This month, The Burgestions from readers maggie Virgil and Sherry Hart, the BurgerFolks headed up Roswell Road to Nancy G’s in the Fountain Oaks Shopping Center, a strip mall with several other restaurants. When you first go into Nancy G’s, you get a few clues that this might not be a true burger joint. The smell of freshly cooked herbs indicates that most dishes are probably pretty sophisticate. Happily, Nancy didn’t feel the need to make her burger as sophisticated as many of her other offerings. (When it comes to burgers, sophisticated is not always better, but almost always more expensive. If you remember our reviews of The Clubhouse, JoÎl, and Mid-City Cuisine, fancy doesn’t mean better to us!)
The burger at Nancy G’s is a strong performer in our eyes – and our stomachs. The burger comes on a great bun that is slightly, pleasantly eggy, with sesame seeds and lightly toasted. The standard burger comes with provolone, red onion, lettuce, tomato, mayo, ketchup and mustard.
Amazingly, a medium burger at Nancy G’s is cooked medium, which has been a big challenge in too many of the restaurants we’ve visited. As a result, Nancy G’s burger was juicy and flavorful. The fries were a little bit of a letdown, as they appeared to be battered before frying.
While the dishes are a little more gourmet than you might expect on first inspection, the service is the kind of personal one hopes for from a neighborhood eatery. The meal starts with an introductory, while-you-wait muffin. We highly recommend taking the muffin. Ours was strawberry, with each muffin having about three halved strawberries baked right in. Delicious! We have the feeling that the muffin flavors change regularly, if not daily. But, we couldn’t ask too many questions, lest our identity be exposed.
Most impressively, Nancy herself stops by to check on your meal and is truly interested in your response – she even asked follow-up questions. (I think we’ve all been in too many trendy eateries where the maitre d asked, "How’s your meal, folks?" and was onto the next table before you could possibly have answered.)
On the burger chart, Nancy G’s doesn’t unseat the greasy nirvana we found at Ann’s Snack Bar and Six Feet Under, but we think her burgers are really worth a visit if you happen to be a little north of the city. We give it a 6.5 with extra credit for the muffin.
Incidentally, Nancy G’s has rules posted, as Ann’s does, but they have a decidedly Sandy Springs feel to them – Use Your Manners, Clean Your Plate and Count Your Blessings – compared to those posted on the Memorial Drive eatery Ann rules over. For instance, Do Not Curse in Snack Bar or Lay or Lean on Counter.
From Our Readers
Please ask the BurgerFolks to give the Brickery in Sandy Springs a try. They are absolutely the best in all the qualities you mention: Taste, correctly prepared/medium rare and sides. Try the half and half side – fries and rings. Their Caesar burger is exceptional if you are more adventuresome than the basics. I’ve been to almost all the other places listed and know this to be the best! www.thebrickery.com.
