When I’m in the south, I pretty much need to eat BBQ. Thus, as my trip to Atlanta had nearly reached its conclusion and I hadn’t eaten BBQ yet, I did my best to find a spot close to the airport. Pit Boss came up on the interwebs as a good spot, so I made my way there. It looked and felt old school, which is exactly what I was hoping to find, and judging by the blue collar-looking people I had high hopes.

I decided to order the Brisket Sandwich with pepper jack cheese on it. I also got a side of mac and cheese. It took a bit to get ready, but when it was done I was in for a horrid surprise – upon my bun sat a couple of fluorescent pickles just doing its best to ruin the thing. I grabbed a bottle of both the spicy and mild BBQ sauce and set to work, hoping not too much damage had been done.

It turned out that the pickles did not ruin the meal. In fact the meal was ruined by a dark horse ingredient: meat. Yes, that’s right, the brisket was so dry it was nearly inedible. Even the BBQ sauce did its best to rescue the sandwich, but it was no use. I mean, sure, the mac and cheese was good, but if a BBQ place doesn’t get the BBQ part right, it has no right to even attempt to make some side dishes.

On my way out, I noticed there was a line way out the door at Pit Boss. I wanted to warn these people, but alas all I could do was to go home and write in my blog about it. Brisket was clearly a poor choice, but after eating it I can’t imagine any other choice would have been better.

Sometimes when I go to a restaurant I get pretty torn on what to order. In times like these I lean on the professionals (aka waitstaff) to help me out. Such was the case at the Olde Blind Dog Irish Pub in Brookhaven, a suburb of Atlanta. The pub serves much of what you would expect from pub food, and I love that stuff so much that I’m inclined to eat it all up.

When the waiter recommended the spicy fried chicken I was all about it. It came with mashed potatoes and steamed veggies, but I subbed the veggies out for onion strings and the result was something beautiful.

As for the actual taste, I found the whole getup to be just okay. Certainly they did not mess up the onion strings or mashed potatoes, but the fried chicken just wasn’t anything special. There was nothing bad about it, but there wasn’t anything that screamed “good” either.

Alas, perhaps it is not always best to trust the experts. I’d go back again, but would hope for something more than just okay.

What’s in a name? Apparently for The El Felix in Alpharetta, Georgia it’s redundancy. While I cannot explain why it’s The El Felix and not simply El Felix, I can say that this nuevo Mexican restaurant seems to be made for unvegans like me. I had a tough time picking from all the great-looking meaty options, but when the waiter made a strong sell for the Tacos Al Pastor.

But these weren’t like the al pastor that I am used to in LA. Instead, these were made from crisp, slowly cooked pork belly and pineapple. They were pretty good, with some nice fatty flavor and solid caramelization, but the big winner here was the tortillas. These were made in-house and had just the right thickness and chewiness that one could ask for in a tortilla. Plus, they had spent just enough time on the griddle to get some brown crispiness to them.

The pork belly was good, even if a little oversold by the waiter, but the tortillas were really what made this meal. Next time the waiter may want to sell on those, but I can’t complain.

Every city has its share of iconic places to eat. In Atlanta, one of those places goes by the name of The Varsity and has been around since 1928. They still do the paper hat thing and the people taking orders are famous for asking “What’ll Ya Have?” As far as the food goes, it’s basically what you would expect from 1928: hot dogs, burgers, fries and onion rings.

But these weren’t just any burgers and dogs, they come in the chili-cheese variety and the slaw variety. I went with a chili-cheese dog, chili-cheese burger and onion rings. I made sure that the burger and dog wouldn’t include any veggies and then added a Frosted orange because it just felt like the right thing to do.

The result was a greasy, amazing throwback meal. The hot dog was classic and snappy, while the cheese was just a straight up American slice and the chili was super beefy with no wasteful beans (and really very little texture to speak of). To some that may not sound like a good thing, but it’s reminiscent of the coney dog spots around Detroit that I grew up going to. It couldn’t compete with the coney dogs, but I may be a bit biased.

Those onion rings, by the way, were pretty glorious. They were fried to the oblivion that renders them barely onion-y and that batter was delicious. The only trouble was that I couldn’t find anything to dip them in. Ketchup didn’t really do them justice, but I couldn’t find the ranch that probably would have sealed the deal. Regardless, they were a force to be reckoned with.

The Varsity is not one of those places that will blow you away with unique and surprising flavors, and if you’re not from Atlanta, it might be lacking in the bonus seasoning that nostalgia brings. Nonetheless, I ate it all up and enjoyed every moment.

