We did it. After months of living within walking distance of the Rednerck Gourmert, I have done the venture into the great Friedknown and partook (partaken? partothed?) of the many wonderous treats they serve behind the counter. And you know what? Spoiler alert: one of the better Downtown Newnan options.
To be completely transparent, it wasn’t a one-n-done deal at The Redneck Gourmet. I have gone twice lately, once with kids and once on a DATE WITH A REAL GIRL! That difference will make any visit to anywhere drastically change. Ever tried taken a kid to a hot tub? Ever tried taking a hot girl? It couldn’t be more opposite.
Other Example: vacation with kids versus vacation with a baddie. One is about pretending that the cost is worth it for the social media pictures, and the other is about getting that boom-boom-pow-these-chicks-are-rocking-my-style.
However, I will combine both experiences to offer my overall letter grade.
The Atmosphere: Uncle’s Cabin Chic
Maybe it’s just me, but The Redneck Gourmet has an Uncle Cabin vibe to it. Remember that when we say “Uncle’s Cabin,” this uncle doesn’t live in a bonafide log cabin, but just a house that is old and musty and has artwork that doesn’t make sense. All of this perfectly describes being inside The Redneck Gourmet. But even though its gimmick is “We are a dirty Uncle that owns Redneck Gourmet; look at my family skiing on a mountain and our The Redneck Gourmet merch stand,” it manages to do all this while being clean! Being a clean dirty uncle is a true work of care–their atmosphere doesn’t make sense, but it doesn’t make sense in a way that is sensible. Make sense?
It is dull enough not to be offensive and clean enough to be appreciated. I do not understand how it is memorable enough to justify MERCHANDISE, but if anyone can enjoy making money off a dumb name, it’s me.
The layout is lazy and can cause for some bumper-cars between customers, but again, it’s just capable enough to avoid any real damage. Take a look around and you’ll see every other customer, clearly, so you better hope you came on a day that your enemy wasn’t hungry–I’m looking at you Mayor Keith Brady.
The Employees: Happy Babies
I have read the social media feedback that calls out TRG for having a rude staff, but that was never our experience. Yes, it looks like they poached the “under the bleachers” section of a High School football game during their hiring process, but as someone who has worked with many teenagers, the TRG employees make me feel appreciated, heard and wanted. There’s a “when the hell does this shift end?!?!” vibe that many companies get stuck with when they hire teenagers–TRG avoids this with smart staffing and good management.
It could be because they let the employees dress like they’re on a beach vacation. But it works. Let those babies feel comfy and be nice to us.
Three specific instances stand out:
First, my daughter and her friend went table-to-table and ran a “Coloring Book Fundraiser.” This means they were selling little plastic baby dolls to raise money to buy a new coloring book. My kid was DOING BUSINESS IN THE TRG BUSINESS! While “the man” would typically meet this behavior by banning people from the building, TRG was encouraging and hands-off. I can happily report my kid got that coloring book. One lady even paid $20 for a PLASTIC BABY!
Second, my girlfriend asked the front counter girl for mayonnaise (admittedly because her Philly Cheese Steak came out a bit dry and, as my siren said, “I need some mayo slammed on this Philly Dilly, bruh”). A simple request, right? The employee got her two mayo packets and cut the tops off herself because “they can be a pain to open.” What an unnecessary kind of kind thing to do (we love it).
Third, a boy, probably six years old, went to the counter to ask for a “knife.” The employee quickly handed him the BIGGEST STEAK KNIFE I’VE EVER SEEN and sent him on his merry way back to his mom. A place willing to trust a knife to a kid? That’s my place.
While you may disagree that these acts of employee kindness are worth celebrating, we love the extra effort put in by the Rednecksperts and have been given much worse treatment elsewhere.
The Price: Relentless and Expected
I will only spend a little bit of time on this because, although the cost is frustrating, it is similar to most places you can dine-n-date. The benefit of TRG is that you’re not being waited on by a server, so tipping is not expected. It helps balance out the extra smidge of $1 here and there.
Oh, but the year is 2025, so you will be prompted to leave a tip after placing your order. I always wonder who gets the tips in a situation like this. Surely, it’s split between all the employees on shift, but it would be hilarious (and unsurprising) if it went directly into the owner’s pocket.
With all that said, if you spin a machine to me that asks for a tip, I leave the same type of tip I’d leave to a server. I am part of the problem and happy to be part of it. But if you’re not like me, you can comfortably spend under $40 for two people. If you are like me, you’re handsome and delicious.
The Food: Aight. Bet.
I’m assuming “Aight. Bet.” is TRG employee talk for “tastes good,” but I haven’t been a teenager since I was 19 (lol, what a dumb sentence I just wrote).
On my first visit, we got chicken tenders, fries, and fried pickles.
On my second visit, I got the Redneck Burger and fried mushrooms. My boo-doo got the Philly Cheese and fries.
I will first call out the bad: these fries, guys. If fast food can do fries significantly better than you, DON’T DO FRIES! Every fry location should have a cooking method, flavor, smell, or texture that makes them memorable. TRG has the kind of fries you get from the frozen section of a Tybee Island gas station.
Every other thing (especially the fried mushrooms) I ate was quite delicious and stuffed-me-to-the-brim.
I am a Type 1 diabetic so bread, sweets, and fried foods are a no-go most of the time, but every Blue Moon (trademark Blue Moon–I’m taking it) I take a gamble. I could “guess” the carbs based on the portion size presented, along with my prior experience at other similar menus. The result was a flawless 115 blood sugar number hours later. This makes me love you! Thank you for not hiding extra sugar in your food, allowing me to be regular unhealthy.
This also means I had to take my insulin and just “assume” the food would be out between 10-15 minutes after. This was no problem for RTG. While I know everyone’s experience will differ regarding wait times, I have had no trouble getting my food promptly.
Keep in mind that both my visits were on Saturday nights. Isn’t that when people do-be-munching? Where else are you all munching?!?!?
Note: we reached out to The Redneck Gourmet management to ask for any “words for the customers” to be included in this review. They left me on READ and pretended I didn’t exist. Respect.
But also, why is your name on the building THE Redneck Gourmet and your social media account just Redneck Gourmet? Non-respect.
B +
(the letter grade is my personal feelings, the +/- is based on what I think the public, not as important as Harold, would feel)
Below are a few comments from Newnan Time with Harold followers. These were posted publicly:
Newnan Time with Harold 