Melton’s App and Tap, Decatur GA

It’s a nice looking bar in a town full of nice looking bars, but one with a casual air, not as high strung as the bars along Ponce de Leon. With 16 taps of good beer, all described on a blackboard above and to the side of the bar, you can drink well here, and the food is entirely respectable.

I had an Italian beef sandwich when I came, more than enough food for a pub. I like the place, wood and brick walls combine nicely to create a soothing atmosphere.

Melton’s App and Tap
2500 N Decatur Road
Decatur, GA 30033
(404) 634-9112

 

Sushi Avenue, Decatur GA

It’s an older chain and probably one a little under appreciated, given the existence of newer, fancier sushi joints. But sushi isn’t the reason I eat Japanese. I eat for the whole of the cuisine. And yes, if you’re the kind of eater who only eats sushi, and who needs his sushi served from gold bowls and only using the flesh of endangered species jetted in, then you and I have serious differences of opinion.

Entrance to the Ponce Sushi Avenue.

Some of the best sushi I’ve ever had was inari sushi, served hot and steaming, made fresh and seasoned just minutes before. It’s not all about the expense of the product. Rice is a modest grain, but it can be grand if handled with skill. The question is, which eaters can distinguish between pomp and circumstance and real skill?

miso soup and some seaweed salad.

Calamari. I’d have preferred salmon shio style, but evidently they don’t serve it here anymore.

Mixed sashimi.

The one thing that has impressed me about the Snellville edition of this small chain is its authenticity and the ability to still eat a Japanese meal despite the heavy sushi (and sushi roll) emphasis. You see that breadth at the original as well. Things like noodles of various kinds (nabeyaki udon), donburi bowls, tempura and teriyaki, tonakatsu, agedashi tofu, Japanese pickles all are options at this chain. The foods they provide are not exhaustive, in the manner of a Haru Ichiban or a Shoya Izakaya, but they pass my mother-in-law test, meaning I could take my 100% Japanese mother-in-law to the eatery, and she’d leave happy. The average American can come here and know they won’t get a narrow, limited culinary experience.

All that said, I do prefer the Snellville location. The staff in Snellville are almost all Japanese. That wasn’t true on Ponce. I know the Snellville menu, and we have years of them in drawers in my house. When I ask for things that used to be on the menu in Snellville, I usually get them, rather than getting a “what planet did you come from” look from a Hispanic staffer.

Irony is, the newest member of this small chain is, in my opinion, more authentic than the original. That said, the original is still pretty darned good.

Sushi Avenue
308 W Ponce De Leon Ave
Decatur, GA 30030
(404) 378-8448

PS: I’ll mention this again: for those food bloggers aspiring to talk intelligently about the Japanese meal, you simply must have Shizuo Tsuji’s book, discussed here.

 

Max McGee’s, Decatur GA

Max Mc Gee’s is an Irish pub on Sycamore Street, the “Wall of Restaurants” just south of the Marta Station in Decatur. It is a pretty upscale affair, with a good beer selection, pleasant staff, and it turns out, more than decent pub grub.

In terms of an “Irishness scale”, this pub is no more or less Irish than the others in this city inhabiting this genre. About 80% of the food could be found in any nice pub. Perhaps a fifth of the dishes have an English or Irish cast to them. Various pies, sausages, and other tidbits speak of the Islands, but probably not to the extent to transport anyone to a virtual Dublin.

Mussels, quite good. Tasty broth.

Fish and chips.

Very good corned beef in this sandwich.

But speaking of what we tried, the mussels were in a good tasting broth, worth dipping. The breaded fish in the fish and chips was dry, and tasty. The serving was large. My daughter perhaps ate a third of it. The corned beef in the sandwich we had was tender and fatty, a bit reminiscent of the brisket at Heirloom BBQ on a good day. The meats we touched were impressive, worth savoring.

In terms of location, the restaurant is to the far side of the Square Pub and can be missed.

Max Mc Gee’s
111 Sycamore Street
Decatur, GA 30030
(404) 377-8050

 

Victory Sandwich Bar, Decatur GA

The neatest thing about a Victory sandwich is its size. They’re perhaps 3 to 4 inches around, small, perhaps two being a typical lunch portion for a male. One would be fine for someone watching their weight, or in general, a perfect starter for someone going out to a party or dancing. And that’s what I see about Victory that fits. You have a date, you need something, but not too much of anything. A drink might help too. In those circumstances, Victory Sandwich Bar would be perfect.

Castro sandwich on the left, Hambo on the right.

The bar itself is on Church Street, maybe half a block or so south of the Row of Restaurants in Decatur, the spots that parallel the MARTA station. It’s more bar with some food than a gastronomically focused spot.

