We both love caramel… especially when the sweetness of it is toned down.
Here, deep dark caramel has complex, malty notes from the chocolate stout. It works beautifully with the bitterness of the smoke. And, there’s this perfectly tiny touch of salt. That hint of salt works to highlight the richness of the creamy caramel and the deliciously dark bittersweet chocolate.
In a word… divine. Another lovely bar of chocolate from Vosges, we’re not at all surprised.
Alon’s Bakery
4505 Ashford Dunwoody Road NE
Atlanta, GA 30345
678 397 1781
Vosges
Katayif
Made to order, this divine dessert was served warm. Spiced walnuts were generously stuffed into each pancake-like pastry. Then, each one was drizzled with sweet syrup and topped with chopped pistachios. We might not have eaten these first. But, they more than deserve the spotlight.
Mixed Grill
Shawarma
Falafel
Pita & Tahini Sauce
The entire meal was quite good even if the lamb was over-cooked a bit. But, we’ll be back for more katayif in the very near future. And, since we’re eager to try the kunafa (Or, kanafeh… or, kanafah) we’ll be saving plenty of room for dessert next time.
Ameer’s Mediterranean Grill
2168 Briarcliff Road
Atlanta, GA 30329
404 982 0666
Gio’s Chicken Amalfitano
Scarpiello
Here, gorgeously roasted chicken keeps company with giant wedges of roasted potato, big chunks of sausage, sweet red peppers, pearl-sized onions and garlic. Breast, thigh, wing and leg, all were doused with a sweet, olive oil rich vinaigrette.
So very good.
We’d compare this to our favorite Sunday Dinner, Italian Style.
Do you see that delicately charred square of wood-fired bread? We’ll give you one guess. Where do you think it was charred up so beautifully? Mmmhmm, so, you know it’d be no exaggeration to say that it was a perfect bite of yeasty goodness. This was a feast for our eyes and our bellies.
So many roasted potatoes, sausage pieces and peppers, we could have made a meal of them.
Diavola
Calabrian spicy red peppers, roasted chicken and potatoes are drizzled with a red pepper and garlic rich olive oil. It’s Italian decadence defined.
We devoured each and every one of those bite-sized flavor bombs.
Watching them work causes a Pavlovian reaction.
The giant wooden table offers a clear view into the kitchen. And, family-sized tables fill the remaining space. The new space adds plenty of extra parking, too.
Our New York Italian grandmother would ask one question:
Where’s the slow roasted broccoli with lemon?
Gio’s Chicken Amalfitano
1099 Hemphill Avenue NW
Atlanta, GA 30318
404 347 3874
BBQ Ribs, Collards, & Texas Toast
Tender & Smoky
BBQ’d Half Chicken, Mac & Cheese , And Texas Toast
Moist, tender, smoky and richly spiced, this chicken has been shockingly good five times in a row. Yes, five visits have yielded 5 near-perfect orders of chicken. The ribs have been moist, tender, smoky and delicious on every visit, too! Sadly, we have noticed some inconsistencies in the sides. On one visit they might be delicious. On the next, they might be a bit bland. In our experience, the mac & cheese seems to show the most variation. But, on every visit, we’ve had seriously good bbq.
Fat Tire
Tea With Lemon
And a brownie with a cookie crust? Lets just say that it didn’t suck. On our last visit, we noticed they’ve added lemon bars to their baked goods lineup.
The Greater Good BBQ
4431 Hugh Howell Road
Tucker, GA 30084
770 908 8164
Rollitos
Wrap rich, buttery guava around creamy praline caramel and what do you get? Pastelitos!! Well, not exactly. It’s kinda-sorta like a thicker, chewier version of guava pastry filling. Yes, it’s a mediocre substitute for one of the tastiest things on the planet. But, sometimes it works in a pinch to curb our cravings for those divine pastries.
Dulce De Cacahuate Estilo Mazapan
Sweet, peanut-y, and powdery (in a powdered sugar way), this is a tasty peanut candy. It’s super sweet. But, for 25 cents you can’t go wrong. It’s more than worth a try. We’d happily nibble it again, too.
