A little bit of downtown Macon

 Sorry sorry for the delays but days are just running out of time before I can get to writing. I am still hitting once a week and plan to move to twice a week.

Meanwhile please tell your friends about the blog. The more readers I get the more motivated I am to write lol.

Today I will review a new little breakfast haven in downtown Macon. The place is called Macon Bagels and it is about two stores down from Piedmont Brewery. Debbie and myself visited Sunday morning around   11:00 am which turned out to be a good thing because I hear they run out of food before they close.

When we showed up, we had to wait in a line to get served, but the line moved quickly. This place is located where Kudzu used to be located, and if you remember, the space is somewhat small.  We were lucky enough to find seating and it was time to enjoy the best bagel that I had ever had. I had a sausage egg and cheese , and while the sausage and egg were tasty it was the bagel that was the highlight. I have tried to find a way to describe it and I have struggled with that. All I can say is that it was toasted but still very soft inside and not hard when you bite down on it like some bagels are. Does that make any sense at all ?

We also tried something called the Sweet Thing. I should say that the Sweet Thing was on our table, but my wife scarfed it down before I got to taste it.  if you like honey pecan spread along with apple pie filling and caramel you would probably like this. Debbie killed it  and had nothing but great things to say about it. Believe me , it looked sweet.

I also had a strawberry brioche bun  and it was laced with strawberry cream cheese and strawberries  I know you have heard the phrase slap your momma good, but in these days you can't say that , so I will just say the pastry part was Fluffy Good and I could have eaten three of them and then took three home to eat later. I don't know what brioche means but it must mean damn that's good.

Things I would change or improve

I would love to see outside tables like so many other restaurants have. It would be great to eat and enjoy the sounds of Macon. 

My wife noticed a fishing picture, obviously having nothing to do with bagels, but left from when it was Kudzu. Hey that's why I make the big bucks. I have to notice everything.

Overall, Macon Bagels is a place to be reckoned with in Macon, Ga. I think they have the market on all the folks that live in the lofts downtown and I think they will probably have to find a bigger building soon. The food is good and the service was great. 

Visit them soon and that is the truth from me 

Review of Cod Tail

 Okay I admit it, I like seafood. But how many folks have a problem finding good seafood in Macon .  I know that I have struggled with that at times because really everyone thinks that one place or maybe two controls the seafood eater in Macon. 

I am on a quest to find another.

So on the advice of a friend I ventured out and ordered food from Cod Tail.

The first thing I would tell this place is to change the name of the restaurant. Does Cod Tail really truly sound like somewhere you would want to eat ? The answer in my mind is a resounding no. It is not the attractive term of a place you want to eat.

Please tell me if you agree or not. 

Now I will admit that I ordered the food on Door Dash because I just did not feel like getting out today because I now have a real job and I was tired. I  know that this restaurant is on Gray Highway basically right next to Hardees.

Okay to the Food

DAMN GOOD DAMN GOOD DAMN GOOD DAMN GOOD

The shrimp were huge and had a great taste it was obvious they were fresh. If they had a shrimp contest in Macon and lined up shrimp from the five best shrimp serving restaurants in Macon  and blind folded the eater, I believe that Cod Tail (ughhh the name) would win. Now that is a big statement, but I stand by it. 

The Fish and shrimp plate was also quite plentiful, with the fish having the same great taste. To ensure my review, I had one catfish and one tilapia and really both of them were out of this world.

The French Fries were perfect as were the corn fritters. Where the hell else can you get a good corn fritter. 

Cod Tail (ughh the name) also ha seven flavors of wings and tenders, oysters, fried rice and even stuffed crab and  cheese sticks. They may be trying to have too many things on the menu, but I have heard that the wings are very tasty.

I have ordered from Door Dash and sometimes my food gets to me and the food is not that hot. This food I got today was piping hot and that is impressive because they took the time to wrap it up to where it would be hot.

So I am asking you the last time you are looking for some great seafood look to Cod Tail (ughhh name) and let me know what you think

Fried Green Tomatoes in Macon

 Hello all 

 I wonder if you miss me as much as I miss writing every other day, but I think I am going to go twice a week right now.

I will publish every Wednesday and every Sunday and I hope that you all will continue to share with friends and please please keep reading. 

I have many great things on the horizon

I decided to review Fried Green Tomatoes today (not the food, the restaurant) because I was in the mood for some fried chicken. Now I will tell you that fried chicken is probably the last thing I need, but once in awhile everyone has to have fried chicken . Am I right or am I right ?

I have issues with the lack of fried chicken places in North Macon (Popeyes on the way) so I have has to look around. Does anyone seriously eat KFC anymore because I think its disgusting. 

I will say that every time I eat at  Fried Green Tomatoes the fried chicken is strong I had it today and I can give the same report. The flavor and texture of the skin and the meat is always the same and I think most folks would be pleased with it.

I try to find sides that I like and today it was corn and squash casserole. If you like buttery corn niblets then you will probably like this corn. The squash casserole is also fairly impressive, with tons of cheese and I think it was rice to offset the broccoli. 

