SATURDAY APRIL 9TH, 2011

Date and Time Visited:      Arrival time was Saturday, 8:30 p.m., April 9th, 2011

Restaurant Name:              French American Brasserie

Location:                             30 Ivan Allan Jr. Blvd

                                             Atlanta, GA 30308            

Reservations:  Recommended but not necessary

Dining Style:  Causal to elegant

Cuisine:  French American

Entrees Order:   Beef Bourguignon (short ribs) ($21) and the Skate Wing (sting ray) ($22)

Rating criteria: We rate using the Likert Scale, from 1-5, where one (1) is considered a poor rating and five (5) is considered an excellent rating and three (3) indicates an average score.

               

Food:                           Taste                       

 Presentation                       

                                     Texture                                        Average Score: 3

                                     Portion Size                       

                                    Authenticity                        

Service:                       Wait time           

                                    Quality of Service                        Average Score: 4           

                                    Wait staff knowledge

                                    Wait staff appearance           

                       

Restaurant Cleanliness:

                                    Appearance

                                    Atmosphere                       

Cleanliness                                    Average Score: 5           

Noise level                       

                                    Restrooms                       

Smoking?                        No

Patio Dinning:            Yes (upstairs)           

Parking:              Parking is available at a fee

Overall Experience (reflects the collaboration of both critics):  The French American Brasserie was shall we say an experience in dinning. We both like French food, but rarely eat it. This restaurant could possibly meet the needs of any individual, couple, or group wishing to dine out in a pleasant and relaxed atmosphere. They also have outside terrace dinning upstairs and it is gorgeous with its beautiful view of the city. The large main dining room with its crisp white table cloths and wait staff dressed in tux will make the average person feel as if they’ve stumbled upon something special and the mind will automatically say, “Hey, I’m going to get some special treatment here!” And it would be completely right. Our waitress performed her job with ultimate precision; almost robot like. Everything was, “Yes sir, no sir; everything is operating within specified parameters.” She sounded like “Data” from Star Teck Next Generation. But hey, we’re not complaining, she got the job done within specified parameters! As for the food, we originally sought out this restaurant because they served New Zealand lamb chops, but guess what?  When we placed our order, the waitress informed us that they were out! Can you believe that! Where on earth can we get some dang lamb chops in Atlanta! So, needless to say we were forced to order something else. I (Jack) had the short ribs and man it was good; very rich though (as is expected with French food). It was tender and the flavor popped in my mouth. I would definitely order it again and I think Jill will too. I (Jill) ordered the sting ray. I won’t order it again. I ordered it because I was feeling adventurous and wanted to try something outside the box. Now I understand what Jack means when he says certain fish are too fishy tasting. The sting ray was by far one on the fishiest dishes I’ve ever tasted. The fishiness was similar to eel; won’t order that again either. My sting ray was served over a bed of spinach. The combination was so not good.  Lastly, we have to comment on their restrooms. We were impressed! There restrooms are beautiful. Man, we wanted to pack our bags and move in. We are not going to go into detail about it, but if you choose to dine at this restaurant, please make a special trip to their restrooms, you want be sorry.

Would we go back: We like the richness of French food and would likely venture back at some point in time to sample some of their other dishes. We can’t hold the sting ray dish against them because it is a acquired taste.

Suggested Improvements: Have our New Zealand lamb chops in on Saturday night and we will come back.

SATURDAY APRIL 2TH, 2011

Date and Time Visited:            Arrival time was 8:00, Saturday April 2, 2011

Restaurant Name:                    Grape at Vinings

Location:                                    4300 Paces Ferry Rd                         

                Atlanta, GA 30339            

Reservations:                Not necessary

Dining Style:                 Causal

Cuisine:                         American

Entrees Order:   Entrees:  Chicken Club (sandwich) ($11) and Pan Seared Salmon on Butternut 

                                            Squash Succotash ($17)           

Rating criteria: We rate using the Likert Scale, from 1-5, where one (1) is considered a poor rating and five (5) is considered an excellent rating and three (3) indicates an average score.

