BBQ can have many meanings to many different people. We will not even begin to dissect the many different styles and regions often cited in BBQ conversations. Instead we will simply state that Atlanta offers almost every style of BBQ known to man, and most are exemplary. There are shacks burning hardwood for over half of a century, and there are glistening new shrines burning wood chips and cooking in huge metal boxes with rotating racks and more sensors than the space shuttle. We are most certainly proponents of "old school" as long as food prep and handling is safe and clean. But as always, QUALITY is job one, and we will endure significant failure in all other areas of experience if the product quality exceeds (our ridiculously high) expectations.

A recently new entry into the "sauce" is L5P's Fox Bros BBQ. Twins, Justin and Jonathan, began serving pulled pork sandwiches between band sets at Smith's Olde Bar in Midtown Atlanta. Cult status soon followed, and a location on Dekalb Ave was transformed into their first restaurant. Fast forward an entire 12 months, and we find Fox Bros packing in the crowds from open to close, winning numerous "best of" awards, being a featured product in Whole Foods, and creating some unbelievable hype.

In the case of Fox Bros, where there is hype, there is smoke. Hickory smoke to be precise. Located on Dekalb Ave, just outside of L5P proper and bordering Candler Park, Fox Bros consists of two buildings - the main, and the shack. With all of the traditional fare, Fox Bros steps up the game immediately with creative and delicious appetizers. Smoked chicken wings definitely make the list with sloppy wet buffalo/bbq sauces that hits on all notes. House made blue cheese dipping sauce is the perfect compliment to these smoky, spicy, sweet, and toothy wings - some say the "best of" Atlanta.

The bbq cheese fries are also outstanding. Topped with cheddar cheese, chopped beef brisket, fresh jalepenos, bbq sauce and served with a side of ranch, these fries will satisfy even the most demanding eater. Tater tots, and various other meat, sauce, starch combinations are available and the pimento cheese (all the rage in Atlanta) is made in house.

There are racks of baby back ribs, smoked chicken halves, ubiquitous chopped pork sandwiches, and Texas style smoked brisket. All of these are excellent variations, and the brisket is the best we have had outside of Texas. Our favorite menu item is the "burger" (pictured). This is a pile of all that's good at Fox Bros. First chopped brisket is piled onto a big sesame bun. Next follows the house made pimento cheese, thick sliced bacon, pickles, tomato, and a generous slathering of jalepeno mayo finishes this masterpiece. One hundred times over your lifetime will surely add to your cholesterol problem but the occasional "burger" is nothing short of bbq brilliance.

Fox Bros is seemingly always crowded and this keeps the food hot and fresh. Saturday's feature a Flinstone sized smoked beef rib that sells briskly - go early! Sides are large and well made, the bar is fully stocked. The brothers Fox are relatively newcomers to the Atlanta food scene, but we believe they are here to stay and a bbq force to be reckoned with.

(404) 577-4030
1238 Dekalb Ave NE
Atlanta, GA 30307

Chef Todd Ginsberg has cooked in many a kitchen both locally and nationally. He has learned many different techniques and methods both classic in nature, and modern adaptations. With such a broad swath of talent and abilities, Ginsberg finally found the opportunity to open his own place, Bocado.

Approachable and accessible food and atmosphere make Bocado a hot destination in West Midtown. Sandwich "centric" at lunch, and locally sourced ingredients always being center stage, Ginsberg delivers fresh and perfectly prepared meals. Of course we had to try the burger - made with H&F buns - and was most enthralled with the fresh pickles. This seemingly old school approach (canning cukes) is suddenly the rage again with both Star Provisions, and Muss and Turner's offering house made pickles.

We were dissappointed to find the short rib sandwich off the menu on all of our visits. Perfectly prepared short ribs is something difficult to prepare at home, and a dish we always try to sample when offered. The other sandwiches were unique and satisfying, and the burger hit the spot. Simplicity reigns supreme here, and all dishes allow the ingredients to shine.

