Movie Tavern is across from Northlake Mall near Lavista and the perimeter. I've thought for years that restaurant/theater combinations were the wave of the future, but they have caught on only fairly lately as theaters try to compete with home video. Movie Tavern concentrates on bar food: pizza, burgers, wings. I ordered my meal at the snack bar, took my number to the theater, and sat down to enjoy Iron Man 2. After a few minutes, my burger special came. It was extremely fresh---hot and steamy, which was a nice treat. The fries were pretty good. The soda that came with it was huge; I probably took six months of my life by drinking it, but I rebelled at the thought of paying $3.50 for a bottled water. Overall, a good way to enjoy a movie. They do Flapjacks and a Flick on Saturday morning for kids, which sounds like fun.
The Seasons is at Northlake Mall and opened just a month ago. It's in the space formerly occupied by Harvest Moon (?) right next to the entrance. It's still a retro '50s diner in look, with traditional diner food with a Southern twist (fried green tomatoes, red velvet cake). This neighborhood needs a fun family restaurant like this. The waiter even gave us a juggling demonstration.
I had the angus burger, which definitely hit the spot. The fried green tomatoes were tasty. The huge layer cakes were tempting, but I might have to wait and not eat dinner to be able to eat a piece that large.
I was doing errands around Northlake Mall and needed a quick dinner. My first choice, the local Indian restaurant, was in a mysterious state of open but uninhabitedness. A real foodie would have spent the next hour searching for the perfect spot. I was hungry and I just wanted to eat. I ended up at a place that I had seen many times but never been in, Mandarin Palace. I had absolutely no expectations for my meal; the 1070's suburban Chinese restaurant decor didn't heighten those nonexistent expectations. But my mapo tofu was just fine. Just goes to show...
I've eaten at the Old Hickory House near Northlake Mall quite a few times. I believe that it's a chain. This is classic BBQ that is very reliable. I usually get the ribs, although on a previous visit I discovered the gourmet BBQ sandwich. The beans are rich with brown sugar and quite a treat. I enjoy their fried okra. The atmosphere is classic, a sort of rustic coffee shop style. Even at my advanced age, I'm one of their younger customers. I find that comforting; I know they'll be around for quite awhile.
This is the first in a series of blogs on one of the dark secrets of the Atlanta food scene---the entire Atlanta metro area has been declared an Italian-free zone. I'm not sure how it's done---dragnets at the state border, perhaps---but passable Italian food is as scarce in this town as ice cubes on the sidewalk in August. The truly horrific situation is in the pizza domain. Atlantans seem to think that pizza is bread with cheese and meat piled on, sort of like a red sandwich. But other varieties of Italian food are equally hard to find.
I should explain that I'm primarily talking about Italian-American food, which is a distinct species from the food one eats in Italy. Italian-American food is heavier and heartier, rich in both meat and carbs. Red sauce is known as gravy. Pizza comes in several styles, but in America it's a meal, while in Italy it is a snack.
There are a few bright spots and I'll devote the remainder of this entry to one of them. Bambinelli's is near Northlake Mall. It is run by a family that moved here from Connecticut. The restaurant has most of the requisite badges of Italian-Americanism: photos of family abound; very friendly wait staff. All they are missing is the Sinatra soundtrack.
The defining quality of Italian-American restaurants is the red sauce. Bambinelli's is slightly sweet for my taste but it has a good balance of flavors. I usually get something with red sauce. But tonight I wanted something a little different, so I had the shrimp scampi, which hit the spot. The rolls that come out at the start of the meal are excellent. They are based on pizza dough but buttered and I think with a hint of cheese. We also had calamari, which was my taste of red sauce for the evening. No dessert tonight, but they have the usual complement of desserts, including cannoli. A good cannoli is hard to find in this town, so grab one when you can.
