the general muir

today was my day to try the general muir across from nih. it's an upscale deli---an interesting concept. temenuis full of traditional deli items, some with a twist. the décor is bright and sunny, a far cry from the flouresent ambience of a new york deli like katz's or the stage. the service was a little reserved but efficient. i tried the veggie reuben, one of those deli-with-a-twist items. it has two kinds of cheese and sauerkraut. the role of the meat is played by sliced beets. it's a pretty inspired idea; the beets give a meaty taste and texture. the only drawback, and it was a minor one, was that the beets, being much more slippery than meat, kept sliding out of the sandwich.

you can find the general muir at 1540 avenue pli'm, ste b-230, emory point, atlanta, ga 30329 in the heart of emory village. parking is along the streets (a bit limited) or there are a few lots if you don't mind walking (i'd advise this as the area is quite busy). i had heard about the general muir from a few friends and have been wanting to visit - unfortunately it's in a part of town where i don't frequent. i had an opportunity (wife out of town) and a craving for an exquisite burger in mind so made the muir my destination one late afternoon. i had heard and read about the general muir taking generalmenuqueues from a traditional new york style jewish deli so i had a specific image in mind at the outset. i was literally blown away by the interior of this place on arrival - much more upscale than any deli i've visited - this place would make an awesome date-night destination (but note that they do close by 9:00 pm during the week).

everything was tasty. great flavors and beautiful place. excellent service.menuhad several unique dishes. not my typical place though. a touch fancier than my usual.

no promotion for this general

we had heard that the general muir had a very good breakfast. so we went and found the restaurant located in the center of the emory point complex. 3 hours of free parking is provided in the nearby deck.

the restaurant has a sort of new york vibe with lots of little white tiles and windows that look in on the kitchen.

the breakfastmenuis focused on a few main, complex dishes. also available are bagels and a cinnamon roll (though not the day we were there).

we had the general muir breakfast which included a couple of eggs (can’t really mess that up) and some very fatty pastrami, a couple of only ok latkes and some sour cream and very runny apple sauce.

the poached eggs on grits with mushrooms was more successful with some delicious marinated mushrooms and good grits.

we also had the french toast. it looked very promising with a nice, crunchy exterior coated in ground nuts. unfortunately, since it was so thickly cut, the interior was a soggy and totally unappetizing mess. we scooped out the interior and ate the exterior which was very good.

prices are commensurate with a higher-end restaurant and pricier than some of the other breakfast places that we enjoy around atlanta. $50 (counting the tip) for breakfast for 3 was a little high, especially when considering the mixed quality of food.

i doubt that i would return to general muir for breakfast. maybe lunch or dinner would be more successful.

burgers are good. burger was very good, the corned beef added a nice touch. a very modern take on jewish deli. rest of themenuwas jewish based with limited options imo.

not worth the drive. my wife i looked forward to dining at the general muir, but were greatly disappointed. we had to drive about 40 minutes from our home and it was not worth the drive. it was not a jewish deli, like we were led to believe. themenuis very limited and the matzo soup was expensive and really did not have any kick to it. it cost 40 dollars for lunch as everything is really overpriced. i think even if we lived closer, i would not dine there again.

themenuis fitting and varied with most everything being made in house, with wide ranging offerings from the kitchen including noted highlights of deviled eggs, swiss chard fritters, stewed lentils, and for those bocado lovers, ginsberg’s double-stack burger. this is not your typical bagel shop folks and is to be applauded.

best local deli. having dined at some of the finest deli's in new york, miami, boca, chicago, and toronto, i can honestly say this place is head and shoulders above every other deli in atlanta. once you've dined here you'll never be satisfied by goldberg's again.

themenuis limited, but what they have is well executed.

best way to describe the place: fresh, local, and chef driven meets classic new york style jewish deli.

food - 8/10 - zingerman's and carnegie deli are still better
service - 10/10
ambiance - 10/10 - probably the cleanest deli i've ever been to

at long last, the general muir is open. the restaurant, a modern jewish deli, is located in the emory point development near emory university and the cdc and is brought to us by the folks who own the west egg cafe. former bocado chef and friend of mine, todd ginsberg is the restaurant’s executive chef. breakfastmenuhighlights include open faced bagel sandwiches, latkes, hazelnut crusted french toast and turkey, roast beef, pastrami and reuben sandwiches are featured for lunch. the general muir serves a custom coffee blend made for the restaurant by batdorf & bronson.

