Hop City - Inman Park at Krog Street Market - Atlanta Georgia

You can find this location of Hop City in Krog Street Market at 99 Krog Street NE, GA 30307, the beer provender occupies a shop with glass walls that face the hall from a covered courtyard, but what makes this place special is the side that faces the food court, which provides an eye-opening number of taps full of craft beer.

The store itself is a well stocked provider of grab-and-carry bottles of your favorite craft and oh, if you bring in your growlers make sure you get them filled with those hard-to-find specialty brews. Can't decide? Then queue up on the other side and grab a pint or stemmed glass (the higher ABV) of golden brown, hoppy deliciousness that you can enjoy again in the comfort of your own home. This is a fantastic venue to sample craft, especially local craft, while enjoying from one of the food vendors.

As an aside, this place becomes really busy with an amazing line, especially on weekends. I recommend coming during the week. Those pouring are incredibly knowledgeable about what they have so don't be afraid to ask questions. If you're really clueless ask the others in line, they may beam some attitude to you but I think you'll be surprised at the opinions and recommendations. Just know whether you like sour, hoppy, stout, etc. and you'll do fine. The servers get super busy and any attitude you may receive is more a product of success than anything else. In general the service is exceptional regardless of how busy they are.

My favorite modus operandi is to come with a friend or two and split up the tasks - half grab beer while the other grabs food. Thankfully, Hop City has a huge board featuring everything currently on tap -you basically peruse - and I do mean this in the original sense of study intently - the list of craft, I recommend in particular the local craft, until you see something that's interesting. Some get in line to pick up the pints while the rest head over to Gu's Dumplings for hot-and-spicy deliciousness to go with the hoppy pints. You belly up to one of the standing counters and trade off drinks-and-food until full and sweaty from the blistering hot Szechuan while people watching all the out-of-town deviants sampling townie ways. Afterwards head to Jeni's Ice Cream to cool off and you have the start of a great evening.

Start you ask? Why yes, at this point your fortified and ready for anything. Or you can get back into line and try another pint - yes, I think I will!

-- John

(also posted to Yelp)

Studio Movie Grill - Alpharetta Georgia

You can find this location of Studio Movie Grill at 2880 Holcomb Bridge Rd, Alpharetta, GA 30022 in the Holcomb Corners shopping center - not that there's much else to do around this location, but there is an interesting Blaxican restaurant and a TJ's Sports Bar and Grill, if you're so inclined. Otherwise Studio Movie Grill is a bit on the Eastern edge of Alpharetta and it's a bit out in the middle of nowhere. Plenty of parking - the lot is huge - but for blockbusters it can get filled up.

I've come to this location a few times, initially lured by super cheap $5 tickets on Groupon (they've gone up to around $8 now I think) but after having them expire and it being such a hassle to use them I've given up on the Groupon thing. I really just don't have the patience for it. I've pretty much given up on all the discount services as they all seem to lack to some degree or another and really, life is too short to chase deals you probably don't care too much about otherwise.

But i digress, the Studio Movie Grill is one of those movie theaters where they deliver food to you once you get seated and in general you have more selection than the usual popcorn/candy maybe nachos/pizza you find at most theaters. I've visited several with a similar concept including the Fork and Screen in Buckhead (and the previous iterations) and the Movie Tavern at Northlake. This particular theater has gone through a transition from single seats with small tables to long counter-style tables (either that or there's some variation to the seating/serving arrangement).

As for how they stack up - this location is rather spectacular in overall ambiance and appearance with a very modernistic, high-ceilinged foyer and a full bar so you can come in early and get liquored up before the movie. To me that's a big win as I'm often in a rush to make a movie and it's nice to start with an after work cocktail before diving into the film. The food menu at SMG is actually fairly well thought out - a good balance of items that go beyond a fast-casual restaurant but are reasonable to prepare - quite a challenge when you think about the size of a theater, especially if a large percentage of viewers are also eaters. The logistics are a bit insane - think about a restaurant turning over every hour with inconsistent sized dining rooms - you get the drift. Kudos to the staff for handling this tough job.

