Wednesday, August 22, 2001
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Wednesday, August 22, 2001 |
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Restaurant Row draws ratings By BILLY MURPHY I like to eat. Make that, I love to eat. It isn't hard to please me, either, being that I grew up in South Carolina, eating the game we killed, like squirrel and rabbit. It wasn't rare for us to have tripe or chicken gizzards for supper, either. Given that, I am typically in seventh heaven at the corner of Ga. highways 54 and 74 in Peachtree City. Some call the area Restaurant Row, some call the area Restaurant Glut. I call it delicious. There are five eateries within a biscuit's throw of each other and I'm going to tell which ones are good and which ones are not so good. None of these are ever going to match the cooking of my mother, but for sit-down victuals, there are some tasty dishes to be had. I list these in no particular order. Longhorn Steakhouse. The oldest of these diners, Longhorn is best suited for the hearty appetite and people of nocturnal nature. The steakhouse is plenty dark inside and almost eerie in its "dead-animal" motif. Forget the food, come here just to see a jackalope. They also have a buffalo head as big as John Goodman's. The service here is good, and the food is great. I don't think it is on the menu any longer, but my favorite is the fried shrimp. It sounds too simple but they batter the shrimp like nothing I have ever tasted this side of the Palmetto State. You may have to twist your waitress's arm to get the order, but it's worth it. VIBE: As cool as Neil Diamond in sideburns. PRICE: Reasonable, like Madonna's looks at 43. SERVICE: Mean, slick and as effective as a Texas rattlesnake. Don Pablo's. Poor D.P., for some reason they have gotten a bad reputation. Like the pretty cheerleader's reputation in high school, maybe it's deserved, maybe it's not. But it sure is good conversation. It has been no secret that this is my favorite Peachtree City restaurant. And I don't even like Mexican food. The Fajita Papita Steak Salad is incredible, though, and I have ordered it probably 40 visits in a row. Service is good here, but you have to be careful. Unlike most cookie-cutter, corporate-driven dives, the servers at Don Pablo's are allowed to let their personalities show through. Thus, this can be the most friendly place in the world, or, if you get the wrong person, you can sometimes knit a sweater while waiting on a tea refill. Personally, I like to see that kind of humanity; it makes tipping so much more of an art form. The place is wide and spacious with all the vastness of a border patrol's territory. VIBE: As strange and wonderful as Cosmo Kramer. PRICE: As neat and thin as Seinfeld. SERVICE: All thrilling as being shoved by Elaine. Chili's. I have eaten the Chili's Frisco Chicken Salad since the early '80s. Their lettuce wraps, though, are as interesting a meal as I have ever had. If you like hot, this is the meal to get. It sneaks up on you while you are eating and by meal's end your eyes and nose are running and you are talking as fast as your Democratic congressman on caffeine. I don't like the service. From the time you walk in, everyone seems grumpy. Please, Chili's waiters and waitresses, show this article to your boss, because it is his or her fault, not yours. For the whole service team to be this grumpy, he must be riding you too hard. VIBE: Think premolded-plastic. PRICE: As unnoticeable as a good umpire. SERVICE: "Why don't you like me?" Macaroni Grill. The new kid on the block, their prices are way too high, they include nothing with meals, and allow very little in the way of substitutions, yet you are going to go there anyway. I didn't realize they had opened yet, as their stucco building is designed to look like imitation particle board and I thought they were still under construction. For some reason though, I like this place. The aesthetics are great, the food is good and service seems to be acceptable, even though I had my waitress so confused she had to take four Advils. VIBE: "The View" on Valium. PRICE: Not for the faint of heart. SERVICE: Let your hair down a little. On the Border. Like the last guest on "The Tonight Show," sorry, we are all out of time (space). VIBE: As safe a bet as Tiger Woods on a good day. PRICE: The best of the bunch. SERVICE: Would make Mr. French proud. [Visit Billy Murphy on the Internet at http://ebilly.net.]
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