Saturday, March 26, 2011

FIG

On the same day we visited the Glass Onion for lunch, we headed to FIG for dinner. I didn't know it before, but the chefs at Glass Onion worked at FIG before setting out on their own.

FIG ("Food is Good") lives up to its name in terms of food. The chef, Mike Lata, stresses local, sustainable food generally prepared in a modern Southern fashion. Lata knows what he is doing. The food is good. My only problem, see below, was the service.

I ordered the chicken liver pate as an appetizer.

This stuff is amazing! Flat out delicious. It is so rich and creamy, almost like meaty air. I know it sounds like an oxymoron. It seems like such a deep, rich, meaty taste could not come from something so light and airy. It leaves your tastebuds in a perplexed, happy stupor. Salty, rich, and smooth. While it would probably result in a rapid heart attack, I could eat this morning, noon, and night. It is that good.

The beef tartare appetizer was also excellent.

The tartare had smooth, tender bits of raw beef with a little spice and a little sour and a little sweet from the meat. Beef tartare is both such a sophisticated dish and such a primal dish. The raw beef recalls our hunter-gatherer days. But it also has a delicate taste. There is nothing like tender, raw beef. It is so good that one of my friends ordered a double beef tartare appetizer as his entree. It was a little over-the-top but that is how he does things.

Others ordered a stone crab claw appetizer. Local stone crab claws served with a sriracha mayo dipping sauce.

The crab was sweet and delicious. The sriracha mayo was delicious on the bread we were served but on the crab it almost overpowered the crab taste. Too little on the crab and you didn't taste the mayo, too much and it overpowered the crab.

Several people ordered the Wagyu steak as an entree.

The steak was super tender and flavorful, literally melt in your mouth tender. The jus/sauce served over top was the perfect accompaniment to the steak. Served with the steak were sweet potatoes and mushrooms. Both the sweetness of the potatoes and the meatiness and umami of the mushrooms went well with the steak.

I ordered the sweetbread entree.

The sweetbreads were excellent. I have never had such a large portion of sweetbreads in one large piece before. Sweetbreads are the thymus or pancreas of a cow. While the part of the cow may be unusual, the taste is, in my opinion, a rare treat. They were pan fried with a nice crusty exterior. The interior was smooth and creamy with a milky, meaty taste. They were served over cauliflower and, I believe, an herb sauce and spinach. The sauce and spinach had a sourness that nicely complimented the creaminess of the sweetbreads.

We ordered two side dishes for the table: roasted artichokes and brussel sprouts, and mashed potatoes.

Both were good but unnecessary due to the portion size of our entrees. The potatoes were probably about one part potato to one part cream and butter. They were super creamy and rich.

Our waitress started out friendly and helpful. As the night wore on the service declined. By the end of the night we were irritated. To top it all off there were six of us so we were slapped with an automatic 18% gratuity. She started out giving us advice about the menu and our wine choices. Our appetizers came out without delay and our wine was only a little slow. But then the appetizer plates sat finished on the table for more than ten minutes before she came to clean them off. Our entree came out and the cycle of empty plates repeated with a longer interim. We refilled our own wine glasses. She rarely came by to see how we were doing or to refill our water. She cleared our entree plates away and neglected to ask about dessert. At least ten minutes went by before she came back to ask about dessert. Then ten minutes more went by before we ordered dessert. We told her we would like to order dessert to go and the check because our dogs had been locked inside at home for quite a while and we had a long drive to get back. She brought us dessert and not the check. By the time she brought the check we had eaten all of the dessert and were bored waiting. I know we are young and young people may be light on tipping. But I enjoy fine food and a fine dining experience and I am willing to pay for it. I am more than happy to reward good service. Don't let your server coast on her guaranteed 18% tip and ignore her customers. When we pay FIG prices for dinner and spend well over two hours at the table we deserve more.

FIG serves delicious food. FIG pushes Southern cooking to new boundaries and admirably emphasizes the use of local, sustainable ingredients. FIG is a great place to stop in for a meal in Charleston. Just hope you get good service.

FIG
232 Meeting Street
Charleston, SC 29401
843-805-5900
http://www.eatatfig.com/

Fig on Urbanspoon

Social

Taking a break from shopping downtown and prior to dinner, friends and my wife and I headed to Social for a glass of wine.


Unlike my usual posts, we did not consume any food. Although Social does serve food, I think of it more as a wine bar. On this particular afternoon we couldn't have ordered much if we wanted to. Apparently there was a fire in the kitchen the day before which left the kitchen unable to prepare anything but pizza.

