Red Snapper Seafood Restaurant - Cheshire Bridge

You can find the Red Snapper Seafood Restaurant at 2100 Cheshire Bridge Rd NE
Atlanta, GA 30324 - this is a two-story brick building that looks like it would house some insurance or realty company and not a restaurant. Parking is a bit weird and constrained - the lot in front of the entry gets filled up quickly - there's some additional spaces in the back but I'm not sure if they're supposed to be used or not - it may be a weekend thing (meaning if you take up all the spaces during regular business hours you may be at risk).

I've visited this restaurant many, many years ago - it's unclear to me if it had the same owner. I've always made fun of the name due to the unsavory location along Cheshire Bridge Rd, better known for strip clubs than restaurants - "Red Snapper" seemed to fit a different context, no? In any case, I don't have much of a memory of my previous visit. What got me thinking about this place again was  Jim Stacy's Get Delicious program where he featured the restaurant. I basically liked everything I heard - from Jim's dad extolling the fried shrimp on the traditional fried seafood platter to the interview of owners Jimmy and Somporn Veeranarong, Thai ex-pats that have brought a unique approach to seafood and Cajun cooking. After that I've been eager to try the ginger snapper, gumbo and fried shrimp and Red Snapper did not disappoint!

The exterior as mentioned in red brick with a wrought-iron railing, "The Red Snapper" in neon and a dark red awning with the address "2100" in white. It's a bit reminiscent of some of the restaurants you see in the NOLA Quarter. The interior has an cozy traditional bar (the only part of the restaurant that was familiar to me) and a dark dining room with traditional finishes, cloth napkins and tablecloths - it's not at all what you would expect. I started things off with a Moscow Mule, served in an appropriate metal cup. The menu has seafood, steak and chicken with combinations along with the traditional mix. I opted for the gumbo which I thought quite good if not exactly traditional - this is a peppery gumbo which I loved - don't expect the traditional sassafras earthiness you'd find in Louisiana.

We ordered various fried items - all were quite good. The batter here is more like a beer batter with the expansive breading found in tempura cooking - much lighter than you might expect. My Ginger Snapper was just delicious - everything from the tartness of the fish to the perfectly cooked sauteed shrimp makes this one of my favorite seafood dishes in Atlanta. In all we had a great time and everyone got their fill. I think this place is very solid with a few standouts - well worth trying.

-- John

(also posted to Yelp)
 
 

Grindhouse Killer Burgers - Piedmont Near Cheshirebridge

You can find this location of Grindhouse Killer Burgers at 1842 Piedmont Avenue NE, Atlanta, GA 30324 across the street from Fat Matt's. I think this was the former Gorilla Wash? Parking is to either side of the building but be forewarned about the traffic, especially with the construction going on up the street. The building is hard to miss as "KILLER BURGERS" is plastered along all the front.

This is my first visit to Grindhouse after passing it many times, usually to visit Fat Matt's Rib Shack. I finally decided to swing by on the way home from an afternoon event in L5P. I was by myself on a rainy, cold weekday evening and the restaurant was about 30% full. As you enter you'll see a fairly large enclosed patio - empty this evening probably due to the cold. You walk up to the counter to order - there are menus but the convenient boards provide your options.

The bar in this restaurant is really fantastic - great robot mural by Eric Joyner and similar motifs abound. I loved the vibe of this place and could see it as a regular hangout if I lived closer. The place also has an exceptional craft beer menu and happened to have cans of my favorite local, Creature Comforts Tropicalia so how could I resist?

For my meal I ordered a fairly basic double cheese burger with sweet potato fries - holy $h!T this is an amazing burger!  Some of my friends argue about burgers and there seems to be two schools of thought - there's the classic thick-meat style which I'm a huge fan of - Farmburger comes to mind. Then there's the double-thin-meat style popularized by Holeman and Finch and others. To tell the truth, while the H&F burger is awesome, the burger at Grindhouse to me is as good if not better. This is a perfect combination of oozy-cheese, delicious bread, succulent meat and delicious toppings. Wow.

I also liked the sweet-potato fries quite a bit - these are wavy cut, on the thick side with crisp outsides, more like steak fries than potato sticks. Delicious.

Tonight one of my favorite movies, David Lynch's Dune is projected on the wall - you can't get much better than this. 

The service was good with a helpful person at the counter and a fairly quick delivery. Food is served on metal shallow baking pans covered in paper. Overall a fantastic experience that I hope to dive into again.

-- John

(also posted to Yelp)
 

Taqueria Del Sol - Cheshire Bridge - Atlanta Georgia

You can find this location of Taqueria Del Sol at 2165 Cheshire Bridge Rd NE, Atlanta, GA 30324 along the infamous Cheshire Bridge Rd (hidden between industrial and commercial expanses and the occasional "interesting" business establishment - heh). This is the original location of the flagship restaurant Sundown Cafe and what amounts to at Atlanta institution (if anything can be called that).

The original Sundown Cafe provided Tex-Mex with a twist - your basic Mex-Southern fusion long before anyone had come up with that term. The interesting thing about this location is that there's still a "blue plate" offered up that harkens back to the Sundown menu - the soupy turnip greens are a prime example. I've eaten at the location near King Plow, which is usually much busier than this one, but also doesn't seem to have the same level of charm (or parking). I had come for dinner to Sundown Cafe for many years prior to the changeover to a Taqueria - the same people seem to be working here as then (it used to be a sit-down and order restaurant rather than fast casual). I recently dropped in and had lunch with my SEO/SEM team from a previous job and once again enjoyed the spicy salsa and soft-shell tacos.