               

Food:                           Taste                       

 Presentation                       

                                     Texture                                        Average Score: 2.5

                                     Portion Size                       

                                    Authenticity                        

Service:                       Wait time           

                                     Quality of Service                        Average Score: 2           

                                     Wait staff knowledge           

                       

Restaurant Cleanliness:

                                    Appearance  

                                    Atmosphere                       

Cleanliness                                     Average Score: 4           

Noise level                       

                                    Restrooms                       

Smoking?                        No

Patio Dinning:                Yes                       

Parking:                          Yes

Overall Experience (reflects the collaboration of both critics):  The grape has now been removed from our top 7 list of best restaurants. They were removed because we were not told that their New Zealand lamb chops were a special, and our recent meal was at best mediocre. We gave them a beautiful write up in our last review but sorry, we can duplicate it this time. I (Jill) had the salmon dish and it was just a salmon dish; nothing to brag about. I (Jack) had the chicken club and I agree with Jill, it was nothing to brag about. The chicken was kind of dry and other than that, it was just a sandwich that I could have made in my own home. Were disappointed that we couldn’t get those lamb chops again? Dang gum right! If they served them on a regular basis, they would definitely have Jack and Jill at their door steps at least once or twice a month.

             

Would we go back:  Probably not. Sad.

Suggested Improvements: Make the lamb chops a permanent fixture on your menu. Make sure your wait staff informs customers that certain entrees are specials.  

SUNDAY MARCH 27TH 2011

Date and Time Visited:            Arrival time was 3:00 p.m., Sunday, March 27th, 2011

Restaurant Name:                    Big Ketch Saltwater Grill

Location:                                   3279 Roswell Rd.

                                                   Atlanta, GA 30305

Reservations:                Not necessary

Dining Style:                 Causal

Cuisine:                         Seafood Restaurant

Entrees Order:   The TBK Veggie Burger ($7.95) and the Fried Wild Georgia Shrimp ($11.95)

Rating criteria: We rate using the Likert Scale, from 1-5, where one (1) is considered a poor rating and five (5) is considered an excellent rating and three (3) indicates an average score.

               

Food:                           Taste                       

 Presentation                       

                                     Texture                                       Average Score: 2

                                     Portion Size                       

                                    Authenticity                        

Service:                       Wait time           

                                     Quality of Service                      Average Score: 2.5           

                                     Wait staff knowledge

                                     Wait staff appearance           

                       

Restaurant Cleanliness:

                                    Appearance

                                    Atmosphere                       

Cleanliness                                  Average Score: 3           

Noise level                       

                                    Restrooms                       

Smoking?                        No

Patio Dinning:                Yes                       

Parking:             Parking is available

Overall Experience (reflects the collaboration of both critics):  Okay, folks; here it is. We arrived at the Big Ketch at around 3:00 p.m.; clearly breaking with our traditional Friday or Saturday night dinners. When we entered the restaurant the first thing we noticed was the starkness of the décor. We guessed they were trying to attempt a kind of worn, sand blown beach look. Well, they failed miserably. The restaurant looked more like we were entering a sterile environment; like we were visiting someone in the hospital. Anyway, when we walked in, there was no one there to greet us. We stood there for at least two minutes looking like lost puppies, thinking do we seat ourselves or wait to be seated? Finally, a hostess came along and sat us in a booth.  Our waiter was polite and very helpful, but he made the mistake of bragging too much on their hush puppies. He told us that he would stake his life on their hush puppies and bet us that they were going to be the best hush puppies we’ve ever tastes in our lives. We must admit, the hush puppies were good, but we can safely say that they were not the best we’ve ever tasted.  Now as for the entrees, my (Jill) shrimp were big, but they had one major flaw. They were the saltiest shrimp I’ve ever had in my life and get this I love salt, but dang! I was thinking just because your name has Saltwater Grill in it, it doesn’t mean you have to salt up everything! I did finish the shrimp, but the only way I could do so was by removing the breading. It was really bad! I (Jack) ordered the veggie burger and believe me, it was nothing to brag about. The burger was as dry as sawdust and didn’t have a good flavor. I’ve had better. Hey, I bet I can find a recipe on the Food Channel that could easily rival this and as a matter of fact, I’m going to challenge myself and do just that. I’ll let you all know how it comes out! Now on to our next comment; we noticed something rather strange about at this restaurant and it was something we’ve never seen before and that is our waiter didn’t deliver our food. We are not saying that we’ve never seen this done before; the problem comes in when the person delivering your food looks like the restaurants dishwasher. He had no professionalism at all. He dumped our food and left. He didn’t even look too hygienic. We had to wait for our waiter to pass by before we could even ask for condiments. We watched this guy come out over and over again. Our question is, “Why couldn’t our waiter deliver our food?” He certainly wasn’t too busy to get it. And, “Why couldn’t this guy be dressed like the rest of the wait staff and not look like he’s been living on the streets?”  