Several friends had a glass of wine. My wife and I decided to do a wine flight. The menu has several different glasses of wine available in different categories. You can order a glass of any of the wines or a flight of all of the wines in that category. I ordered a flight of the three Italian reds. My wife ordered a flight of the three Spanish reds. All of the wines were excellent. It was a lot of fun to start with the lighter reds and work up to the full bodied reds. Even better, we essentially had three half glasses of excellent wine for $12 per flight.

Our server was friendly, helpful, and very knowledgeable about the featured wines. The decor inside is dark woods and steel. It has a modern but warm feeling. The space is intimate without being too close for comfort.

I am short on details, but I highly recommend Social for a fun place to enjoy a glass, or a flight, of tasty wine.

Social
188 East Bay Street
Charleston, SC 29401
843-577-5665
http://www.socialwinebar.com/


Social Restaurant + Wine Bar on Urbanspoon

Glass Onion

While in Charleston with friends from Atlanta we visited Glass Onion for lunch. Glass Onion has received great reviews as a hip spot for fresh, local, innovative cuisine. It deserves this reputation, but it seems to always miss that final touch that would leave me enamored with the place. That said, the food is good. As I conclude below, I love what they are trying to do, but they just don't totally pull it off.
The menu changes daily based on what is available locally and what the chef decides to whip up. I ordered the blood pudding plate. It came with blood pudding of course. The blood pudding was topped with a fried egg and on the side were pickled cucumber and greenbeans.
The blood pudding consisted of blood, various pork bits, onion, and spices. It was a lot like a moist, fluffy sausage. It worked well with the egg, especially once I broke the yolk over top. The pickles were great.

A friend ordered a salad and the mussel soup. The mussel soup was excellent.

The waitress informed us that the base of the soup was broccoli which I never would have guessed. It had an onion and garlic note to it. Once I learned of the broccoli, I tasted it as well. Super creamy with tasty mussels and the complexity of the brocolli, onions, and garlic.

Another friend had the striped bass special. It was also very good. The fish was cooked perfectly with moist flesh and a charred skin.


Another friend ordered a chicken salad po' boy. The proprietors of the Glass Onion all met in New Orleans and the New Orleans influence is visible on the menu, especially in the plethora of po' boys.
I did not get a chance to try the chicken salad, but it looked good.

Another friend ordered the jambalaya, which I also did not get to try and also looked good.
The jambalaya, like my blood pudding, was topped with an egg. Apparently they have a thing for topping food with an egg. I'm not necessarily complaining because eggs make a nice addition to many Southern dishes. But you can't just throw an egg on top of everything. It went well with the blood pudding and it would work well with jambalaya, but they may be pushing the line of overdoing it.

My wife ordered the pimento cheese sandwich. The pimento cheese was fantastic. It was creamy, spicy and the perfect balance between liquid and solid.

Last, but not least, we had an order of french fries which came with bearnaise.

The bearnaise was a little over-the-top. Trust me, your doctor will never recommend that you dip deep-fried potatoes covered in salt in a sauce consisting mostly of butter. Despite being over-the-top, it was rather tasty.

Overall, the food was good to great. The prices are a little high for a regular work day lunch. Of course, the food is local, innovative, and tasty. My one complaint might be that the portions should be a little larger for the prices. I am more than happy to pay for quality food prepared with love. But, as I have said before (see my Antico Napoletana post: http://hominyhomily.blogspot.com/2010/12/antico-pizza-napoletana.html), the dining experience is a total experience consisting of the food, the prices, and the service.

The restaurant itself is pretty simple. You walk up to the counter, read the blackboard and place your order. The staff brings your food out to you. You eat and then walk to the second counter to pay.

As I said before, I want to love the Glass Onion. I love what they are trying to do. Their emphasis on innovative, fresh, local food should be emulated by restaurants everywhere. Their love for traditional Southern food and their desire to honor the tradition, reinvigorate it, and bring it into the twenty-first century is awesome. Perhaps the small portions and high prices leave me wanting a little more when I leave. I'm not exactly sure what it is that leaves me feeling like the last element is missing. Go try the Glass Onion for yourself. At the least it is worth supporting what they are trying to do. I just don't think the Glass Onion will fall into my regular rotation and I suspect it may be the same way for you.
Below is the menu on the day we visited.







