Jia Szechuan Food and Bar - Ponce City Market - Atlanta Georgia

You can find Jia Szechuan Food and Bar in Ponce City Market at 675 Ponce De Leon Ave NE, Atlanta, GA 30308 in the heart of the food court. You'll spot it from the distance by the red column wrapped by a traditional gold Chinese dragon. Parking at PCM is a bit of a mess - there's additional in the underground lot but if you drive a large vehicle (SUV) don't bother as it's tight and you'll have a hard time maneuvering around - the lot simply wasn't designed for modern retail, originally serving employees of the old Sears Distribution Center.

This visit is a continuation of what began as a stroll from Krog Street Market to Piedmont Park via Beltline for the Atlanta Dogwood Festival with my friend Arvin R (see my previous reviews of Superica and Jaybird). We frolicked at the park but got jaded by the crappy beer selection, was joined by Kymber W and started back to Krog Street stopping in Ponce City Market for an early dinner. Since none in the group had tried Peter Chang's new concept, we decided on Jia.

Jia is a natural evolution of Marietta's Tasty China (and now defunct Tasty China 2), bring delicious Szechuan cuisine into town at a terrific venue (if you haven't yet visited PCM then here's the perfect excuse). The restaurant is a bit upscale (as you would expect from the location) from the previous locations yet the dishes are the same hearty, delicious and generous fare that you encounter at Tasty China. If you've ever wondered about authentic Chinese cooking then this is a great option for your first dive into what you might find in China - the Szechuan here is outstanding.

The area by the bar was packed, but we managed to get a table in the open atrium - this is a space right outside the heated/air conditioned areas exposed to the outdoors but still covered. Jia has large tables out there that can hold quite a few diners - we go the the table with the "throne" seat, a massive carved wooden chair. We ordered a few beers (there's a separate bar menu - my selection was a Terrapin Hopsecutioner) and began studying the menu - this is where things get a bit interesting as Jia's menu features well written descriptions and full-color images. Quite a change from what you find at Tasty China and an improvement in my opinion, particularly to those uninitiated in Chines cuisine.

To start we ordered the Szechuan Hamburgers - minced beef, cilantro, jalapeno, Chinese herbs. These looked much better than the photo in the menu - the flavors could have used a bit more spice. I feel like the bun diminished the flavors in the meat - think of these as dry sloppy joes with minced pepper and cilantro and a hint of soy sauce.

I couldn't talk this group into ordering my favorite dish (Deep Fried Eggplant) so we settled on the following:

Shan City Chicken - Tender and juicy dices of lightly battered flash fried boneless chicken stir fried with cilantro and a mountain of red chili peppers in this fiery hot dish (also available as shrimp or fish). This is my go-to Szechuan dish that usually has various names like "red pepper chicken" or "Szechuan pepper chicken."  It's half-inch cubed chicken tossed in dried peppers. Jia's version is excellent but I still think Gu's is slightly better. The combination of flavors is fantastic.

Bamboo Fish - Deep fried fish fillet with spicy and numbing flavor. Served on a bamboo basket. This dish has the famous flower pepper that imparts a mouth numbing, slightly metallic flavor. I think this version good but breading and oil seemed a bit tired.

Cumin Lamb - sliced lamb with cumin, onions, cilantro, red peppers, sesame seeds. I had high expectations of this dish as it's one I've liked quite a bit at Tasty China - here is seemed toned down a bit with very little turmeric. The lamb was cooked perfectly.

Overall I found the food to be castrated a bit in flavor - when you eat at Tasty China the flavors explode in your mouth and the heat is a bit of a gut punch. I feel like the food at Jia has been toned down a bit - you still get the flavors but they aren't quite as intense. This may be due to the location? Service was also a bit mediocre - good when someone was around but often there wasn't anyone around - that may be due to our being in the open atrium. I still think this place is worth visiting - it's certainly the best sit-down Szechuan option in town.

-- John

(also posted to Yelp)

H&F Burger - Ponce City Market - Atlanta Georgia

You can find H&F Burger at 675 Ponce De Leon Ave NE, Atlanta 30308 in Ponce City Market on the lower level - what the call the "food court" but it's much more than that. Parking basically sucks at PCM - it's almost better to park elsewhere and walk to the location as the underground deck is tight, difficult to manage and a bit of an afterthought. 

I'll start off by saying that I love, love Holeman and Finch at their original location on Peachtree St in Brookwood. It's a really amazing place and the food there is very special - even the bartenders are special, the modernist wood interior, the racking and fixtures, all amazing and incredibly well done. While this location of H&F (Holeman & Finch) Burger is interesting and well done, it doesn't shine a candle to the original. The interior and fixtures are more pub-ish and mainstream, I just would have thought more effort would have been brought to the table when compared to the original location. Oh well - perhaps this is more a reflection of the Stadium or an effort to reach the plebeian masses, if so I'm not quite sure why they're in PCM - it seems a bit of a sham.