             

Would we go back: No, we don’t think so.

Suggested Improvements: Tell people your food is good without all the drama. Get rid of the dishwasher food delivery guy or have him dressed like the rest of the wait staff.  Liven up the décor. Lessen the salt on your food. Throw the veggie burger in the trash.

SATURDAY MARCH 12TH AND 19TH 2011

Went to Vickery’s! Vickery’s is our #1 Pick and had been for over four month. To review our critique of Vickery’s please see our #1 Pick spot. 

SATURDAY MARCH 5TH 2011

Date and Time Visited:            Arrival time was 8:00 Saturday 5, 2011

Restaurant Name:                    Going Costal Seafood Restaurant

Location:                                   1021 Virginia Ave.

                                                   Atlanta, GA 30306

Reservations:                            Not necessary, but recommended

Dining Style:                             Causal

Cuisine:                                     Seafood and Southern Cuisine

Entrees Order:   Southern Seafood Platter and Fried Shrimp Platter

Rating criteria: We rate using the Likert Scale, from 1-5, where one (1) is considered a poor rating and five (5) is considered an excellent rating and three (3) indicates an average score.

               

Food:                           Taste                       

 Presentation                       

                                     Texture                            Average Score: 1

                                     Portion Size                       

                                    Authenticity                        

Service:                       Wait time           

                                     Quality of Service           Average Score: 4           

                                     Wait staff knowledge           

                       

Restaurant Cleanliness:

                                    Appearance

                                    Atmosphere                       

Cleanliness                       Average Score: 4           

Noise level                       

                                    Restrooms                       

Smoking?                        No

Patio Dinning:                No                       

Parking:                        Street parking is available

Overall Experience (reflects the collaboration of both critics):  Goin’ Costal has now been removed from our top seven (7) list of favorite restaurants. We were greatly disappointed during our recent visit there. The service was good as usual, but they had one serious problem. All the seafood was tasteless. We mean really, it had no flavor. I (Jill) was born and raised in costal Georgia and I know what fresh seafood taste like; the flavor just pops in your mouth. But their shrimp were over breaded and fried too hard. The oysters had zero flavor and I mean zero flavor when normally the oysters are the last thing I eat off my plate because I like to saver them. The last time we were at Goin’ Costal, Jack laughed at me as I slowly closed my eyes and placed the oysters in my mouth. The flavor was so spectacular that I chewed them ever so slowly. It was almost as good as making love! But now I’m mad because my once erotic oysters have been reduced to a flavorless fried tasteless nothing! And now let’s talk about my tilapia (fish); it was a water logged mess. It was mushy as if they had left the fish sitting in water for several hours. I’m like wait a minute now. What happened to this restaurant? Something was wrong so we called the chef to find out if they had bought their seafood from a different source. He said they purchased them from their normal distributor and offered to make another platter for me. I said no because the whole experience had already left a bad taste in my mouth. I’m so disappointed that it will take me a while to go back again, if I ever do. We also now have to seek out a new favorite seafood restaurant. I (Jack) was upset that Jill didn’t act crazy the way she normally does when she eats here. I knew she was disappointed even before she said a word. As for my meal, the shrimp were just shrimp, big though. They were breaded far more than the last time we were here and the flavor was so-so. Nothing to brag about, nothing really to complain about.

             

Would we go back: Maybe, but no time soon.

Suggested Improvements: Lessen the bread on the seafood and other than that what can we say, buy better quality seafood or shall we say find a buyer with a better eye to pick quality raw seafood from your distributor.