Another litmus test we like to use in judging a restaurant's strengths is french fries. At Bocado, the fries are handcut and cooked to perfection (crispy outsides, creamy insides). We always get the garlic and herb option here, and it is one of the best versions we have ever tasted. Plenty of fresh herbs combined with freshly chopped garlic (read: not pre-chopped, pre-peeled or any other pre-prepared way that lazy chefs often fall back on) that was not overpowering like other versions around Atlanta.

We have enjoyed Bocado on each visit, and find the offerings much more authentic and original than many of it's neighbors. We hope to continue to see the Westside of Atlanta grow and succeed adding more destinations and residents.

Some might think there has been a recent glut of burger joints to descend upon Atlanta. While TFL certainly agrees, getting a quality burger and excellent fries is not so easy. For some reason beyond us, we have Five Guys being the fastest growing franchise of 2009. We now have Doty's Yeah Burger looming, celebrity fave Flip, and Sweet Auburn's anamoly Grindhouse. We have yet to sample Doty's burger, hyped out over Flip, and a huge fan of Grindhouse - but still believing Houston's to be the best burger in Atlanta. 

Into the burger madness enters Farm Burger, sister enterprise from Athen's Farm 255. Localist and sustainalist (is there such a word?), Farm 255's proprietors, much like are own Bacchanalia, take the farm to table organization seriously. Owning and operating a couple of local farms, Farm's owners provide the majority of beef, pork, and produce to their growing restaurant group. 

At TFL, we like to eat the best available. When we shop, we buy what looks best, not what we saw on TV yesterday. Burgers are no different. Locally sourced makes a huge difference in the burger wars. Once you have had freshly ground beef, cooked immediately, other burgers begin to resemble hockey pucks or worse. Farm Burger recognizes this as well; their house temp appears to be a nice warm medium rare (pic). Most other burger joints smash and flatten leaving no temp opportunity other than well done. This is what truly makes Farm Burger's product superior to most, and comparable to our benchmark - Houston's.

And then there are the fries. For us, the fries are the lynchpin of the Burger restaurant. We don't really care how they are prepared, we simply want, in order of importance, Hot, Crispy, Seasoned, Creamy Centers, and served to maintain all of the above. We have yet to discover fries that compare to McDonalds except at the rare occasion when all the necessary steps are taken to deliver the exceptional french fry. Unfortunately, Farm Burger is no different. Offering fries, sweet potato, and onion rings - Farm Burger appears to not cook to order, and the end result is apparent. Soggy, luke warm, and sparingly seasoned - we hardly saw any parmesan cheese on our order, FB's fries need some work.

At the end of the day, the burger at Farm Burger is one of Atlanta's best. The sides may need some work, but serving tall boy Miller's (the Champagne of beers) and Abita Root Beer, Farm Burger is here to stay and clearly an industry leader.

TFL Overall Rating:  4.1 out of 5 Stars.

Five Guy's Burgers were one of the first new chains to infiltrate Atlanta. While the concept was unique and refreshing, couple of years later, the burger is king, and Five Guys could be on the downslide.

Appearance wise, 5Guys does it to perfection. Clean simple dining rooms, open kitchen, red and white tile to match the red and white sacks of Idaho potatoes. They even post glamourous reviews of their concept all around the restaurant. Offering patrons free peanuts while they wait for their meal is always appreciated, and the employees are all friendly and attentive. The menu is sparse and straight to the point - burgers, hot dogs and grilled cheese. Fries two ways, and fountain drinks. Dessert or shakes? We did not see any. Salads? Veggie options? None either. But we at TFL enjoy a niche operation specializing in one or two items that are unlike any tasted before. Unfortunately for 5Guys, they do not seem to have anything crave worthy.

So in a rare TFL action - we will now name the 5 worst things about this restaurant. Usually we can find 5 great or even acceptable things, but here we were actually dissappointed at every turn. Maybe when burger joints were few and far between the McDonalds and Burger Kings, 5Guys was something else - but in this day and age, your burger and fries better rock. When you can go to McDonalds and get a double cheese burger with still the perfect rendition of a french fry and a coke for $2.99, one better deliver far superior results to be able to charge 3-4 times that in price. 

