I’ve been reviewing bars, and over time should release four reviews of bars of various kinds. Most of these call themselves sports bars, though size, inclination, breadth of selection of food and beverages vary enormously. Three of the bars are in Snellville. One is on Holcombe Bridge, and formally in Alpharetta.
Thinking on the places I’ve eaten, there is one bar I miss a great deal in Atlanta, and one dish I miss. There was a run down beach style bar on Jimmy Carter called the Checkered Parrot, in the same general area as Kokai Thai. The Checkered Parrot wasn’t trying to serve great food, I’m sure. They would just as soon have had people participate in one of their never ending karaoke nights. But they had the best nachos, really excellent, and as the source of their excellence was hardly a secret, I thought I’d mention it.
They use sauteed steak in their nachos. They would cut it into thin slices, and sautee the steak with mushrooms and onions. This is the meat base they would add on their chips. The cheese was a mix of white and yellow, probably pepper jack and cheddar, and then they would add slices of jalapeno. The end result was so superior to anything else anyone made at the time that I made it a habit to stop there 3-4 times a month. A half sized plate of their steak nachos was plenty.
These days the Checkered Parrot is gone, as is their steak nachos. Huw Thomas, of the Dunwoody Restaurant Group, once told me that the former owner of the Checkered Parrot sold out and bought the Fire of Brazil next to Barnes and Noble in the Perimeter area. I have no way of confirming whether that is true.
But I wait, wait for the day someone in this town does steak nachos right. It’s been done before, it could be done again.
September 29, 2009 at 12:55 pm
Thanks for the great comments. We all miss the Checkered Parrot! The Gilbertson’s (Checkered Parrot owners)did create Fire of Brazil. We also have a Checkered Parrot in the French Quarter, New Orleans. Here in Georgia however we have our newest concept, Jalapeno Charlie’s…which, by the way serves Nachos (Checkered Parrot’s recipe!) Enjoy!
Mary Lou Rodgers
Director of Marketing/Advertising
Fire of Brazil
Jalapeno Charlie’s
Checkered Parrot
September 29, 2009 at 2:29 pm
Mary,
I appreciate you finding this post and the update. I always thought the cooking at Checkered Parrot was too good to just go away.
Nice to see you’re trying something else. I suspect the concept leads Jalapeno Charlie’s into critical comparisons with everything from Zapata in Norcross to Holy Taco in East Atlanta to Eclipse di Luna (Dunwoody, Midtown). That’s a tough arena in which to carve a niche.
Good Luck on that!
FnS.
September 29, 2009 at 1:39 pm
I thank you for the compliment of my nachos. I’m the owner of Checkered Parrot and have moved the concept to the French Quarter in New Orleans.www.checkeredparrot.com . i also serve the same nachos at a store i own in Downtown Atlanta,Jalapeno Charlie’s http://www.jalapenocharlies.com .You are also correct that i own Fire of Brazil and have stores in Amman, Jordan- San Salvador, El Salvador, soon to open in Saudi Arabia and two in Atlanta, Ga.
September 29, 2009 at 2:24 pm
Mr Gilbertson,
Thanks for the update. The location is hardly the best for me to just drop by, but I’ve put it on my wishlist on Urban Spoon and will try to take a look some time.
FnS.
June 11, 2018 at 6:34 pm
Can I have your chicken nacho recipe been trying to make it for years have yet to get it right thanks
April 17, 2017 at 1:18 pm
I made the chicken version of these last night…I used to work there and I googled looking for verification of my memory for this recipe and found nothing. Fortunately, my memory served me well and, they were PERFECT. I also made the CP salsa to go with. I’d be happy to share the recipes with you. 🙂 I’m sure it’d be ok with Brent. (HEY BRENT!) …and, yes, I do realize how freakin’ old this post is…
April 21, 2017 at 10:04 am
I’d love the recipes! really 🙂
September 24, 2017 at 4:05 pm
Do you happen to have the recipes for the loaded fries (steak or chicken)? They were probably the best loaded fries i’ve ever had, hands down.
June 11, 2018 at 6:32 pm
Always got their chicken nachos and wings been trying to make this recipe for years haven’t gotten it right yet
September 19, 2018 at 4:56 am
I was saddened to hear that the CP had closed down. I worked as a bartender there in the early 2000’s. Now that I am back in Atalnata, I would have been nice to visit my old haunts such as the Parrot and Sports Time (also closed). And I agree that the nachos were pretty fantastic.
Alex Keyser
February 11, 2021 at 2:19 pm
I loved the CP…My husband who worked for FORD would stop on his way home and buy 50 wings for the boat for the weekend. I have not had a good wing since they closed.
Tammy Mora
June 17, 2022 at 8:44 am
At that time I was a bartender in, I think clubZone or maybe the Avenue. It’s hard to remember where I worked at that time. But I lived off of Dawson Road and I saw them building that place and I went inside. Long story short, I met RJ, Brent, and Terry Gilbertson. Great people. I opened their bar with them. I had some spare time during the week. They were always tinkering in the kitchen trying to make things better and researching what was going on in other menus in the world. They were well-traveled. Nightclub bars are only open on the weekends, but still my full-time job and the Checkered Parrot was a side hustle I couldn’t commit to staying with long term. I was there for at least a year though.. I still think of those gentlemen and their wives from time to time. Wonderful wonderful people.