WonderFarm Bird’s Nest White Fungus Drink
This syrupy sweet white fungus drink was a bit like drinking a mix of simple syrup with the slight background of very light caramel and a barely there hint of fruity floral. The slippery little pieces of white fungus were a bit like thin slivers of gelatin with the occasional larger chunk. It was hard to detect the flavor under all of the sugar. But, if you let the little pieces dissolve on your tongue there is a definite earthy note.
Not One, But Two Brands
We would go back to try the Golden Nest brand, too. That is, when we’re in the mood to drink one full cup of simple syrup mixed with lychee we will.
For .79 cents, we can knock bird’s nest drink off our bucket list. Was this even on our bucket list? Hmm…
Hoa Binh Market
4897 Buford Highway
Suite 116
Chamblee, GA 30341
770 457 3383
Pansit Bihon
A mix of peppers, carrots, cabbage and onions are stir fried with a touch of soy, black pepper, a handful of shredded chicken and a couple shrimp. This is tossed over bed of thin, stir fried noodles. Squeeze a few lime wedges over the top and you’re ready to eat.
Adobong Baboy
Slow-cooked pork simmered in a dark sauce of soy, vinegar and black pepper, this could have benefited from a bit more gentle simmering. The pork chunks were a bit on the chewy side. But, the pork belly was tender. And, the sauce was remarkably well put together. Both the soy and vinegar mingled beautifully with the pork while never overwhelming it. The slow cooking mellows it all nicely.
Bangsilog
Most of this crispy fried fish is edible. The crispy bits shatter like shards of salty fish brittle while the thicker pieces remain surprisingly moist. We were pleasantly shocked by just how much we enjoyed this dish.
Specials
I’m sure we’ll be back many times in our attempt to sample each menu item.
Kuya’s Food Express
(Filipino Restaurant)
1630 Pleasant Hill Road
Duluth, GA 30096
678 697 1098
Pandan Jelly, Red Tapioca, and Grass Jelly in Coconut Milk
(The #10)
This is a lovely blending of both flavors and textures. From the soft, sweet chew of the pandan jelly on the bottom, to the firm chew of the red tapioca to the very soft grass jelly that melts in your mouth instantly on top, each one of the elements brings something to the table. And, the barely sweet coconut milk might be mild. But, it’s the perfect creamy background for each delicate flavor. This is the perfect dessert for people who don’t like desserts.
We both loved it.
Passion Fruit Milk Tea & Lychee Jelly
Mostly sweet up front with a touch of tart bite to finish, this one smacks you with flavor.
So good and so very different…
Right near the food court door, it’s easy to sneak in for a quick snack, too.
Bambu
(In the Assi Plaza Market Food Court)
1630 Pleasant Hill Road
Duluth, GA 30096
Chewy Pecan Supreme
There’s not a lot of food at the mall that’s worth eating. But, this chewy pecan cookie loaded with fresh, toasty pecan pieces is one of the few decent (bordering on quite good, if you’re lucky enough to get one hot out of the oven) options. The peanut and oatmeal walnut are fine, too.
And, what not to eat?
Birthday Cake Cookie With Sprinkles
Most of the other cookies at Great American Cookies are sickly sweet. The birthday cake cookie with sprinkles definitely tops the list of the sickly sweetest. The sprinkles might look festive, but, just don’t do it.
Say No To Sprinkles!
Great American Cookies
Flight of Beer
Straight Off The List
It’s all good. Then, we were ready to eat…
Rappahanock Oysters
With Preserved Blackberry Mignonette
Super fresh with a hit of bright/tart sweetness, these were absolutely lovely.
And, Now For Something Completely Different
Buffalo Chicken Livers
Deep-fried Darby Farms chicken livers with barrel aged buffalo sauce were topped with a celery and fennel salad that was richly dotted with Sweet Grass Dairy Asher Blue. The fresh, vivid flavors of fennel and celery were a delicious way to underline the richness of creamy chicken livers.
Fried NC Catfish, Red Russian Kale, Radicchio, & Grits
Simply put, this was just too good to put into words.
The List Of Specials
Border Patrol Hot Pursuit American Strong Ale
One last taste to finish the meal…
It was a perfect ending.
Wrecking Bar Brewpub
292 Moreland Avenue Northeast
Atlanta, GA 30307
404 221 2600
The Green Thai Curry Pizza
At first glance, the crust might appear to be a bit dense. But, it’s not. There are big airy bubbles to lighten it up. Soft and chewy on the inside, while the edges and bottom are almost cracker crisp. It has the taste of a very lean dough with little oil, sugar and salt. Good depth of flavor clearly illustrated a dough that has had time to mature. The simplicity of the crust lets the basil, eggplant, zucchini and chicken shine.
Not Your Mama’s Breakfast Biscuits
Topped with black forest ham, organic scrambled eggs, chopped spinach and a Kellerweis hollandaise, this was a unique “Beerunch” option. Given the option of fries or tots, we chose tots.
These were weird, but good. Made with a blend of Idaho and sweet potatoes, they don’t need to be dipped. As a matter of fact, we think dipping them would be a mistake. Equal parts sweet and savory, these were a tasty side for the breakfast biscuit.
Very crumbly, these beer-rich biscuits were closer to a scone or shortbread in our eyes. These biscuits made a great base for the smoky ham, tender scrambled eggs and Kellerweis hollandaise.
Bloody Mary With Bacon Knot
Sometimes, bacon does make it better. In this case, the bacon was our favorite part. If you like a very hefty dose of horseradish, you’ll love this bloody mary.
