Maepole — Restaurant in Athens-Clarke County Unified Government

Just.... WOW!!! Sunday evening, just came in from a 4.5 hour drive home from visiting family in Alabama. The last thing on my mind is cooking, so I ordered Uber Eats. That app lists Maepole as "American Bar Food."

Upon examining the menu, I quickly discovered that this was not going to be your typical box of greasy, overcooked delivery. I ordered and sat for about 20 minutes nervously waiting to discover whether all of these reviews could be true. 4.9 out of 5 stars with over a hundred reviews is quite uncommon.

Let me tell you, every expectation my partner and I had was blown away! Even though we had our meals delivered, they arrived PERFECTLY portioned and arranged, in minimal, but perfectly effective sustainable to-go boxes, and what we found inside was nothing short of heavenly, especially at the price point!!

We each had a box, one with pork, mashed sweet potatoes and honey Sriracha sauce, the other with chicken, rice pilaf and buttermilk sauce, both with Mac 'N cheese, green beans with Vidalia and a side of chow-chow. We wound up squabbling over the last few bites.

Both dinners tasted sublime, as though we had gone out back to the garden and grabbed a few veggies, and then brought them in to be prepared by a 5 star chef. Perfectly cooked, moist proteins, sautéed but still crisp green beans, the best Mac n' cheese I've ever eaten, and mashed sweet potatoes that seemed to have no sugar added and tasted like.... Sweet potatoes. Everything was wonderfully seasoned, and again, tasted as though it had just been picked and cooked. No idea how Maepole managed this on a Sunday evening during rush with a delivery order.

As a 46 year old professional, I've probably eaten as many meals out as I have cooked, and in just about every state and in several continents. Until tonight, the most flavorful and perfectly prepared food I'd tasted came from a hole in the wall at the bottom of a volcano in Costa Rica. I place the dinner we had from Maepole a notch above that, with the added bonus that I don't have to spend $800.00 on airfare and malaria vaccines to eat it again very soon.

If my review seems a bit over the top, it's because the dinner I just ate was genuinely that uncommonly fresh, healthy, delicious and perfectly prepared! Try it and you'll also wonder how you've never done...

I got the power green base, shredded pork, green beans and onions, and root vegetables. I got turmeric-ginger vinaigrette on the side. Nice location. Not a whole lot of parking. Its also just outside of downtown. I thought that was weird for some reason. Heard about it from friends. Anyway, food is great. We ate it up quickly. I can't say it wasn't great and tasty. Their meats are free of hormones, beef is grass-fed, veggies are cooked really well. They do a Chipotle-build-your-own bowl thing. They seem to be eco-friendly Problems: (1) way too expensive. Our order was up to 23.50 and it was for just my wife and I. Given this, that was the main reason I gave it 4/5 stars. (2) their sides are not much but they are diverse. (You can get kimchi and others). (3) their add-ons are not much (no cheese, salsa, condiments like sour cream). I Know it's not chipotle or Moe's but I dont thing bang = buck in this case. I'd go again with friends, but it wouldn't be my...

Maepole is a welcome addition to the food scene in Athens, which is already very good for a town its size. It's a cool location on Chase Street, only minutes from downtown and a short bike ride from Normaltown. This area is continuing to attract some cool concepts, in terms of restaurants and other businesses, and Maepole fits right in with the neighborhood. The patio area is pretty large and even though seating is somewhat limited indoors, you'll have no problem finding a table under the covered deck or outside on the patio. Love the fact that everything on the menu is healthy. You can't go wrong with the various combinations, although I highly recommend the gingered beets, sesame carrots, and green beans and vidalias. Pick from any of the proteins and be sure to try the turmeric-ginger sauce. It's nice to have a place like Maepole in town and be sure to check it out if you're...