Castipan Rollitos & Bocadillo de Guayaba
Two versions of the same candy, one is a rolled candy. The other offers slices of guava and caramel. Both are equally tasty, if you like sweet, chewy guava paste. And, we definitely do. But, this is another super sweet treat. We share one. That’s one or two bites for each of us. If you can eat more than that, you really do have a sweet tooth.
Super Mercado Jalisco 7
3355 Steve Reynolds Blvd.
Duluth, GA 30096
678 957 1374
Lobster Cobb
Lobster Roll
Two dishes, we can’t get enough of them. So, we’ll just have to keep coming back…
…again and again.
Hopefully, we’ll be able to tear ourselves away from them long enough to give that Oyster Loaf a try.
To Do List for 2013:
Eat an Optimist Oyster Loaf ASAP
The Optimist
914 Howell Mill Road
Atlanta, GA 30318
404 477 6260
Bad pictures and bad food seem to travel in pairs.
This really grainy photo was taken in the dark recesses of the Phipps AMC to record the worst food to pass our lips in 2012 for posterity. The flavor combination of toffee and blueberry worked surprisingly well together. But, what didn’t work? The excruitiatingly gritty texture of the frozen yogurt was unbearable. This is the first and only meal (snack?) of 2012 we couldn’t (and didn’t want to) finish. Thanks to Phipps for providing us with a worst of 2012 entry. Without you, it would have been a nearly flawless food year. It is a great theater, but, wow. Just WOW! That’s some seriously bad soft serve you’ve got there Phipps. We try to keep it positive. But, this was just downright unacceptable.
AMC Phipps
Enlightened Synergy — GT’s Kombucha — Mystic Mango
Current Favortie Flavor? By a mile
Too much of a good thing? Only you know if you partied a bit too hard this long, wet weekend. But, if you did… this might be a good way for you to get back on the right track. The sweetness of the mango puree cuts most of the kombucha’s sharpness. And, there’s this pleasant tart bite that reminds us of scraping sweet mango flesh right off of the skin. That’s probably why this is our current favorite flavor. A couple of our other favorite flavors are the Guava Goddess and Multi-Green
Next time? We’ll be trying the Chia… raspberry? Maybe.
Synergy Drinks Kombucha
Whole Foods
(We think they offer the best assortment of flavors.)
Banana, Caramel Pecan & Spiced Pumpkin, Caramel, Pecan
Why are we starting with dessert? Both of these flavors were outstanding. And, we had a hard time picking a favorite between these two deliciously rich combinations. But, in the end, we have to give the edge to the banana, caramel, pecan. Even stuffed to the gills, we wanted more of it.
Every bite was filled with big chunks of pecans and soft, creamy caramel. You want every one of those flavors to grace each bite, too. These flavors were made for each other.
Best ice cream flavor of the year? Hell yeah!!
We also devoured a milkshake of spiced pumpkin. It was delicious.
So delicious… but, maybe a bit too chunky.
Pork Burger? Maybe next time…
The No. 3 — Bahn Mi Burger
Fresh jalapeños, cilantro, chili mayo, pork pate, pickled onions, carrot slivers, and cukes…
…top a perfectly “medium” burger with lovely bits of char at the edges.
This is one of our favorite burgers. And, without a doubt one of the best we’ve had the good fortune to eat this year.
The No. 6 — Bacon, Pepper Jack, Salsa Verde & Sunny Side Egg
Why top a burger with an egg? Well, that lovely creamy yolk creates a rich, savory, and custardy sauce that adds another layer of flavor to this mountain of decadence on a bun. And, if you need another reason, it turns a burger into breakfast food any day of the week. Delicious never goes out of style.
Farm Burger & Morelli’s
4514B Chamblee Dunwoody Road
Dunwoody, GA 30338
770 454 2201
Morelli’s
(Counter with 12 flavors — Inside Farm Burger)
Iced Gingerbread Clif Bars
In our house, the stocking stuffers are just as important as the wrapped gifts. Every chosen item must be clever, useful or a well-established frequently used favorite of the recipient.
Peppermint Stick & Spiced Pumpkin Pie Clif Bars, too!
This was a serious favorite in the useful and tasty category. And, they scored bonus points for the season-appropriate holiday flavors.
Clif Bars
Whole Foods
Barnes & Noble
(Ours were found at the GA Tech location)
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