Of the nine sandwiches available that day, we tried the Castro (smoked pork and ham) and the Hambo (prosciutto and mozzarella) sandwiches. We liked both, but of the two we liked the Castro best. There was just more meat in the Castro, and in a small sandwich, that matters.

Victory Sandwich Bar
340 Church St.
Decatur, GA 30030
(404) 377-9300

 

Sawicki’s, Decatur GA

Sawicki’s is in a modest location on Ponce de Leon, near a Taco Mac, and gives little indication that this is one of the more highly regarded sandwich shops in the city. The focus of the shop is on fresh ingredients, and in their better offerings, plenty of them.

We ordered a roast beef sandwich, a roasted lamb, a veggie sandwich, and a mediterranean salad. The salad was probably overkill.

The roast beef sandwich was a fistful of meat in between bread.

veggie sandwich.

Mediterranean salad. The veggie sandwich and the mediterranean share many of the same ingredients.

Roasted lamb. Not as enormous as the other two, but plenty tasty.

There is no magic in these sandwiches. It starts and ends with fresh, high quality ingredients. Prices are entirely reasonable, most sandwiches under 9 dollars.

For the folks too new at the blogging game to remember, back in the day Foodie Buddha had a sandwich tour, much as Jimmy once had a pizza tour. Sawicki’s was one of the highest ranked sandwich shops on his tour. In the four years since the tour, the quality hasn’t changed.

Sawicki’s
250 West Ponce De Leon
Decatur, GA 30030
(404) 377-0992

 

The Iberian Pig, Decatur GA

The Iberian Pig is a nice looking restaurant in Decatur, near the Marta station and along a row filled with good restaurants. We went on a day where we had no restaurant specifically in mind. We just wanted good food and the opportunity to be seated quickly. At Iberian Pig, they could seat us within 5 minutes if we could sit outside. Usually that’s the kiss of death for my wife’s asthma, but this day, she was feeling good enough that we managed.

We started with small dishes, were served only one main dish (my daughter’s cabrito carbonara), and otherwise just ate things that appealed. Things we enjoyed included fried eggplant, pork cheek tacos, some octopus (pulpo a la parilla), lamb ribs, and Iberian Pig’s asparagus. My wife had an arugula salad, and we also asked for bread, which took some time coming. By the time it arrived, my wife and daughter had grown bored and started wandering, as a King of Pops cart within a few feet had caught their eye.

pork cheek tacos.

pulpo a la parilla, a good tasting octopus small dish.

cabrito carbonara, a dish with shredded goat.

Overall, I’d say we enjoyed this meal. Service ranged from good to sensational at times. When Iberian Pig starts delivering food, you can have as many as 4-5 servers around your table. Our waiter was gracious and funny. Dishes ranged from good to superb (my daughter loved her goat dish). The restaurant is definitely a keeper, and I could easily see us coming back.

The Iberian Pig
121 Sycamore Street
Decatur, GA 30030
(404) 371-8800

 

Chai Pani, Decatur GA

Chai Pani is a newcomer to the Decatur food scene, one featuring Indian street food, and for the time being, very well received. It occupies the space in Decatur that Watershed vacated, the one next to Farm Burger. If you’ve not been to this part of the world before, please note it’s useful to take along ten or so quarters. A lot of the parking close to this restaurant is metered, and parking adjacent to the building hard to come by.

Outside.

Inside.

Mango lassi.

The style of service in this restaurant changes depending on when you arrive. If you go during lunch on a weekday, it is counter top service. You help yourself to drinks, cutlery, and a number is placed at your table for delivery. At night and on weekends, they have staff take your order at the table.

Okra fries. Recommended in general, reminiscent of good fried okra. Good for those with carb limits.

One thing I’ll mention up front is that this isn’t the easiest place for a diabetic to be. Most dishes are heavy in starch, and wraps and rolls tend to contain rice. All is not lost. The chicken burgers and lamb “sloppy joe”s are workable entrees and as a not-so-starchy side, I’d recommend Chai Pani’s okra fries. There are, of course, large dinner salads, that in our experience, are good.

Bhel puri. Puffed rice, chickpeas, flour crisps, onions and cilantro.

Corn bhel. Also really tasty.

The real draw here, are the chaat, the street snacks, a kind of eating I’ve not run into before. When I took my daughter and the bhel puri arrived, she said, “I’ve seen this served in a cone on television”. Both bhel puri and the corn bhel are reason enough to come here. A plate of this, some roti, a soda and a couple samosas would leave my wife happy as can be.

Sloppy Jai (lamb sloppy joes). The shoestring fries are excellent.

Chicken burgers, again, with those excellent fries. My wife finished the fries off.

