Bourbon, Burgers, and Barbecue

Hey everyone, I'm back. Sorry for my absence last week. I have been overloaded with birthdays, work, and writing. I have a few posts coming your way including this one. Over the last couple of weeks, I have been in pursuit of the best breakfast sandwich to replace my weekly bacon egg and cheese sandwiches. I have already tried Chick-Fil-A and Bojangles (see previous posts for those reviews). This time, I chose Krystal. Food: Bacon, Egg, and Cheese on a Biscuit Score: 8 out of 10 Comments: I enjoyed the sandwich. The bacon was cooked just right. It wasn't rubbery and it wasn't burnt. The eggs were not overseasoned. The biscuit was nice and flakey but it does fall apart after a few bites. Overall Comment: I like going to Krystal in the morning. It's quick in and out; no big lines, inexpensive, and the food tastes good.

This past weekend was my wife's birthday. I wanted to take her out somewhere nice and the Village Tavern was a place she kept telling me she wanted to go back to since my brother-in-law's birthday back in January. So we decided to go back and was just as happy this time as we did the previous event. 1555 Rainwater Dr Alpharetta, GA 30009 770-777-6490 https://www.villagetavern.com/ About the Village Tavern The original Village Tavern opened in Winston Salem, NC in 1984. The concept was to serve the best food at affordable prices using the freshest ingredients. Drink: Apple Knocker (Knob Creek Bourbon, Apricot Brandy, Crisp Green Apple, and Ginger Beer) Score: 8.5 out of 10 Comments: This was a strong drink. I mean, it was enough where two or three of these will knock you on your butt. You could taste the Brandy more than any other flavors. It paired well with the rest of the liquor which made the drink enjoyable. Appetizer: Baked Brie

Okay, this one is a bit of a longer post than usual because there were a lot of components to this dinner. On Sunday, I made a smoked pork loin with a homemade honey orange glaze and unfried pickle chips. Let's begin with my homemade rub: Applewood Smoked Sea Salt Celery Salt Ground Pepper Chop Seasoning Weber Roasted Garlic and Herb spice Make sure to coat both sides of the meat with the rub and place in a ziplock bag for 2 hours. Put it on the grill/smoker. I use charcoal and maple wood chips to smoke the meat. Keep the temperature between 200-250 degrees. For the two pieces in the picture, it took 5 hours to smoke to medium-medium rare. Now the Honey Orange Glaze: (Sorry I don't usually measure when I cook) Squeeze 2-3 large oranges Minced garlic Ground mustard Worcestershire sauce  Honey and brown sugar Mix well and alter the ingredients to taste.

Last weekend we ventured out to Dahlonega with some friends to check out a well-recommended place called The Smith House. Inside was beautiful and showed it was a historical site, including the details, a  video, and a display of the old mine shaft. The four of us sat around with our kids at the table and enjoyed a delicious feast of southern cooking served family-style. 84 South Chestatee Street Dahlonega, GA 30533 706-725-8148 https://smithhouse.com/ History The history of The Smith House goes back to 1884 when a gentleman by the name of Captain Frank Hall purchased an acre of land east of the Dahlonega town square to build a home. Captain Hall moved from Vermont to Dahlonega in 1868 after the civil war. He was a representative of The Boston Massachusetts Company to oversee local gold mills and machinery of the Dahlonega mines. His fortune came from many tracts of land he acquired and from general merchandise store named the Frank W. Hall Merchandise Company. T

My family likes to go out to breakfast on the weekends. One place we enjoy going to is Papa's Place. It is just outside the North Atlanta Outlet Shopping Center. About Papa's Place: Papa's Place is a family restaurant which opened its doors 4 years ago by Dawn Powell and her daughter Kaitlin Lyerly in honor of Dawn's father, Frank Lippolis, who loved people and food. Family was a big part of Frank's life. Dawn and Kaitlin tailored their restaurant to give customers a family feeling of sitting around the table over a home-cooked meal. 3651 Dawson Forest Road,  Dawsonville, GA 30534-6959, US 706-265-6194 https://papasplacega.com/ One thing I really like about Papa's Place is you get a lot of food for your money. I have been here twice. Both times I have left very full and satisfied. Food: House Hungry Breakfast (3 eggs cooked to order, Applewood bacon or sausage links, your choice of country potato, tater tots or corned beef

3626 Mundy Mill Road Gainesville, GA 30504 https://cookout.com/ For over a year, I kept hearing about this place and how good the food and shakes were. Every time I tried to go, something or someone always prevented me from going. I finally decided to give them a try to see if they lived up to the hype. Food: A Big Double Burger with Cheese (Ketchup, pickles and onions) Tray (included fries, a quesadilla, and an oreo shake). Burger Score: 7.5 out of 10 Comments: The burger was juicy but there was barely any cheese on it. It was nice I could pick out what I wanted on the burger, but they don't provide a list of options so I had no idea what to select other than the basic ketchup, pickles and onions. Fries Score: 6.5 out of 10 Comments : I was very disappointed with the fries. There was no taste to them. They tasted like they were dipped in oil and dried and put in the container. There was no seasoning on them. You have to ask for cajun seasoning. What happened t