Clash of the Dives! All City Coney Invades Chris' Hotdog Territory

[Ed. Note 11/26/2013: Gone the way of the DoDo Bird.]

The LITG Gang is a pretty tough crowd. The other day I invited them to join me at the new "All-City Coney Island Eatery" for a review of this "new" eatery (which opened Oct. 26) and the first response I received was: "Where is that greasy spoon?" Well, it is located at the corner of Madison and N. Union in the building here that former "sh*t hole" "Tokyo" was located. Tokyo was not favorably reviewed by this crowd previously. See prior review here. Why the new proprietors list "formerly Tokyo" on their menus is unclear. The interior of the place certainly has not changed much:

Statey's wait for their Coney Island dogs.

I was originally attracted to this place in order to defend the turf of our beloved Gump icon: Chris' Hot dogs. Loyal readers are familiar with our affinity for that good ol' reliable dive by our past posting and our April Fool's Day spoof about its closing. I was fully prepared to rant about this "interloper" who dares to upset the hot dog balance of power in Gump City with an array of Coney Island dogs and burgers. Alas, my two "Coney's" took the wind out of my negative sails. The service was quick, pleasant and the No. 1 special (which includes two Coney's, fries and a drink for about $6) "to go" was actually pretty good.

The No. 1 includes 2 Coneys (shown here without optional kraut)

I would never suggest that the dogs are better than Chris' and I cannot comment on the burgers, wings or breakfast options because I did not try any of them. However, knowing as I do that normal digestive systems do not allow one to lunch at Chris' more than once a month and in light of the demise of Doyle B when a Chris' dog ate through the lining of his immense stomach, I guess I would have to admit that it might be a good thing to have a choice of dogs in downtown. Competition is usually good, isn't it? Maybe? Is this Gump big enough for two excellent hot dog joints (not including the "Hot Dog Guy" on the corner of Tallapoosa and Commerce)?

So, if your stomach still hurts from your last Chris' hot dog but your body yearns for more tube steak, you might give the All-City Coney a try. Let me know what you think and we shall see if we, in the future, go off on the formerly Tokyo sh*t hole. So far so good?

Capitol Grill - Counterpoint

[CLOSED]

Yeah, the food was average and so was everybody else in the restaurant. I didn't see a fatcat or a peacock in the whole joint. Most people there knew other folks there. The WSFA noon report was on, but nobody was paying any attention. Background music was a local radio station. Duct tape was holding a lot of the place together. Folks from all walks of life were there at the Capitol Grill, getting along. The waitresses did a great job. The price was right. For 45 minutes I patronized a family-owned business, did a little political schmoozing, heard some gross conversation, brainstormed an intriguing business idea and yes, I had some bland food. All-in-all a damn fine lunch I'd say.

Montgomery Brewing Company (ho-hum)

[Ed Note: In October 2010, the Montgomery Brewing Company announced they were closing for renovations.  Since then, no work has apparently been done.  It is now December 21, 2010 and it appears the MBC is finito.  Perhaps the following blog foretold the problem....]

I think the LITG crowd was underwhelmed by the Brew Pub. You folks better get off your butt.

I ordered a "Brew Pub Club," with a cup of gumbo, which, according to the menu, was supposed to be $8.50 http://www.montgomerybrewpub.com/Lunch.html . They got the gumbo out real quick (good), but I had to ask for tabasco & crackers (bad). The gumbo itself was flavorful, but the consistency of jello, so it came out of the cup in two bites. I didn't find a shrimp in there, but then again I didn't look real hard to begin with. Then my "Brew Pub Club" comes out. It was pretty much like anybody else's club: no better, no worse. Maybe a tad soggier. There were some non-extraordinary fries. All-in-all, about what you'd expect for $8.50, plus I'm thinking maybe $1.50 for the weak unsweet tea, tax & tip.

This ordinary lunch should've been about $13.00 bucks total, BUT NO! Apparently I wasn't specific enough that I wanted the club sandwich/cup of gumbo COMBO! Because of the aforesaid non-extraordinary fries, I got the Brew Pub Club ($7.50, but with fries!), plus a couple bites of tasty but pasty gumbo ($3.95), plus tea ($1.50... oops, sorry... not so fast! $2.25!!!) for a total of $15.07 pre-tip.

I'm no whiner, so I ponied up, left a $2.93 tip, or 21.4% of the pre-tax check (our service was real good, and LITG never stiffs hard-working waitpersons). So anyway, that was $18.00 for lunch... the WORST bang for the buck in LITG history (with the exception of that new hotel, maybe). The last time I spent so much for lunch in Montgomery was at Nancy Paterson's and I left there very satisfied.

$18.00 lunch = 30 shares of CNB common as of 7/20/09

Food = 2.5 biscuits
Service = 3 biscuits
Value = 1 biscuit