Moe’s and Joe’s Tavern has existed since 1947, and it still stands in the same spot, 1033 North Highland Avenue in Atlanta, Georgia, it did all those years ago. Even I have some childhood memories of this restaurant and my uncle who worked there. Most of my memories of the place were positive ones, but when I returned, I discovered what seemed like a foreign land.
When my guest and I first got to Moe’s and Joe’s by car, we discovered that there was virtually no parking. Even in the middle of the day, when the restaurant has been open for just one hour, there are cars in the two to three parking spaces available in the front of the building. To find a spot to park, we had to drive to the end of the block and park on the side of a back road because the parking lot located near the tavern is dedicated to the old hardware store a few lots away from Moe’s and Joe’s and, therefore, is not public parking.
When we first walked into the building, I glanced around and discovered that there was no one behind the bar or anyone that looked like staff in the building. However, there were a handful of chaps sitting at the bar watching a football game on the television.
The restaurant is quaint but dark. The wooden walls are covered with graffiti which includes anything from a simple name to a string of perverse writings. Fortunately, there are so many characters and drawings that not much of it is discernible. The graffiti extends even into the bathroom which is much worse than the rest of the building. The bathroom is disgusting. The outer door will not lock, and the inner door looks as though someone punched the wood out of the door. The one creative part of their bathrooms is that they have put the soap in a condiment dispenser, but the soap container’s cleanliness is questionable.
Smoking seems to be acceptable in the small, one room restaurant because a member of another group that was eating lunch there had out a lit and smoking cigarette. The red cushioned benches have seen better days because some have fairly large holes in them. Also, advertisements, pictures from ages gone by, and neon signs are littering the walls in no particular order or place.
Once my guest and I had seated ourselves, the waiter came from amid the fellows at the bar and was wearing a light blue shirt with a Mega Man character on the front. He did not look like he was actually at his job or even hard at work. He handed us the menus, and like most restaurants, asked if we wanted anything to drink. My options were severely limited. Being under twenty-one I was limited to the usual drinks of soda, tea, and water. However, being over the age of twenty-one greatly increased my guests choices of alcoholic beverages. They serve imported, specialty, and draught beers as well as a handful of wines including Pinot Noir, Merlot, White Zinfandel, Pinot Grigio, and Chardonnay. My guest decided to have one of their many beers.
The drinks came and I discovered that the soft drink I had ordered was a thirty two ounce soda instead of the traditional sixteen ounce one I was expecting. At this time, the waiter asked if we were ready to order our meals, so my guest and I each placed an order for the Mo Jo Burger, one of the cheapest items on the menu at two dollars and seventy five cents. The Mo Jo Burger is described on the menu as “our original since 1947; perfect as a snack or a meal.” Hamburgers are not the only food choice available. They also offer quesadillas, wings, tacos, chicken, sandwiches, and salads, and the starters include chips and salsa, roasted garlic hummus, spicy chicken egg rolls, Mo Jo fries, and chili. The only menu item over ten dollars is their forty wing dish, which is sold at a price of twenty-two dollars and fifty cents.
As I waited for the burger I had ordered, I realized that I could see into the kitchen if I craned my neck slightly toward the doorway of the kitchen. Also looking around, I noted that three televisions were mounted on the walls, the largest of which was sitting next to the bar. Each television had an unrelated program displayed. The two smaller ones had the weather and the news, while the largest one had on a football game. Lastly, as I waited for the great arrival of my meal the waiter brought the missing salt, pepper, ketchup, and mustard to the table.
After an abbreviated wait, the food arrived, and I was surprised to see the minuscule size of the burger sitting inside a basket and not on a plate. Well, I decided to take a bite and see if the burger was the least bit tasty. I was still thinking that this small amount of cuisine would have a dazzling flavor. I took a bite only to discover that I could not taste the burger. The only flavors that bombarded my taste buds were those of the lettuce, tomato, onion, and mayonnaise that had been included on the hamburger. I decided to take another bite and once again was sadly disappointed.
The burger was not the only food to come. French fries and a pickle spear also accompanied the main course. The fries were much larger than ordinary ones, and there was more French fry mass than actual burger mass. The fries tasted much better than the hamburger, and I found myself munching more on the fried potatoes and pickle spear than the Mo Jo burger that was originally my intended meal. In this case, I really did get the burger I had paid two dollars and seventy five cents for.
When we finally finished, the waiter promptly removed our baskets, and then brought the check. The bill was placed on the table, and I glanced at it. It had been scrawled in pen on a blank piece of paper. On one side was the list of individual purchases with the monetary value of each next to them. There was no formal layout to the list; just the waiter’s handwriting in something resembling a column of text. The other side, the side that was visible when the piece of paper was first placed on the table, only had the total for the meal. I had come with a family member, who had ordered one of the available beers, and we had amassed a final bill of fourteen dollars and seventy five cents. Not too bad for a two person lunch.