When it came time to grab dinner with a buddy in Atlanta, I was given a few choices. While the others will remain nameless, South City Kitchen stood out to me. Having existed for more than 20 years and cooking up a modern take on classic Southern food, I figured this was the place for me.

Now, apparently it may be a sin to leave Atlanta without having some sort of take on pimento cheese. Thus, we ordered the pimento cheese dip, which came with a few things for dipping. The best of these was the crackers and the worst was everything else because they were celery and pickles. Luckily, the crackers were plenty.

As for my main course, I just had to have the Springer Mountain Farms Fried Chicken. I couldn’t tell you what the significance of Springer Mountain Farms is, but I was eager for their chicken. It also came with some mashed potatoes and collard greens that I swapped out for a sweet potato and parsnip dish. The fried chicken itself was the star, as it should be. The batter was a little bit on the peppery side for me, but I can respect that others are into that. Most importantly, it was super crispy while the chicken itself was moist and tender.

While I’m generally more of a fan of the old school hole-in-the-wall places, I couldn’t help but be happy with South City Kitchen and the somewhat fancied up fried chicken.

When you travel for business, you don’t really stop to think about just how much food you’re taking in. Thus, I felt it necessary to follow up my first BBQ dinner in Alpharetta, Georgia with another one. This time I went to ‘Cue and split ribs and brisket in an attempt to get enough meat to compare to the night prior at Smokejack.

So let’s begin with those ribs. They fell off the bones like nobody’s business, as in when I tried to pass half of the slab to my eating companion I failed because the whole thing just fell apart. Yet, as tender as they were, I felt that the rub was not as good as the night before.

As for the brisket, it was decent, but really nothing special. I have high brisket standards and this one was just kind of eh. Regardless, the spicy vinegar sauce ‘Cue had was fantastic. It was one of a few different choices and it easily took the brisket and ribs to the next level.

Now you may be wondering what sort of delicious side that piece of bread seems to be hiding. Why, it’s none other than Mac and Cheese, or as the menu calls it, “Creamy Macaroni and Cheese.” This stuff lived up to its billing and had a nice crispy crust to it to go with the creaminess. There was a thought and care that went into the mac and cheese, and that went appreciated.

Yet, when it came to the end of the meal I couldn’t help but feel if I had only one BBQ meal to eat in Alpharetta it would be Smokejack. Perhaps it’s only because I tried them out first, but the combination of greater meats and nearly-as-great sides just did it for me.

Alpharetta, Georgia isn’t exactly a food blogger’s destination of choice. Yet, when the day job sends you off to such an exotic place, you make do. And that’s what I did when I made my way to Smokejack, a BBQ that I hoped would represent The South well. Smokejack is located in what can best be described as Alpharetta’s Main Street (because it is), and while all the other restaurants nearby looked good, Smokejack just drew me in.

Fortunately, I was with a fellow BBQ lover and we proceeded to order the biggest platter possible to split. It was called The Jack and came with 1/4 lb. pulled pork, 1/4 lb. burnt ends, 1/4 roasted chicken, 1/4 rack spare ribs, 1/4 rack baby back ribs and 4 sides (I suppose to keep the 4 theme going). We picked Mac and Cheese, Pimento Cheese Grits, Baked Beans with Bacon and Corn Pudding for our sides, because we had no need for greens.

Yet, Smokejack seemed to disagree, because when The Jack arrived, it cam with a boatload of pickles tossed in one corner. I did my best to ignore these as I dug into the meat. While each item seemed to borrow BBQ styles from other places, they were all great. The Memphis-style spare ribs were fantastic, as were the baby back ribs. The burnt ends probably could have been a bit more tender, and the pulled pork could have used more flavor, but then again the rubs were so great on the ribs that the pulled pork probably would have tasted better on its own. The chicken was even pretty good, and super juicy.

As for the sides, I was pleased with all of them. The baked beans did not fall into the nasty habit of being overly sweet and the mac and cheese didn’t amaze, but still tasted solid. The pimento grits were probably my favorites, being creamy, textured and flavorful.

I left Smokejack packed to the brim, and happy with the quality as well. Atlanta locals may not think Alpharetta has good BBQ, but this transplanted Los Angeleno was impressed.