Glass Onion
1219 Savannah Highway
Charleston, SC 29407
843-225-1717

 
Glass Onion on Urbanspoon

Buckhead Bottle Bar

Terrible. This may be a fun place to grab a drink if its your crowd, but don't come here to eat. The food is bad, the service is mediocre, and the atmosphere is not conducive to dining.

I ordered a salad and a charcuterie plate. The charcuterie plate did not deserve to even be labeled as such. The plate mostly consisted of cold cut meats. I'm talking sliced ham. The best thing it had going for it was some salami and serrano. Basically, they take the meats that they use in sandwiches and such, slap them on a plate, and call it charcuterie. I guess that's fine if that's what your customers want. But I was more than a little perturbed when I was duped into ordering it. Let your customers know what they are ordering. Don't serve frozen french fries and call them pomme frites. Don't serve deli meat and call it a charcuterie plate. I mean one of the "cheeses" on the plate was Swiss cheese. Was this a joke?

I also ordered a salad. A basic frisee, apples, blue cheese, and walnuts salad. It was ok, but nothing more.


My wife ordered a salmon pasta dish. The salmon was cooked well. But other than that it was pretty bland and boring. Likely pre-made alfredo sauce, penne noodles, and a block of salmon. Snooze . . .

Not only was the food boring to deceptive and terrible, the space was horrible. While I delighted in my ham and Swiss cheese plate, I was surrounded by bar patrons standing around. The space was tight with our table essentially in the middle of the room and surrounded by people drinking and talking. Always nice to nibble at your salad with butts in your face and people knocking your chair.

If you want to go eat bland, boring food while surrounded by cougars on the prowl and the trendy crowd, then have at it. Otherwise, I recommend you stay away.

Buckhead Bottle Bar
268 East Paces Ferry Road
Atlanta, GA 30305
404-474-9892
http://www.buckheadbottlebar.com/


Buckhead Bottle Bar on Urbanspoon

Taqueria Del Sol

Taqueria Del Sol is another spot in our usual rotation. The Decatur location is directly across the street from Farm Burger, and Taqueria Del Sol is in our usual rotation for the same reason Farm Burger is: it is quick, cheap, easy, and tasty.

Taqueira Del Sol ("Taqueria") is a Mexican-American restaurant specializing in tacos but also serving enchiladas and other items. The food is not necessarily authentic Mexican but instead blends and features authentic Mexican fare combined with the California taco style, some Tex-Mex elements, a dash of Southern fusion, and plenty of style all its own.

My go-to taco is the fish taco.

The fish taco consists of egg washed, masa and bread crumbed breaded, and fried tilapia with pickled jalapenos and a poblano tartar sauce. The fish comes out perfectly with a light breading exterior despite being deep fried. While the fish tacos alone are good, they are amazing when jazzed up with some of the jalapeno coleslaw available as a side.
The fish tacos are light years better with the coleslaw. So much better that I can't believe the restaurant doesn't put them on the menu that way. Each taco costs approximately $3. That is a great deal for a taco this good.

The other regular tacos are the Memphis with "chopped smoked pork with a spicy jalapeno coleslaw and tequila BBQ sauce." The brisket consists of "shredded beef brisket with pico de gallo." I have ordered the brisket on several occasions. The amount of flavor packed into the meat is amazing. The first bite serves up a sucker punch to your taste buds. The fried chicken consists of "strips of fried chicken breast, lime jalapeno mayonnaise, lettuce and tomato." The carnita consists of "twice cooked tender pork with salsa frita, cilantro, and onions. The veggie contains "veggie jalapeno refried beans, queso blanco, and roasted tomatillo salsa." Don't be scared off by the regular mention of jalapenos. I have yet to try anything that made my mouth burn.

Taqueria also has at least one taco special every day as well as one or two other specials. On this trip there were two special tacos. The first consisted of fried shrimp with lettuce, jalapenos, and a sauce which I know was a mayonnaise based sauce and I believe was a spicy tartar sauce. While my memory is fuzzy, I do remember that it was delicious.

The second was a, I believe, slow-cooked pork taco with a salsa. I waited too long to write this review and cannot remember the exact contents. I do remember that it was messy, a little greasy, and super tasty. The meat was extremely tender and the grease and juices from its cooking combined with the tender meat and the cool salsa made an excellent combination.

