Hot Dish Review

On a recent Sunday, LC and I were on our way to my rental property near Turner Field when I suddenly remembered the Braves were playing a day game, so we diverted off the Boulevard exit and went to Six Feet Under instead. Nothing like a few cold beers to chill out a sweltering Summer day!

It was my first visit to the seafood restaurant with views of downtown Atlanta and famous Oakland Cemetery from their rooftop deck. Does the name refer to the depth of the water where the fish are caught or is it a not-so-subtle reference to the graves across the street? Perhaps a bit of both.

Despite the heat, LC and I chose to sit at the bar on the deck. It felt a little like being at the beach. We ordered a couple of beers and an appetizer called spicy rat toes….three baked jalapenos stuffed with shrimp then wrapped with bacon, plus one habanero (extra spicy rat toe, sold individually for $2.25). My mouth was on fire, cooled off by the Blue Moon draft with a slice of orange….a refreshing twist as well as a clever marketing gimmick.

We followed that up with a cup of seafood gumbo, a spicy roux filled with oysters, shrimp, sausage, and rice, topped with cheese and scallions. Cornmeal crusted okra halves (awesome!) and a subtley sweet cornbread fritter accompanied the gumbo, making it one of the best renditions of this classic I’ve tasted in years.

LC ordered a couple of juicy sliders with a side of killer coleslaw (yes, that is what it’s called on the menu and was also his assessment of it). Having visited with a business associate a few months back, LC recommended I try one of their blackened shrimp tacos, filled with fresh spinach, mixed cheeses, cucumbers, sweet onion relish, and fried leeks, with salsa verde on the side. Intriguing. I ordered one a la carte sans the cucumbers. Six Feet Under doesn’t use corn tortillas so I was stuck with the flour variety. When it arrived, an abundance of shrimp sat upon a bed of vibrant greens, completely covering the tortilla. My first bite revealed a bright freshness that one rarely finds. The kind of tortilla was irrelevant. Not authentic Mexican, but I’m pretty sure that wasn’t the intention. Their list of creative American tacos include fried calamari and grilled catfish, both of which are probably kickass.

In addition to spicy appetizers and tasty tacos, the restaurant has a large selection of steamed or fried seafood and over fifteen sides to choose from, including that awesome fried okra. I shall return!

437 Memorial Drive SE 404-523-6664

If you find yourself travelling up (or down) GA 400 and you get the hankerin’ for a burger, stop in at Red Robin in Cumming, a chain that originated in Washington in the 1940′s, recently opening several stores in Georgia suburbs.

After our trip to Oktoberfest in Helen a few weeks ago, me, LC and his family stopped in for dinner on our way back to Atlanta.

I love a good cheeseburger. Lately I’ve become quite fond of the grassfed organic variety at YEAH! Burger. And Wendy’s single with cheese, mayo, lettuce, and onion will always have a place in my heart. Red Robin is all about burgers, in fact “Gourmet Burgers” is their tagline.

The four of us grabbed a table, drooling over the mouthwatering menu of fancy burgers. With creations like the Burnin’ Love Burger topped with pepper jack, salsa, and crispy fried jalapenos, it was a difficult decision.

After some debate, LC and I decided to split the Guacamole Bacon Burger, a juicy beef patty layered with melted pepper jack (substituted for Swiss which makes no sense on this burger), lettuce, tomatoes, onions, mayo, and of course, guacamole and chewy bacon. If you’ve ever heard a Red Robin commercial, the jingle simply says “Red Robin….yuuuummmm”. Now I see (and taste) why! I like the way they wrap them in paper, the steam making the cheese all gooey and the bun soft. It really was a great burger, although I would prefer organic grassfed beef.

Along with burgers we shared an order of fried appetizers/sides….fried jalapeno slices, onion rings, and French fries. I could have done without the whole lot. The fries were cut too thick and not crispy enough, and the onion rings were extremely greasy as were the jalapenos. A Miller Lite washed down the grease and cooled the burn from the peppers, which were actually nice and spicy.

Although Red Robin has that appeals-to-everyone chain atmosphere, it was certainly several notches above fast food.

There are also salads, wraps, and entrees on the menu but why stray from the house specialty when they are so darn delicious? Stick with a burger and you’ll say “yuuuummmmm” too.

370 Peachtree Parkway 770-781-0200