JJ's Red Hots - Sneak Preview and Grand Opening

You can't miss this new paint job!

JJ's Red Hots is having its GRAND OPENING on July 4 - what a fun idea! If you are in town you should definitely check it out because not only can you taste the delicious hot dogs, onion rings and desserts crafted by the JJ's team, but you can also hear the award-winning Nation Ford High School Drum Line just before the 2 PM ribbon cutting and you could win free hot dogs for a year! Check JJ's Facebook Page for details and RSVP here.

Last week I had the opportunity to meet the owners, managers and staff at JJ's and to sample a good portion of the menu. JJ's is in the space occupied by The Drum restaurant, which operated from 1948 - 1995. Following the end of The Drum's operation several restaurants have opened and failed in this space. Judging from the new design, the level of enthusiasm and the quality of the food I think JJ's is here to stay!

We tried sample portions of most of the offerings and all were well-executed and tasty. JJ's uses smokehouse hot dogs from Sahlen's Packing Company in Buffalo, NY and the dogs are chargrilled over an open flame - yay for that charred smoky taste! Then come the toppings. There are eight signature hot dogs like the Char Heel (house-made chili, house-made slaw, diced onions and mustard) and my favorite: the Joliet Jake (Chicago style with tomatoes, sport peppers, diced onions, pickle relish, deli mustard, celery salt and pickle spear). You can also build your own with a long list of toppings, some of which are made in-house. House-made picked jalepenos and pickled vegetables are available at a self-serve bar near the soda fountain to top things off. I didn't try these during my visit but next time I'm definitely going to load up!

JJ's also serves several specialty sausages including house-made smoked salmon sausage with quick-pickled cucumber, red onion and herb aioli - so tasty and a good option for the non-pork eating crowd. The chicken sausage with grilled onions and bell pepper was another favorite of mine but the andouille sausage sliders take the cake with delicious cole slaw on top. Bratwurst, Italian sausage and a Polish round out the sausage menu. Salads and homemade chili are also offered so yes, you could even take a vegetarian here - the onion rings and desserts are great too!

Left: JJ's No. 1 Red Hot and The Maui Gold with grilled pineapple salsa. Right - one of my favorites - the Joliet Jake Chicago style dog.



The Char Heel.



JJ's Polish and Andouille Sausage "Sliders".



Back: Salmon sausage (left) and chicken and herb sausage - two of my favorites. Front: JJ's White Hot and onion rings.



Ownership/management team.



Peanut Butter Chocolate Ganache Bar - simply awesome! I love the thick graham cracker crust with the delicious PB mousse and chocolate ganache - yum! JJ's also offers hand-spun milkshakes using the delicious ice cream from Greenwood's in Atlanta.

JJ's offers made to order orangeade and lemonade - the lemonade was particularly good and there is beer on tap as well as a canned beer and wine list. There is also a kids menu featuring "puppydawgs" (chopped frankfurters in bite sized pieces, battered and fried to order) and offering fruit salad and apples as healthy sides for the little ones. Bottom line: JJ's has something for everyone! I look forward to returning to JJ's soon! This is a great addition to the neighborhood and hopefully one that will last on for years to come. Remember.... "Don't Dis' The Dog!"

Honoring the past of The Drum.



Dad had fun tasting with me!



Rooftop deck. This will be great when it cools down!

Disclosure: The meal described in this review was complimentary.

Five Napkin Burger

Original Five Napkin with onion rings.

I was recently invited to come check out Five Napkin Burger, which opened a location last year at the corner of 10th St. and Piedmont Ave. With four New York City locations and locations in Miami and Boston, Atlanta is the first true Southern city outpost. Although the specialty of the house is obvious, they also have sushi, which we did not try on this visit. I do like the concept though, since you can bring a carnivore and a pescetarian and both be happy :)

We arrived just as the restaurant opened for brunch and had a nice booth near the window. The space is modern and bright, with a full bar and high ceilings. We started with the pork taquitos, which are cute mini pork tacos in hard shells - tasty and not too filling, a good thing with what we had coming next! I had to try the Original Five Napkin burger, which is a whopping 10 ounce patty of custom ground beef with gruyere cheese, caramelized onions and rosemary mayo. It really hit the spot and is everything a big juicy burger should be. Some of the other burger selections like the Piedmont with pimento cheese, griddled onions and pickled jalepenos as well as the ahi tuna burger, sounded great as well - next time!

My favorite menu item was actually the lobster sliders. Calvin and I have looked long and hard for a good lobster roll in Georgia. It just isn't happening. While the sliders are a bit of a different take on the traditional "roll", they were warm, buttery and delicious. Definitely a repeat order for me. We also tried a side of the mac & cheese, which was creamy although not as heavy as some versions.

Pork Taquitos.



Butter poached lobster sliders with sweet potato fries - yum!



Macaroni & Cheese.