Three tacos will suffice as a meal for an average person. If you are less hungry two may do. A growing boy (or girl) may want four, but that is pushing it. As mentioned above, Taqueria also serves enchiladas and other items. I have never actually made it past the tacos to order anything else off the menu, with one exception. However, dining companions and friends have assured me that the enchiladas are tasty. The one exception is when I ordered the chile poblanos. The chile poblanos are apparently only offered for a short period each year when the restaurant gets fresh chiles from out West. Of course this is just a rumor I heard. I actually have no idea why they make a brief appearance on the menu each year and then fade away. I do know that if they are on the menu you should scramle to order them. They are delicious.

In summary, the food at Taqueria Del Sol is finger-licking good. The only problem is that everyone in Atlanta, their relatives from out-of-town (including my mom who insists we go when she is in town), and the tourists from Japan all seem to know how good it is. There is always a line at Taqueria Del Sol. While the long line could at first scare you, don't let it. The line always moves fast. While the seeming lack of open tables could scare you, don't let it. By the time you have ordered a table will have opened up. I have no idea how the staff works their magic but the line, the kitchen, and the tables all work in near perfect harmony.

Wait in line and you will approach the register and place your order. If it is a hot day, order a Sol or a Corona to wash those tacos down. There is nothing better than fresh, delicious tacos and cold beer on a hot afternoon. Or, while I prefer the beer, the margaritas (on the rocks or frozen) are also excellent and refreshing.

Taqueria also has a nice bar area where you can sit and eat even if you don't order drinks.

The bar is sometimes a great way to skip the line if seats are open. Or if the bar is full there is usually a wait list for the bar that may still be faster than the line.

Usually we head out to the outdoor seating area. It is actually a covered area with plastic walls that are taken up in good weather and let down in cold or wet weather.

On those hot afternoons with the tacos and beer this is the place to sit.

Taqueria Del Sol serves up amazingly delicious food in a fun, relaxed atmosphere with good service and decent prices. I highly recommend it. Its only downside is the ever-present line. While I bemoan the long line and sometimes skip Taqueria for Farm Burger or another restaurant when the line is exceptionally long, I still find myself back at Taqueria on a regular basis. If you want delicous tacos you should too.

Taqueria Del Sol
359 West Ponce De Leon Ave.
Decatur, GA
404-377-7668

Taqueira Del Sol has three other locations: Cheshire Bridge, Westside, and Athens. For the address of other locations, the menu, and any other information you could desire check out http://www.taqueriadelsol.com/.

Taqueria Del Sol (Decatur) on Urbanspoon

Taqueria Del Sol Decatur on Restaurantica

Thursday, March 24, 2011

Farmburger

Ah, Farm Burger, how I love thee. Farm Burger is in our standard restaurant rotation. Why? Because it is quick, easy, and delicious. Farmburger serves up the tastiest burgers around, in my opinion. Although, I have yet to try Flip. The place is simple and the food seems simple, but the menu offers up a dizzying array of combinations all centered around the prototypical American food, the hamburger.

The entire burger portion of the menu starts with a $6 grassfed beef burger or a veggie quinoa burger for the vegetarians. I have yet to try the quinoa burger, but I have heard from two friends that it is at least decent. From there the burger portion of the menu revolves around deciding what you want added to it.

Farmburger's menu offers up six different pre-arranged burger combinations. These combinations range from "The Farm Burger" with grafton smoked white cheddar, caramelized onions, and FB sauce for $8 to the "No 5" with braised pork belly, beer-battered onion ring, pickled jalapenos, and BBQ sauce for $9.50 to the "No 6" with a pork burger, bacon, sunny side up egg, pepper jack cheese, and salsa verde. Both The Farm Burger and the No 5 are excellent.

But say you think you can create a better burger or you don't like having people make decisions for you, Farm Burger's menu lets you go wild with crazy toppings. The toppings come in three categories: free, $1, and $2. You can get all of your standard toppings like ketchup, mayo, mustard, lettuce, and onions for free. Plus you can also get slightly more unusual items like pickled jalapenos, fresh jalapenos, roasted garlic, or FB sauce for free. The FB sauce is a delicious mayonnaise concoction. My best guess is that the FB sauce has some paprika and maybe some ketchup in it. It has a slightly smoky, sweet taste. For $1 you can get toppings ranging from a fried egg to arugula to blue cheese to cured lardo and more. For $2 you can get toppings ranging from house-cured bacon to oxtail marmalade to pork belly to pimento 'n cheese. The $2 category also includes a delicious blue cheese from Georgia's own Sweet Grass dairy.

My personal favorite is a burger, medium rare, with fresh jalapenos, house-cured bacon, and the Sweet Grass blue cheese.

