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SUMMER ROUNDUP
Hello, moppets, and welcome to Athens. If
you haven't been here before, know that Athens
has a surprising number of quality places to eat
for a town its size. And most of them are not
at all upscale. If you're willing to be adventure
some, you can dine fabulously most any night
of the week on Salvadoran and Peruvian food,
carpaccio and goat tacos. The new Flagpole
Guide to Athens is an invaluable resource for
restaurant and bar options (as well as everything
else in town). You might think I can keep all of
this foodie info in my head at all times, but I
keep a Guide handy whenever anyone asks me for
a recommendation and I refer to the web version
(www.flagpole.com/Guide) probably once a week.
As always, things change over the summer in
Athens, it being a difficult time for restaurants
and bars to get through without the bulk of the
student population to fuel their business, but
this year was pretty quiet on closings and open
ings both, a relief for those who hate change.
Changes: Shokitini, the new sushi place with
fancy decor and rentable karaoke rooms, opened
in the Gameday building downtown, offering
sushi rolls that were a step up for this town and
tempura that's truly delicious. In a different sea
food vein, The Tartar House, the new fish-house
project from the folks behind Zaxby's (as of now,
there's only one, but they'll most likely multiply)
opened in the former Rass N Ruby's, on Highway
29 North, near Athens Tech. It's much more of a
place to take your brood or chow down on piles
of whitefish than Shokitini, but both places
seem to have succeeded in reaching their target
audience. Thai Cafe, on Lumpkin Street down
town, changed its name to Thai Spoon, reformu
lated its menu and added a couple of pages of
specials that seem worth investigating.
More Changes: Taqueria Mi Tierra, on Oconee
Street near the Loop, changed hands and
names, becoming Los 3 Amigos. While the real
Mexican specialties served there are still both
authentic and tasty, the new owners have pulled
back from cabrito in favor of burrito, and more
Americanized fare. Picante's Mexican Grill
opened in the space that had been Bombay
Cafe, serving fresh-made Americanized Mexican
(and fresh-squeezed limeade) with a healthy fo
cus and low prices.
After Sons of Italy decided to move from its
building on Lumpkin Street near Five Points to
South Milledge Avenue (the eatery has opened
in the new shopping center near the Loop),
the original plan for the space was a trattoria,
Cellini's. However, soon a sign went up saying,
“We changed our minds," and the space instead
now houses Jimmy's BBQ, with a redone deck
and some impressive and surprising ribs.
Even More Changes: Some places both closed
and opened, like Walt Light's on Baxter, which
opened and then fairly quickly closed, Mr. Light
having decided to sell his business to a chain
out of St. Simon's called Gnat's Landing, which,
as you may have guessed, focuses mainly on
seafood.
Flicker Theatre & Bar closed unexpectedly
one week, only to open under new ownership al
most immediately, Angie Grass having passed the
torch to Clint McElroy and Jeremy Long of Flick
Skinny fame. V/hew. The bar is currently book
ing shows, see Threats & Promises for info, and
stay tuned to Grub Notes for any other upcoming
changes at Flicker.
Okay, Enough Already!: Lots of places moved or
opened new locations, an indication of Athens'
growth. Five Points Deli opened a second loca
tion on Epps Bridge Parkway, in a new shopping
center (The Markets at Epps Bridge) which is
filled with other joints where one can lunch,
including another Johnny's Pizza. The new deli
seems to be doing marvelous business, though,
including a drive-through breakfast if you call
ahead. The Barberitos on Barnett Shoals Road
moved out of the quickly demolished old building
in its shopping center and a few feet away into
the new building that will house a Publix (due to
open in October) on the same lot.
A Beef 0' Brady's is planned for the same
area. Most of the Chick-fil-A's that closed have
since been rebuilt and reopened, the Eastside
one being the last on the agenda.
What Else? Cheng's, at the corner of College
Avenue and Broad Street, almost an institution
by now in Athens, finally shuttered. Originally,
Raising Cane's had been interested in the space,
but instead it was bought by Five Guys Famous
Burgers & Fries, a chain out of Washington, DC
renowned for a good, cheap, quick hamburger.
Five Guys is also opening a branch in The Markets
at Epps Bridge.
In coffee news, Uncommon Grounds opened
at the corner of Cobb and King, across from
ARMC, and several more locations of Starbucks
popped up. The Ice Cream Club, in Beechwood
shopping center, closed, in order to make space
for a Willy's Mexicana Grill that isn't open yet,
but Water Wheel Ice Cream opened at the inter
section of Highways 29 and 72, churning its ice
cream with, you guessed it, a water wheel.
And Hodgson's bumped up the price for a
scoop to 75 cents. The Pub at Gameday opened
in the Gameday building, serving no food, de
spite its name. And Ernie Battinelli sold his
downtown sandwich shop on College Square to
a new owner, who changed the name to Kirk's
Underground Cafe.
Yet to Come: There's plenty, as always, most
prominently the opening of The National, Hugh
Acheson's (of Five & Ten) new restaurant at
tached to Cine on Hancock Avenue. Expect a slow
opening without much hoopla in the next few
weeks, if everything goes as planned, which it
rarely does. Fatz Cafe, on Lexington Road, and
Dos Palmas, on Atlanta Highway, should be open
by the time this paper hits the streets, and the
reborn Allen's, on Hawthorne Avenue, projects a
grand opening party on Aug. 25, timed to coin
cide with.the beginning of football season.
Sideways, a new bar, will open scon on Broad
Street downtown in the old Gus' location down
from Tasty World. Transmetropolitan is consider
ing opening a Westside branch on Oglethorpe
near the Loop. Everybody and his/her brother
is moving into franchising (like Blind Pig,
Ferrando's), and the new Mellow Mushroom on
East Clayton Street and the new IHOP on Epps
Bridge seem about ready to open their doors.
The latest word on the street is that the
downtown Five Star Day Cafe and Speakeasy
have both been sold. But the former owners are
keeping it all in the family: Five Star was bought
by long-time Five Star employee Ty Dartez and
his business partner Mike Caplinger and is now
a franchise just like the Eastside Five Star.
Speakeasy manager Patrick Anderson has taken
over as owner of that swank tapas restaurant.
And this was a quiet summer...
Special Thanks: To Michael Perkins, Earth
Fare chef and Kilroy vocalist-guitarist, who took
on the Herculean task of writing the restaurant
and bar listings in this year's Flagpole Guide to
Athens with gusto. No small feat! We may have
killed him, we're not sure, but he did a fabulous
job! Thanks, Mike!
Hillary Brown
To know what’s going on in restaurants and bars, but.
more important, to figure out what you should be eating
in Athens, it’s best to keep an eye out for "Grub Notes,"
which runs biweekly in Flagpole and is always happy to
get you news and tips. Email: food@flagpole.com.
COMING
SOON...
NOW ^
HIRING!^
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AUGUST 15,2007 • FLAGPOLE.COM 23