Special Haleem
Lahori Fried Fish
Buttered Naan
One Order Of Samosas
Don’t let the casual chaat house order-at-the-counter fool you. There’s good food to be had here. The Lahori fried fish was our favorite. A spicy batter covers chunks of a soft, tender fish (tilapia, maybe?) fried to a crisp. There was good heat to those fried fish chunks before they even touched the chutneys. As a matter of fact, all of the chutneys we tasted on this first visit were quite mild. We’ll have to revisit to see if that holds true. Regardless, the Lahori fried fish has more than enough heat and flavor. A squeeze of lemon was all that was needed to make us happy.
Home Of The Best Spicy Gyro?
Hmm… We might just test that claim next time.
Chaat House
1850 Lawrenceville Highway
Decatur, GA 30033
404 633 4444
Fish & Chips
Two very generous filets of beer-battered cod top a bed of piping hot fries.
Fried Artichoke Hearts
It’s totally worth a week’s worth of steamed veggies and poached chicken breasts for this weekend splurge.
The Local 7
2316 Main Street
Suite A
Tucker, GA 30084
770 674 1782
Lagunita & Kiuchi Brewery
(Kiuchi Hitachino White)
Lagunitas Fusion XVIII
Pork & Foie Gras Terrine
With Quail Egg, Pickled Vegetables, Bacon Jam & Bacon Powder
Starter Menu
“Snickers”
Both nibbles were a feast for the eyes and deliciously rich. Sweet and savory elements could be used to your own personal taste.
Dogfish Head Chicory Stout
The Porter Beer Bar
1156 Euclid Avenue
Atlanta, GA 30307
404 223 0393
mmMMM… Migas
Carnitas Migas
Beautifully scrambled eggs mingle with tortilla crumbs. Then, it’s topped with luscious bits of pork and jalapeño relish. How many times have we devoured this divine creation for breakfast? We’re not sure. We’ve definitely lost count. But, there are at least two visits photographed above.
Catfish and grits… Chicken Fried Steak and eggs…
We’d love to try them. But, we always have migas on our minds.
Smoked Corned Beef Benedict
On a generous mound of sautéed greens with a Creole hollandaise, this works.
Each one of our visits has included home fries that were uniformly golden brown with crispy edges. Dotted with green pepper, they’re a worthy side to each dish.
Coffee…
And Bluegrass, Too
Big Tex Decatur
308 West Ponce De Leon Avenue
Decatur, GA 30308
404 377 3939
A view…
or Two…
…or Three
It was a lovely (and more importantly a very happy) holiday.
Here’s to wishing the same for everyone as we begin our countdown to the end of 2013!
Japanese Soul Cooking
By Tadashi Ono & Harris Salat
For the home cook, easy, simple, step-by-step…
Uh oh, it’s not just for the home cook. But, it’s for the “American” home cook.
These are all words that make me very nervous when I’m glancing through a cookbook. Don’t these words imply an over-simplified version of the real thing? But, in this case, simplicity is a beautiful thing. And, the truth of the matter is that a novice must start somewhere. If this is your starting point, it’s a kickstart in the right direction. It will take you down a path that will have you craving more …more knowledge and more food.
This book is a rustic food feast for the eyes. And, it offers the building blocks to make your very own bowl of ramen when you aren’t in the mood to venture out on a cold winter night. What more do you want? You might want a well-stocked fridge and pantry, too.
I want to try it all. Ok, maybe not all, the recipe for “Napolitan” spaghetti will be getting a pass in our house.
Christmas gift to myself, check.
Other Great Last Minute Gifts For The Home Cooks and Food Lovers:
Summerland — Anne Quatrano
Fire In My Belly — Kevin Gillespie
Smoke & Pickles — Edward Lee
The Food of Vietnam — Luke Nguyen
Coi — Daniel Patterson
Manresa — David Kinch
Pok Pok — Andy Ricker
Daniel — Daniel Boulud
LA Son — Roy Choi
Pork in Mole Rojo
“It’s begining to look a lot like Christmas. Everywhere you go…”
Seriously, when the rice and refried black beans are good enough to be a meal, we’re happy. And, we were happy this day. Though, we must admit a pint-sized margarita contributed to our festive mood. The pork? It had just reached the moment in time of incredibly tender pork that still has a faintest blush of pink at the center that is evidence of a long and delicately slow braising period.
Steak & Grits
Yes, that’s an entire grilled ribeye topping that mountain of creamy grits. If we wanted to be picky, we might say there was a touch too much sauce. Maybe the mushrooms were a touch overcooked and the onion slices were quite large, sloppy and barely cooked. But, who cares? It was a good (huge) lunch.
