Every Friday Roots in Alpharetta features an article on food and dining in a series called Foodie Friday.

BW Tavern isn’t afraid of taking chances. You don’t have to look very far to see new and creative thinking in south Forsyth’s latest concept restaurant. Their former self, Mulligan’s, was a dive bar that had a loyal following. They took a chance when they flipped this somewhat successful, yet cigarette smoke-filled restaurant on its head.

Alex King, left, with Chef David Smith

The name “BW” pays homage to Benchwarmers, an Atlanta sports bar in this same family of restaurants. It was this original owner who took a chance bringing in a new partner – Alex King. This young man with spiky hair brings youthful energy and confidence to BW Tavern. It’s hard to miss his presence both in the restaurant and in their already active social media campaigns.

BW is taking chances with their menu. It would be easy to follow the Mulligan’s model of burgers, chicken fingers and tater tots. Fear not as these items are still around, just a little jazzed up. The burger now has a pretzel bun and the fingers are hand-tossed in panko breadcrumbs. The menu relegates these guys to a lonely corner, a space called “the staples.” Far more adventurous cuisine awaits on the rest of the menu.

Thanksgiving Spring Rolls

BW’s Thanksgiving spring rolls may put these guys on the map. They start with tender morsels of fried turkey made in-house. It’s rolled and fried in a spring roll wrapper and served with a cranberry sauce for dipping. The sauce is more sweet than tart and contrasts with the peppery dressing inside the roll. Don’t dare come here without ordering this appetizer, in November or any month.

The menu has three entrees offered as bowls. They all are stick-to-your-ribs, manly choices. The Asian chicken bowl ($11) is an eclectic mix of braised chicken thighs, Asian-flavored black beans and collard greens. Each ingredient is great on its own, but they didn’t mesh well together.  The rasta bowl ($11) is a creamy and spicy mix of sausage, shrimp, bay scallops, beans, rice and veggies. It’s a playful and delicious take on jambalaya.

BW makes their own ciabatta bread for half a dozen different sandwiches. Try the bayou gobbler ($9). They start with the same smoked turkey from the Thanksgiving spring roll and slice it deli thin. It’s moist and delicious all by itself. Crawfish tails give the sandwich a bayou influence, but the flavor of these mudbugs gets lost in the pepperjack cheese and mayo. It’s still a very solid turkey sandwich.

BW Tavern isn’t afraid of taking chances with local vendors. While a lot of restaurants talk of sourcing product locally, it’s rare to see it taken to this degree. For example, sausage for their Brunswick stew comes from Woody’s Meat and Sausage just down the street. Partner Alex King liked the arrangement so much he starting buying just about all his meat products from Woody’s. “Anything with a hoof we buy from Woody’s,” said King. You’ll also find a boiled peanut appetizer on the menu from D’s Nuts. You might remember these guys from their road-side peanut stands in Forsyth County.

King even sources his music locally. You’ll find live music on weekends, which certainly isn’t out of the ordinary. What’s unique is that BW will pipe in tunes from these local musicians during the week. It’s refreshing to see this restaurant’s honest and sincere desire to keep their business local.

Any restaurateur takes a chance when they open in this extremely competitive market. BW Tavern is upping the ante when it comes to dining in the Midway community of south Forsyth. You’ve gotta like their chances.

Photo Credit: Robyn Guy Photography

Disclosure: I received free food from this restaurant. You can read my disclosure policy on my about page.

Every Friday Roots in Alpharetta features an article on food and dining in a series called Foodie Friday.

Everyday 100,000 people commute to Alpharetta to occupy our cubicles. And it may be hard to believe but not all of them go out for lunch each day. It may seem like 100,000 cars are on Windward at noon (it’s actually more like 90,000). Thousands of poor cubicle dwellers suffer through a quick but mediocre lunch at an office cafeteria or they brown bag it.

This is the great untapped market for lunch in Alpharetta. And it is this niche that food trucks could fill in Alpharetta. So you might understand why I was thrilled to learn of Tex’s Tacos recent visit to Alpharetta. A visit from a food truck almost never happens in Alpharetta. Atlanta’s food truck scene is exploding with popularity and growth and I want our little burb to get a piece of the action! I hyped Tex’s visit on twitter as best I could and was one of the first to arrive during Tuesday’s lunch hour.

Tex’s Tacos describe themselves as “Nueva Texicana”, a fresh yet traditional take on Tex-Mex cuisine. Their menu features pork, chicken and beef offered in both tacos and quesadillas.  I first tried their pastor de puerco taco. This is roast pork with chilies served with pineapples, cilantro and grilled onions. The pork was tender and flavorful. The chilies and cilantro provided a nice contrast to the sweet pineapple. I devoured this taco.

Next came the carne asada taco, which felt a little more traditional to me. The menu says the beef is “citrus-splashed” but I didn’t taste it. It wasn’t quite as tender as I would have liked, but was alright. The smear of guacamole was creamy and delicious but wasn’t enough to save this taco. I enjoyed the pork far more.

