UNCLE JACK'S MEAT HOUSE, Duluth, GA

I've been wanting to try a new restaurant that opened near me in the 'burbs of Atlanta.  We are so hungry (pun intended) for great food in the outlying areas of the city.  The norm is to have to drive 30 minutes or more to get really good food.

Uncle Jack's is owned by Food Network star, Willie Degel, who owns numerous restaurants in New York City. He has left no detail behind in this newest restaurant opening!

UNCLE JACK'S MEAT HOUSE

6590 Sugarloaf Parkway

Duluth, GA 30097

770-497-2400

Uncle Jack's is located in a small strip center adjacent to the Infinity Arena in Duluth, GA.  It's in the corner spot and is easy to miss.  But...upon entering the restaurant the interior feel is nothing like you'd expect.  It's beautifully appointed - cool lighting over the bar, wood plank tables inside with a very cool vibe (unlike most suburban chain restaurants).  It was a lovely night in Atlanta so we opted for the outside seating.

Here's a view of the exterior:

unclejacks

And a pic of some of the gorgeous lighting over the bar area:

unclejacks

Even the floors are cool with paint splattering:

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Outside, it was absolutely beautiful.  We watched the sun set while sipping on Moscow Mules (made with fabulous Ginger Beer I might add).

The concept is this - quality food all local all farm to table.  And it shows - excellent food.  And - the people he has hired to work there are top notch.  From the hostess to the bus boys to our server (Bailey) - all outstanding.  Clearly, they have put trained people in place.  It felt like the place had been around for years rather than weeks.

 Lighting and seating outside:

 The view from our seats of the Infinity Arena:

 The drink menu:

 Our delish Moscow Mule:

 Very cool flatware and dishes:

 We had just come from playing golf and were starving!  We decided to start off with a charcuterie selection (4 local cheeses, 2 "meat" selections and yummy bread along with a pickled jar of veggies = a delectable combination):

 We were debating back and forth what to get for our main courses.  The menu is chock full of meats (naturally) but there are chicken and fish selections as well, and there was a special sandwich (redfish) that sounded amazing too. BUT we were in a meat frame of mind!

There were so many items to chose from that sounded great - and on their website they have (very smartly) included beautiful pictures of each dish: http://www.unclejacksmeathouse.com/gallery

Here was my steak sandwich.  Served with their fabulous fries and a jar of pickled veggies and au jus.  Very very very good.

 My son and husband both went with their burger. It was devine - it's called the Oooey Gooey Mooey Burger for a reason - blue cheese fondue, prime beef, onion jam, their "special sauce" and maple pepper bacon.  Served with heirloom tomato, lettuce, fries and those pickled veggies.

 We had no room for dessert but those sound so so good - next time....all sound enticing.

So all in all the dinner was fabulous.  We totally enjoyed ourselves and I kept saying how happy I was that this restaurant is in my back yard (as we have very few really good places nearby).The place is impeccably appointed and clearly is managed well.

But I would be remiss if I didn't also add one big piece of information - - - it is on the expensive side.  You need to be prepared to pay a bit more.  Realizing we were eating only the finest organic ingredients that were masterfully prepared, our bill still was pricey for Duluth, Georgia.    BUT, I really hope that this place finds a following.  The location is nice in that it is right next to a popular venue, and there are loads of local businesses that have employees and customers that are starving (pun intended again) for good food. I've already found myself talking it up to friends and neighbors since my visit.

We will be back for sure - many more items to sample...

***All photos are mine unless otherwise noted.

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THE BUTCHER THE BAKER---our trip to Marietta!

We are so looking forward to visiting old friends for the weekend in Marietta. The highlight of our trip will be an OTP (outside the Perimeter) dinner at THE BUTCHER THE BAKER!

THE BUTCHER THE BAKER

23 N Park Square, Marietta, GA 30060

Phone:(678) 224-1599

According to their website, "The Butcher The Baker is a locally owned farm to table restaurant bringing a new dining experience to the Marietta Square. Everything on the menu is house made, and we depend entirely on our local farmers to provide the freshest tastes of the season." The menu changes very frequently. And they are closed on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday.

