Park Stone (Portland, OR)

9921 NE Cascades Pkwy, Portland, OR 97220

 

 

Park Stone Wood Kitchen & Taps is a “new American cuisine” type restaurant. It serves pretty much the usuals, burgers, sandwiches, steaks, etcetera.

 

I get the Parkstone BBQ Burger ($17) with a side of Sea Salt Steak Fries ($4). The burger is perfectly prepared, medium and juicy, but is not very spicy. The steak fries are big and well prepared. Tasty.

 

VERDICT: 88/100

Not exceptional, and a bit pricey, but overall good and in a nice atmosphere.

Fried Egg I'm In Love (Portland, OR)

780 SW Broadway (Pioneer Courthouse Square)

 

Fried Egg I'm in Love is a typically hip Portland food cart that does breakfast sandwiches with funky names and combinations. There is also an actual restaurant in another part of Portland. 

I get the Yolko Ono ($8), which usually is toasted sour bread with egg, sausage patty, pesto and cheese but I replace the latter two with sriracha sauce. While it obviously is not worth $8, it is a remarkably tasty breakfast sandwich.

[ Oops, I was so hungry that I ate my sandwich before taking a picture ]

VERDICT: 89/100

Cool and tasty breakfast sandwich food truck

Fuller's Burger Shack (Portland, OR)

10131 NE Cascades Pkwy, Portland, OR 97220

 

Fuller's Burger Shack is a pretty large, upscale burger joint in the Cascades Mall on the outskirts of Portland. It serves a four different burgers, including one beyond meat, as well as tator tots, crinkle cut fries, and shakes. They also have a monthly special burger. I get the October Special Burger ($10,50), the Spicy Maple & Cheddar Bacon Burger, which oddly they still sold in December. It looks a bit like a whopper, in size and in massive amount of lettuce on it. It is their classic burger with a spicy maple & Apple compote atop a spicy, honey and Cayenne aioli (I hold off on the cheddar). The organic patty is tasty but the burger is overall much more sweet than spicy and overpowered by lettuce etc.

VERDICT: 83/100

Good and big burger but expensive.

Baba’s Mediterranean Grill (Portland, OR)

10215 NE Cascades Pkwy, Portland, OR 97220

 

Baba's Mediterranean Grill is a kind of Chipotle for Mediterranean food, where you choose your protein (humus, falafel, meat) and then whether you want it in a pita, bowl or with rice. It has two locations in Portland.

I mix it up and get a bowl of humus and add chicken and a pita ($7.50). The chicken is tasty but too salty, the pita nice and fluffy, but the humus too watery.

 

VERDICT: 81/100

Pretty decent for fast food Mediterranean.

Andy's Frozen Custard (Athens, GA)

 2180 W Broad St, Athens, GA 30606

 

Andy's Frozen Custard is a chain of frozen custard places with currently almost 100 locations in 14 states, mostly in the Southeasr and Southwest -- although it originated in Missouri. It offers various "Blizzards", i.e. frozen custard blended with various toppings, in various sizes.

 

I got the Bulldawg Concrete, undoubtedly a local name for a more common option, which is frozen custard blended with melted chocolate chips and cherries. The "Small" ($4.99) is actually quite big (and expensive). I eat only a bit of it, as it is mostly just bland and sweet.

 

 

VERDICT: 77/100

Basic frozen custard "blizzards".

Party Fowl (Nashville, TN)

Inside Nissan Stadium, 1 Titans Way, Nashville, TN

Party Fowl is a Tennessee chain of fried chicken places, which also has a location inside the Tenessee Titans' Nissan stadium. The regular locations have a very extensive menu, with Nashville Hot chicken at the center (but also in tacos and empanadas), but they have different types of heat of chicken, and various other things, including gumbos and salads.

