PALLOOKAVILLE FINE FOODS
Overall rating: 3 of 5 stars
Food: American — corn dogs, soda fountain
Service: eclectic and efficient
Best dishes: corn dogs, fries, sodas, shakes
Vegetarian selections: battered pickle, salads
Price range: $-$$
Credit cards: all major credit cards
Hours: 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Sundays, 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Mondays-Saturdays.
Children: welcome
Parking: small dedicated lot
Reservations: only for large parties
Wheelchair access: yes
Smoking: no
Noise level: moderate
Patio: no
Takeout: yes
Address, phone: 17 N. Avondale Plaza, Avondale Estates. 404-500-1785
Website: www.pallookaville.com
Our tattooed waitress wearing a retro button-front white uniform paired with Dr. Martens boots littered our table with an ample spread of golden-battered corn dogs, onion-and-pepper-smothered sausages, fries thick with gravy and cheese, and tiger’s blood sodas. My 6-year-old son surveyed the array of yellow paper-lined baskets and asked, “Mom, are these green-light foods?”
As luck would have it, the day that his kindergarten class began its Healthy Me unit was the day I chose to take the family to Pallookaville Fine Foods, Atlanta native Jim Stacy’s new fair-food fantasyland. Whoops.
This Avondale Estates brick-and-mortar location for what began as a mobile corn dog wagon is a harmonious mishmash of carnival kitsch, soda fountain and deli. Using premium regional ingredients, Stacy elevates fair-food staples, making them worthy of indulgence — and of my motherly guilt.
As judge and co-host of “Deep Fried Masters,” a carnival food TV cooking competition, Stacy is uniquely qualified to open this sideshow-circus-themed restaurant. The reasonable price point and his lighthearted approach to both the decor and the fare give Pallookaville broad appeal.
In the early hours, it draws families with kid-friendly food, glass-encased displays of vintage toys and televisions rolling nonstop cartoons. As the day grows long, the restaurant morphs into an adult hangout with a full bar and “shaketails” mixed at the soda fountain. At Pallookaville everyone seems to fit in, even that band of fully costumed pirates hanging at the bar between tables of couples with tots in high chairs.
At Pallookaville, the corn dog is king. Personally, I’ve never been a fan of the dog-on-a-stick — until now. In fact, as I completed the required sampling of all menu areas, I longed to revisit the first. I may or may not have tacked on a corn dog to every order, regardless.
Here, you’ve got options, and they are all worthy. Dogs are cooked in a regional, family-farmed, non-GMO oil. So, dig in and go old-school with the hefty Corndogula ($4.50), a beef frank encased in a slightly sweet, golden brown cornbread. Go gourmet with Patak’s Polish kielbasa (Corndogski, $5.50) or Italian sausages (Cornleone, $5.50) outfitted in hot pepper or cheese-laced batter. And, if you dare, take Stacy’s challenge to try all three with the Fryinstein Monster ($6.50), which crams sections of each onto a special wooden dowel.
The Rolypoleon ($5.50), a fat Mt. Olive pickle swathed in cornbread, makes an interesting vegetarian option. Yet, the moisture of the pickle and the thick batter results in an undercooked, slightly soggy experience. And being the meat eater that I am, it’s hard to resist the succulent franks and sausages in fried batter.
Those links, gently cooked in Genny cream ale, also come with a slew of fair-food fixings. For example, the Midway ($8.50), a messy favorite, features a juicy Italian sausage slathered with soft griddled onions, green peppers and garlic jammed into a French roll.
Pallookaville also owns burgers, with its decadent pork patty made from Pine Street Market bacon ($5.00 for a quarter-pound). Try it alongside a basket of fries dressed with an assortment of toppings. Have them garbaged ($5.50) — a snarf-worthy mess of fries loaded up with rich poutine, griddled onions, punchy jalapenos and melted cheddar. Don’t mess around here: If you’re going to do it, just do it.
If you do have a dieter in your group, have fun tempting them to join the dark side or leave them in peace to eat one of the lighter choices like the kitchen sink salad ($9.50). The mixed greens with toppings like pumpkin seeds, corn and dried apricots can even be topped with sliced corn dog ($4.50 extra).
Vegetarians and vegans also soon will have more options at Pallookaville. With the new year, the restaurant will roll out a menu with items like vegetarian sandwiches and vegan chili. The soda fountain already includes vegan ice cream among its offerings.
Corn dogs and the soda fountain are the two main draws at Pallookaville. My kids relished the rare opportunity to not only have soda, but to create their own ($2.50) using one of the many Green River syrups. Chocolate soda was a hit. Caramel, not so much. Likewise, we made our own shakes ($5) and loved the cayenne-spiced Mexican hot chocolate, but the coconut sriracha one won’t soon make our list.
On my next visit sans kiddos, I look forward to creating a boozy shaketail by adding shots of liquor or cordials such as Luxardo Maraschino ($8).
Green-light foods? OK, even I can’t quite rationalize it that way. Yet, Pallookaville successfully re-creates the feel-good fun of the fair and the nostalgia of the soda fountain while serving indulgent, thoughtfully sourced food. It just makes me happy, and that I don’t have to justify.