The restaurant is quaint but dark. The wooden walls are covered with graffiti which includes anything from a simple name to a string of perverse writings. Fortunately, there are so many characters and drawings that not much of it is discernible. The graffiti extends even into the bathroom which is much worse than the rest of the building. The bathroom is disgusting. The outer door will not lock, and the inner door looks as though someone punched the wood out of the door. The one creative part of their bathrooms is that they have put the soap in a condiment dispenser, but the soap container’s cleanliness is questionable.
Smoking seems to be acceptable in the small, one room restaurant because a member of another group that was eating lunch there had out a lit and smoking cigarette. The red cushioned benches have seen better days because some have fairly large holes in them. Also, advertisements, pictures from ages gone by, and neon signs are littering the walls in no particular order or place.
Once my guest and I had seated ourselves, the waiter came from amid the fellows at the bar and was wearing a light blue shirt with a Mega Man character on the front. He did not look like he was actually at his job or even hard at work. He handed us the menus, and like most restaurants, asked if we wanted anything to drink. My options were severely limited. Being under twenty-one I was limited to the usual drinks of soda, tea, and water. However, being over the age of twenty-one greatly increased my guests choices of alcoholic beverages. They serve imported, specialty, and draught beers as well as a handful of wines including Pinot Noir, Merlot, White Zinfandel, Pinot Grigio, and Chardonnay. My guest decided to have one of their many beers.
The drinks came and I discovered that the soft drink I had ordered was a thirty two ounce soda instead of the traditional sixteen ounce one I was expecting. At this time, the waiter asked if we were ready to order our meals, so my guest and I each placed an order for the Mo Jo Burger, one of the cheapest items on the menu at two dollars and seventy five cents. The Mo Jo Burger is described on the menu as “our original since 1947; perfect as a snack or a meal.” Hamburgers are not the only food choice available. They also offer quesadillas, wings, tacos, chicken, sandwiches, and salads, and the starters include chips and salsa, roasted garlic hummus, spicy chicken egg rolls, Mo Jo fries, and chili. The only menu item over ten dollars is their forty wing dish, which is sold at a price of twenty-two dollars and fifty cents.
As I waited for the burger I had ordered, I realized that I could see into the kitchen if I craned my neck slightly toward the doorway of the kitchen. Also looking around, I noted that three televisions were mounted on the walls, the largest of which was sitting next to the bar. Each television had an unrelated program displayed. The two smaller ones had the weather and the news, while the largest one had on a football game. Lastly, as I waited for the great arrival of my meal the waiter brought the missing salt, pepper, ketchup, and mustard to the table.
After an abbreviated wait, the food arrived, and I was surprised to see the minuscule size of the burger sitting inside a basket and not on a plate. Well, I decided to take a bite and see if the burger was the least bit tasty. I was still thinking that this small amount of cuisine would have a dazzling flavor. I took a bite only to discover that I could not taste the burger. The only flavors that bombarded my taste buds were those of the lettuce, tomato, onion, and mayonnaise that had been included on the hamburger. I decided to take another bite and once again was sadly disappointed.
The burger was not the only food to come. French fries and a pickle spear also accompanied the main course. The fries were much larger than ordinary ones, and there was more French fry mass than actual burger mass. The fries tasted much better than the hamburger, and I found myself munching more on the fried potatoes and pickle spear than the Mo Jo burger that was originally my intended meal. In this case, I really did get the burger I had paid two dollars and seventy five cents for.
When we finally finished, the waiter promptly removed our baskets, and then brought the check. The bill was placed on the table, and I glanced at it. It had been scrawled in pen on a blank piece of paper. On one side was the list of individual purchases with the monetary value of each next to them. There was no formal layout to the list; just the waiter’s handwriting in something resembling a column of text. The other side, the side that was visible when the piece of paper was first placed on the table, only had the total for the meal. I had come with a family member, who had ordered one of the available beers, and we had amassed a final bill of fourteen dollars and seventy five cents. Not too bad for a two person lunch.
All together, Moe’s and Joe’s has changed a great deal since I had been there as a kid. Unfortunately, it has taken a turn for the worse. The place itself has seen better days, and I know it is probably livelier at night when the alcohol drinkers are sitting at the bar and yelling at the television. However, this does not excuse the tavern from operating as a normal restaurant during the day. Despite the good services, the food is tasteless, and the décor is somewhat appalling. It is because of these reasons that I must give the restaurant a poor rating of one star.
Moe's and Joe's Tavern
★
No comments:
Post a Comment