Illegal Food (Atlanta, GA)

1044 Greenwood Ave, Atlanta, GA 30306, USA

Illegal Food is rapidly becoming an ATL (and even national) institution. It originated inside a gaming hall and only recently started as its own restaurant, in the popular Virginia Heights area. Its opening was one of the most anticipated in ATL restaurant history, as its signature dish, The Hank, was being elected best burger in Atlanta and even made national lists. Consequently, Illegal Food is often busy with a wait, as it only has fairly limited space inside. We come for late Saturday lunch and fortunately find a spot.

We start out with the Okonomiyaki Style Fries ($10), a behemoth of a starter. It is a big heap of homemade fries with Japanese mayo, OK sauce, fermented chili sauce, bonito flakes, shredded nori, green onion, sesame seeds, and beni shoga. They taste like Sushi Fries, bit too fishy on top, but addictive at the bottom.

I then get The Hank ($12): a thick burger patty with iceberg, sweet Vidalia onion, house made dill pickle, and a special sauce. Although it sounds somewhat disrespectful, but it tastes like how the perfect Big Mac would taste. However, unlike most burgers with several toppings, The Hank is dominated by the taste of some of the best burger meat I have ever had and is accentuated, rather than dominated, by the lettuce, sauce, and pickles. M. has the Pimento Burger ($13): the pimento cheese brings a smoky flavor to the burger but isn't that dominant.

VERDICT: 95/100

It’s almost always true that you shouldn’t believe the hype, but not with Illegal Food. It truly is as good as people say!