It's an old-school steakhouse in Buckhead.
It's the ultimate big night out.
It's a place out-of-towners will never forget, and it's a spot that, safe to say,
the filet mignon has been kissed by the gods.
Let's hang out at Hal's.
Hey, what's going on?
How are you man?
Chad Anderson, the guy cooking up the best filet
in the world.
I appreciate that.
This is where it all happens.
Well said.
Absolutely.
You've been feeding men and women around Atlanta for many, many years.
Tell me what you got cooking up right now.
Right now I'm working on a bone-in ribeye, and I'm going to do a sea bass for you guys.
Oh, that sea bass.
Yeah, they love it.
Absolutely.
And that great sauce.
Got a little lobster sauce on the plate and a little fried potato on top.
All right, where do you want me?
Well, these guys are getting ready for service, so how about I do these couple of dishes
and I'll meet you out in the back room.
All right, talk to me, boys.
A big night at Hal's, what does a big night at Hal's mean?
What do you love about Hal's?
Big steak, good drink, good friends.
It's the best steak in Atlanta.
We eat here probably three times a month.
This is our third year at Hal's.
We come every year for the Medtrade show.
We have a Hal's virgin with us tonight.
It's his first year.
And we've raved about it to him, so we know that Hal's isn't going to disappoint.
So what makes -- why do you keep coming back to Hal's?
Why do you come here?
The best steakhouse I've ever been to.
It's phenomenal.
Now, you're from New Orleans, it's the best steakhouse
you've ever been to.
Why?
It edges out Dickie Brennan's Steakhouse in a photo finish.
What makes it great?
The steaks are tremendous.
The appetizers, the seafoods are wonderful.
The cocktails are cold.
The staff is friendly.
It's just -- it's a great place to eat dinner.
What did you order tonight?
Cowboy bone-in ribeye.
This is our signature ribeye.
It's called the Hal's ribeye.
So it's got this spinalis, or also known as the fat
that's normally around the outer rim of the steak
has been trimmed off so it's a little more lean.
We call it the Cowgirl because it's something that a lady could still order and not be overwhelmed
with a huge steak with a lot of fat.
It's become our second biggest-selling steak behind the center-cut filet.
Butter here, salted butter, I'm going to put that right
on the meat like that and then a little bit on the plate.
All right, order up, Hal's ribeye, medium rare.
What makes Hal's an institution for Atlanta?
It's just a great bar.
The atmosphere is great.
The steaks are great.
The sea bass is great.
Tell me what you love about the sea bass.
The flavor is great, light.
So like you could get the steak and you could get
the sea bass, a little surf and turf.
What we got here is a little bit of sautéed spinach.
We go down the plate first.
Got a nice piece of fish right here.
On top like that.
I'm going to go ahead and put tomato scallion lobster broth.
We're going to garnish the plate.
Then we got our sauce here.
Nice chunks of lobster in there.
And then we'll just garnish it with some shoestring crab
potatoes.
Just a little bit on top like this.
There's our sea bass.
>> I just like going out to a place where you can tow up
with your buddies, have a good time, eat some good
food.
The atmosphere is good.
>> I always know it's going to be a fun night.
I know I'm always going to talk about it after the
fact.
>> It's a good meal.
You cannot [inaudible].
>> Old-school service.
What do you expect?
Like, people who know what they're doing.
>> It's consistent.
It's the same every time.
You know what you're going to get and everybody's going
to be happy.
So, like, you got people from out of town, you come
in, you know that it's going to be a good experience and
they're going to be impressed.
>> Easy to see why all the regulars keep coming back.
Great food, great service, and an infectious vibe.
Next up, I talk with the man behind the name, Hal
himself.
>> Why do I love Hal's so much?
You got to talk to Hal of Hal's.
Talk about the way you want to run a restaurant.
What's your whole theory about what makes a great
restaurant, how you want to take care of people.
>> A great restaurant is when you eat a dish and you
enjoy it and you get a craving and a week, two
weeks, three weeks, I don't care if it's a hamburger, a
filet, fried chicken, when you get a craving to go
back, that's a great restaurant.
>> What about Hal, seeing Hal when you walk in all the
time?
>> It's great.
He gives you a table.
He checks on you, make sure you're having a great
dinner.
>> How many years Hal's been open now?
>> Yesterday was 22 years.
>> Tell me how you keep that thing going.
>> We keep working hard.
We keep -- as I say, we're the pickiest people that
come in this restaurant.
We care more about what goes on the table than the people
sitting at the table.
>> It's always going to be a great filet, it's always
going to be great sides, it's always going to be
these -- you mind if I have it?
>> Go right ahead.
Enjoy yourself.
It's not like you haven't been here before.
Enjoy it.
>> How great is it to walk in and see Hal?
>> Amazing.
>> Tell me what that means.
What does it mean to be an institution?
>> It's classic, the piano, the cigar.
You can still smoke a cigar.
>> It's like the Frank Sinatra of Atlanta.
>> What do you love about Hal's?
>> I like the steak.
I'm a filet mignon kind of guy and they make it
perfect.
>> Tell me what you ordered.
>> I haven't ordered yet, but I know there's a
12-ounce filet mignon in my future.
>> Pretty simple plate up, little bit more of this
drawn butter.
Order up, center-cut filet, medium rare.
>> We're very fortunate.
We probably have the most regular repeat local clientele of any restaurant in Atlanta.
>> Atlanta restaurant scene is up and coming, but Hal's
is consistent.
Hal's is really [inaudible] got a lot of great new
restaurants, but Hal's is always my go-to.
>> It's one of those restaurants that you always
come back to.
There's so many great restaurants, but you go try
them and then you come back to Hal's because it's always