Yebo - Buckhead at Phipps - Beginning of Eat the Peachtree 2015 Pub and Restaurant Crawl!

Yebo is the first of 10 stops as part of "Eat the Peachtree 2015 - Electric Boogaloo!" - this is the return of the world's largest world's largest 10K-themed pub crawl. 10 clicks, 10 stops, 10 dishes, 10 drinks. 1 epic afternoon. Locate all the posts along with an intro if you search my blog with ETP2015. We walked from restaurant to restaurant in search of the best flavors and drinking venues in Atlanta, while enjoying the same sights as you would while running the Peachtree Road Race.

You can find Yebo at 3500 Peachtree Rd NE, Suite 1096B, Atlanta, GA 30326, in Phipps Plaza along the front side of the mall across from Twist. This is a beautiful bar/restaurant with exotic South African influenced and modernist finishes. This is a very nice restaurant that's a bit more upscale than I realized. I felt a little out of place with my shorts and T-shirt - a nice pair of slacks and a shirt with a collar would have been more apropos.

As a group, we assembled at Yebo after it opened its doors at 12:00 PM (this all all ETP 2015 events were held on Sunday, 2015.07.05, the day after the 4th of July celebration and 2015 Peachtree Road Race). The "brunch law" prevented us from drinking booze until 12:30 PM. Initially seven people congregated with one dropping out (seems he had a bit too much to celebrate the night before and opted to sleep it off). It took about 20 minutes for everyone to arrive so we who got there early waited at the bar.

The interior is quite beautiful - love the lighting, surfaces and textures. There was a Brunch Menu available that had some interesting items, of course we forewent and decided to order some of Yebo's signature dishes

 
For drinks we ordered a variety, including Bloody Marys, an awesome cucumber Zulu, a Sunday Funday Mule and a few glasses of vino. The bacon in the Bloody Mary really made it for me.

We started things off with a really fantastic bowl of air-popped popcorn covered in parmesian cheese - I'm definitely a convert on this and will attempt to make it at home. The cheese was really delicious and of the perfect grind and consistency for this. I'm not sure what the peri-peri salt tasted like (it's on the menu as being on the corn) it may be the red flakes. If it was supposed to have the typical smokey flavor I didn't pick that up.

And then the signature ostrich sliders - these were fantastic. If you haven't had ostrich meat, it's closer to a red meat and a bit more acerbic, the acid provided a nice break for your typical, fatty burger.

And to round things out, this bowl of Mussels from Brussels (lemon butter, garlic and Benton's bacon bread)

And that's how the day started - this is the original 7 - quite the motley crew, right?

-- John

(also published to Yelp in shorter format)
 

Boneheads Seafood - Perimeter Mall Area - Dunwoody GA

Boneheads Seafood is located at 4511 Olde Perimeter Way, Atlanta GA 30346 in the shopping center that's anchored by Target but that also contains many other restaurants like Outback Steaks, Taco Mac and the great new Your Pie pizza joint. There used to be quite a few locations but many seem to have closed or been replaced by Fishbone (not sure if they're related but they seem very similar). The restaurant is located on the right of rows of buildings to either side (rather Death Star Trench style) when you pull-in from Perimeter Center West.

While Boneheads may not appeal to everyone, I've had many good meals here (it's within walking distance from my old office) - I think of it a s a step-up from fast food. You order at the counter and the food is brought to the table. Make sure you grab a bottle of the extra spicy piri piri sauce. Generally I either get the half-chicken or a piece of fish, with the grilled zucchini side. I've tried both the fish tacos (tasty!) and the shrimp-and-grits and have liked them both. I've also ordered take-out from Boneheads and the food arrives relatively hot, fresh and quickly.

Half-Piri Piri Chicken with rice and grilled zucchini

Portabello Mushroom Sandwich with grilled zucchini

Fish Tacos with Asian Citrus Slaw

Shrimp and Grits

I think they do a good job on the grilled fish - the chicken has been slightly inconsistent, sometimes over/under-done but still very passable. I usually pull off the skin then add more piri piri - love the flavors in that stuff. I pass on most of the sides (have had the salad, the Asian slaw and a citrus salsa - all were passable but be careful of the cilantro if that's not your flavor). Oh and the rice of course - it's pretty good.

I think they do the best job on the salmon and tuna - haven't had very good luck on the mahi (tends to be dry). Also, the portabella mushroom sandwich was tasty if you're looking for a veggie option. Or they have a veggie wrap that my veggie friend Sid thinks is pretty good.

Veggie Wrap with Fries

About Piri Piri seasoning - this is on the spicy side with distinct flavors of hot pepper (Scotch Bonnet or Habenero) and a bit of earthiness - the Extra Hot seems to be the real deal, while the others are pared down versions. Even if you don't like it that hot try a bit of the extra hot - the overall flavors are just better.

XXX Hot Piri Piri Sauce

 Since you order at the counter there isn't much to speak of regarding service - sometimes ordering takes a long time, sometimes it's fairly quick. They cook everything to order so when it's busy it may take a bit longer to get the food delivered to your table. The people here are very nice and they've been very accommodating when we've catered.

Parking is off the "street" that flows between this large complex's buildings and can be a bit of a challenge. There are many spaces across the street and behind that building, in front of the bank - there's also a deck in the back corner near Outback Steakhouse if you don't mind walking. The rest of the restaurants in this complex are a bit iffy - nothing to write home about (with the exception of Flemings if you want to spend the bucks) but if you're nearby and need a bit at least there's some variety.

My apologies on the crappy photos - I didn't realize a filter was turned on.

(a bit shorter review previously posted to Yelp)