Our friends live within walking distance to the square, so we're looking forward to being able to just saunter over for our meal.  A sample menu:

Snack and Share
chicken liver pâté, apple cider gelee, toast
scotch egg, turnip purée, pepper jelly
scallop, couscous, lemon marmalade
braised chicken fritter, bourbon mustard, pickled mustard seed
cheese plate: caly road waypoint, jasper hill baley hazen blue, sweet grass dairy Thomasville tomme
fried pork belly, coke gastrique, logan turnpike mill cheddar grits 5th kingdom mushroom, caly road chèvre fritter, parsley pesto tucker farms mixed greens, candied pecans, pickled baby vidalia, clementine vin, caly road bit o’ blue
charcuterie board: rosemary sausage, pate campagne, tasso, pickles, mustard, toast

Belly Up
beef tartar, bourbon mustard, caper
orecchiette, fava bean, caly road feta
s, shallots, focaccia crisps 

bahn mi, pork belly, house steam bun, pickled carrots, cucumber, cilantro
springer mountain chicken, sweet and sour cabbage, yellow foot mushroom, chicken demi
bramlett farm trout, ham broth, green garlic risotto, fava beans, pickled clementine
roasted strip, sunchoke puree, roasted sunchoke, brussel greens pork loin, potato dumpling, house bacon, flat leaf kale
pappardelle, oyster mushroom, hakerui turnips and their greens, poached egg charred vadalia, onion jam

Save Room 
chocolate & salted caramel terrine,

marcona almond 7 brown butter tart, grapefruit ambrosia 6 

fried strawberry pie, pickled strawberries, vanilla ice cream 6 

yogurt panna cotta, white pepper honey, pecan streusel 6

UPDATE:

So we strolled over to The Butcher The Baker on a beautiful summer night.  We had a bit of a wait (~ 5 minutes) before being seated.  The place was packed.  The decor is casual - exposed ceilings, antiques such as old tobacco baskets adorn  the walls.  You are immediately at ease in the place.

Our server came over immediately (Jace) and was fantastic - very knowledgable and friendly without being in our way all night.

Here's the menu we viewed that night:

COCKTAILS

 FOOD:

We started with cocktails.

Texas Two Towns
A couple of us went with this drink - made with beer and vodka!  It was delicious - just the right amount of sweetness.  Only complaint - I had to add ice immediately - it wasn't cold enough when presented. And I think coming out of the shaker, it should be server up, in a chilled martini style glass, not in an old fashioned glass.

THAT'S MY JAM

My friend ordered this drink (which I was told by our server was sweet), and we all loved it!  It was on the sweet side but not too sweet.  The blueberry flavor with the Tito's Vodka and Amaretto was outstanding. It was very refreshing and a perfect drink for the 90+ degree temps outside.

And one in our group got a Dirty Martini:

Sunberry point oysters, red wine mignonette, house made crackers

These oysters were so yummy that I ordered them as my main course afterward.  The mignonette was sublime - heavy on the shallots. LOVED! My picture wasn't the best here, but trust me - the oysters were devine!

And this is a poor picture, but at least you can see the delicious house made crackers:

 Charcuterie board (pate, harissa bologna, fennel sausage) spicy pickles, sourdough
We all loved the charcuterie selections.  Note: I would have liked one item of meat that wasn't a composite (such as a prosciutto or capicola), but all the ones we sampled were very good.  The mustard seed and honey mustard additions were great too.

PORK BELLY, creamed kale, green tomato chow chow

All I can say about this dish is "OMG!" It was just sick good.  The pork belly was rich and delicious, but that creamed kale was ridiculously good.  We wouldn't (ok, it was ME) let Jace (our server) take the cast iron skillet away until we (ok, I) soaked up more of the sauce with the leftover sourdough crostini.  YOU MUST GET THIS DISH! 

Rolls and biscuits with fresh butter

bramlett farms trout, corn+puree, arugula, cherry bomb pepper
This trout was terrific!  I'm not a trout lover normally, but this fish was so flavorful.  Loved the combination of flavors!

Brasstown coulotte (Sirloin), vidalia onions, swiss chard, mushrooms, gnocchi, green tomato jam
And 2 of us got the sirloin.  This dish was amazing.  Best sirloin I've ever tasted.  And it wasn't a huge portion (6 oz), so we weren't over stuffed after enjoying the above appetizers. The only thing I didn't love was the green tomato jam.  I love tomato jam and have made it many times myself, but in this dish, to me, it was too sweet.

Sadly, we just couldn't bring ourselves to eat another bite after dinner.  The desserts just looked crazy good though.  I WOULD have ordered the cherry tomato tart tatin with reduced balsamic, cream cheese frosting and balsamic ice cream.  But there's always next time....

A final pic with our friends (and their stunningly beautiful back yard), just as we left their home to walk to dinner:

We had such an enjoyable time reconnecting with our old friends at The Butcher The Baker!  Can't wait to go back and try more!!!