aldo nahed's overflow |
A bit of breaking news about my whereabouts. A bit of self promoting, cool finds online, fun things to do around Atlanta. Aldo Who? |
Dillard’s Barbeque was an excellent choice in an area that looks like is going through a construction revival. While the nearby businesses and government buildings are all wrapping up construction, Dillard’s BBQ seems like a place stuck somewhere in the 1950s.
If you are looking for service, go to McDonalds. This place marches to its own drummer. The waitstaff was lax about the refills, order taking, clean up and all the essentials of good restaurant service.
The food ($9.95 - $12.95), on the other hand, is the main star. The food is worth every cent. Their barbeque ribs, beef and their veggies — friend okra, collard greens, baked beans, mac-n-cheese — delicious.
We later hit up Gourmandises, an all right french bistro whose taste borders on mediocre.
The atmosphere, which is a strip mall off of a busy Suwanee street, does not transport you to France.The food was bland and the Croque monsieur ($6.95) tasted like it had been microwaved.
The special of the day, jumbo scallops ($15) took a while to come out and were not really worth the price for three scallops, especially since scallops don’t cost that much. The sauce they were drenched in was different, a little lemon and butter is usually fine, but the chef really seemed to have overdone.
The drinks were served in styrophone cups, which if anyone cares about the environment, they would think twice about these foam cups that take about 20,000 years to degrade. Also, all utensils were plastic. Plates were china, but they might as well have been paper to add to the backyard barbeque of eating bistro food with plastic forks.
The inside decor also does not tranport you anywhere special, because it’s not special. The walls do have a nice colletion of beautiful cat art prints by artist Frederic Payet, but half the tables are elevated, not a relaxed feel when you have to climb to sit.
We opted for an outdoor seating, overlooking the boulevard and parking lot. On the other side, a view of desolate trees.
The pastry case is tempting, with beautifully stocked with deserts of all sorts, which tasted pretty good. The crepes were also not bad. I also tried the crepe bretonne or Brittany style ($9.95), and devoured the tomato mozzarella ($7.95). For a side, I had the gazpacho soup. I’m not a big fan of cold soups, but it tasted good. Not good enough to clean my cup, though. I should have tried their french fries.
One plus is that you can bring your own bottle of wine to enjoy with your meal. This might make the place slightly more berable. We didn’t, but the table next to us was having a blast, cracking a red and a white to enjoy with their cheese and french fries appetizers.
The cheese plate was a good choice ($12.95), but the bread tasted a day old. For a place with a large neon sign on the entrance boasting fresh bread, it’s a little misleading.
Another eye sore was the chef’s wardrobe. I know you are in the kitchen making food and sauce will splatter on your shirt, but don’t come out of the kitchen without an apron, it looks unkempt, messy and unprofessional.
Final verdict: I will not return for their french food, but if I’m ever in a mood for crepes or a fancy desert ($4.95 and up). This is the place.