Decatur is a short drive from Stone Mountain.
December 4, 2011 – Decatur, GA, has some really good restaurants. As in, the kind that make you wonder if you can find a way to move to be closer to them (sadly, that’s not looking like a possibility).
First up is the Brick Store Pub. We parked a few blocks away and walked over, since the lot by the store is so small (no biggie, plus parking is free on Sundays!). The ambience is great even before you walk in. A thick wooden door, along with an artistic stained glass image of a beer stein, let you know what you’re in for. Except then the interior surprises you. It’s not large, but the ceilings are high, there’s exposed brick on the walls, lots of light coming through the windows, and a few plants further brighten the space. We snagged a high top table, checked the menus (which are also pretty neat) and decided on a few draft beers to start the meal. Tony picked a great one – Scaldis Noel; it started off caramal-y and eventually turned sweeter, like pear. Louisa played it a bit safer with an American brew (Founder’s Favorite) that tasted a bit like Guinness. This one started out tasting like coffee, and after a few seconds reminded you of chocolate Devil’s Food cake. Lunch was a sampling of dishes – fish and chips, the pierogi appetizer, and a cup of curry. The fish and chips were good, but not overwhelmingly amazing. The pierogies were very good – lightly fried, buttery, served on a bed of buttery sauteed onions and nuts with a hint of fresh basil. The curry, though, was the star of the show. It was a thick sweet potato and chick pea mix, served over rice and with a side of (house made) pita chips. It’s better than curry we’ve gotten from our favorite Indian restaurants.
We took a stroll around the block after lunch, and agreed that we were much too stuffed to consider dessert. Then we wandered by this coffee shop called Java Monkey. Well, we only walked by it because Louisa had Tony look it up on his phone, and this was the best reviewed coffee shop. And it’s good. We had a iced mocha and an espresso con panna… and a slice of chocolate pb mousse cake. The coffee was very good. And that cake was fabulous – chocolate cake, topped with pb mousse, topped with ganache, with chocolate cookie crumbs pressed along the outside of the cake.
We had an uneventful drive back, except for finding a Five Guy’s for dinner in Columbia. This was probably the best Five Guy’s we’ve been to – perfectly done, highly seasoned Cajun fries, and really juicy burgers. If you’ve never been to a Five Guys, be sure to check out the free peanuts and their massive list of toppings (especially the sauteed onions and mushrooms).
Reviews:
We did the three mile drive, and parked at Lot B to walk through the Enchanted Forest on our way to get hot cocoa (tasted just ok, but was nice and warm!), a funnel cake with cinnamon and powdered sugar (excellent), and a stick with three jumbo marshmallows on it to roast. Louisa was able to get the marshmallows hot, but Tony roasted the last marshmallow perfectly. Now we know who the dedicated s’mores maker is going to be. 
