was a brick floor with views of outdoors and the outdoor patio. When the weather is nice, definitely sit outside on the patio – very quaint and charming. On my visit it was a bit too cold for that.

While I did like the look of the enclosed patio, I did find it pretty noisy. There was one especially loud group in close proximity to my table. Wahoo! is better for a small group 4 to 6 people than for couples. So, our waiter, although very pleasant, was a bit of a low talker. So, we had to strain to hear him over the boisterous groups nearby.

Wahoo! Calamari Appetizer

For appetizers, I was torn between the calamari and the bbq shrimp which I heard was so good. Our waiter convinced us to try Wahoo’s calamari, and I wasn’t disappointed. It was a perfect blend of sweet and spicy with the hoison sauce and pepper that was blended together. And, the portion was perfect for sharing.

I went with the signature dish, Wahoo, which comes in medallions and is supposed to be similar to Swordfish. There were a couple specials on the menu that night: some sort of pasta and a fish called Hebe, which our waiter described as a sweet tasting Hawaiian fish. Glen opted for that as it was supposed to come in a thai sauce.

Wahoo Fish

It was quite a while from when our appetizer and rolls were finished before we got our meals. Perhaps the kitchen was backed up. I sipped on my waiter-recommended Californian Pinot Noir while waiting for our meals. They do have a good selection of wines by the glass (all between $7 and $11.50), but I should have followed my instinct and gotten the Chilean Cabernet which I think I would have enjoyed a bit more.

So, we finally got our entrees and eagerly dug in. Immediately, I could tell my fish was overcooked. It just had that kind of dried out taste to it. I kept trying to sop up the pomegranite sauce to mitigate the dryness. Glen thought his Hebe fish was ok, but nothing woohoo about it. He also commented that there wasn’t anything thai about it either. The side of veggies that came with the meals was pretty bland and unexciting.

Hebe Fish Special Wahoo Grill

We finished our meals and asked for the check. I had heard the coconut cake was not to be missed. But after the mediocre meals, we just decided to leave without sampling any desserts. The prices seem pretty reasonable with the most expensive entree being about $17, so I was surprised to see that the Glen’s special was $24. Definitely not worth the price. Why do restaurants tell you the specials but not the price of the specials? I hate having to ask, as it makes me feel cheap.

However, we were able to get out of there with an appetizer, 1 glass of wine, and 2 entrees for around $60, which is fair. The bottom line: If you live not too far and are looking for something a little different from the norm than it may be worth checking out. But don’t drive out of you way to visit Wahoo!

1042 West College Avenue
Decatur, GA 30030
404-373-3331
Website