Authors | Flagpole Magazine | Athens, GA News, Music, Arts, Restaurants

Blog posts by Hillary Brown

Mama's Boy to Increase Parking, Space at Second Location in New Shopping Center

Blog: Grub Notes

Photo Credit: The Falls of Oconee

If you've ever tried to park at Mama's Boy during a busy time of day (i.e., basically all of them) and ended up giving up, with a flood of profanity, you'll be pleased to hear about the restaurant's upcoming second location.

By Hillary Brown | April 7, 2017
April Is Here to Fill You with FOMO Food Events

Blog: Grub Notes

Photo Credit: White Tiger

White Tiger celebrates its 10th anniversary on Friday.

If you've been in Athens for more than a year, you know that April is the month in which any day of the week probably has 16 different events parked on it, from G-Day to Plantapalooza, Fluke, Insectival and so on.

This weekend kicks things off, with the following opportunities to eat and/or purchase the ingredients to make delicious food. You don't have to make it to everything, and there's probably no way you can.

By Hillary Brown | March 31, 2017
Meal Kits From The National, Cinnaholic's 'Grand Opening' and More Tidbits

Blog: Grub Notes

As part of her fundraising for Project Safe's Dancing With the Athens Stars, Airee Edwards (seen above with her Team 6 partner) has teamed up with Peter Dale of The National to offer Blue Apron-type meal kits, available for a limited time. As the saying goes, give the man a fish cooked by Peter Dale, he'll eat for a day; buy the man a meal kit that teaches him how to cook like Peter Dale, and he might actually learn something.

By Hillary Brown | March 15, 2017
Athens Is Getting Some More Chain Restaurants

Blog: Grub Notes

Charlie Graingers

Chains!

By Hillary Brown | February 28, 2017
Clarke's Standard Is Open Downtown

Blog: Grub Notes

Photo Credit: Clarke's Standard

After a couple of months of revamping, the restaurant that was previously The Branded Butcher (charcuterie, adventurous more high-end dining), next to the Georgia Theatre on Lumpkin Street downtown, is open in its new version, as Clarke's Standard.

By Hillary Brown | February 25, 2017
The National Is Catering an Oscar-Themed Fundraiser for Ciné

Blog: Grub Notes

As y'all know (or should know), Ciné, our only art-house theater, is also a nonprofit, and like all nonprofits, it needs to raise money apart from ticket sales. It's partnering with My Athens to throw a three-course benefit catered by The National, with beers from Wild Heaven, this Saturday, Feb. 25, at 6:15 p.m. in the CinéLab.

By Hillary Brown | February 23, 2017
Five & Ten Is Nominated for a James Beard Award Again

Blog: Grub Notes

The James Beard Foundation released its scroll of semifinalists for restaurant awards across the country on Wednesday, and Five & Ten is among the "Outstanding Restaurant" nominees again.

By Hillary Brown | February 17, 2017
Farm Cart Pop-Up at 1000 Faces Sunday Morning to Benefit the ACLU

Blog: Grub Notes

By Hillary Brown | February 4, 2017
The Fish Shack to Open on West Broad in February

Blog: Grub Notes

Photo Credit: Hillary Brown

Monica Huff

The cute little building at Hancock and Broad that most recently housed Preserve is about to get a new tenant. Monica Huff will open The Fish Shack with her son, Julius, in February, although they're waiting on inspections to have an official date.

By Hillary Brown | January 27, 2017
Terrapin's Wake and Bake-Off Happens Sunday

Blog: Grub Notes

Photo Credit: The Seed and Plate

The Seed and Plate, an online food-focused Athens magazine, is hosting an Athens location of a series of events called Empty Bowls South, not to be confused with the Food Bank of Northeast Georgia's annual Empty Bowls Luncheon, which will be held Mar. 1 at the Classic Center. The Seed and Plate's dinner happens tonight (Jan. 16), with seatings at 6 and 8 p.m. The former is sold out, but there are stll tickets available for the 8 p.m. seating, or you can make a donation on its website.

By Hillary Brown | January 16, 2017
Cafe Istanbul and Takorea Open Downtown; RIP Ryan's and The Savory Spoon

Blog: Grub Notes

Photo Credit: Cafe Istanbul via Facebook.

Cafe Istanbul's Decatur location has had a couple of famous guests.

It took a little while, and it wasn't met with much hoopla, but the Athens location of Cafe Istanbul is open, next to Utage on Clayton Street. It still isn't listed on the Atlanta-based restaurant's website, which does include the Decatur, Kennesaw and Alpharetta locations, but you can at least take a look at the menu there. It features meze, kebabs, zatar bread and wonderful Turkish pizza, topped with everything that will give you terrible breath but tastes amazing.

