Atomic Rooster

 

Located at 275 North Elm Street in the Stock and Grain food hall in High Point, Atomic Rooster specializes in hot chicken. It opens at 11 a.m. daily and closes at 7 (Sundays), 8 (Monday-Wednesday), 9 (Thursday), or 10 (Friday and Saturday). Online ordering is available.

Stock and Grain eateries are hit-or-miss for me, but I do like a good hot chicken sandwich. Atomic Rooster boasts several plus chicken strips and starters/sides. It’s a fairly compact menu though it does give you a few permutations (plain, buffalo, Asian, etc.) to choose from.

I went with the Carolina Hot sandwich (chicken, lettuce, tomato, onion, Carolina hot sauce, spicy ranch), which came with a side of hot chips and a choice of dipping sauce. While Stock and Grain prices tend to run high, $14 was in-line with other local options. 

The food, however, proved to be a mixed bag. Both the chicken and chips were nice and crispy, offering a satisfyingly crunchy bite. The chicken may not have been particularly spicy, but it didn’t lack in flavor. It managed to be well-sauced without becoming too much of a mess to enjoy. That said, it was perhaps the thinnest chicken patty I’ve ever seen. Calling it half as thick as the bun would be overly generous, and that cuts into the meal’s value considerably.

You could do worse than Atomic Rooster, but it’s not a place that’s worth going out of your way to frequent.

The Dog House

 

Located at 664 North Main Street in Downtown High Point, The Dog House serves hot dogs, burgers, and sandwiches. It is open from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday.

Every self-respecting North Carolina town needs an old-school hot dog joint, and The Dog House, in operation since 1942, fits the bill for High Point. Places like this carry a few expectations: simple-but-good food served up by friendly folks in a no-frills environment at a reasonable price. The Dog House checked a few of those boxes, but not enough to make me eager to return.

Positives first: the vibe here is appreciably classic. The booths and stools let you feel like you’ve entered a time warp. The Dog House also turns around orders with impressive speed. When I stopped by to pick up lunch to go, I was out the door in a matter of minutes.

That said, the food here rates as only OK. The buns are soft, but the hot dogs, while certainly not bad, are nothing special. They are also not as cheap as you might think: $3 base price and then $1.75 each for kraut and relish. One can understand that much of an upcharge for bacon, but a nearly $5 hot dog here felt like a reach.

If you want a hot dog in a hurry or want to experience a slice of local history, The Dog House will scratch that itch. Otherwise, there are better lunch options.

That Place in the West End

Located at 750 Summit Street in Winston-Salem’s West End, That Place in the West End serves Asian and American cuisine. It is open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily. Online ordering and outdoor seating are available.

A funky little spot in a bright blue building, That Place in the West End is a mad science experiment that shouldn’t work but somehow does. It began as a poke bowl place but has since added everything from rice and noodle bowls to burgers and hot dogs to sandwiches and wings. It hasn’t gone full Cowfish (yet), but trying to offer so much is a risky proposition. And yet, if my visit was anything to go by, the eclecticism didn’t come at the cost of execution.

I popped in shortly before noon on a Saturday to find the restaurant mostly empty (though patrons were pouring in when I was ready to leave). It’s definitely a casual space – counter service with disposable bowls – albeit more colorful – and a decent bit costlier — than a fast food joint. I was nearly set on building my own poke bowl when I spotted a cold noodle section of the menu. Peanut salad noodles with shrimp sounded too good to pass up.

My food came quickly, and it hit the spot. The peanut sauce had a spicy kick, the cabbage and peanuts offered a satisfying crunch, and the shrimp were cooked well. I had lowered my expectations based on the atmosphere, but I shouldn’t have: this dish would have held up at a more upscale place.

With so expansive a menu, I don’t know if That Place in the West End can keep up the quality across the board, but I would gladly return to this place for more noodles. Or a poke bowl. Or a burger. Or fried chicken. Or… 

Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man

 

In 1940, former gang leader-turned-politician Tommy Shelby (Cillian Murphy) is living as a recluse and writing a memoir while haunted by past losses. His estranged son Duke (Barry Keoghan) has taken up leadership of his gang, the Peaky Blinders, and uses violence to intimidate the locals despite the outbreak of war. Nazi collaborator John Beckett (Tim Roth) approaches Duke with a scheme to crash the British economy by flooding it with counterfeit money, for which the Peaky Blinders would be paid handsomely. A visitor with a connection to both Tommy and Duke tries to bring the former back into the fray to reach out to the latter, but will it be enough to prevent calamity?

During its nearly decade-long run, Peaky Blinders was a sometimes-excellent series occasionally hampered by pacing issues and the odd creative blunder. Stylish and soulful, it boasted strong lead performances, but the six-episode seasons left the storytelling feeling rushed, and it somehow managed to get a bad performance out of the talented-but-woefully miscast Anya Taylor-Joy. Picking up the story seven years later, The Immortal Man offers many of the same virtues and vices.

Oppenheimer may have been Murphy’s biggest break, but Tommy Shelby arguably remains his best role. He’s able to convincingly portray everything from steely resolve to complete devastation and anguish, all without saying terribly much. Keoghan, replacing the younger Conrad Khan, layers in hurt and inner conflict beneath his sneering, nihilistic façade. Among the newer additions, Rebecca Ferguson is reliable as always even if her character’s entry into the story seems contrived. Roth manages to make his evil Nazi disarmingly genial though Beckett is a fairly forgettable character, especially compared to the series’ villains.

