This Southern / Greek / Comfort Food establishment has been open for two years in Marietta. Mr. ARB had been telling me how freakin’ good it was and after numerous times brushing him off, I acquiesced and we grabbed a meal at Come N Get It on a recent Saturday evening.

As you would expect, the decor is pretty country-fied. The menu is a mix of Southern favorites like Fried Chicken, Meatloaf and Country Fried Steak as well as Greek specialties such as Mousakka, Souvlaki, among others. Choose two sides, corn bread or Texas toast, and a drink with your meal for just under ten dollars. At lunch choose from sandwiches for around six dollars or combo with side and a drink for eight.

Having a hankering for fried chicken, Mr. ARB and I both ordered it on the night we visited. However, he’s had both the meatloaf and country fried steak and extols his love for them on a regular basis. On this night, the fried chicken plus onion rings and mac n cheese really fulfilled my need for comfort food. The onion rings are some of the best I’ve had and the chicken was huge!

Owner, Nick Tiliaeous, a gregarious and chatty person, I observed, gets to know his customers rather quickly. He spied me taking pictures and wandered over. Before long, he was telling me all about his Greek heritage, his disdain for Yelp employees, his plans for expansion and new service to be added soon along with a tour of the private party rooms as well as the secret ingredient that makes his biscuits so craveable.

Nick told me he has been approached by Yelp and asked to take down his religious fixtures, but he refused. He feels he is being punished by Yelp as they “hide” most of his positive reviews. It is curious how so many of Come N Get It’s reviews are hidden. Perhaps there is something to that…

Personally, if a restaurant’s religious beliefs are not forced on me and don’t hurt anyone, I don’t care what religious propaganda they want to display. I just care if the food is good and the service is friendly. And they were. Nick even says he tries to source from local suppliers whenever possible. Chicken is sourced from Tip Top Chicken and vegetables are sourced from various local suppliers too. Always a plus in my book.

Before leaving he insisted we try his Baklava. It was heavenly. Nuts, honey and phyllo all blended together perfectly and it wasn’t overly sweet as sometimes Baklava can be.

There’s so much more on the menu I want to try – Mousakka, Lasagne, Country Fried Steak. I did make it back to have the Gyro and give their biscuits a try. Pretty darn good. Oh and that secret ingredient in the biscuits? Greek Yogurt.

1409 Church St Ext
Marietta, GA 30060
Come n Get It
770-423-0010
Come N Get It Website

I know I’ve said it before but I’m astonished at how my old playground (East Cobb) has changed since I was a kid. The area around Johnson Ferry and Roswell Road has especially been transformed to an unrecognizable space in recent years. Whole Foods? The Cook’s Warehouse? Non-chain restaurants? Yes, please.

I’d had Seed Restaurant on my radar for a while and decided to meet a friend for lunch there. A couple days before my lunch date, John Kessler’s review came out and, needless to say, Seed was packed when we visited. We didn’t have to wait long, but for a restaurant that is fairly large, it was hopping on a late Tuesday afternoon. There was nary a free seat at the bar area on this rainy day.

I perused the beer and cocktail list not really intending to order one. Besides a nice selection of craft beer, the cocktails are quite tempting. Divided into two sections: Vintage and Modern, all cocktails are $12 if I’m not mistaken. I don’t normally indulge in a cocktail at lunch, but with names like Black Thai Affair and The “Seville”Ian neither of us could resist. A sucker for anything with St. Germain, I chose a cocktail called the Perfect Pair which comes with Lavender Bitters and Prosecco. My cohort opted for the La Paloma Caliente made with Serrano Syrup and Grapefruit Soda.

Identifying more on the appetizers section that looked intriguing than the mains, we decided to get two apps and split the spicy fish sandwich. For appetizers, the Shrimp Sambal and the Pimento Crostinis were calling our name. The shrimp was overcooked, and when our server noticed we weren’t eating it, offered to take it off our tab, which was very much appreciated.

The Pimento Crostini, on the other hand was just delicious. It came with ham and apple, for the perfect combination of salty and sweet. Loved that the crostini was crispy, yet not so hard that you couldn’t take a bite out of it. I was tempted to order another round, it was that good. And the Flounder sandwich with fries, which we shared, was another highlight. Although the menu says it comes topped with Sriracha, I didn’t feel the slightest twinge of heat on my tongue.

The good news with Seed is that the lunch menu is rather similar to the dinner one (at least it was when I visited). So, you can get a good sampling of the menu at a reduced price, should you visit during lunch. If dining during the evening or any time on a weekend, make reservations. Oh, and promise me to indulge in one of their tasty cocktails, okay?

Seed Kitchen and Bar
1311 Johnson Ferry Road, Suite 504
Marietta, GA 30068
Seed Website

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 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

I’ve now eaten at Kiosco twice. Once for lunch and once for dinner. When I say the place is tiny, I’m not kidding. There are about seven tables in the entire restaurant. I asked owner, Eddie, when he plans on expanding. His answer? “Never!” He said he loves the cozy feel of the restaurant and I get the impression he enjoys that fact that he can’t accommodate all wannabe diners on weekends because it keeps patrons interested in visiting his restaurant.

The food is very reasonably priced. Lunch entrees are around $7 and dinner entrees are around $13 – $15. All entrees, whether at lunch or dinner come with choice of soup or salad. Get the salad with Garbonzo beans, carrots, onions and cilantro, it is pretty delicious. The house made Sangria is a house specialty. Many groups order a pitcher as soon as they site down. You can’t go wrong with either one – white or red.

While there are several seafood specials, I have tended to stick with meat entrees. The Carne Pantacones – beef with fried green plantains, Round Steak, and the Bandeja Paisa (the mother of all dishes) are all tasty meals. See picture of the Pantacones above left and Bandeja Paisa above right. The Bandeja Paisa comes with rice and beans topped with a fried egg, steak, chorizo, Chicharones (pork rinds), and avocado. Be prepared to put away a lot of food if you order this dish.

As I said, the restaurant is small. If you plan to visit on the weekend, make a reservation or you won’t be able to eat there. Note that Kiosco is closed on Sundays.

48 Powder Springs Street
Marietta, GA 30060