The corn bread and sweet tea are also spot on not to mention the excellent service. 

The problem I have here is that I have tried almost every entree on the menu and everything else has been a disappointment. The Salisbury steak tastes like a frozen hamburger with a few spices on it and it will not be enough for a normal male. I can get a better fried pork chop at a gas station down the street and I am sorry but I have not been impressed by the beef tips or baked chicken.

When we get to the veggies or sides, the mashed potatoes are plentiful but very heavy and the gravy is definitely a mix of some kind. The macaroni and cheese is average at best.

I guess you noticed I didn't mention any veggies because I don't eat most of the ones they have.

I feel like the restaurant could be better if they just showed some TLC to the food. I don't think its the manager of the store though, I think it is probably the owners.

So in closing, if you want fairly good fried chicken and you are on the north side of town, this is not a bad option. Try it and let me know what you think

Review of Yollah

 Once in awhile one can catch themselves riding around not quite knowing where they are going, especially if it is where they are going to eat.

I have many years of that for sure.

That is what happened last Friday and that is how me and my wife found Yollah.

If I was going to tell you how to get to Yollah , I would say go past Mount de Sales Academy and if you get to Mercer  you need to turn around. If you blink you could definitely miss it, but once you find it, I don't think you will be disappointed.

The building is obviously new, which was nice and we chose to sit outside in back . I could see how this would be a very classy place to eat at night because they had pretty cool lighting and also the big heaters. I have heard that this place has become fairly popular.

We decided to both have a drink and Debbie had a Cherry Blossom Martini and I had a Yollah Margarita. The Martini was very tasteful and also somewhat plentiful while the Margarita was also very tasty. The only thing I had any issue with was the Margarita was in what I consider a water glass, which is not exactly festive. I know that is a small issue but those are the kid of things I am supposed to notice. I just think they could get some nicer alcohol glasses. Do you agree ?

I also had sweet tea because I must always rate the sweet tea, and I had no complaints with it at all. I t was sweet enough and still tasted like tea.

We had an appetizer which consisted of chips, quest, a red traditional salsa and then a green salsa. Neither one of us cared for the green, but both of us really liked the quest and red salsa. The salsa is not overly spicy but filled with flavor while the queso was thicker than what you would have in a Mexican restaurant. However the thickness was not a problem. It was very very good and very filling.

 For the entree Debbie went with two Empandas and she descibed them as "delicious" They had a crispy outside and they just looked like they were ready to be eaten. I went with the stuffed poblanos and I would say that they were fairly decent, but I would not order them again. I am not sure how the peppers were supposed to be cooked but they were not soft at all. I actually was not sure if I was supposed to eat the pepper or if it was just somewhere for the meat, cheese and rice to sit. I had two of them so I ate the Poblano on the first one and did not on the second one. 

I do think that Yollah has several dishes on the menu that I would like to taste and we may well go back.

I was a tad disappointed with the service. Yollah was not busy during our visit, but my sweet teas glass stayed empty for the majority of my visit. Everyone, including the waitress was very nice and welcoming , but having the empty tea glass is a small pet peeve of mine.

The Empanadas ran $6.50 apiece and you would have to order at least two to call it a meal , while the Poblanos were $12.00 bucks. The Martini and Margarita were between 9 and 12 dollars.

Price for a fancy lunch with drinks came in over $60.00, so it ended being a little pricey.

I hope you enjoyed this review and I ask you to please have your friends follow me. I thank every one of you.

FOJ review

 So here we go with another review of the places we eat at in Middle Georgia. I try and give an honest assessment of the places that I visit and sometimes people may agree and other times, well maybe not.

So on Thursday night my wife and I visited FOJ. Now the first thing I had to figure out is what FOJ stood for and if I did not find out I do not know if I would know right now.

Okay so everyone besides me probably knows that it is the Fountain of Juice at the Prado. I fully expected a fountain of some kind when we walked in , maybe with different varieties of juices. Not only did the restaurant not have a fountain full of juice, I never saw anything that has anything to do with juice. I definitely did not see anything on the menus with any type of juice.

We sat down to order and I asked for sweet tea and the waiter says we do have sweet tea but it is green tea. Okay sure I will try that  and it was fair. I would say it tasted like a glass of sweet tea when you let it sit at the table for about 40 minutes and the ice starts to melt. It is kind of watered down but it still tastes good.

I wanted to order some type of appetizer and I ended up with the chicken pesto egg rolls and on a scale of 1 to 10 I would give them a 6. Overall I was not a fan. The egg roll was definitely stuffed with chicken pesto, but it was very dry and the marinara tasted like it came out of a can. I am sure it did not but I know you want my honest opinion. 

I decided that I would have the Shrimp Nachos with the lobster cream sauce and I have nothing to complain about. The were very tasty with tons of cheese and sauce, as well as shrimp. I would grade them as a strong 8.5 on the grading system. I could have took about half of the plate home with me because they were very filling. Unfortunately they got taken up when I went to the bathroom. I choose to believe that was not their fault.