If there’s one consistent effect when you come here and eat, it’s that there is an amazing “first-bite-wow” effect when eating here. Americans aren’t used to hot Indian spices. They get the majority of Indian food from buffets, where all the aromatics have been steamed off the food. But here, with almost every bite, you get a hit of fresh spice, recently ground or cracked, and often cooked in oil or ghee to release the aromas and the flavors. This “hit” is what is so intoxicating about this place, especially when you first bite into a dish you’ve never tried before.

Kathi kabab roll, and bowl of daal., The daal runs a little thin.

Papadam, a hand sized spicy cracker. The other bread offering is roti, a tortilla sized unleavened bread.

Samosa.

What can we recommend? Almost everything seems good at this point. I wasn’t as pleased with the kabab wrap because it had more rice than I could handle for a meal, but the grilled chiken was excellent. Sloppy Jais I think everyone should try. The more timid maybe can go with a chicken salad, a samosa or two, and one of the bhels. Spend as much time as you can with their chaats, because those really are the star here. And oh yes, the beers here are good, with half a dozen respectable craft beers available.

I’m coming to think this is a great place to be introduced to Indian food. Have a friend who is a little picky? Take them here first, before throwing them into the whole of Indian cuisine. Yes, a tandoori chicken spot isn’t a bad first time spot either, but those are often mom and pops with a hole in the wall ambience. This place is clean, brightly lit, fun. Worst case, your friend has a glass of wine or a beer, nibbles at a chicken burger, downs some fries and maybe have a bite or two of a chaat, all in good fun.

Chai Pani is very highly recommended.

Chai Pani
410 West Ponce De Leon Ave
Decatur, GA 30030
(404) 378-4030

 

Sun in My Belly, Decatur GA

Sun in My Belly is a Decatur spot, carved out of an old hardware store. We went during lunch recently, weaving our way down Scott and Ponce De Leon in one of the more exotic Google Map paths, passing everything and then coming back to the eatery. Parking was cramped this day and I wasn’t certain whether we could park in the back of this place at all (there isn’t much space in their lot). But we managed.

Napolean Complex

The sandwich selection here is good. My daughter had the Napolean Complex (brie, proscuitto, fig jam, focaccia bread) and I had a Dagwood (club sandwich on steroids). Sandwiches can be small, so consider getting a salad as well if you’re not filled up.

The look of the place is a little eccentric. There is a fair emphasis on catering here, something not unusual for smaller creative eateries developed on modest resources. There are consistent reports of inconsistent waitstaffing, but I didn’t see any of that today. Our waiter was excellent.

Sun in My Belly
2161 College Ave NE
Atlanta, GA 30317
(404) 370-1088

 

No 246, Decatur GA

No 246 wears well, like a great pair of leather shoes, or an oft washed pair of denims. It is a smaller restaurant on Ponce de Leon, next to Leon’s Full Service. No 246 has a longish bar, some tables, excellent staff and an intriguing menu. If you show up at lunch, you get to see staff prepping food for dinner, something a foodie might actually enjoy watching.

Wagyu flatiron steak.

I enjoy the menu, think it well designed and the menu items are ambitious. Take the flatiron steak: how about wagyu flatiron instead? The salads are good. There are tapas style items. You can get a decent sized pizza here as well. Now, despite the care taken on the menu items, nothing really blew me away here. That can’t be said for my daughter, who favors their pastas and thinks they can, in fact, be blow you away good.

It’s a place I like to eat, feel free to linger, want to bask in the ambience and try out the food. I don’t think you can go wrong here, as it’s plenty good enough in a very competitive part of Atlanta.

No 246
129 E. Ponce De Leon
Decatus GA 30030
(678) 399-8246

 

Seven Hens, Decatur GA

Seven Hens is a new fast food concept, located at the strip mall on the northeast corner of North Decatur Road and Clairmont. It features schnitzel sandwiches, though it can serve its meats grilled or tossed in a salad. Actually I should use the singular, as Seven Hens serves either chicken or tofu. You choose the style of your meal, a country (this defines the seasonings), and any sides you might prefer.

Seven Hens

Indian with french fries. I found the fries to be good ones.

Mexican with side salad.

My daughter and I both had grilled sandwiches. She chose Indian spicing, and I chose Mexican. Now both spice blends, to be fair, were okay, but both potent and tasted a little off. I wish, after the fact, that I’d tried the American or the French.

Now my wife is really the chicken eater in the family and she tends to well done meats and milder flavors. The flavors in these two sandwiches are hardly mild, and may be off putting to people just getting used to the concept. Marie Let’s Eat noted the French is the most popular; perhaps the flavor blends there won’t seem as jarring as the Indian or the Mexican did. I’m going to recommend the restaurant because it’s a nifty concept and if they get their flavors down pat they’ll have a winner. Right now this eatery is more “proof of concept”. In my opinion, Seven Hens is an attractive, appealing try.

Seven Hens
2140 North Decatur Plaza
Decatur, GA 30033
(404) 633-3000