Omnivore - Great ‘cue, good music, beautiful staff, not a decent fork in the place

We ate at Daddy D’z (264 Memorial Drive, 404-222-0206) in Grant Park Friday night. The restaurant’s ribs remain my favorites in the city, but I also like the chicken a lot.

Three things distinguish Daddy D’z from other barbecue joints. First, even if another restaurant approaches the quality of Daddy D’z ribs, they don’t come close to the quality of vegetables. The collards are my favorite, but any of the sides are good, including the fried okra, mac-n-cheese, and red beans and rice.

Second, the restaurant has no real silverware — just plastic crap that breaks when you try to eat anything more than cole slaw or potato salad with it. We always try to carry our own forks and knives. We forgot them Friday night. Here’s a picture of Wayne with his hand bloodied after attacking half a chicken.

Third, there’s a killer staff, including Will, flanked in this photo by twins Tia (on the left) and Kia. The beautiful TiKi are from Philadelphia.

Oh, there’s a fourth thing: Great music, especially 8-10 p.m. Wednesday nights when singer Bernadette Seacrest and Her Provocateurs perform. Kia calls Bernadette a cross between Billie Holiday and a rockabilly singer. Rockabilly Holiday, get it?

Oh, wait. There’s a fifth thing: the best red velvet cake in Atlanta.