Speaking of staff, the food is delivered relatively quickly and the times I've been there, no mistakes. It was also hot and the servers were good about getting drink orders to you - but you may need to flag someone down, it is dark in the theater. The food itself is reasonably good but not great. I've had sandwiches (wraps, burgers, chicken sandwiches), salads and pizza and they were all in the average to slightly above average category. For the convenience of having your meal while you're enjoying a film - well, if you're more interested in the movie and less about stuffing your face, then this is more than fine. If you like to enjoy your food more extensively, then what are you doing in a theater?

Most recently I've attended two industry events (you get an invite to a movie that's preceded by a short presentation on some new technology - it's a bit of a sales thing but usually bearable) that includes food, soft drink and a basket of popcorn - if you get invited, go as I think they're worth it and this is a particularly good venue.

The theater in general is well kept up with clean bathrooms - I remember the first time I hit the Buckhead theater that is now Fork and Screen - they had these bucket cloth covered seats in the theater that you stuck to - pretty gross. You won't find that here. For a theater SMG does a great job.

-- John

(also published to Yelp)
 

Pita by the Beirut - Dunwoody Georgia

You can find this location of Pita by the Beirut at 4709 Ashford Dunwoody Rd, GA 30338 in the Perimeter Village shopping center anchored by Walmart. This is a couple of blocks beyond Perimeter Mall on Ashford Dunwoody Rd - there are several other restaurants in the same center, I particularly like Viceroy Indian for their buffet at lunch. There's also an Uncle Maddio's at the opposite end from Viceroy that's good for a quick bite.

Speaking of quick bite, Pita by the Beirut is a fast-casual restaurant where you order your plate or wrap at the counter (with sides) and your food is delivered to you within a few minutes. This is a relatively new restaurant that's very clean and super efficient. The style is Mediterranean and typical with wraps, a decent rice and grilled veggies - I think of this business as a cross between Grecian Gyro and Zoe's Kitchen (the former is all about the gyro in all it's glory and the latter is more health conscience - PbtB is somewhere in between).

I opted for my usual Gyro platter which was served on paper in an aluminum bowl. There's tangy shavings of gyro meat (a mix of lamb and beef) served with rice and grilled veggies and a pita cut into quarters, with a dollop of tzatziki sauce. I liked the rice - something that a lot of similar restaurants just can't seem to get right. The staff was very efficient and delivered the food quickly. Have I had better? Yes, but this meal was very good and worth trying, especially if you're time is limited. There's a USPO in the same building so this is a great option if you're shipping packages.  Parking can be fairly congested and watch out for the idiots, as this is a busy lot.

I put this one in my bag of options near work. It's a bit closer than Grecian Gyro and certainly not as busy as Zoe's - plus there's plenty of opportunity for lunch restaurants in this area, with all the IT businesses nearby.

(also posted to Yelp)

The Capital Grille - Buckhead - Atlanta Georgia

You can find this location of The Capital Grille at 255 E Paces Ferry Road NE, Atlanta, GA 30305 pretty much in the heart of Buckhead. Parking sucks but there is a valet service. The location is rather nondescript and without the address the restaurant would be difficult to see as it's on an upper floor (there really isn't much in the way of signage). You drive into the valet and take an elevator up.

I've had occasion to eat here twice - I've eaten more often at the Perimeter location as it's closer to my office. As with that location the Buckhead location is filled with elegant turn-of-the-century woods, fixtures and superb top-shelf service. The Capital Grille features aged beef and superior cuts for their steaks and really, that's why you want to come here.

For the last two visits I was presented with a couple of group appetizers for the table, and a fixed menu with a selection of entree, accompaniments for the table and a small dessert platter. This is a very nice upscale restaurant with cloth napkins and tablecloths, beautiful interiors and an excellent bar.