Beer On Draft
Root beer, Too
Slice & Pint offers 10 great root beers, if you’re not in the mood for the real stuff.
Slice & Pint’s Beerunch
(On Saturdays & Sundays until 4pm)
After living in Decatur for many years, we visited Everybody’s Pizza twice. That most certainly will not be happening with Slice & Pint. We’ll re-visit this work in progress again… very soon.
Slice And Pint
1593 North Decatur Road
Atlanta, GA 30307
404 883 3406
Revolution Doughnuts — Maple Bourbon Cronut
..Or, is it called a cro-dough?
At first glance, the cro-doughnut looks like all of the other doughnuts. But, then, you get a glimpse of those fluffy layers.
After the first bite, those layers are even more obvious. This isn’t a doughnut or a croissant. No, this is what would happen if a doughnut and a croissant were to marry and have a baby. This is the gorgeous blending of two delicious things.
(Star Provision’s dossant is a very different thing. Their dossant is a brûlée-d doughnut-shaped croissant with pastry cream or truffle filling in the hole. Both versions are incredibly delicious in their own individually unique ways.)
Triple Chocolate Cake Doughnut
Simply put, this is deep dark chocolate heaven. Rich chocolate flavor overwhelms your senses (in the very best way) with every bite. As two people who tend to ignore the cake doughnuts, we most certainly will not be ignoring this one.
Orange Pistachio Yeast
As always, this is one heavenly combination.
Hot Chocolate & Cappuccino
Using an aptly named “Rocket Fuel”, this is one divine cappuccino with a complex kick of flavor. The hot chocolate is quite nice, too. But, for us, it’s a very sweet and creamy hot chocolate. We tend to prefer a deep, dark, and bitter chocolate version. So, we’ll stick with the cappuccino, espresso, and coffee.
Sweet Potato with Torched Fluff?
Mmmmm…
That’s what we’ll be craving for our next visit.
Check daily flavors on Twitter.
Revolution Doughnuts
908 West College Avenue
Decatur, GA 30030
678 927 9920
Bissinger’s Hand Painted Chocolate Turkey
Is it a good idea or a bad idea to have 3 pounds of chocolate in the house for Thanksgiving? If this were 3 pounds of dark chocolate, we probably wouldn’t have resisted the temptation of a hand painted chocolate turkey centerpiece for our Thanksgiving feast. Everyone knows chocolate tastes better when it’s in the shape of turkey.
Psst… Bissinger’s makes an adorable Santa, too!
Star Provisions
Bissinger’s Handcrafted Chocolatier
Hushpuppies, Cornbread Muffin,
& Texas Toast
Out of the three, the hushpuppies were the clear winner. They were nicely seasoned and dotted with chives. We devoured each and every one in our basket. And, we were generously offered more.
Smoked Brisket Jalapeño Poppers
With Ancho Blueberry Sauce
Stuffed with generous quantities of brisket and cheese, six of these were an incredibly hearty starter. The smoky ancho blueberry sauce was quite tasty. But, the poppers had plenty of flavor and they needed no embellishing. We made better use of the blueberry sauce on our corn muffins. Still warm, we brushed our cornbread muffins lightly with a touch of soft butter and a swipe of the blueberry sauce. We could have happily made a meal out of the corn muffins alone.
Whole Fried Catfish
These two whole catfish were fried gorgeously on the outside while the inside remained moist and tender.
The sweet potato fries were clearly straight out of the fryer and served piping hot. And, we found the mac and cheese to be surprisingly good. Now at this point in our busy day, we were ravenous. So, we may have been an easy audience. But, this was the best meal that we were fortunate enough to eat on our North Georgia fall colors road trip weekend.
Hawg Wild offers the whole catfish plate for $12.99 for one plate or $18.49 for an all you can eat version of the meal. All you can eat? Seriously? Who can eat more than two whole catfish in one sitting?
Sweet Georgia Brown Sauce, JR’s Wildfire Sauce, JP’s White Sauce
And…
JP’s Vinegar Sauce, JP’s Ole Yella Sauce,
And JP’s Sweet & Smoky Original
Wow, that’s alotta sauces. Is that sign of an identity crisis or an eagerness to please? Given the jam-packed full house, we think they aim to please.
If we’re ever in that area again, we’ll be sure to give the barbecue a try.
Isn’t that a charming little smokehouse?
Not ready to get back on the road? There’s an antique shop right next door.
P.S. — They’re closed on Monday. And, they close at 3:00pm on Sunday!
Hawg Wild BBQ & Catfish House
515 Grant Street
Clarkesville, GA
706 754 4323
Dahlonega Gold Museum
Smokin Gold BBQ & Antique Shops Everywhere You Look
Lake Zwerner
Vogel State Park
Further north, it gets better.
Then, it gets weird.
Pulled Pork at Pappy’s Riverside Restaurant
Pappy’s Trading Post
Get your Mayfield ice cream (butter pecan) and wander…
The Appalachian Trail — Hog Pen Gap
Tallulah Point Overlook
Bird Houses with bird appropriate hole sizes…
Overlook BBQ Smokehouse
A Smokehouse & Smoldering Wood
(If you arrive early enough, you can grab some boiled peanuts.)
And, BBQ
Pulled Chicken
Pulled Pork
It might not be the best view or the best bbq. But, it’s an incredibly rustic and charming place to stop, stretch your legs, and grab a bite to eat and drink.
(If you can ignore the power wires, it’s a nice view.)
It’s a better view when you zoom in tight.
Hawg Wild BBQ & Catfish House
Habersham
(The Attic in the background)
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