Cheap Eats - Right Around The Corner
Corner Pub curbs the early spring blues
If Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year, then the stretch between Easter and true springtime is the most terrible. Rain seems to last all week, leaving everything in its path extra soggy. Try to cheer yourself up with clothes shopping, and those pounds of winter weight make themselves apparent. But take it from a true springtime depressive: Nothing wipes away those early April blues like a visit to your neighborhood pub.
Cozy ‘n’ new: Along with hip salon Grow, Corner Pub has moved on, after a fire destroyed its first home on Oakhurst’s Earhart Square, to the newly developed East Decatur Station shopping/dining area. Huge windows and exposed beams give the new Corner Pub a clean, modern feel, while dark wood, pool tables in back and cozy seating add a warm, intimate touch.
Pound on this: I know I’ve found a place dear to my heart when I spy the menu offering jerk chicken wings by the pound. That’s right, the pound. They’re certainly the biggest drumettes I’ve ever seen, closer in size to an overfed Cornish hen’s thighs than anything you’ll find coated in hot sauce and served in a basket ($6.50, half-pound). Although the wings boast a strong allspice flavor, they don’t taste very jerk-like. Their true Jamaican-ness is beside the point, however, as their skins are crispy and coated in a nicely balanced blend of spices and herbs. And the meat is meltingly tender.
Feeding a good habit: My editor and my husband love to harass me about my burger addiction. Raised to believe that beef is nothing but good for you, this habit is certainly one of my more benign ones. Corner Pub’s version ($9) is thick and dripping with seared-in juices. You have to give it a light squash with the heel of your hand to compact it enough to take a bite. It’s a beefy mainline straight to my red-meat cravings. A catfish sandwich ($7) is equally delicious, with its fried, cornmeal-coated fillet that is pure buttery flakiness.
Top banana: Dessert is the last thing I’m ever in the mood for at a pub, but we get coaxed into giving the homemade banana pudding, a revolving special, a go. In place of the starchy, gloppy pudding I expect is a banana cobbler of sorts. Slices of banana sport a crumbly cinnamon and oat topping. Served warm, it’s more comforting than a kiss from Mom on the forehead. You can’t order the banana pudding by the pound yet, but when that next stretch of cloudy days hits, you know where I’ll be, ordering my weight in wings.