rednecktek "You know I love to eat"

Every once in a while, I come across something different. We were in Atlanta for the day, enjoying Olympic Park and gaping at the height of the skyscrapers (we don’t have those where I come from) when we all decided our stomachs were rumbling. After a quick suggestion from the park visitors’ center, we were on our way to what would be a delightfully delicious experience.

Ted’s Montana Grill is an eco-friendly, always fresh, never frozen, honest-to-goodness, made-from-scratch restaurant. They claim a 99% plastic free establishment. Even the clear cup that held my daughter’s lemonade was made from corn. It is now my second favorite (next to Ruth’s Chris).

The atmosphere is similar to what you would find in a high-end steakhouse, yet more comfortable and approachable. If you just can’t wait, they serve a small appetizer of homemade pickles, which my my children devoured in short order. We also ordered the hand-dipped onion rings – which were fantastic – served with a slightly spicy ranch sauce. Highly recommended.

The portions are not going to be what you might expect to find in your average trendy Friday-Apple-Chili place. I count this as a good thing. We were more than satisfied, barely able to shove the last forkfuls in our mouths as we loosened our belts.

We went here because my father wanted steak. I have been here many times before, but none within the last year. I have an intuition about restaurants, usually before I walk in the door. I don’t think it’s very special; maybe it was the lack of cars in the parking lot on a Saturday night. Maybe it was the fact that the building looked more run-down than I remember. whatever it was, I didn’t listen to it and I should have.

To begin, our waitress was horrible. She had the demeanor of a rabid pit bull and was forceful about changing (upsizing) our orders. We waited an eternity for the yeast rolls that had become a staple in this place, only to find out that they were now given by request only.

What used to be a hefty, filling yeast roll has been replaced by something more like a popover in consistency with a taste somewhere between cardboard and plain flour. I have become aware of the degradation of quality in the restaurant industry of late. A change seemingly necessitated by higher raw costs and dwindling patronage. However, I believe the public will only tolerate this behavior for so long, as evidenced by the number of failed restaurants on SR 200 alone.

My steak was incorrectly cooked, delivered more rare than my liking and over seasoned with a little too much salt. I would have sent it back (even with my parents, who never send back anything), but our waitress had disappeared and was nowhere to be found until she brought the check.

Without more detail, my wife’s meal was no less abysmal. My parents’, well , they never have a bad meal (that they tell anyone about). I only wish we had noticed the sign on the door that the restaurant was under new management and that they would not honor gift certificates purchased before the transition; I think my intuition would have screamed.

A surprisingly delicious experience. I had expected mediocre food and portions, especially in the current economy, but I was wrong. My Shrimp Po-Boy had enough meat to satisfy. Toppings were generous and fresh. and the bread was very fresh. The romulade had a nice bite without being over-whelming.
Accompanied by a pickle spear and kettle chips it made a very nice meal.

After all the hype many of our friends had given over this place, I was excited to go. An unexpected bonus allowed me to take my wife out for what I knew would be more expensive than our usual meals, but what I expected would be worth it.

We have heard over and over about the Bang Bang Shrimp, so we decided to start with that. Flavors were dramatic and pleasing. It would have been a 5 star dish if my wife hadn’t gotten pieces of shell repeatedly.

I love tuna rare and our server understood I meant “RARE.” I received my portion slightly over-cooked for my taste, but acceptable. However, I do not like sinewy, stringy tuna and at least half of my portion was that way.

My wife loves scallops, so it was a no-brainer that she would have the Shrimp and Scallops. Both the scallops and the shrimp were over-cooked for my taste, but she seemed ok with most of them. Unfortunately, there was some type of grit on the scallops. When we informed the server, we were told “All scallops have grit.” I know better. After repeated looks of disgust, he offered to have some additional shrimp made.

We both had the Pan Asian sauce which seemed WAY too sweet for me, but seems to be the norm for most people today. I asked for a side a plain wasabi.

We were both very excited about the Bananas Foster, so much so that we ordered it at the beginning of the meal. Regrettably, it appeared to be burned bananas on top of a deep-fried tortilla, drowned in caramel with vanilla ice-cream. Once again, WAY too sweet, and sorely disappointing.

Were it not for the Bang Bang Shrimp, I doubt they would rate higher than 1 star for me. I’ll just figure out how to make them at home.

You know it going to be good when the place is already packed and its not quite lunchtime on a Tuesday. Because it was a beautiful day, my wife and I ate out on the wrap-around porch with several other dinners.
We both had the fried chicken, which is soe of the best I’ve ever had. The skin was perfectly crispy and the meat was flavorful and moist.
We were on the interstate and made a special trip to downtown Perry to get here. I recommend you do too.

Giorgio’s is definite stop every time I’m in Cumming. Sometimes twice a weekend. The 2 for 1 carry-out pizza deal is so economical, it could easily become a twice a week affair.

Let me start off by saying this used to be one of my favorite places to go for a semi-cold beer, good food and a relaxing sit-back on the deck. I don’t know what has happened, but someone has made some seriously detrimental changes.

For a friend’s birthday this week, I suggested we go here. Big mistake.

I have ordered “shrimp and oyster po’ boys” for as long as I’ve been going there (a LONG time). When I placed my order, I was told I couldn’t have it that way.
Coming from a restaurant background, you never tell a customer they can’t have something, you find a way to make it happen. Somebody should tell their staff.

Because I didn’t want to cause a scene I found a combo item on the menu and asked if she would bring me that plus bread on the side and I would make my own. Second mistake. They delivered garlic bread and no lettuce and tomato knowing full well what I intended to do with the bread. Needless to say my meal was a catastrophe. I spent the next several minutes repeating my request for veggies.

We had 12 people with us that night, their reviews were between “unimpressed” and “I probably won’t come here again.” I have to admit, it will probably be quite sometime before I go again myself, if ever.

On the plus side, their oysters on the 1/2 shell were very fresh and tasty. But they really should clean the shell a little better before they shuck them. Now that I think about it though, given their service level, the oysters are probably not worth the chance.

If you know anything about Paul Deen, you know that eating at her restaurant is not going to be a light meal.

Know that they do not take reservations over the phone, the line starts about 2 hours before they open for dinner, and that every minute waiting is worth it.

The restaurant is built in a 3 story building that they use every bit of. Decor is as definitely Southern as the food. The staff won’t hesitate to make your experience perfect (who would want Paula mad at them?). You can eat reasonably, but the specials are always whats most current and delicious.

You’ve probably never experienced anything like this restaurant outside of New York. The atmosphere is electric, yet refined. The staff is knowledgeable and can assist with picking your courses. All food is served “tapas” style, meaning appetizer-sized without sides, to be shared – which may be unusual for some people. Take a few good friends and plan for fun.

Fast, friendly staff. Clean, small dining area. GREAT burgers. Reasonable prices