Deep in the recesses of my To-Do Lists, I maintain a list of places I want to eat if I find myself in a particular city. Of course, the list doesn’t get much play, but when I found myself in Atlanta for the Final Four, I whipped out the list and found some delights I had only dreamed of. The first place I went to was the Edgewood Corner Tavern. I didn’t go because of some suggestion that they might have good food, I was there for one thing only.
The Carpetbagger.
The Carpetbagger is a burger, but so much more. Stuffed with blue cheese, the patty is then battered, deep fried and smothered in buffalo sauce. It also came with a side and I opted for the Pimento Mac and Cheese. When the waitress remarked that just about everyone who orders The Carpetbagger gets the mac, I responded that clearly no one ordering that burger was interested in salad. According to the menu, that was all it came with, although when my beautiful burger arrived, it came with the classic/terrible burger toppings on the side. I ignored these as I went to town on the burger.
And what a town it was! Each component was pretty much perfect and in balanced harmony. I could go into detail, but everything sounded just as good as it turned out. Yet, such a burger does have a drawback or two. The process of stuffing a burger with cheese and deep frying it leaves little room for a medium-rare order. There was a little bit of pink in the burger, but not much. Fortunately, there wasn’t a hint of dryness. Also, the bottom half of the bun got a little bit soggy from supporting such a behemoth. It would be nice to get a little more support down there, although eating the thing was still more clean than buffalo wings.
The Pimento Mac and Cheese was a pretty good side, although a bit more viscous than I usually prefer with mac. But let’s be real here, anything as a side was going to pale in comparison with that burger.
Aside from the food, I was a big fan of the classic rock soundtrack playing in the bar and a lot less of a fan of the smoke smell that pervaded the establishment. Apparently bars are like the only place in Atlanta that still allow smoking, but I expect that won’t last much longer.
In any case, the Edgewood Corner Tavern is a must in Atlanta. The Carpetbagger is a gift from the South that may very well change your life.