I get the Chicken Tenders & Beignets ($18) -- I think they gave me the fries by mistake. It takes 15 minutes or so to get my food, as they are out of everything. The three chicken tenders are huge and I get them Nashville Hot and that brings some serious heat. They are not all that tender but some pieces are really good (and hot!). The beignets are kind of hollow but tasty. The fries were at best lukewarm, but I only tried two, as I was too full. ;-)

 

VERDICT: 88/100

This is excellent hot chicken for inside a stadium (obviously overpriced, although the pieces are big). Would definitely like to try a regular location too.

Martin's Bar-B-Que Joint (Nashville, TN)

 Inside Nissan Stadium, 1 Titans Way, Nashville, TN

Martin's Bar-B-Que Joint is chain of bbq restaurants out of Nashville, Tennessee, with isolated locations in Alabama, Kentucky, and South Carolina. Most locations have a pretty elaborate menu of bbq classics (plus burgers), but this location, inside the football stadium, has a more limited menu and much higher prices.

 

I get a Pulled Pork Sandwich ($11.50) and Homemade BBQ Chips ($6). The pulled pork is chunky but tender, the sauce and slaw complement it well, but the bun is too big, dense, and dry. The Homemade BBQ Chips are not bad, but not really that fresh, which makes them fairly similar to those in a regular bag (except thicker).

 

VERDICT: 85/100

Pretty good (if expensive) stadium food. I would imagine it to be better in a regular location. 

Bela Lisbao (Chattanooga, TN)

 417 Frazer Ave, Chattanooga, TN

Bela Lisbao is a fairly fancy restaurant on the hip side of the river, which serves a wide range of traditional and less traditional Portuguese and Mediterranean dishes. It also has a restaurant in Port Orange, Florida. Their specialty is Piri Piri dishes, including chicken and shrimp.

 

I get the Piri Piri Chichen sandwich, which comes with fries. The pieces of chicken seem pulled from a rotisserie chicken and are tender but with some cartilage parts. The pieces are also lukewarm but very spicy. The toasted baguette, lettuce, jalapeños, red onion and Mayo compliment it well. he fries are thin, fried in olive oil, and a bit undercooked.

 

VERDICT: 86/100

Good but not as good as I had expected. For people who like real heat, definitely try this.

Chili Dog (Ellijah, GA)

 962 Industrial Blvd, Ellijay GA 30540

 

On my way to Chattanooga, I saw this shack just off the road, so I endangered traffic (which wasn't really around anyway) and jumped on my breaks and turned into their parking lot. Chili Dog is a reasonably big shack with a few tables inside, but mainly does take-out. They have a standard menu of burgers and hot dogs.

 

I get the Chili Dog ($3.16) all the way, i.e. ketchup, mustard, onion, and chili. The dog is quite thin and a bit crispy from the skillet, the bun big and soft, but what makes it special is the chile, which is a bit smoky chili.

 

VERDICT: 87/100

Excellent simple chili dog! I'll definitely be back to try more.

Saw’s Juke Joint (Birmingham, AL)

1115 Dunston Ave, Birmingham, AL

 

Saw's BBQ is a legend in Birmingham. It has 5 locations and I go to the "Juke Joint" in Crestline. It is quite a big place in a relatively small restaurant strip in an upscale part of Birmingham. It’s packed on a Sunday noon, so I sit at the bar. The menu is fairly classic bbq. While it is busy, the wait is extremely long (ca 30 minutes after ordering), but the fantastic bartender makes it worthwhile -- just watching him rock out to 1970s rock is worth the wait!

 

I get the Saw’s Original Pulled Pork sandwich ($7.49), which comes with sauce and pickles. The soft bun is covered with rather big pieces of extremely tender smoked pork, a few pickles, and a thin but tasty sauce. Excellent! I also get a side of Fried Green Tomatoes ($3.99), which are thick, slightly battered, and very juicy (delicious). Finally, the vinegar-based Coleslaw ($2.99) is light and refreshing.

 

VERDICT: 96/100

This is prime bbq! Will be back to eat some other stuff.

Continental Bakery (Birmingham, AL)

1909 Cahaba Rd, Birmingham

 

Continental Bakery is a cute bakery and breakfast spot in the English Village, an upscale part of Birminghan. On this Sunday morning, there is a serious but very disciplined line outside. They have a massive selection of breads, cakes, cookies, pastries, and sandwiches.

