Freckled & Blue

Spoiler alert: this is not a rave review. It is not terrible, but I will not proceed to wax poetic about the deliciousness of this restaurant. 

I've been wanting to try Freckled & Blue Kitchen for literally years now. They started as a food truck business and used to have an outpost in the Smyrna/Vinings area back when I was still in college. One day, a 50% discount offer popped up on my Scoutmob account (does anyone use [or still use] Scoutmob?), and I pocketed it for a later date. Even though I lived within walking distance at the time, that date never came.

Fast forward to now, and they have migrated down the street from one of my favorite neighborhood gems: The Marietta Square. I love this little square. My yoga studio is in the square. My favorite spice shop is in the square. My favorite record shop is in the square. And my favorite Jalapeño Margarita (in the state of Georgia) can be found at a restaurant... you guessed it, in the square. So when I was driving home one day and saw a sign that said "Future home of Freckled and Blue Kitchen," my heart did a little flutter. And when one of my favorite foodie instagram pages posted a photo of their Freckeld & Blue bbq plate, I took it as a sign from God that I finally needed to try it. So I did. That same day.

One of the first things you notice out front is a separate house building for their smoker. You can smell the meat cooking as soon as you step out of the car.

The inside is small but quaint and cute.

The menu is also fairly small, but that is usually a good sign in my book. Less is more when it comes to restaurant food offerings. I will take quality eats over endless options any day. 

The order:
A Pulled Pork plate with seasoned fries, pimento mac n' cheese and the house sweet bbq sauce
A Beer Can Chicken bbq plate with broccoli salad and pimento cheese deviled eggs

So here is the rundown: they give you plenty of food, but it still feels a bit over prices. The total for everything listed above, plus a drink, was $33 and change, and that only included one bbq sauce per order. They charge if you want more.

As far as the taste goes, it was good, basically on par with Shane's Rib Shack or Jim n' Nicks. For a small mom & pop type restaurant, I was expecting to be blown away - the way I was with 12 Bones in Asheville, NC (my goodness, just writing about 12 Bones right now makes me want a rack of their ribs). You know, one of those local spots that if you moved away, no other food could satisfy your craving for it.

Maybe my expectations were too high.

Still, it was good. The pimento cheese options were the real standout. I could have ordered a whole plate of the mac n' cheese and deviled eggs and been thoroughly satisfied.

It is definitely worth noting that for every meal purchased, F&B Kitchen feeds an Atlantan in need. That alone is worth the cost, so I will definitely be back.


Freckled & Blue Kitchen

547 Atlanta St SE

Marietta, GA 30060

http://freckledandblue.com/