This location of Taqueria Del Sol is a bit larger than the others with a rather expansive kitchen. There's also plenty of seating with overflow to an outdoor deck. It still wears the Sundown Cafe sign like a badge of honor so look for it when you're driving down Cheshire Bridge - it's much easier to see and read than the white-background "Taqueria Del Sol" sign near the street. Parking is out front or along the side - there tends to be plenty. As you enter, you'll see a counter where you order - the menu is fairly simple, featuring sections for Weekly Specials at the top, followed by Starters, Tacos, Encheladas, Sides and Soups/Chiles. The flip-side has Margaritas (which aren't bad, by the way), Wine, Beer (including a section of local craft), Liquor and Tequila. The Tequila menu is quite extensive and has a good selection of my favorite, Herradura.

We started with the Salsa Trio featuring two salsas (one mile and the other smokier and a bit spicier - chipolte if I'm not mistaken) and a tomatilla verde. I preferred the smokier and the tomatilla over the regular, which was still quite palatable. All three tasted fresh with plenty of lime and minced cilantro.

We all has assortments of fish, pork and chicken tacos - I also had a side of the turnip greens which you'll see as a soupy tomato cup in the cheap taco baskets.

In all the food was fantastic and the well-remembered flavors still worth having. It's also a great location as an in-between spot if you work at the perimeter and are meeting friends or associates that are intown.

-- John

(also posted to Yelp)

Nakato Japanese Restaurant - Cheshire Bridge Rd Atlanta GA

You can find Nakato at 1776 Cheshire Bridge Rd NE, Atlanta, GA 30324 near the corner of Cheshire Bridge Rd and Piedmont Rd - the main entry is on Cheshire Bridge where you can valet, or there's an overflow lot on Piedmont where you can park and walk through Nakato's beautiful Japanese gardens.

I'm hesitant to write about Nakato - how do you review an institution? This Japanese restaurant, featuring "Hibachi" (a US term, it's actually teppanyaki - the large metal griddle is called a teppan), traditional Japanese favorites and sushi, is so diverse, good and wonderful that's it's difficult to categorize, other than to describe in general how good everything is. The restaurant has been in Atlanta since 1972 and many other chains can point to Nakato as their birthplace (former employees from Nakato started Kobe and Kanpai of Tokyo but there are others). For full disclosure, I was once a hibachi chef at Kanpai of Tokyo in Knoxville TN while a student at UT - it was an interesting experience.

First a bit about Japanese cooking - in general there's more of a subtlety to Japanese cuisine to which most Americans aren't aware. The dishes tend to emphasize the flavor and texture of the materials rather than covering everything up with strong sauces and heavy spices. Because of this it's very necessary for all the ingredients and component parts to be extremely fresh. With that philosophy, you can pretty much tell if what you're getting is fresh or not, as the ingredients are either prepared before you or lightly cooked to prevent the destruction of the delicate nuances of flavor in the food.

I started going to Nakato roughly 20 years ago - the second time I lived in Atlanta (the first time was in the mid-80s). Some of my friends knew the bartender so we would go for drinks and an appetizer, sitting in their well-stocked bar. Over time we started doing meals there, initially the teppanyaki and sushi, migrating to the traditional dishes and finally going exclusively for the sushi and sitting before Chef Kaki and his staff. Unfortunately Kaki has decided to return to his fair country and has been replaced - I haven't had the opportunity to experience the new chef but I expect he is of the same quality.

The last time we sat at the sushi bar, Kaki suggested the aji (horse mackerel) and skipjack sashimi - both were fantastic! The skipjack was served on thin sliced onion with Japanese mint and garlic ponzu - the flavors were out of this world. The aji was prepared both sliced and with a slight toss of green onion - the combination of both types of fish created a great balance that complimented one another. These were indeed the stars of this show - we ordered some other nigiri and a couple of rolls just to round things out - all were exceptionally fresh and well prepared.  Add an Asahi Dry and some saki, a house salad and miso and you've got a well-rounded meal.

The service, both by our server and Chef Kaki himself, was both excellent, as was the conversation. The Nakato dining room isn't as loud as most sushi houses you encounter so it wasn't necessary to scream at everyone (something I hate about noisy restaurants). In all the experience was fantastic and something that surprises us whenever we dine there.


We've come to Nakato on several occasions by invite for specials or for special events. The restaurant usually has some sushi deals going on for happy hour so that's a great time to go if you're on a budget. Also, checking in with Yelp will usually provide you a free roll. The daughters now managing the restaurant are always providing new and interesting ways to experience Japanese cooking and culture - one great time to come is during the Japanese Festival in September - there's always something going on that's interesting during that time - I especially like the Sake tastings. If Sake isn't your thing, try the Hitachino Nest brand that Nakato carries - this unfiltered Japanese beer is really special.

I'm always hearing a lot about other Japanese restaurants, especially when I hear about the sushi, the chef, etc. I will still go to experience each, as I love food and sushi in particular. However I've never understood why Nakato isn't talked about more - the fish here is some of the best you will ever see - they get drops from Japan that they pick up at the airport. I don't know of many other restaurants in town that do the same. The preparation is top notch, the service exceptional and the location near Piedmont about as centrally located as you can get. What's not to like?

-- John

(shorter review also posted to Yelp)