Cheap Eats: Rolling Bones Premium Pit BBQ
Todd Richards is smokin’ on Edgewood
When a restaurant changes hands, it’s a tricky situation. How to retain enough of the original flavor to keep loyal customers happy while making the necessary changes to bring in fresh faces?
At Rolling Bones Premium Pit BBQ (377 Edgewood Ave., 404-222-2324, www.rollingbonesbbq.com), the changes made by new chef/owner Todd Richards (formerly of the Four Seasons hotel and Spice restaurant) and his partners are a big improvement. The drive-thru is still there, the retro diner décor is the same, but the food at this “Southern-style” barbecue joint has received a serious upgrade. The menu is more chef-driven and now includes slight gourmet twists such as Benton’s bacon in the creamy potato salad, smoky sweet “Reggie’s baked beans,” and balanced, flavorful mustard greens. The new owners have also started using Georgia hickory and pecan to smoke the expanded selection of meats and side items. Corn is smoked in its husk and slathered with paprika and butter. The new and vastly improved “Memphis-style” barbecue sauces (hot or mild) hint of tomato, spice, sweetness and tang while the consistency masterfully straddles the fence between too thick and too thin.
(Photo by Garnish Photography/Courtesy Green Olive Media)