Review Atlanta

The El Felix

The Chips

Super thin and crisp, we couldn’t stop eating these.

Take care, you might just make a meal out of the chips and salsa.

Both were very tasty. But, the salsa verde disappeared first.

Grapefruit Mojito

Refreshing and light, the time passes easily.

Campechana De Marisco

Gulf Shrimp, Crab, Octopus, & Avocado

Tostadas were a bit heavy and greasy. But, who needs them? The shrimp and crab demand our full attention.

Gulf Red Snapper

Absolutely divine, the crispy golden bits on the outside add an airy, light crunch. But, it was the perfectly cooked interior that stole the show. So silky tender, delicate and moist, perfection can be the only word for this beautiful fish.

The Revolver & Vampire Weekend

Linger and enjoy.

The El Felix
1130 Avalon Blvd
Suite 1030
Alpharetta, GA 30009
678 248 5239

Com Mai

Gỏi Xoài
(Green Mango & Dried Shrimp Salad)

This lightly dressed salad lets the unique taste and texture of green mango shine.

Beautifully bitingly fresh, this is just the thing we want to eat as the temperature rises.

Shaking Beef

Tender bites, all.

Chinese Style Sausage & Fried Egg

It’s just what we were craving.

Com Mai Vietnamese Cuisine
1455 Pleasant Hill Road
#603
Lawrenceville, GA 30044
770 564 2292

Tico’s Cuban Cafe

Maduros, Croquetas, Masas de Puerco…

Empanada Stuffed With Picadillo

Crispy, flaky… delicious…. period.

Papa Rellena

Did we mention those maduros?

They are deep dark crispy caramel-y golden perfection.

Masas De Puerco

Fork tender? Hell, yeah.

Vaca Frita

Tender beef and sautéed onions… We have just two words.

Homesickness = Cured

We ordered a small feast. And, Tico’s delivered one to our table.

It’s all good.

Tres Leches

That gorgeous cake was one with the milk. But, it wasn’t soupy or soggy. It was everything that tres leches should always be. It’s dense, but not too dense, sweet (but not too sweet), creamy, and cake-y. It’s just moist, fudge-y golden cake topped with cream. If you had a Cuban grandmother, this is exactly the way she’d make it. Oh how we both wish we had a Cuban grandmother! Oh well. We’ll happily fill that void with Tico’s Cafe the next time we’re wishing we were in Miami.

And, please take special note, Pan Tostado holds a place of honor on the menu. It’s just as it should be. All is right with the world at Tico’s.

Loved it!

Tico’s Cuban Cafe
3421 Ridge Road
Buford, GA 30519
470 238 3889

Las Costas Nayaritas

Shrimp & Octopus Tostada

Both shrimp and octopus were quite tender and the avocado was perfectly ripe.

Deep Fried Snapper

Crispy on the outside, tender on the inside…. this was lovely. Again.

Las Costas Nayaritas
1555 Pleasant Hill Road
Duluth, GA 30096
678 788 8888

Beach or Swamp?

What’s the last thing you’d expect to see on your way to this lovely beach?

Before you hit the beach, you drive right by this…

“Hey, wait a second. What’s back there?”

“Is that a swamp?”

“Yep, that’s a swamp alright.”

“Hmm, beach or swamp? That’s a tough one.”

“No, not really.”

St Andrews State Park

Pho Dai Loi

Phở Đặc Biệt

Pho Dac Biet = Beefy Rich Heaven

Tender and delicious, that brisket was pure pleasure to eat. But, as usual, the magic is in that liquid of the Gods. It’s pure heaven. Heavenly soup perfection…

Bún Bò Huế

On the flip side, this is sinfully spicy and wickedly good. And, now’s the time to enjoy it while we can. The baking heat of summer is right around the corner.

We loved every bite… again.

Pho Dai Loi
(Pho Dai Loi Restaurant # 2)
4186 Buford Highway NE
Suite G
Atlanta, GA 30319
404 633 2111

Fung Mei

Yes, that’s kimchi in the front with hot and sour soup in the back. That’s not something you get to say every day. So, I’m sayin’ it while I can. This place is equal parts weird, fun, and funky.

There’s more than a little bit of coarsely ground black pepper on our shrimp. Red chili peppers make an appearance, too. At first glance, we weren’t sure about this. In the end, we enjoyed it.

Salt & Pepper Shrimp

This was definitely an interesting version of the dish.

When we were done there was more than a cup of mixed veggies and assorted chili peppers left over. So, we took our mountain of white rice and spicy veggies to go and made a very tasty fried rice as a midnight snack. We remember enjoying that even more than the original dish. So, what’s the moral of this story? In the end, always remember to make lemonade out of lemons.

We still remember (very fondly) the shrimp and Chinese chive dish from a previous visit. Next time we’re in the area and in the mood to eat at Fung Mei, we might revisit that dish.

Fung Mei Chinese Restaurant
1605 Pleasanthill Road
Duluth, GA 30096
770 935 8888

Panama City Beach & Jetty

Panama City Beach, Florida

We might still be wishing (more than a little bit) that we were here…

Or, more specifically, we’re wishing to be in there.

Quiet beaches, beautifully crystal clear water and not a cloud in the sky, we loved every second.

It was the perfect beach day.

We kept our bare toes off the dunes and on the gorgeous sea shore.

Perfect timing…

We had plenty of time for one last wander around the beach before the clouds started rolling in with the late afternoon breeze. Still gorgeous and we enjoyed the cool air after a long day in the sun.

That looks like fun, too. But, we kept our feet on the ground.

Panama City Beach, Florida
(St Andrews State Park)

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JD’s Bar-B-Que

JD’s BBQ Brisket & Ribs

This is one of those occasions when the image fails to capture the moist and tender nature of these generous slices of brisket. A little drizzle of sauce was added. But, the beef was quite tender and moist without any added sauce. This brisket was incredibly beefy and oozing smoke in the best possible way.

Loved it!

Under that dark layer of skin was super smoky and tender chicken. This was also quite good. But, in the end, we both preferred the brisket and the ribs.

The griddle fried corn and spicy (and tangy in the best way) collard greens were our favorite sides of the day. As a matter of fact, we tried to make a meal of that sweet corn.

Hmm, which did we prefer? Was it the spicy or the hot? It’s hard to be sure. Both were quite nice. But, we believe the hot was the hottest of the three. And, the hottest was our favorite. That’s actually true in most cases when it comes to barbecue sauce.

If we’re ever in this area again, we would most definitely make a pitstop at JD’s BBQ.

J.D.’s Barbecue
(JDsBBQ)
6557 Bells Ferry Road
Woodstock, GA 30101
678 445 7730

Thai Restaurant Of Norcross

Seafood Salad With Green Chili Peppers

Meltingly tender slices of scallop remain to be one of the highlights of this dish.

The carefully cooked shrimp is incredibly tender, too.

This gorgeous salad is absolutely loaded with seafood. The greens add fresh bite, crunch and color. But, this salad is all about the tender seafood. We noticed both red and green chili peppers. Most of the peppers were finely minced. But, there were plenty of thin slivers, too. Those slivers serve as a clear warning to the diner that there will be a healthy dose of spicy heat to be had in this salad. We’ve loved this salad for years. And, we still do. It’s one of our all-time favorite things to eat.

Loved it! Again.