lunch is lacking. following a fabulous dinner, i decided to try the gm lunch. not thrilled. the reuben contained too much fat and was difficult to eat. i ordered with a side of potato salad that was really, really..bland. while edible the lunch didn't live up to expectation in comparison to dinner three days earlier. the kitchen must get with the program in getting food out more timely, especially for a lunch crowd. i've been to the gm four time over the past week and find 20 minutes from point of order to receipt for b'fast and lunch unacceptable.

step it up!


-----05 feb, 2013-----

fantastic dinner!. while headed to another restaurant at emory pointe, i discovered general muir open for dinner. after being seated i was handed the dinnermenuand to be honest was somewhat reluctant to stay given ingredients such as kale, turnips and rutabaga. my dining companion and i split the dinosaur kale salad followed by crispy trout and roasted duck as entrees. i'm the ultimate foodie and let me tell you that every item was perfection to the palate. this was truly one of the top 10 meals i've had in atlanta. our attendant was knowledgeable of themenuand preparation. we chose patricia green pinot noir that paired nicely with both entrees. as a resident of druid hills i plan to make frequent visits to general muir. the overall experience was fantastic and commend staff and management on a job well done.

welcome to the neighborhood!

delectable turkey sandwich. after seeing the high praise from barney, i knew i had to check out the general muir. the place is very nice and is absolutely spotless. the décor is kind of industrial chic and they have very large windows that let in a lot of natural light. the service was exceptional.
i decided on the roasted turkey sandwich which comes with portabella, lemon crème fraiche, arugula, and gruyere on ciabatta. it was a phenomenal sandwich with a ton of different flavors that commingled into something that was a taste-bud satisfying revelation. the lemon crème fraiche is just brilliant; i never would have thought to put something like that on to a sandwich! it added the right amount of zing that really took this thing to the next level. the turkey was perfect and the portabella was nice and meaty. every ingredient was extremely fresh, including the bread. oh, i almost forgot, i also had a side of the pasta salad. though it is atypical of what you expect for pasta salad, it was very nice and refreshing.
overall, the general muir is a real winner based off this sandwich alone. the place is nice and in a great location, and the service is great. i look forward to trying the othermenuitems, including the pastrami sandwich and their breakfast and dinner options.

i made it over to the general muir yesterday for brunch and i left content and full. for those of you that don't know, the general muir is the new jewish deli concept by the folks at west egg and the former chef of bocado. it's located in a new retail district on the emory campus and across from the cdc. themenuis made up primarily of jewish deli items like bagels with smoke/cured fish, matzoh ball soup, and the "what would a jewish deli be without a" pastrami sandwich. i got the latter and i think it's safe to say it's the best pastrami sandwich in atlanta. but consider this - is there any competition? if you say jason's deli, i'll smack you in the mouth i'm neal diamond. the pastrami comes stacked high with some mustard on rye, as it should. overall it's a delicious sandwich but once you've had langer's  (which i consider to be the best sandwich on the planet) to compare to, well it's no comparison at all, really. the pastrami was peppery and had the unctuous fatty flavor/bits that

i think i love this place already. update 12/2014: after many many trips through the year, i continue to really like this place. after hearing some comments here and there, it probably bears repeating that this is a place for quality over quantity and should best be described as "deli inspired" and not simply a deli. they seem to put a lot of effort into coming up with a gastronomic twist on a traditional favorite, not giving you a pile of average/cheap food. i think they do a great job of it, but it's important to have the right expectations.

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what a menu, so many traditionally inspired items with a real inventive twist. looked at the breakfast, lunch, and dinner menu's and really couldn't find anything that didn't look worth a try.
for a quick breakfast on their 2nd day open, went with the "avenue a" open faced bagel w/ cream cheese, nova, onion, avocado, grapefruit, cucumber, and dill. what a great combination of flavors on a great chewy bagel.
worth noting, again being the 2nd day open, that the service seems really up to speed and can discuss themenuin detail. seems like they won't need to be apologizing about service in the first weeks.
i suspect i'll be here often.