Their menu also has a barbecue pork taco made with Q from LowCounty BBQ. This is a catering outfit with roots in this area. I regret not trying it.

As for side items… don’t miss their lime fries. This is a simple but generous helping of perfectly cooked french fries. They are covered in a mix of lime zest, sugar and salt that is strangely addictive. They also use this on their chips and salsa. It’s the kind of flavor that you either love or hate. I loved it.

I hope this review encourages Tex’s Tacos and other food trucks to give Alpharetta a try. These guys pulled right up to the front door of a five story cubicle farm and did a pretty good business. When I left I counted 25 people in line waiting to order. We’re hungry for food trucks up here in Alpharetta! Please make that drive up GA-400 for us!

Every Friday Roots in Alpharetta features an article on food and dining in a series called Foodie Friday.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again… the best pork you’re likely to find in north Fulton won’t come from a barbecue joint. You’ll find it in unlikely places like Bite.

Their red chile pork tacos are getting a lot of attention, as they should. They start by rubbing pork shoulders with chiles before smoking them. Next the pork takes a bath in a mole sauce braise. The pork is then pulled and cradled in a corn tortilla. These morsels of swine are smokey, tender and bursting with flavor. The texture contrasts with a crisp pickled jalapeno slaw and a creamy goat cheese.

Bite quietly opened several months ago behind the Webb Bridge post office in the old Field Good location. It is an intimate space with just a handful of tables and some seating overlooking an exposed kitchen. I suggest sitting here to observe the chefs in action. You’re close enough to smell the lemon and garlic as they hit the saute pan.

The decor is modern yet sophisticated and classy. I appreciate Bite’s artwork, photography on wrapped canvas. The restaurant will certainly appeal to affluent women from east Alpharetta and Johns Creek, drawing those who might frequent restaurants like Never Enough Thyme or Wildflour. Their distance from the offices on Windward and Old Milton should keep most of the cubicle dweller riffraff away (with the exception of yours truly, who was willing to brave Windward’s bevy of four way stops to get here).

These guys at Bite are serious about layering flavors and textures in entrees like tacos, sandwiches and salads. The menu makes prodigious use of cheese, many varieties are smoked in-house. Check out the pimento cheese, made daily. Or how about the cotija cheese on their “street corn” side dish as an alternative to boring Parmesan. I’m by no means a cheese snob, yet I enjoyed this cheesy grilled corn.

Bite’s steak sandwich both impressed and disappointed. The combination of caramelized onions, white cheddar and a sweet fig sauce on ciabatta bread was fantastic. The use of filet medallions was impressive on a sandwich, yet the steak wasn’t very tender. Unable to shred them as I was biting, I was left with entire medallions in my mouth. I was forced to discretely consume a pretty big hunk of cow that I’d hoped would have lasted for several bites.

However, none of the sides have disappointed. Bite’s potato salad hits your taste buds with a pungent tarragon kick. You can’t go wrong with the pickled jalapeno slaw or the aforementioned street corn.

Bite is a winner and will likely add themselves to many a favorite restaurant list. Try them before they completely overwhelm this small space. I’m surprised they don’t have lines out the door.

Every Friday Roots in Alpharetta features an article on food and dining in a series called Foodie Friday.

“I really want to like this place.” It’s an over-used cliche, usually written with some guilt, that often accompanies negative restaurant reviews. I’m certainly not above invoking this phrase, especially when it comes to Midway Meal House. Why? Because I do indeed want to like this place.

Who wouldn’t want to like a charming old farmhouse with a large wrap-around veranda? Who wouldn’t appreciate the history of this building? And who wouldn’t respect the Meal House’s story of rising from the ashes, literally.

I do indeed want to like Midway Meal House. I like the nostalgia I feel here, something that’s hard to find in the suburbs anymore. And I like the friendly atmosphere and hospitality. Unfortunately I cannot say much positive about their food and what they’ve done to southern cuisine.

I love the meat and two veggie format of many southern restaurants. At Midway Meal House $7.25 will let you choose from several meats and a long list of veggies plus some bread. Described by the menu as “delicious homemade vegetables,” these sides are anything but. Many taste straight from a can. Liberal applications of salt and pepper are usually necessary to make their beans, corn or instant potatoes suitable to my palate.

It is a shame that a country cooking restaurant with such history doesn’t make better use of locally grown produce.

Several years ago Midway Meal House burned. It was a fierce fire that nearly reduced the place to the foundation. They wasted little time and rebuilt. Unfortunately the owners passed up a golden opportunity to transform the restaurant into something great. The rebuild was nearly identical, leaving behind the same drab interior and a menu to match. With a new look and fresh new approach to the menu, the Meal House could have really shined. Today, not many years later, the building is starting to look rundown and dirty. It’s really a shame.

I’d imagine breakfast at Midway Meal House is a better experience, but I’ve never been in the AM. And their dessert menu, featuring truly homemade cakes and pies, deserves some recognition. But serving canned veggies is inexcusable. With south Forsyth’s restaurant scene finally coming of age, the Meal House is being left in the dust.

I welcome your comments and criticisms. But remember… I really want to like this place!

