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.

Fightingtown Tavern (Blue Ridge, GA)

511 E Main Street, Blue Ridge, GA

 

Fightingtown Tavern is a hardrock “tavern” in the heart of the touristic town of Blue Ridge, GA, at the foot of the Appalachian mountains. It comes highly recommended online. Although it is the atmosphere that sets it apart, it is also known for its food, a slightly different take at staple US classics: burgers, wings, etc.

 

 

I get the Wings ($13) tossed in honey-siracha sauce. The wings are meaty and well prepared. The sauce is good but a bit weak in flavors.

My wife and I both get a burger. She builds her own -- bacon, grilled jalapeños, smoked Gouda ($14.50) -- while I get the Incubus ($13.50) and add bacon ($1). We both choose fries as the side. The burgers are almost charcoaled, despite me asking for medium and they making fun of people ordering well done. The burger was overall fairly pathetic — the Serrano rub and grilled jalapeños had little flavor or heat and the little bacon was as dry as the patty. The fries are enormous, very thick, and taste more baked than fried. We also got a side of Chipotle Slaw ($4.50), which was tiny and tasteless.

VERDICT: 78/100

Given the reviews, I’m willing to believe this was an off day, but how can anyone mess up their staple item, a burger (!), like this? I doubt the fries ever taste better. Very overrated.