The steak & grits was served with a lightly dressed salad of greens topped with a generous handful of toasted pumpkin seeds, too? Yep, we definitely like this place.
Pepino`rita & Smoky Rita (in back)
One of the drink specials at Mezcalito’s turns the `rita of the day into a pint for the same price. Hey, it’s close enough to the holidays that we couldn’t say no to that offer.
Mezcalito’s Cantina
(Or is it Mezcalito’s Cocina?)
304 Oakland Avenue
Atlanta, GA 30312
678 705 7008
Honey Squids
These tender little squid are deep-fried squid, doused in a thick honey-like rojak sauce then topped with sesame seeds and cilantro leaves. And, by deep fried, we mean deep-fried to crunchy bites that are almost squid brittle.
Very rich, very unique.
Shrimp Deep-Fried With Coconut Butter
Buttery tender, these incredibly large shrimp could become a new favorite.
Whole Deep-Fried Snapper In Thai Style Sauce With Pineapple
Each slash made it easy to remove the tender, saucy pieces. We carefully extracted each and every little hidden morsel, too.
All-Time Favorites:
Kari Udang Besar
Sambal Udang
Sambal Petal
Sambal Terung
Lamb Rendang
Beef Rendang
Nasi Lemak
Roti Canai
Sweet Peanut Pancake
Ice Kacang
Penang Atlanta
4897 Buford Highway
Chamblee, GA 30341
770 220 0308
Spiked Sodas
We started with a Root Canal.
And…
A Paloma
We never would have guessed the magic that would happen by simply adding absinthe to root beer. It cranks the complexity off the charts. It’s root beer, intensified. If you like sweet licorice as a focal point in your root beer, this creates one incredibly seductive adult beverage.
Porkemon
Smoked pork, vinegary island slaw, and Korean BBQ sauce piled into a soft bun. This is a beautifully balance of flavors. And, it offers just the right amount of smoky shredded pork and slaw to bun. If you’re not too hungry, one could be a meal.
Super Mario
(Meatballs, Pomodoro, Provolone & Black Olives)
The best meatballs are a result of gentle poaching in a good, bright tomato sauce. And, that’s exactly what we found here. Great pieces constructed into one thing to make an even better whole.
Victory At Sea
White anchovies, frisee and lemon mayo.
The Hambo
Proscuitto, arugula, green apple, mozzarella and a drizzle of reduced balsamic, this is the type of sandwich we could eat every day for the rest of our lives. And, the Paloma was a particularly delicious way to finish up after these two tasty bites. We enjoyed the salt & pepper potato chips, too. But, they were a bit too salty for us.
Victory Sandwich Bar
340 Church Street
Decatur, GA 30033
404 377 9300
I wonder why they call it Church Street…
Ink & Elm
Ink and Elm is a beautiful restaurant that welcomes you from both front and back. This entrance offers a reprieve from the cold on the backside to access their shared lot. Sharing the space with Bad Dog Taqueria, Rise & Dine, and a little Starbucks requires parking to come with one part luck and a bit of a wait (even at 1:30pm on a weekday).
(Valet begins at 6pm.)
Tavern Lunch
Sandwiches…
Soup, Salad, Sides & A Dessert Of The Day
But, First, Charcutrie, Please
Each one of Five Paired With A Condiment To Call Its Own
It’s all good. Too good. Add a couple more buttery slices of toast and this could be a decadent lunch for two light eaters. We enjoyed every bite.
But, it was Ink & Elm’s own smoked trout speckled with very finely minced green herbs (dill or fennel fronds?) that kept us talking and craving more.
Spinning Spider Creamery’s Stackhouse
This divine bloomy rind cheese is still on our minds.
New Holland Brewing’s Cabin Fever Brown Ale
Wild Heaven’s Ode To Mercy Imperial Brown Ale
Fried Oyster Sandwich With Slaw,Remoulade, & Tomato
Each fried oyster poses in gorgeous arrangement on an unmistakably super-fresh baguette with shatteringly crisp exterior and a soft, tender interior. Not too spicy, the slivers of serrano chili gave the slaw great character with a lovely, fresh kick.
A tender green leaf tucked underneath kept the baguette light and fluffy while offering an added crunch.
Wild Mushroom With Cauliflower Mornay & Arugula Pistou
On the same baguette, this was equally (if not even more) divine. Creamy richness from the cauliflower mornay blends effortlessly with woodsy mushroom slivers, this is definitely in the running for best sandwich of the year.
It’s only Wednesday? Oh, well.
Snowed In
We wish we were.
Ink and Elm
Emory Village
1577 North Decatur Road
Atlanta, GA 30307
678 244 7050
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