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FRIDAY, JUNE It
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BOBA AND BURGERS
SVIETAL
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FUNK
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FOLK/SINGER
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□ Hope for AffoMss
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Q TbovorSomuo
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ROCK
ALBUM OF THE
YEAR
SOUTHERN ROCK
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COUNTRY
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BEST COVER ART
Uorfi 2811 - Rsrcfe 2012)
ELECTRONIC
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BAND OF THE YEAR
DONT F0BGET THIS PARTI
PHONE
Taiwan On: If you've been down the section
of Broad between downtown and MiUedge in
the past few months, you may have noticed
a bright and cheerful sign in the ugly strip
building that houses an adult video shop.
There was a banner promising "grand open
ing" for some time, and vinyl on the windows
advertises "boba tea" and "amazing burgers,"
but dark blinds prevent one from seeing much
of what the space actually contains. It is
worth the effort to find out.
Quickly (650 W. Broad St.) is a Taiwan-
based chain of eateries that primarily focus
on beverages and has more than 2,000 loca
tions around the world, including three, soon
to be four, in Georgia. Mostly, what it does
is bubble tea, a cold beverage that can be
fruit or otherwise flavored,
with little nuggets of gelatin
or tapioca in cube or sphere
form resting-at the bottom,
served with a wide straw that
enables one to suck up the
chewy bits along with the
drink. Far less weird and more
widespread than it
bubble tea was alre
able in Athens, at
Pho and More
Yum, but
large arra
can choose from milk
green tea in flavors including
peppermint, coffee, jasmine,
plum and green apple, then
select up to three kinds of
jelly (itself available in flavors
including lychee, "rainbow,"
"mixed fruits" and coffee).
' guy behind the counter mixes
it up with appropriate speed,
then applies a nontoxic plastic
seal to the top rather than
snapping on a lid. The straws,
when forcefully directed, can
penetrate the seal, but before
you open the cups it's easy to
throw a bunch of them in a
plastic bag for transport. It's a Quickly
good system.
Quickly also does surprisingly good burg
ers and an array of snacks, mostly fried, that
it prepares to order. For $6.95, you can get a
double steak burger that strongly resembles
the one at Five Guys, down to its being
wrapped in red-and-white-checked paper, but
also comes with crisp, tasty crinkle fries and
a weird little cup of something that resembles
very smooth mashed potatoes prepared with
out salt and studded with kernels of sweet
com. For a little more, you can get a salmon
burger that is flavorful and moist, not the sad
hockey puck received at many places. Snacks
from fish balls and octopus balls to dumplings
and sweetish sausages are served on or with
thin, pointy skewers, in cute paper pouches,
blazing hot If you are asked a question about
making any of them "special" and you are not
looking for something extremely spicy, say
no.
Apart from the spicy and/or hot food, the
possibility of putting someone's eye out with
a stick, the caffeine and the general weird
ness, Quickly seems like an excellent place to
take your kids as an introduction to gourmet
life. Its concept is thoroughly cute, plus
everything tastes good and is kind of fun to
eat in some way or another. The store is open
from noon to 10 p.m., theoretically, although
it seems to unlock the doors slightly earlier. It
takes credit cards and also has slushes, milk
shakes and more to delight you.
Bar Food: Bar food is almost always depressing
and below par, delivered straight from Sam's
Club or the Sysco truck, which is why the
lunch offerings at Walker's Coffee and Pub
(128 College Ave.) have been such a nice sur
prise. The menu is small and focused: bacon
cheeseburger, ham and cheese sandwich, BLT,
hummus and cheese, grilled cheese, PB&J, tur
key club, veggie quesadilla. I'm not saying the
cheeseburger ranks with the best in town or is
artisanal in any way, but it is pleasant enough
and the bun is good. The ham and cheese
the broiler to brown
the provolone slightly and nicely toasted, is
good enough to finish every bite. The prices
are excellent. Nothing is more than $6, and
although they don't come with accoutrements,
are fries or chips really necessary?
Walker's also serves a few breakfast options
until 2 p.m. with a bacon, egg and cheese
sandwich and burritos made veggie or non.
The latter is tasty, too, tightly rolled and not .
overly large but full of eggs, chorizo, black
beans, hash browns, cheese and salsa, every
one of the four food groups in a nice, neat
package.
Eating at the bar is quiet and comfort
able, with staff available to meet your needs
without bugging you, and faint kitchen noises
drifting out from a back space. If you can't
wait the five or 10 minutes it takes for the
cooks to prepare your food (clearly not just
popped in a microwave but assembled and
cooked to order). Walker's also has bagels from
Athens Bagel Co., ham and cheese croissants,
scones, muffins and cookies, but I recommend
patience. Walker's is open from 7 a.m. to 2
a.m. every day. It has a full bar, including at
least one good single-malt scotch, and takes
credit cards.
Hillary Brown food@flagpole.com
8 FtAGPOLE.COM • MAY 23,2012
FIONA NOLAN