These burgers are so good my wife thinks they should rename the place "Crack Burger." She usually orders The Farm Burger which is shown below.


My only complaint is that sometimes the burgers come out overcooked. I like my meat rare, but regardless of how you order the meat, about 20% of the time cooks cook it one level more done than you asked for. If I had one wish it would be for consistency in the level of "doneness." When they get my burger properly medium-rare with a cool red center, I am in heaven.

Farm Burger has much more than burgers to offer. The fried chicken liver "snack" is excellent.
They are some of the best chicken livers I have had. They are fried in a near tempura style with just slightly thicker than tempura batter and served with a whole grain mustard sauce.

The "rings n' fries" basket is also excellent. The fries are nicely salted and spiced and the onion rings are fried perfectly. Even better they are served with FB sauce which makes the perfect accompaniment.
We were so eager to dive into the basket of rings n' fries that we ate most of the fries and part of the onion rings before I remembered to take the picture.

As I said, the menu offers an array of choices, but the restaurant is pretty simple. You walk in and get in line.

At the end of the line you order your food and then find a table. The servers bring your food to your table and you consume away. It always seems that the line is too long and there will not be enough tables for everyone to take a seat, but somehow it always seems to work out. The staff have a nice system of ensuring that people do not attempt to claim seats prior to ordering.

The dining room, if you can call it that, is no frills.

Most of the seats are picnic tables. The napkins are paper towels. The food comes out in a basket with a paper bottom. The ketchup and mustard are in squirt bottles on the table. But come on, it is a burger place. This is how it should be! White linen napkins and sparkling water aren't always needed or even wanted. The burgers are messy and the atmosphere is lively, in other words: it's fun.

Finally, not only is the food delicious and the atmosphere fun, Farm Burger is committed to local, sustainable, ethically raised food. I am a huge fun of their practices for environmental, ethical, and health reasons. They try to get as many of their products from local farms as possible. The beef is grassfed which is better for the environment and your health. So not only can you relax over a tasty burger, you can feel good afterwards that you supported your community and yourself.

I did my best to photograph the food side of the menu, but it did not come out well. Sorry. Fortunately, you can check out the menu and more at http://www.farmburger.net/.


Farm Burger
410 B W. Ponce De Leon Ave.
Decatur, GA 30030


Farm Burger on Urbanspoon

Friday, March 4, 2011

Sushi Avenue

If I had to pick my favorite cuisine, it would probably be sushi. On one hand I cringe admitting that. Sushi has become so trendy. Everyone eats sushi. You can even buy sushi in the grocery store. But sushi is so good.

But I have two problems when it comes to sushi. The first is that I have an enormous appetite and I love sushi so much. Sushi isn't cheap. The second is that I prefer the more expensive, odd sushi items which makes my sushi dinners more expensive. I am only "allowed" to eat sushi on rare occasions due to my loss of self-control upon entering the doors of a sushi restaurant.

Fortunately, I was recently permitted to make a trip to Sushi Avenue. Sushi Avenue has three different locations, but we always go to the location on the square in downtown Decatur. Sushi Avenue is not known as one of Atlanta's sushi hot spots like MF Sushi or others. I contend that its lesser known status is one of its key assets in that it serves good sushi at decent prices. The restaurant serves a wide variety of items of great quality.

I started off with an octopus salad. The octopus was cut into bite size pieces and served with cucumber slices and a sauce similar to a watery sriracha sauce.
The octopus salad was delicious. The octopus has a chewy texture and a sweet seafood taste that matches nicely with the heat from the hot sauce and the crisp, coolness of the cucumbers.

I then had a chirashi bowl (chirashizushi). A chirashi bowl is a bowl of rice covered with a variety of sashimi pieces. The chirashi bowl had tuna, salmon, squid, octopus, salmon roe, shrimp, tamago (sweet egg omelet), and other seafood items.

The chirashi bowl was also excellent. It is an excellent way to get a variety of sashimi pieces at a better price and with an ease of ordering.

Finally, I ordered a variety of nigiri pieces and my wife selected some rolls that we shared.
In the top left are two rolls of rice topped with salmon roe and a raw quail egg. I have heard these called "tiger eyes" at other places. When you eat a piece the salmon roe pop in your mom releasing their salty juices and the egg pops releasing the yolk. It forms a salty omelet in your mouth.

Next to the tiger eyes in the top left are two pieces of scallop. Scallop has a delicate taste and texture raw.

