Hot Dish Review

Both LC and I have driven past this place on Briarcliff dozens of times, always curious exactly what Hawaiian BBQ is. It conjures up images of whole roasted pigs, big meaty smoked ribs, grilled pineapple. Well, get those tasty images out of your head or you’ll be disappointed with this place. There are no meats prepared in a smoker, in fact, nothing is actually barbecued.

The decor is cheap and cheery, decorated with stereotypical plastic palm trees. Guests order at the counter from a huge selection of mostly Asian inspired fast food mainstays like steamed dumplings, spring rolls, onion rings, and chicken wings to start.

LC and I both ordered the $6.99 lunch special, a Chinese food court wannabe, each with two choices of meat, one scoop of steamed rice, and a scoop of macaroni salad that all plates come with. LC chose the BBQ pork and spicy chicken while I went with BBQ beef rib and spicy pork. I also was excited to try their fried plantains, which I thought would be a great accompaniment with my pork. However, the plantains came out right away, still sizzling from the deep fryer.

The plates at Waikikie consist of bite-size pieces of sauteed or deep fried pork, chicken, or beef tossed in whichever sauce you choose, like teriyaki or katsu. A runner delivered our food on paper plates. It was difficult to tell which was which. My beef rib wasn’t a whole rib, but rather thin slices. Inexplicably, a flavorless layer of cabbage was beneath the meat.

Once cooled off, the plantains proved to be some of the best I’ve ever eaten. Chewy, crisp edges gave way to the slightly sweet fruit. They would have been a great compliment to BBQ pork, but unfortunately, they don’t serve that at Waikikie.

The back of the menu describes the food at Waikikie as Hawaiian “local food”, making me question my desire to travel halfway across the globe to our 50th state. If this is what they will serve me there, I think I’ll go to Thailand instead.

2160 Briarcliff Road NE 404-638-1115

Fall is the season for food festivals and cookoffs of every kind…Taste of Atlanta last weekend, chili cookoffs galore, and Swine & Dandy tomorrow!

Swine & Dandy is a BBQ competition this Saturday October 13th from 10am to 5pm benefitting several local charities, organized by pro golfer and good ol’ Georgia boy Stewart Cink. Smokers and grills will be set up throughout Rogers Bridge Park so get ready to enjoy what promises to be a gorgeous Fall day while you pig out on pork and fixin’s.

The event is FREE, and the food is for purchase from restaurants and independent BBQ fanatics. Check out the link for more details and directions.

See you there!

4300 Rogers Bridge Road, Duluth

Tasty news from Caren West PR (scrumptious photo lifted from their Facebook page…it’s making me hungry!)

BONE LICK BBQ TO OPEN IN WEST MIDTOWN ATLANTA

Owners of P’cheen International Bistro & Pub, Pizzeria Vesuvis and the Edgewood Speakeasy Introduce Newest Concept Serving Award-Winning Barbecue for Lunch and Dinner

The highly anticipated opening of Bone Lick BBQ in the retail shops at Apex West Midtown has arrived! A spin off of P’cheen International Bistro and Pub’s popular weekly offering, Mike’s Monday Night Bone Lick BBQ, Atlanta’s newest barbecue destination is set to open Tuesday, August 14, 2012. Featuring pitmaster and chef Mike LaSage’s award-winning barbecue, Bone Lick BBQ will be open for lunch, dinner, drinks and delivery every Tuesday through Sunday.

With floor to ceiling windows providing plenty of natural light, the 2,700-square foot restaurant has a kitschy, vintage flair wrapped in a modern environment that screams great food, cold drinks and a good time. Taking a hands on approach, owners Alex Friedman, Keiran Neely and Michael LaSage designed and built out Bone Lick BBQ themselves. A mix of 50s diner meets your neighborhood barbecue joint, the trio focused on being as eco-friendly as possible. An expansive bar holds court in the center of the restaurant and it, along with the tables, booths and retail shelving, were all made from repurposed wood and recycled materials. A large metal arrow built from an old sign directs guests to an antique skee ball machine towards the back of the restaurant, while vintage refrigerators from the 50s and a large bathtub filled with ice-cold beer sit behind the bar. Staying true to their theme of always creating fun restaurant concepts that combine great food with a fantastic social scene, the jukebox features music picks from friends, family and local and national celebrities including investor actor and comedian David Cross. During the warmer months, diners can take advantage of Bone Lick BBQ’s street front patio that will have communal high top table seating.

“We’re not going for your typical barbecue restaurant. We want to apply the successes we have accomplished with P’cheen to Bone Lick BBQ, making it both a dining and social destination that supports and enhances the community around it,” says LaSage.

Lunchtime at Bone Lick BBQ brings grab and go counter service so hungry diners can get in and out of the restaurant quickly. At dinner, guests are invited to sit back, relax, and get their barbecue fix while enjoying traditional table service. With a chef driven-menu, LaSage promises to have all of his award-winning favorites that kept P’cheen packed on Monday nights, but is also serving up new offerings in addition to homemade beef jerky and sausage, cured hams, specialty bacon, homemade sauces and more. Barbecue enthusiasts will also be able to buy t-shirts, sauces, jerky and other items from the retail area.

“Good barbecue takes love, time and patience. You have to love what you are doing and it is critical to be more concerned with the quality than the quantity. We are going to be making everything fresh, from scratch every day,” says LaSage.

