Vickery's Bar and Grill

 (all photos by WHO SHOT YA Photography)

 Place: Vickery's Bar and Grill
Where: 933 Garrett Street #101 Atlanta, GA
Reservations Needed: No
Price: $$
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner Sun: 11:30AM - 10:00PM Mon-Thurs: 11:30AM - 10:00PM  Fri & Sat: 11:30AM - 12:00AM
www.vickerys.com/

We braved the remaining ice on the road this past 14th of January to warm our bellies with some bar and grill fare, thanks to Crowd Cut's (check links on this page) latest deal. That deal lead us to Vickery's Bar and Grill in Atlanta.  After the dining experience, hindsight makes me wish we'd gotten lost on the way.

Excited about trying something new, we kept our same M.O. of sampling as much of the menu as we possibly could.  To test if an establishment's cooking skills are up to par I always order what's recommended, or their special dish. We started off with a couple of appetizers.  I got the Fried Green Tomato Caprese Stack, which is fried green tomatoes layered with Buffalo mozzarella accompanied by marinara and pesto sauces.  Excellent presentation minus my tower of tomatoes being showered in too much garnish.  As far as taste, the tomatoes were fried well and possessed good flavor; the cheese, however, was slightly rubbery. Unfortunately, the wonderful flavor of the tomatoes gets lost amidst the combo of marinara and pesto sauces.  The second appetizer we chose was the Fried Calamari.  Once again, great presentation, although the red and green bell peppers served absolutely no purpose in this dish other than addition of color. We politely pushed them aside to enjoy the perfectly fried calamari that was blessed with a sweet chili sauce and sesame seeds that gave it an Asian flair. Too much of the sweet chili sauce was used and it overpowered the calamari; but the less soaked pieces were exactly how the entire dish should have been; perfectly balanced and delicious.

I also ordered the Cream of Spinach soup, which was the Soup of the Day.  Big mistake.  The soup was bland and lifeless, like it was scared to be in the bowl.  It should have been because it was watered down and had a taste reminiscent of hospital food or an elementary school cafeteria.  The Southern Pecan House Salad on the other hand, was a pleasant wake up for my taste buds with its combo of mixed greens and golden raisins, sliced cucumbers, crumbled blue cheese, and candied pecans.  One of the best salads I have eaten in a restaurant.  Note: skip the Balsamic vinaigrette it comes with, and opt for the strawberry vinaigrette instead.

Low Country Seafood Sautee

     After a slightly disappointing start we decided to move on to our main courses. Only one problem. Our waiter was nowhere to be found. Empty appetizer dishes sat on the table for at least 30 minutes while the next table patron was never short a sip of water.  There weren't many dining guests on this particular Friday night, most likely due to the inclement weather. So it was baffling how long it took for the server to come back. After a few minutes he returned and we ordered several more dishes.  We got the Low Country Seafood Sautee, Catfish and Grits, the Vickery's Crab Cake Sandwich and Black Beans, and an All Natural Certified Angus Burger with Provolone and an order of fries.  The Low Country Seafood Sautee contained crawfish, Andouille sausage, and shrimp served over grits. It would have been topped with spicy fried oysters, but thanks to the oil spill in the gulf they weren't available.  A lot of the shrimp in the dish had half of their shells on making you work while you eat, and the grits were embedded in a nice puddle of grease from the low quality Andouille sausage.  The grits in both dishes were deplorable.  I'm from the south and I have been eating grits well over 20 years; I know what they should be. Grits should not be the consistency of mashed potatoes and taste like kindergarten paste. Grandmothers everywhere below the Mason-Dixon Line would shed a tear if they witnessed the destruction of that Southern staple.  The Catfish and Grits featured blackened catfish and Andouille

Catfish and Grits. Note the pool of grease to the left.

sausage atop "grits".  The fish was palatable by itself but once again I was greeted with useless red and green bell peppers.  My "grits" were also sitting in a wade pool of grease and I couldn't figure out why since they forgetfully left the Andouille sausage out of my dish.  It was impossible to finish either meal after a few bites.  The Angus Burger made a good showing among its lackluster counterparts, but it was at best an average burger. Great fries though. Moving on, the Vickery's Crab Cake Sandwich,(which also comes as an appetizer),

Vickery's Crab Cake Sandwich

 was made with real crab that tasted fresh and fried just right, mustard aioli, lettuce and tomato, and (a missing) red onion.  It could have used a boost in flavor to make it really stand out but it was the best of the entrees. This was surprising since crab cakes usually aren't a good pick while dining out.  The black beans and rice side, however, was less than appetizing. We opted out of dessert; our faith in receiving a great dish was diminished.
    Vickery's Bar and Grill is sub par compared to other bar and grills offering similar tastes, but costs you more of your hard earned money.  I've had better food at places with a little red chili pepper as their logo.  Maybe a change in cooks or better attention to detail could provide a better experience. As of yet, its not a place I would return to. It is not worth a second go, and it definitely wasn't worth the trek over the icy roads in hopes of good eats.

(Who Shot Ya Photography contact: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Who-Shot-Ya-Photos/112529072133206)


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