 

I get a Butter Croissant ($3) and a Pain au Chocolate ($4.50). Both are underwhelming. The dough is more bread than croissant. The chocolate is low grade.

 

VERDICT: 82/100

Decent, quite pricey, but not remarkable.

Big Spoon Creamery (Birmingham, AL)

 4000 3rd Ave S #104, Birmingham, AL 35222

 

 

Big Spoon Creamery is a hip ice cream store that shares a new building with (also hip) Sons Donuts. They serves some ten different flavors of ice cream and also do shakes and Sundays.

 

I get one scoop ($3.60) of Georgia Nell’s Pecan Pie, but in a fresh waffle cone, which brings it up to $6.30. The ice cream is very creamy and smooth but not soo sweet. The waffle cone is fresh and crispy.

 

Verdict: 90/100

Excellent US ice cream!

Jack Brown’s Beer & Burger (Birmingham, AL)

2811 7th Ave S., Birmingham, AL

Jack Brown's Beer & Burger is a chain with about 15 locations, mostly in the Southeast. The Birmingham location is quite small and in every top-10 "Best Burgers in Birmingham" list, so I’m not surprised that it is full when I arrive — even though it’s before 6 PM. I can sit outside at the bar though, where they have heaters. They only serve burgers and a few sides, offering various types of the former.

 

I get the Shocker ($8.99) and a side of Fries ($3). The Shocker is a thin patty with fresh jalapeños, fresh habaneros, and house-made Shocker sauce (it usually comes also with paper Jack cheese). The bun and patty are underwhelming but the peppers and sauce are really hot, saving it somewhat. The fries are standard crinkle cut but served lukewarm and a bit chewy.

 

VERDICT: 82/100

I would only come back for the heat.

Il Forno (Sandy Springs, GA)

5680 Roswell Road, Sandy Springs, GA

 

Il Forno claims to serve "NY Pizza & Pasta" but is an odd mix of Italian, Bosnian, and Mediterranean in pizza place setting. I come here for the Lachmacun (Turkish pizza), but they no longer make it. They are also out of humus today.

 

So, I get the Inegol/Cevapi/Mici Meze ($8), which comes with bread, and the small House Salad ($5). The House Salad is everything you expect from a bad pizza place and I swear they have deep fried the cevapi.

 

VERDICT: 60/100

Given what they did with the good ingredients (cevapi and Bosnian bread), I don't even want to know what they do with bad ingredients (like the pizza)!

Huy’s Sandwiches (Norcross, GA)

 6100 Live Oak Pkwy, Norcross, GA

Rather big shop in a remote strip mall off I-85, just north of Atlanta, Huy’s Sandwiches is well-known for its Bahn Mi, Vietnamese sandwiches, which come with different types of meat as well as fish and egg.

 

I get a Bahn Mi with grilled pork $6.36). The bread is not too light or dense, a bit crispy, but the pork is very underwhelming. Part is poorly grilled bacon strips, part is pork chunks. The rest is fine but does not have too much flavor.

 

VERDICT: 80/100

Decent Bahn Mi but you can get much better in ATL.

Real Olive (Lawrenceville, GA)

755 Lawrenceville-Suwanee Rd #1710, Lawrenceville, GA 30043

 

Real Olive is a relatively new Mediterranean restaurant in a strip mall in Lawrenville, GA. Like many strip mall restaurants, it looks like a crossover between a fast food chain and a restaurant. The menu includes all staples of Mediterranean food: humus, shawarma, kebab, etc.

I order a small Humus ($5), a side of Chicken Shawarma meat ($5), and a Greek Salad ($7) -- because, for some reason, they could not make the Fattoosh Salad. The chicken shawarma tasted a bit more like rotisserie chicken than skewer chicken, but was still tasty, if at times a bit dry. The pita was big and fluffy, the humus smooth but a bit lemony. The Greek salad was ok, but chunky.

 

VERDICT: 86/100

A very decent Mediterranean restaurant for a strip mall.