With the lunch menu only differing slightly, a sampling of appetizers from the dinner menu include: Original, jalapeno or spicy deep fried boiled peanuts; fried homemade pickles served with a chef’s selection of dipping sauces; smoked pepper pork rinds; the Redneck Charcuterie – an assortment of house made jerky, house cured bacon, house deviled ham, Coca Cola jelly, pimento cheese and crackers; Smoke ‘em if Ya Got ‘em – 48-hour marinated wings, slow smoked naked or double dipped; Brunswick stew and more. Popular sandwiches like The Legendary Pulled Pork Sammy, The Austin-tacious chopped brisket sandwich, and The Failed Hunter vegetarian option have made the move from P’cheen. A selection of entrees that can be combined in traditional meat and two, three, four and even five samplers are also available. Diners can choose from pulled pork, pecan smoked chicken, sliced brisket, spare ribs, and Yucatan style barbecued red snapper and combine with a variety of sides like the pork braised collards, jalapeno mac, pork-n-pork-beans, cider slaw, fried okra, house cut fries and tater tots.

Desserts at Bone Lick BBQ will bring a new level of entertainment beyond satisfying a sweet tooth. For example, the perfect side to a game of skee ball? Homemade funnel cake, of course. Diners can also enjoy maple bacon cotton candy made tableside, the fruit crumble of day, and even boozy peaches to finish off the night.

1133 Huff Road

Fall is the season for food festivals and cookoffs of every kind. I’ll be going to Taste of Atlanta on Sunday, but I’m saving Saturday for Swine & Dandy!

Swine & Dandy is a BBQ competition this Saturday October 22nd from 10am to 5pm benefitting several charities in the Duluth area, organized by pro golfer and good ol’ Georgia boy Stewart Cink. My company, Cooper Global Transportation, is running a couple of shuttle buses, so park off River Green and we’ll take you over to Rogers Bridge Park to enjoy what promises to be a gorgeous Fall day while you pig out on pork and fixin’s.

The event is FREE, and the food is for purchase from restaurants and independent BBQ fanatics. Check out the link for more details and directions. LC and I are looking forward to eating some Q for charity!

Rogers Bridge Park, Duluth

Looks like I’m making up for lost time! Seems like I haven’t made it to more than one game per season the last few years. This season I’ve been to three…..so far.

LC invited me to go to the game and since he does business with The Braves organization, our seats were in their suite. I was expecting it to be a deluxe suite but it wasn’t any different than the others I’ve been in.

The suites are catered. Standard fare is pizza kept warm under a heat lamp, hot dogs and chips and salsa. In addition, there was barbecue last night, served on a slice of cornbread with crunchy fries all around it. LC tried the Q. He really liked it so it was probably better I can vouch for as I’m not a fan of the Q. I found myself grabbing a few of the crispy fries every time I walked by them.

Turner Field’s salsa is very good and spicy. In fact, better than most I had in Mexico last week….go figure!

A cooler of beer and softdrinks are there for the taking. They serve Budweiser products, unfortunately, so I had several of the Bud Limes. They also had sliced turkey breast which was actually quite tasty. I had a slice with a small salad topped with crumbled chewy bacon, blue cheese, cubed ham, and diced tomatoes. Yeah, it was iceberg, but I would eat anything with bacon on it.

I also had a small slice of the cheese pizza. Just OK. I really like toppings on pizza. But the crust was sufficiently thin and the edges almost crusty. Hey, can’t complain about free food and beer, right!

The best part is The Braves beat the Brewers 2 to 1.

Driving home from Rosemary Beach on Sunday, ST and I were determined to eat at Phil’s. Our lovely hostess JS had recommended it after making a killer breakfast spread for the second day in a row for her husband’s college buddies and their girlfriends.

Their house is amazing, located just off the trendy 30A near Destin. Fully equipped for a rowdy bunch of frat brothers. Difference between then and now? Twenty plus years and lots of money. Kegs have been replaced with micro-brewery beers and bottles of wine, the rowdiness reduced to civil gatherings reminiscing about the rowdiness.

Back to the Q. Growing up in the South you would think I’ve had lots of BBQ. Not so much. I’m far more familiar with Thai food than BBQ. SS and I used to go to Daddy D’z on Memorial quite often back in the day but I’ve never even stepped foot in Fat Matt’s Rib Shack.

But JS said to get the Q at Phil’s. And Phil’s is in Eufaula, the only point of interest during the entire 5 1/2 hour drive between Atlanta and Rosemary Beach. Once past the divided lanes with Spanish moss and antebellum architecture, ST and I had our eyes peeled for Phil’s.

I spotted the sign and we pulled in, anticipating some pretty darn good Q, appropriately served in a dive complete with rolls of paper towels on the tables. Guests order at the counter. With an unfamiliar menu, this always puts me in a mini-panic….I like to study a menu before making a decision.

There was a meat plate with two sides that I thought we could share, after all, we were there for the meat. But ST ordered the smokehouse special sandwich, a double fister that included cheese, ham, turkey, and pork….a very meaty sandwich with lettuce, tomato, and their own special sauce (not BBQ sauce, I’m pretty sure it was mayo).

Griddled and greasy (not a complaint), we downed the scrumptious meat sandwiches, trying a variety of BBQ sauces on the table. Their sauces were mustard based and didn’t have a hint of heat, unfortunately. A bottle of Texas Pete’s provided the only kick, but I would have preferred a homemade spicy BBQ sauce.

If I was hungover, this would have been the perfect cure! Great recommendation, thanks JS.