Every Friday Roots in Alpharetta features an article on food and dining in a series called Foodie Friday.

Popcorn? Gourmet popcorn? It may be America’s favorite snack food, but it usually isn’t mine. When the entire movie theater is binging on buckets, a handful of popcorn will satisfy me most of the time. Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate buttery/salty combinations. There’s just something about the texture of popcorn that keeps me from consuming it in significant quantity.

So I was a bit hesitant to try Alpharetta’s new popcorn joint. Yet with over 100 varieties available at Heavenly Gourmet Popcorn, I figured there must be something that would appeal to me.

And if my multiplication was correct, I counted about 120 varieties at Heavenly. A seemingly endless wall contains shelves of plastic storage bins. They appear a bit odd at first. These bins look like something you might buy at Target to store knickknacks in your basement. The rest of the store has an upscale feel but the bins do not.

Nevertheless, the bins and shelves divide 120 flavors into three categories; cheese, candied and gourmet. You’ll want to take advantage of the free samples as it is difficult to decide on a flavor. On my first trip I went straight to the gourmet choices. Most flavors here contain chocolate, caramel or other rich combinations.

I settled on their “heavenly crunch” flavor which is a best seller. They start with caramel popcorn, then cover with milk chocolate followed by a white chocolate drizzle. It’s way over-the-top and sinfully delicious. About half way into the very smallest size (called “snack size”) I cried uncle. This is a spoiled dinner waiting to happen.

Dill pickle popcorn enjoyed in my cubicle

On my second visit I went for the lighter cheese varieties. A sample of their cajun flavor didn’t appeal to me. With some reluctance I bought a bag of dill pickle popcorn. Again, this is a best seller but I had doubts. The first few kernels left strong dill flavors on the back of my tongue. But before long I was addicted! I snacked on it for the rest of the afternoon in my cubicle, wishing I had purchased a bigger size.

The folks at Heavenly make all 120 varieties in-house. A good portion of their business is sure to be corporate and mail order clients. They also might not be a bad choice for a party or event. On one visit I overheard someone asking about popcorn for a wedding reception.

Small quantities are certainly available but tend to be on the expensive side. Their snack size bag (about the size of a soft ball) will set you back five bucks for a gourmet variety. It’s an expensive snack no doubt. I’d probably only order this again if I were having a serious craving. The dill pickle popcorn is something I could see buying on a regular basis, and certainly in a larger size.

So pick up a bag of Heavenly’s popcorn and bring it back to the office. Even if they don’t enjoy it, you’re co-workers will still thank you. At least you won’t burn a bag in the break room microwave.

Heavenly Gourmet Popcorn is located at 875 N Main Street, Suite 305, right next to Taco Mac.

Every Friday Roots in Alpharetta features an article on food and dining in a series called Foodie Friday.

And you thought the burger craze was over.

Join me in welcoming the latest fast-casual burger concept de jour to Alpharetta. Metro Atlanta’s third location opened this week on Windward Parkway. You can find them in the shopping center with Einstein Bagels across the street from the HP campus.

Phil Wilkins owns the Atlanta Smashburger franchises and has plans for as many as 30 locations. Right now you’ll only find stores in Buckhead and Johns Creek. Kennesaw and Sandy Springs are next, although Wilkins told me they are looking at real estate in Cumming.

Smashburger has an interesting tradition of letting each large franchise owner create their own unique burger. For example, Chicago’s burger is served on a pretzel bun. Atlanta’s own burger features a peach barbecue sauce, pimina cheese, vidalia coleslaw and grilled jalapenos. By themselves, each ingredient is interesting. Mixed together, the combination is a pretty big mess that completely overpowers the burger itself. It would probably make a delicious sandwich without the hamburger meat.

And speaking of the burger… Smashburger gets their name from their cooking process. They take a ball of meat and smash it on the griddle for twenty seconds. The goal here is to create a sear while hopefully not squeezing every bit of juicy flavor from it. The burgers do have some sear but I would have liked more.

My biggest disappointment with the smashing is that I didn’t get to see it! If you’re going to give your restaurant a verb in the name, I want to see someone performing that verb. Sell the sizzle, right? With a closed kitchen, patrons are left to their imagination when it comes to the cooking process.

The rest of the menu contains a few chicken sandwiches, hot dogs and a salad or two. As for side items, I really enjoyed their Smashfries. These are shoestring french fries tossed with rosemary and olive oil. On my two visits this week the fries have been prepared well; crispy (even with the olive oil) yet soft in the middle. The rosemary seasoning really makes these fries shout.

Smash also offers milkshakes made with Haagen Dazs ice cream. The peach shake I tried as a sample was delicious and worth an order next time.

So after all the smashing is over and your burger is consumed, what’s the verdict on this place? It’s just an ok burger. Don’t expect some kind of transcendental experience that takes you to burger nirvana. Aside from the smashing thing, I don’t see a lot that separates this burger from many others available in this crowded market.

Disclosure: I received a free meal from this restaurant at their pre-opening event. You can read my disclosure policy on my about page.