My wife had quiche with asparagus and graded the vegetable as perfect and the ham and cheese quiche as very good. The only thing she really didn't like about the quiche was that the ham was cut into little cubes and she didn't care for that. I agree with that assessment.

Now I don't know if we have two  FOJS in town or not and maybe someone can explain that to me. 

Overall a decent meal but probably not somewhere I would go to again. After all where's the juice lol.

The total bill with tip ran about 34 dollars. I think the Nachos were 11 and the quiche was 10.

Piedmont Brewery and Kitchen is an absolute must

 Well last Friday night we hit the jackpot when we all decided to visit the Piedmont Brewery and Kitchen in downtown Macon.

I have been to a lot of places to eat in my life but I am going to have problems finding two or three places that I have enjoyed more. It was quality from start to finish.

I had a party of four, which is always better because you get to see more food. Piedmont had sweet and unsweet tea, although if you are a fan of good sweet tea and not sugar water, I would get the half and half. They had wine also , which was already a great improvement from a week before at another restaurant. 

We decided to go big and ordered four appetizers

1. Grit Fritters- So this is like a grit made hash brown about an inch thick with pulled pork and barbecue sauce on it. These things (4 for 10 bucks) were perfect for a table of four that just ordered four appetizers. Debbie(wife) liked these the best and it was cool because I had never had anything like it. I mean it was grits. You too will love them .

2.Smoked Wings Lemon Pepper flavored and medium- We got 10 of them and it cost 15 bucks but these were absolutely some of the best smoked wings I have ever had. The cool thing about the wings is that you could split the order of 10 and get two sauces. Both of the ones we got were outstanding. I figure I have had a million wings in my life and these are top five percent.

3.Andouille Corn dogs. I think I got half of one of these because Clarence is really fond of them and I could see why. Its like the ultimate corn dog because the dog of it is unlike any dog you have seen covered up in batter. We got four to a serving and dont forget to dip them in the mustard.

4. Trash Can Fries- pulled pork , jalopenos, sautéed onions, beer cheese along with  sweet and smoky barbecue sauce. This was a huge plate and were very good and filling . They cost 13 dollars and this would be the one that I would have to pass on the next time. They were really good but the others were off the chart.

Plus they have so many other things to choose from.

So at this point, all of us were halfway to fully  full but we knew that we had to continue for the good of the reader. Clarence insisted that I get the same thing he always gets, which is the Brisket and Pimento Macaroni and cheese, OH MY GOD. If you like brisket , you have to come here. This stuff was so good that I kept eating despite being full. The Mac and cheese was outstanding but I would go right now to get more brisket. The price was a very reasonable 15 dollars.

Debbies got the French Dip which was only 9 dollars with a side and she had to take half of that home with her, and she ate it Sunday and said it was still very good.

Mrs. Clarence had a Caesar salad with chicken added and she ate every bite of it.

So I am just not sure what the Piedmont folks could have done to make this a better experience. It was just a happy place to be and it earns first place out of the restaurants I have reviewed so far.

You simply have to visit. Tell them the number one restaurant reviewer in Middle Georgia sent you. They dont know me yet, but hopefully they will.

My first Mexican food review Guitarras

 So me and Mexican food have a long long history.

I actually do not know when I ate Mexican for the first time and I don't really remember a Mexican restaurant in Warner Robins when I was growing up, so I may have waited until I started dating Debbie. I actually had no choice then because she loved Mexican then  and probably loves it more now. I mean, she cried when El Azteca in Macon closed. 

I went several years refusing to eat Mexican after having a severe "episode" that left me throwing up for like three days after eating at a local Mexican restaurant.  I could not even go in the place without getting nauseous . Debbie was not happy at all about it and she was just so positive that it wasn't the food, it was the three rum and egg nogs I had before we went to dinner and the six beers I drank with dinner. Whatever it was, it finally passed after a few years and I love a good meal from El Som or Margaritas.

Lately however, another place has grabbed our interest, and that  is Guitarras, located in the plaza where Publix used to be. I think it is a Big Lots now. I visited this week with Debbie and as usual it was standout service and food. 

Now, the absolute only issue I had was the sweet tea was very sweet, sweeter than my Cordovaometer cares for. Please make sure if you don't like sweet sweeeeeet tea to order half and half, which was perfect.

For food we had cheese dip of course with chips and salsa. The Salsa is great with  little kick and the cheese dip arrived hot  and, well cheesy. 

Debbies had Burritos and I had Tamales today and both of us also had rice. I could not find one thing wrong with my food and Debbie agreed that everything was great.

The service can always make a meal even better and I will say that we did not wait one time for tea or food or a smiling face. It was truly a great lunch experience. The service was  a 10.

The total bill for our meal was 32.86 which was not too bad considering I brought food home

I know I am having some cosmetic issues on the blog and I want to improve. I am looking for someone who can move me to a better blog site, so if you know anyone that is good with that stuff please let me know. I am aware that I need pictures of the food, and that is one of the reasons I need some paid help.

Did I say paid ??

I hope everyone likes what I am doing and I dont plan on stopping. 

I appreciate every one of you.