Regardless of the esthetic, H&F Burger is really about the food, and in particular the famous double cheese burger and I'm happy to say that it's quite as good as what you would receive in the original location. However I'm unhappy to say that you might want to go somewhere else for a burger if $12 seems a lot to pay - that's right, $12 for just the burger, forget about the fries. If this seems rather exorbitant, than I'm with you - it seemed even more pricey considering the take-out to be shared with friends upstairs. I also don't believe waiting in line for 30 minutes for take-out is very cool, but I'll concede that it's a new place, it was a weekend and there were massive crowds.

Before you get all nasty at me for being cheap, etc. I must say that I am cheap, etc. I like a bargain much like anyone else, in fact many of the restaurants I visit are as much for the quantity of food and inexpensive price than for the quality of the food (in other words, I reduce my expectations on cheaper food but still seek the best bargain for the best food). It's just my opinion, but for $12 you would think that the burger included fries, chips or some inexpensive side. Nope, just a "Thank you" for overpaying for ground beef.

So to summarize, the burger tastes awesome, but the wait and cost remove any reason for me to revisit. Due to this, I'm giving this a neutral 3/5 stars.

-- John

(also posted to Yelp)

King of Pops Bar and Good Grub - Ponce City Market - Atlanta Georgia

You can find this location of King of Pops at 675 Ponce De Leon Ave NE STE N145, Atlanta 30308 in the Ponce City Market in a hidden pocket of the "food court"  - as I've already written, parking is a bit of a mess but once you're inside there's much to do including shopping and eating. One such is to enjoy this new King of Pops concept, King of Pops Bar and Good Grub.

King of Pops Bar and Good Grub provides the delicious pops that have become famous in Atlanta, mostly through the mobile pop-stands (recognizable by the umbrella at various events and catering) but also via a couple of stationary locations. This in Ponce City Market adds sandwiches and quick bites to the mix to produce the "Bar and Good Grub" concept. Besides the frozen pops, the menu includes sandwiches, salads and a few non-alcoholic beverages.

Since I was visiting and eating with many friends (take a look at my Hops Chicken review) we were all very full. It was only by happenstance and not through planning that i spotted the KOP stand and decided to check it out. Even full, I went with today's selection, a Coconut Cream Pie pop that was over the top in pops! What makes the cream pop so good is the intense flavor - the coconut fills your whole mouth - its really out-of-this-world.

I'm giving this one 4/5 stars as I wasn't able to try the sandwich or salad items (I know, a bit unfair - when I do try them I'll update my review).

-- John

(also posted to Yelp)

Hops Chicken - Ponce City Market - Atlanta Georgia

You can find Hop's Chicken at 675 Ponce De Leon Ave NE, Atlanta 30308 in the Ponce City Market in the "food court" (that may be a bit of a stretch as all the restaurants in this court are of higher-quality than what you would typically find at a regular shopping mall). Parking is for PCM is in the lot to the right of the building when facing it from Ponce, in the internal courtyard (good luck there) or in the underground deck. Parking is fairly expensive and really unwarranted - my biggest complaint of PCM - with a very tight and messed-up parking deck to boot. You may be better off parking somewhere it's free to park and walking to the market.

I met some of my Yelper friend's at Ponce City Market to sample some of the restaurants' offerings - this was hosted by Tuong Vi P (https://www.yelp.com/events/atlanta-uye-lets-do-saturday-lunch-ponce-city-market) - the idea is that we would all order a few items and meat to dine together. I went with Praveen R and Miles and hit Hop's Chicken - this is a "bucket of chicken" place that offers up homemade sides and "Nashville style Hot Chicken." We also sampled the double-burger from H&F and a few other items and sat together at one of the long-tall tables upstairs.

Hop's Chicken is a fast-casual chicken stand where you order at the counter and when your food is ready they call out. The primary menu is a board to the right of the ordering window - they have a simple menu that's pretty much chicken cut-up into pieces, biscuits, a few sides and sauces. They also serve some local craft beer which always makes things better. I enjoyed a can of Terrapin Hi-5 while waiting for my food to arrive.

The food is served in paper containers bagged in a cute Hop's Chicken bag. We wanted to try the Nashville style Hot Chicken so ordered a whole chicken - and were told it would be about 20 minutes. It was actually more like 30-45 - it took quite a long time to get our bucket and yes, served in a white bucket much like the classic KFC. For sides we ordered the Mac&Cheese, Cole Slaw and Limas&Corn (some type of succotash wantabee).

The verdict - the chicken was a bit soggy from the "hot" application and I must say that it wasn't quite what you would get in one of the classic Nashville locations. That being said, it was still quite tasty if a bit greasy. Just good spicy fried chicken (a bit more like a hot chicken wing with breading). The sides were all so-so and could use some pumping up, but the star of this show is the chicken. While I didn't think it was true "Nashville Hot" it was still good in it's own right - I give it 4 stars. I think it will taste terrific on a biscuit and I hope they offer it up that way (wasn't offered at this date). I do think that the wait was unreasonable, the price a bit expensive and the sides mediocre so cranking down my rating to 3/5 stars.

-- John

(also posted to Yelp)