Cheap Eats - Food (and beer) for thought
Count on Thinking Man Tavern for solid nibbles and a science lesson
Uncomfortable when it comes to conversation starters? If you’re at Decatur’s Thinking Man Tavern, just consult the “Our Solar System” chart hanging above the booth and share a geeky factoid about the planet’s moons (named after Shakespearean characters) or how it rotates (on its side).
Should you tire of planetary talk, you can begin a chat about the human musculoskeletal system or the periodic table of the elements, large posters of which hang on the walls of the popular pub. Quirky, friendly Thinking Man Tavern’s not just many east siders’ spot for a late-night burger, it might also be the only bar in the Atlanta area where you can (ostensibly) learn while you eat and drink.
Starving artist, Thirsty thinker:
Start your meal by whetting your whistle affordably with a pitcher ($7) or pint ($2) of Starving Artist beer. Not a label of its own, Starving Artist is a clever name for the cheap beer special of the week, which was Lowenbrau on a recent visit.
MEAT AND CHEESE, PLEASE:
It’s a little-known scientific fact that the more beer you drink, the heartier your appetite for melted cheese. Thinking Man’s fondue ($6.50) is a hot, goopy bowl of white cheese, wine and cherry brandy served with apple slices and pumpernickel bread. Accompanied by a pint of Guinness, it’s a dream on a blustery winter day. If melted cheese is beer’s best friend, then fried potatoes are the love of its life. The mound of rounds ($5.75), a sizable pile of crispy, puffy and light potato chips covered with melted cheddar and topped with sour cream and salsa, is completely addictive.
Burgers on the brain:
One friend swears his marriage has stayed intact thanks to Thinking Man Tavern’s burger ($6.75), which his wife could not get enough of late at night while pregnant. Bun in the oven or on the plate, the burger is an irresistible half-pound Mack truck of beef served with your choice of side. The combination of buttered, toasted roll and thick patty smoky from the grill and juicy on the inside is bar-eats heaven. While a vegetarian friend smacks on an eggplant parmesan sandwich ($6.50), I scarf down a turkey melt special ($7) with Applewood smoked bacon and lots of mayo on buttered Texas toast. Between swigs of Bass and greedy mouthfuls of tender sliced turkey breast and griddled toast, I swipe at the eggplant sandwich. You could find no better padding for a night of pints than this sandwich, so sloppy with tart tomato sauce and gooey mozzarella that it must be eaten with knife and fork.
Next time you get the Sunday afternoon blues, pop by Thinking Man. If you’re a college student, you could even say you’ve got to go out and do some research.