Created by a proud Brummie (Steven Knight), Peaky Blinders captured Birmingham’s industrial grit and juxtaposed it with an untamed countryside. These contrasts not only made for striking television, but they spoke to Tommy’s dual legacy: that of a British social climber and a Romani/Traveller leader. The Immortal Man continues and complicates this tendency. Birmingham is now bombed and battered while the countryside is as haunted as the film’s protagonist. As with the series, The Immortal Man benefits from a moody, well-chosen soundtrack, including the series’ unofficial anthem (“Red Right Hand” by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds).

The Immortal Man clocks in at just under two hours, and it’s a taut, well-paced affair with sure-handed direction courtesy of Tom Harper. Some of its beats are a bit predictable, but given how much the film addresses themes of fate, there’s at least some context for that. Less pardonable, however, is the disconnect between the film and the show as several characters who should rate at least a mention are left out completely. But just as the series struggled to fit an entire season’s worth of storytelling into six episodes, so too does The Immortal Man find it challenging to serve up a grand finale in about two episodes’ time.

While it may leave fans of the show wanting more, The Immortal Man is powerfully acted and aesthetically sharp if narratively underbaked.

Thai Square

Located at 3361 Battleground Avenue in the Westridge Square shopping center in Greensboro, Thai Square offers Thai cuisine. It is open from 11-9 on Sunday-Thursday and 11-9:30 Friday-Saturday. Online ordering is available.

I had time to kill before a movie and wanted a lighter lunch. A som tam (papaya salad) fit the bill, and Thai Square had it. While I would have been satisfied if it merely fulfilled a craving, Thai Square more than exceeded expectations.

From an aesthetic standpoint, this is one of the nicer Thai restaurants in the area. It’s bright and clean with a wall full of ornamental plates. Though it was busy at the time of my lunchtime visit, it seemed well-run. Staff were polite and attentive, and the kitchen had no trouble keeping up with demand.

The som tam with shrimp was among the best versions of this dish that I’ve had. From the attractive plating to the freshness to the flavors (good amount of lime, not too heavy on the fish sauce), it was satisfying across the board. It wasn’t at all spicy, which would ordinarily be a red flag (white people Thai food, five-yard penalty), but in fairness, it wasn’t requested as such. Provided that Thai Square can bring the heat if you ask for it, the execution here is top-notch.

 

I don’t know if the rest of Thai Square’s menu compares favorably to the dish that I had, but I hope to eventually find out. For Thai fans in Greensboro, this place is definitely worth a visit.

 

Sixty Six Grill and Taphouse

 

Located at 930 NC 66 in Kernersville (with additional locations in Thomasville and Winston-Salem), Sixty Six Grill and Taphouse offers American cuisine for lunch and dinner. It is open from 11-9:30 on weekdays, 11:30-9:40 on Saturdays, and 11:30-8:40 on Sundays. There is a full bar, and online ordering and catering are available. 

Casual dining may be declining nationally, but evidently Sixty Six Grill didn’t get the memo. It’s in that same TGI Friday’s/Ruby Tuesday/Applebees tier, yet its full parking lot suggests brisk business. The location – it sits on a busy stretch of 66 – may explain some of that though Sixty Six isn’t without other virtues.

Spacious and well-staffed, Sixty Six isn’t the kind of place where you’ll have to wait long to find a table or receive food. It’s dark and a bit noisy but not headache-inducingly loud. The menu is decently large, boasting everything from apps and wings to burgers and sandwiches to Tex Mex and pizza. There aren’t any real surprises, but there’s enough variety to accommodate most diets.

For our lunchtime visit, my wife and I split a fried pickles app followed by a jalapeno burger (with sweet potato fries) and a Nashville chicken sandwich (with chips), respectively. Admittedly, the fried pickles didn’t make for a very attractive-looking plate. Instead of golden brown pickle chips, there were thicker, lightly battered slices. However, they tasted just fine and paired well with a zesty dipping sauce. Speaking of zesty sauces, the chicken sandwich had it aplenty, and it made for a satisfyingly messy bite. The chips were homemade and rated above average. Unfortunately, Sixty Six overcooks its meats. Under all the sauce, the chicken itself was a bit dry. My wife ordered her burger medium well and received it well beyond well done. As with the chicken, it was still flavorful despite the doneness issues.

On food alone, Sixty Six isn’t a strong draw, but factor convenience and versatility into the mix, and it becomes a solid lunch option.

Xia's Asian Tapas

Located at 134 North Spruce Street in Downtown Winston-Salem, Xia’s Asian Tapas offers Asian fusion cuisine for lunch (11-3) and dinner (5-9:30) every day except Sunday. Patio seating, a beer and wine menu, and online ordering are available.

The owners of What Da Pho opened Xia’s about a year ago, and so far, it’s demonstrated staying power. It’s a handsome space inside and out. As expected given its origins, Xia’s menu skews Vietnamese (pho, banh mi, fresh rolls, and lettuce wraps), but there are Chinese influences as well. That menu isn’t terribly large, but it does offer a good deal of versatility, including vegetarian options.

My wife and I went with steamed dumplings followed by short ribs and garlic green beans with beef and rice. The flavors were excellent across the board. The green beans were sharply garlicky without overwhelming the palate while the ribs offered lemongrass notes and a hint of sweetness. The dumplings will make it hard to go back to the frozen version any time soon.

Service was friendly and generally attentive. Our group of four ended up receiving dishes at different times, a possible product of the “small plates” concept blurring the distinction between courses. Speaking of which, expect small portions, especially for the near-entree prices paid. Nothing was outrageous, but a “come hungry and fill up” joint this is not.

If you can look past that limitation, Xia’s Asian Tapas offers tasty food in an attractive location. Provided you aren’t famished, it’s worth checking out.