Amidst preparations for my recent interviews in Atlanta, I decided to take a break and head out in Virginia Highlands for barbecue. Taylor had met the owner of D.B.A. Barbecue's matriarch and she was quite proud of her son's new barbecue venture. I had passed the restaurant's bright yellow sign on Highland Avenue multiple times and decided to see how the restaurant held up against the local competition. I walked into the restaurant and opted for a seat at the bar next to the other patrons eating barbecue, drinking adult elixirs, and watching the Yankees/Angels game. The restaurant was nicely decorated and upheld, which was more a of a surprise given the joint served barbecue than it only being opened for 4-5 months.
I reviewed the menu for combination plates that would provide the right trio of meats that I craved for dinner -- typically ribs, brisket, pork. D.B.A. offered a three-meat plate, but my decisiveness sputtered as I attempted to narrow down the options of meats down to three: baby back ribs, spare ribs, chicken, pulled pork, beef brisket, and turkey were on the table. While asking the bartender what he recommended, the gentleman to my left pointed up at the Daily Special sign and convincingly suggested that I order the All You Can Eat Spare Ribs. He said they were great and definitely worth the price of $15. I was torn, and I let the comrade to my left know why -- "I'm driving around and I want to be able to try the greatest variety of barbecue at each place as possible." The bartender, Matt, reached out to shake my hand and said, "I own this place, and I guess I better make sure your food is great." Talking to Matt, who opened D.B.A. in July, provided an incredible opportunity to better understand the financing and operations behind opening and running a barbecue restaurant. He talked me through the process of converting the restaurant from a wine bar to a full-serve restaurant and all the subsequent custom renovations and costs that intrinsicly are part of the process. Although Matt was not a Louisiana native, he loved the state and decided to integrate the culture into his restaurant's food and decorum -- blues posters lined the walls and an Abita Beer logo was painted on the wood wall aside the door that led to the outside porch. I liked what he did to the place and was ready to start eating.
I ultimately decided to order the spare rib special while placing a three-meat combination plate to-go for my ladyfriend and her roommate to enjoy back at the apartment. The first half-slab had a serious thick and dark bark on the outside. The color was so black that I was curious as to what the inside meat could possibly look like. The ribs tasted great. The thick oaky taste took me back a month to my days touring Smitty's, Black's, and Kreuz's in Lockhart, Texas. The flavor from smoking meat with oak wood is unmistakable and I was pleased that somebody had the courage to introduce this style to the southeast. The owner unfortunately was not a barbecue fanatic. Matt thought a barbecue restaurant could do well in the Highlands and convinced Drew, the ex-chef from Kevin Rathbum's Steak & The Alfred, to head the cooking and join the team. Drew smoked the ribs perfectly, as the inside meat was tender and flavorful while the outside bark had a solid peppery and smokey flavor. My only criticism of my experience was that the restaurant would be better served buying and serving higher quality meat. My spare ribs were extraordinarily fatty, to the point where no edible meat whatsover could be found in the tips, and I hope through time that D.B.A. starts buying better ribs. 
After my meal, Matt toured me through the kitchen showing his indoor smoker that was designed by Mike Mills from 17th Street Bar and Grill as well as Drew's outdoor smoker where D.B.A. smokes its larger cut of meats. I thanked Matt for the food and the insight into his operation, and took an extra-half slab of spare ribs in addition to the three-meat combo (pork, baby back ribs, and brisket) back to the girls at home.
Despite being uncomfortably full, the sight and smell of barbecue without fail always awakens my appetite in the matter of seconds. The brisket looked incredible. The baby back ribs looked like a miniature rack of the spare ribs that I just devoured. The pulled pork had a good combination of inside meat and outside crust. I dove straight into the lady's brisket. It tasted great, basically identical to Black's barbecue in Lockhart, except that it was sliced in the most absurd way. Anyone in the business knows to cut against the grain, and I suppose the folks at D.B.A. take the whole brisket and start slicing into it whichever way they place. In any case, it was still delicious. The baby back ribs tasted great as well, but the flavor of oak-smoked pork does not sit right with me. It is too pungeant of a taste, and I believe the restaurant should either scratch it from its menu or change to a less powerful wood source. The sides of mac & cheese and creamed corn were both great as well, and I would definitely recommend that any barbecue goers in the Atlanta area should check out D.B.A. and order as they please because almost everything I ate there was delicious. I'm sticking with an 08/10 score for the time being, because there is definitely room for improvement that I'm sure the restaurant will work out over the upcoming years while breaking in the place -- better quality ribs, less smoky pork, and a properly sliced brisket will do.
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