2014 is here, but my 2013 may have been the best year of eating in the history of the world, so it’s time for another Unvegan Best of. The past year included a honeymoon, an epic month-long road trip and a move from Los Angeles to Pittsburgh, so my list has broadened beyond LA and narrowing down the awesome was quite the process. Nonetheless, I encourage you all to go back through my Reviews section to see what didn’t quite make the cut. Remember that the list only includes places new to The Unvegan and bear in mind that Honorable Nods this year would probably be winners any other year. Without further ado:

Best Burger

Plan Check (Los Angeles)

Double cheese, double bacon and an egg and patty cooked to perfection made the Chefs Favorite burger a winner in a very tightly contested category.

Honorable Nods to Edgewood Corner Tavern (Atlanta) and Matt’s Bar (Minneapolis)

Best BBQ

The Smoke Joint (Brooklyn)

Don’t waste time thinking about what to order. Just order everything. And the Beef Ribs.

Honorable Nod to YinzBurgh BBQ (Pittsburgh)

Best Steak

Delmonico Steakhouse (Las Vegas)

The Bone-in Ribeye here is like butter, which may be because it is cooked in butter, but I don’t care.

Honorable Nod to Taylor’s Steak House (Los Angeles)

Best Wings

Buffalo Blues (Pittsburgh)

I admit that these wings earn extra points because of their Buffalo Blue Fries, but the wings are still quite delicious.

Honorable Nod to Hot’s Kitchen (Los Angeles)

Best Hot Dog

Franktuary (Pittsburgh)

Grass-fed, snappy and with all sorts of good toppings, as long as you go with hot dogs, you can’t go wrong here.

Best Sandwich

Joey Broadway (Vancouver)

Somehow, Joey Broadway made an adult grilled cheese without ruining all the joy that comes with that most comforting of foods.

Honorable Nods to Primanti Brothers (Pittsburgh) and Philippe’s (Los Angeles)

Best Pizza

Mercato di Vetro (Los Angeles)

Blackberries and bacon on pizza. What could go wrong? Nothing. Absolutely nothing.

Honorable Nod to Lucifer’s Pizza (Los Angeles)

Best Breakfast/Brunch

Zingerman’s Roadhouse (Ann Arbor)

Grits and bacon in a waffle. If anyone still thinks Zingerman’s is just about sandwiches, it’s time to get to the Roadhouse.

Honorable Nod to Pamela’s (Pittsburgh)

Best ‘Merican (Formerly Gastropub)

North End Caffe (Los Angeles)

Everything this place churns out is gold (including their spelling of Caffe) and the staff there know it and love it even more than the customers do.

Honorable Nod to Buckhead Diner (Atlanta)

Best Mexican

Mexicali (Los Angeles)

Somehow Mexicali found a way to innovate Mexican food to a level Taco Bell still hasn’t thought of.

Honorable Nod to Leo’s Taco Truck (Los Angeles)

Best Random Ethnic (by region)

Africa

Arnold’s (Cape Town)

Best warthog ribs ever.

Asia

Night + Market (Los Angeles)

The Thai you’d eat if you were Thai.

Europe

Point Brugge (Pittsburgh)

Belgian Fries FTW!

Middle Eastern

Cafe Turko (Seattle)

The touch, the feel of Turkey. In Seattle.

South/Central American

Peru Chix (Los Angeles)

Who knew Torrance was a hotbed of Peruvian delights?

For 2013 Only:

Best Place to Stop on a Coastal Drive

We have a tie!

Splash Cafe (Pacific Coast Highway)

The best damn chowder.

And:

Chapman’s Peak Hotel (Chapman’s Peak Drive)

The best damn calamari.

And that’s a wrap. Meanwhile, you can also check out 2012 and 2011 for more listage.

Recently, a jury in Georgia had a most interesting case. According the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, some vegans were protesting outside of a HoneyBaked Ham store. A poorly trained undercover police officer was taking pictures of the protest and the vegans noticed him. They wrote down his license plate number. The officer was worried since it was his own car and could be linked back to his home, so he tried to get the paper with his license plate number back.

That’s when things went sour for the vegans. They fought back, like any good malnourished vegan would, and were subsequently taken to jail for disorderly conduct. The vegans sued, and for all their efforts, they were awarded a whopping $4. That’s not even close to enough to cover attorney fees. It’s almost like the jury wanted to recognize that it isn’t cool to throw people in jail for no good reason, but didn’t want to seem like they supported the obviously radical vegans.

Luckily they have a bonus four bucks to buy some kale at their local farmer’s market. If they ate regular food, they might be able to get a full meal from Taco Bell.

(via AJC)