On our way out we took milkshakes to go. They were really tasty as well, making for a nice sweet end to the meal. Five Napkin is a neat addition to Midtown. If you are in the area it is another good place for brunch, lunch or dinner.

Disclosure: The meal reviewed in this post was complimentary.

Miss Crumpy's - Awesome Atlanta Wings with a Memphis Connection

Honey Gold (left) and Mild wings at Miss Crumpy's.

Back in December owner Freda Crump invited me to come try her wings. I was so busy I didn't have time to come by until a couple of weeks ago. As soon as we arrived Calvin (a native of Memphis) discovered that Miss Crumpy's is related to Memphis' Crumpy's chain - in fact Miss Crumpy is Crumpy's daughter! What a coincidence - turned out Freda even knew an old friend of Calvin's from back in Memphis - small world!

We really enjoyed chatting with the namesake owner as well as her best friend and assistant Ron Jones. Both are warm, talkative and welcoming. Miss Crumpy's is located in the Westview neighborhood in southwest Atlanta. Although this is not a neighborhood I frequently find myself in, it is quite convenient to I-20 if you are traveling west out of Atlanta or returning from the Alabama state line. Inside a few tables are available for patron use but takeout seems to be the norm.

Ron Jones and Freda Crump cook up some great wings!

After chatting for a bit we decided to try a sampler of the fried appetizer snack goodness that is offered as well as 3 types of wings. The fried items are hand battered to order, resulting in a rich, thick and tasty crunch. I really appreciate that they hand batter rather than use frozen pre-battered vegetables. All of the snacks we tried were delicious, especially when dipped in ranch or honey mustard sauces!

The wings did not disappoint either. First of all, it must be made clear that Miss Crumpy's serves the WHOLE WING - not the pieces of wing that you normally get. Thus, when it says 5 wings, it is the equivalent of 10 pieces. That's a lot of wing! Of all the options we really liked the Mild seasoned wing. The honey gold and the hot were also good but the seasonings and crispy yet moist mild really knocked our socks off.

Fried green tomatoes, mushrooms and onion rings.



The HOT wings! We didn't attempt the X-Hot or Suicide varieties - no thank you!

Think about giving Miss Crumpy's a try and tell her that you found her on Amy on Food. The restaurant just opened in September 2011 so they are trying to generate lots of fans! You can check out their facebook page here. Miss Crumpy's does catering orders and recently had many Super Bowl orders as well.

Pinky's Westside Grill - Charlotte

Right after our big honeymoon trip (more on that soon) and after a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner the day before, Calvin, my dad and I decided to check out Pinky's Westside Grill in Charlotte on West Morehead Avenue. This neighborhood is undergoing a pretty significant awakening and I'm excited to try some of the other newbies in the neighborhood also.

Pinky's serves a good burger and offers several eclectic twists, both on their burgers and other menu items that make it stand out as a causal dining joint. In addition to the tasty beef burgers, Pinky's serves hot dogs, falafel, veggie/turkey burgers and various baskets, salads and sandwiches as well. I look forward to returning to try the corn dog shrimp, the falafel and the "kinda fried turkey" sandwich.

We all tried the basic burger (the Pterodactyl), which is only available one temperature (per NC law a burger cannot be prepared rare anyway). At $3.75 (without a side but including generous toppings) it is a good value. We each tried a different topping style. Topping styles include Everything (mayo, lettuce, tomato, onion & dill pickle), Westside (mustard, chili, slaw and onion) and Ding-Dong Style (crunchy peanut butter, honey-cilantro slaw and hot sriracha sauce). I tried the Ding-Dong Style and loved it! Of course, having come from Thailand it was rather ironic that the waiter described it as their "Thai style" burger. We also shared some crab puppies as an appetizer - sweet crabmeat folded into large hush puppies and side orders of southern slaw, onion rings (more like straws) and fried squash. The sides didn't really stand out - the onion rings and squash were sliced too thin for my taste but maybe others like them this way. I preferred the cilantro-honey slaw on the burger to the southern style slaw. The only other negative is that the place is rather loud, although not as bad as some. I look forward to dining here again on the patio when the weather warms up in the spring!

Hillbilly Willy's Bar-B-Q - Chattanooga

Combo Plate with ribs and pulled pork.

On the way to MTSU for our nephew's football game, we stopped at Hillbilly Willy's Bar-B-Q and had a wonderful lunch. This family owned establishment is a great pit stop. The ribs and pulled pork were both particularly tasty. We also tried the chocolate coca-cola cake (not pictured) and it is also delicious.

The giant combo plate was enough for 2 to share, with delicious huge onion rings and homemade cole slaw in addition to the succulent, falling of the bone Q.



Specials on the board.



Owner George Foster cooks up all the meat right behind the restaurant.



Yum!



Located in a strip shopping mall just off I-24 - a great place to stop while on the road in Tennessee.