By Hillary Brown | January 4, 2017
Buffalo's to Close at End of Year

Blog: Grub Notes

Buffalo's Southwest Café, in the Beechwood Shopping Center, may technically be a chain, but the folks who own it locally (Rick and Sharon Roberts) have always run it more like a small business than like a franchise. Come Jan. 1, it (and the location of Fatburger just inside the door) will close permanently.

By Hillary Brown | December 20, 2016
Metro Diner Is Coming to the Former East-West Bistro Downtown

Blog: Grub Notes

Those 'chos sure look outta bounds.

Photo Credit: Metro Diner

The two-story space that housed East West Bistro for many years, on Broad Street downtown, finally seems to be getting a tenant: a diner chain out of Jacksonville, FL.

By Hillary Brown | December 13, 2016
Veronica's Sweet Spot Is Open in the Chase Park Warehouses

Blog: Grub Notes

Photo Credit: Veronica's Sweet Spot/Facebook

One problem with the Chase Park warehouses, on Tracy Street in the Boulevard neighborhood, has been that there's not much to eat or drink there, unless you get lucky and happen upon a Canopy bake sale or a pop-up art opening. Since Hip Pops closed in October, there's been even less.

But now, Veronica's Sweet Spot, a project of local musician Veronica Darby, is finally open for business there, with coffee, tea and snacks for sale.

By Hillary Brown | December 12, 2016
Pulaski Heights BBQ's Smokehouse Destroyed By Fire

Blog: Grub Notes

Photo Credit: Pulaski Heights BBQ via social media

Pulaski Heights BBQ experienced a pretty major fire over the Thanksgiving holidays, but the Flagpole Athens Favorites winner has a plan to be back up and running ASAP.

Owner Chuck Ramsey says they put out all of their Thanksgiving food Thursday morning, "shut the smoker down, and left around 1 [p.m.]. I got a call at 2:40 from a neighbor saying the smoke coming out didn't look right. It totally gutted the smokehouse and destroyed the smoker. The fire inspector hasn't been able to determine a cause yet, but said it didn't look like arson."

By Hillary Brown | November 28, 2016
The Branded Butcher is Rebranding, Preserve Is Closing, and Cinnaholic Is Open

Blog: Grub Notes

The Branded Butcher, on Lumpkin Street downtown, recently announced that it's doing some rebranding, meaning the current menu and name are going bye-bye.

By Hillary Brown | November 18, 2016
Where to Buy or Eat Your Thanksgiving Dinner in Athens

Blog: Grub Notes

Photo Credit: Student150/Wikimedia Commons

ORDER ALL OF THE PIES

One thing you can be thankful for in Athens is that we have many, many local restaurants more than willing to cook some delicious food for your Thanksgiving dinner in exchange for your dollars (and, in one case, not even for that). Here’s the list of what we know: how to order, what the deadlines are, whether they’re offering turkey or just sides and so on. We'll update it as info comes in.

By Hillary Brown | November 11, 2016
Donna Chang's and Wok's Up Are Open, and Other Food News

Blog: Grub Notes

Photo Credit: Photo via Facebook

Donna Chang's

The much-anticipated Donna Chang's, in Five Points, is kinda, sorta open for business, and from what I hear, has been very busy despite a very quiet soft open. For now, it's dinner only, five nights a week (closed Tuesday and Wednesday; 5–10 p.m. Monday, Thursday and Sunday; 5–11 p.m. Friday and Saturday), but more nights and lunch will be added. Menu is up on the website linked.

By Hillary Brown | October 18, 2016
Update: La Dolce Vita Is Not Closing

Blog: Grub Notes

Welp, it looks like La Dolce Vita isn't closing after all, at least not right now. Instead, it's switched from serving alcohol to BYOB, all of which is maybe good news for customers but also may be temporary.

According to Athens-Clarke County, "Alcohol Renewal applications were mailed out on September 15. The completed renewal applications are due in Financial Services by November 1." The same is true of the state-level liquor license, which is also required.

By Hillary Brown | October 10, 2016
Food Truck Festival, Taps and Tapas, Vegan Beer Dinner and More Food Events

Blog: Grub Notes

Photo Credit: Joshua L. Jones/file

April is probably still tops when it comes to scheduling food events, as it combines beautiful weather with a lack of football competition, but October is pretty dang crazy too. Here's some of what's coming up (click here for previous coverage of some other October food events that are taking place this weekend):

By Hillary Brown | October 7, 2016