The Cocktail Shrimp presented were some of the largest I've seen recently - probably 16-20s more in keeping with what you could commonly get 20 years ago. They were perfectly cooked firm, not mushy with a great cocktail sauce.

The Steak Tartar was old-school with plenty of onion, thin slices of rye bread and a deviled egg to be fought over. A bread plate was also provided with small seeded-rolls and flat bread (more like a cracker) and all quite good.

For dinner, on the first occasion I had the 14 Oz Bone-in NY Strip - it was good but I thought it a bit tougher than I expected. The second time I had the 8 Oz Filet and it was perfectly cooked rare, delicious and fork-tender. this will be my go-to going forward.

For dessert we were given included fresh fruit, a creme brulee and a wedge of very-rich (flowerless?) chocolate cake. Noting exceptional but it all went well with the coffee provided and ended the meal flawlessly.

Service as usual was exceptional. I think this place stacks up well against any similar aged-beef steakhouse like Chops, Bones or Mortons.

-- John

(also posted to Yelp)

Loving Hut - Sandy Springs - Atlanta Georgia

You can find this location of Loving Hut at 220 Hammond Drive, Sandy Springs, GA 30328 - this is a row of buildings that climb up the hill to the City Walk Sandy Springs shopping center anchored by Kroger and across Hammond from Whole Foods. Parking is all long the row of buildings or in a pinch you can park in the main lot up the hill and walk down.

When you enter Loving Hut you'll be on the second floor - you order on the ground floor at a counter and find tables where you can upstairs. Ambiance is modernist and playful, more like a bakery than a restaurant. Specials seem to change frequently and are on chalkboards leading to the counter.

Loving Hut is a vegan restaurant, which appealed to the handful of Indian vegetarians where I work and who wanted to share a lunch with us (they usually bring in their own food). 

As a sidebar, I think it's hard for most Americans who are used to eating meat to understand the food needs of most vegetarian Indians - first there are varying degrees of vegetarianism - for instance, those in the South may be more apt to being vegetarian yet they occasionally eat fish if they're along the coast. Others will eat eggs but abstain from any forms of meat (eggatarians? ovatarians?) and all do dairy, mostly milk, clarified butter (ghee) and paneer (fresh milk cheese). Second, foods in India tend to be very well cooked as a practical matter, to extract the most nutrients as possible to feed the most people (and secondary to this it prevents bacterial illness due to bad water or food handling). Culturally, giving an Indian vegetarian a salad and thinking they will be satisfied is rather obtuse based on these two facts but there's a third. Most Indian foods tend to be cooked with herbs and spices that are very distinctive, especially the coriander, cumin, cardamon, ginger and tumeric (this last is what provides the distinctive flavor and color of what Americans know as "curry"). Meals that don't include these spices are very bland to most Indian people and just doesn't taste good to them, I've found.

In any case, I came with a group that included a handful of Indians about half are vegetarians so Loving Hut was an ideal restaurant to try. Personally I've eaten at many vegetarian restaurants and the best I've found are over by the Patel Bros - Chat Patti is one of my favorites. Most American vegetarian restaurants I've found to be very bland - across the street from Loving Hut is Sunflower Cafe which I've visited a handful of times over the years and every time I've been very hopeful and every time I've been very disappointed. So where am I going with this? I found the food that I tired at Loving Hut to be exceptional - I ordered the Basil Lasagna and the dish was superb, more like what you would receive in a good Italian restaurant instead of a vegetarian one. I think the secret was the sauce which was well above par.

We started with some spring rolls that I thought were OK, but nothing special. Other items ordered included a Felafal Wrap, a Black Bean Burger, Chow Mein, a House Stir-Fry, the House Curry, and of course the Lazagna Special. From the comments and small bites of each I tried, everything was quite good. I'm not sure if my Indian friends liked it much, the opinions seemed to vary. In all, the food to me was above par compared to other veggie restaurants.

The service was good but nothing special - since you order at the counter it's basically a drop-delivery to your table. No complaints but nothing to report here. This is now my go to place for vegan.

-- John

(also posted to Yelp)