(these are in order from worse - 5 to inedible - 1) 

5. The bacon. When you charge $2+ for bacon, please use thick sliced and naturally smoked. We can cook up oscar meyer processed bacon at home.

4. Dessert. Why no shakes? Maybe even some cookies? A brownie? 5Guys needs something to cover your grease laden stomach after eating here. TFL's suggests McDonalds Choco-Banana shake. Extra stop, but needed.

3. The grease. It is everywhere, and the smell lingers. At least use higher quality.

2. The burgers. Cooked to well done (but so is McDonalds), and mashed flat, these burgers are nothing more than grease patties with elaborate toppings. $6+ for a double is out right stealing. The buns at least are always fresh and absorbent - although we would prefer the absoprtion of juice as opposed to grease.

1. The Fries. OK so they give you 2lbs of french fries. BFD. We wouldn't care if it was 10lbs, cause they suck. We are of the group of crispy frie fans. Soft pillowy center is OK as long as the outside is crispy. When ever we go here, we ask for the fries to be WELL DONE, CRISPY, BURNT, DOUBLE FRIED etc... and they still come out limp, greasy, not a cripsy one to be found. But plentiful, oh so plentiful. They do charge over $2.50 per order.

To conclude, you can get basically the same burger with better fries for $3 vs $11. For this price, you are better off spending about $5 more (with a tip) and sit down at Houstons for a burger cooked anyway you want it (we suggest med rare)!

TFL Overall Rating:  2.1 out of 5 Stars.

There are burgers, and then there are Burgers. Does anyone even remember who this ad was for from this picture (left)? We remember it was Paris Hilton. We believe it was for Hardee's - they do have a thing for sexy women eating burgers. But alas, this is only a burger.

Recently in Atlanta, there has been a blossoming trend of burger joints. You first had Top Chef, R. Blais with Flip - Danile Boulud meets frozen nitrogen. Then there is Whataburger, Five Guys, Canyon something, and of course the bigs - Burger King and McDonalds. Let's not forget Ann's Snack Bar and the ghetto burger - to much extras for TFL, but R. Sokeil at the Wall Street Journal named Ann's the best burger in America - right here in Atlanta !!!  Just has there has been for decades, burgers can be found on most restaurants menus, and a few (Houstons) really get it right. Most do not.
 
One of our favorite websites is from NYC, and called Hamburger Today. These people travel the country searching for a better burger. They do come across some tasty looking morsels, and also some ridiculous combinations. They have been to Flip, they have been to Ann's and even Vortex - all very good burger destinations. They have yet to visit Grindhouse, Atlanta's newest entry to the burger war.

This restaurant was opened by a lawyer, come real estate developer, come restauranteur Alex Brounstein. Working for the Sweet Auburn Curb Market, he saw a perfect low cost opportunity to dip his feet in the food biz. Fast forward 6 months, and Alex is rumored to have bought a building near the Piedmont/Cheshire Bridge corridor. Do we need to say, this is a good Burger? Smashed, grilled on a flat griddle, and perfectly fresh, Grindhouse makes a classic. Onion rings, fries, and sweet potato chips round out your meal and extra thick milk shakes will finish you off.

The Burger is the star here. Stick with the classic beef, and build it any way you want, or choose one of the Grindhouse combos. The french fries here are crinkle cut and of the frozen variety but perfectly seasoned and well cooked (crispy - nothing worse than limp french fries). The prices are reasonable (read: $10 avg), and the service is your typical intown attitude, with the owner hovering for nearby for any rescues and recoveries. Counter seating is available in two places, and parking is validated.

Never visit the Auburn Curb Market without checking everything out. This is one of the only places in Atlanta you can find tongue, offal meat, Fred Flinstone short ribs, and more collards and pigs feet than you could eat in a year. Of course this comes with all of the character of old school Atlanta, with Asian vendors next to Carribean, next to Polish - all offering unique and hard to find items. Go visit Grindhouse today, and be sure to pick up some smoked turkey wings for the commute home !!!