Below the scallop pieces, the two white pieces of nigiri are squid. I love raw squid. It has a very chewy texture. I believe I have mentioned before that I have an odd but undying love for chewy foods. As you chew the squid, it breaks down into a milky texture with one of the best sweet seafood tastes.

Below the squid are two pieces of surf clam. Surf clam is less chewy than the squid but still chewy and is even sweeter.

The roll down the middle of the plate is a rainbow roll. I believe it has avocado and cucumber inside the roll and the outside of the roll is covered in a variety of pieces of fish.

The roll on the far right next to the rainbow roll, was a roll filled with fried sweet potato and pumpkin. As far as vegetarian rolls go, this is about as good as it gets. It was delicious. Of course, fry pretty much anything and it will taste good.

We also had a crunchy scallop roll which was filled with tempura bits and raw scallop. It was also delicious.

Last but not least is my all time favorite piece of sushi. It may also be my favorite food. In the bottom left is uni. Uni is sea urchin. While I will admit that it has a less than appetizing appearance, I contend that its displeasing appearance is vastly overcome by its amazing taste. The urchin is soft, almost a liquid. It begins to break down into a liquid with the first bite. It has a unique sweet seafood taste. The best way I can describe it is to say that it forms a sweet seafood milkshake in your mouth.

For dessert we had mochi. Mochi is a ball of ice cream with a wrapper made of pounded sticky rice. Our mochi had a red bean ice cream inside. The wrapper is hard to describe. It is gummy, chewy, and doughy with a sweet taste. I highly recommend mochi if you have never tried it before.

Other than the delicious, reasonably priced sushi, all you need to know about Sushi Avenue is that it is a small restaurant with an intimate feel. Diners can sit at the sushi counter if they prefer. The wait staff are always reasonably to highly attentive and friendly.

Sushi Avenue
131 Sycamore Street
Decatur, GA
404-378-0228

Sushi Avenue on the Square on Urbanspoon

Community Q BBQ

Community Q is a BBQ joint in a small strip mall outside of Decatur and near Emory. They serve a range of barbecued meats and sides.


I ordered a combination meat plate of the brisket and pulled pork. It is worth mentioning that my family has barbecued whole hogs using a family recipe for years. I know pulled pork, especially South Carolina style pulled pork. However, I do not know brisket. From what I understand brisket is popular in Texas. I have never been to Texas, and I have never had brisket before.

Both the brisket and the pulled pork were good, but not amazing.


The brisket was smoky and moist but could be a little more moist. It flaked apart nicely. It did have a tasty crust. The pork was cooked nicely. It also was a little drier than I prefer, but it was cooked the exact right amount of time.

The meats were served with your choice of a sweet sauce or a vinegar sauce. The sweet sauce was too sweet for my taste, very sweet. It was syrupy sweet. I prefer my sauce to have a stronger mustard base or ketchup base with a light touch of sweetness. This sauce was more like a syrup. The vinegar sauce was good, but a little thicker and sweeter than the vinegar sauce I prefer.

All of the meat plates come with the meat between two slices of bread. The bread was tasty toasted bread but totally unnecessary. The bread just got in the way of the meats.

For sides we tried the macaroni and cheese and the baked beans.

The mac and cheese was the best part of the meal. The large noodles are covered in a sauce made of three cheeses. It is super cheesy and greasy. So greasy that there was a puddle of grease at the bottom when I finished it. Cardiologists everywhere are protesting this dish.
The baked beans were so-so.
They had an odd taste that neither my wife nor I particularly preferred. We couldn't exactly place what the weird taste is. Part of the odd taste was the strong helping of pepper, but they also had an odd sweet taste.

Orders are placed at the counter up front.

The waiters then bring your food to you when it is ready. The service wasn't bad but didn't impress either. We visited the restaurant on a Sunday afternoon at 1:30. The wait was rather long for that time of day and food that is so easily put together. Hopefully the delay signals that the food is being freshly prepared, but I'm not quite sure that is the case.

The interior is cozy for a strip mall. The families and diners reading newspapers or engaged in conversation give the place a neighborhood feel.


In conclusion, Community Q is good, but not amazing. I had heard excellent things about Community Q through the grapevine but it did not live up to the hype. It is not a bad barbecue joint but a decent barbecue joint. I will probably go back at some point, but it won't make it onto my list of regular joints and I won't catch myself daydreaming about it.




Commuity Q BBQ
1361 Clairmont Road
Decatur, GA
404-633-2080


Community Q BBQ on Urbanspoon