Homemade Shortbread Crackers
Delicate, buttery, and crumbly, the melt-in-your-mouth tender crumb works well with Brick Store’s creamy pâté.
Country Chicken Pâté With Smoked Peach Preserves
Generous portions of both allow you to build each bite to your taste. Cornichons and grainy honey mustard make a lovely distraction from the buttery richness.
Oud Beersel Framboise
Delicate bubbles and a tart bite made for a pleasant surprise.
Scaldis Strong Ale
Smooth, mellow and creamy with a perfect peppery bite.
Pretzels
Brush off that salt and buttery bite-sized pieces make another vehicle to consume every last bit of the mason jarred pâté.
Cast Iron Raclette
Gorgeous deep golden brown potato slices are buried under that mountain of cheese.
St Bernardus Abt 12 Quad
Rich powerful flavors with a touch of barely sweet malt and dried dark fruit
Gulden Draak 9000 Quad
Dark caramel, fruity and almost too rich, we might give it another chance.
Fish & Chips
A few fries had already been nipped at this point.
Brick Store Pub
125 East Court Square
Decatur, GA 30030
404 687 0990
Vosges Blood Orange Caramel Bar
There are simply no words to express the absolute perfection of this bar. The chocolate is deep, dark, rich and complex. While the right bite of bitter citrus from blood orange and Campari tempers the sweetness of syrupy smooth caramel, it’s easily the closest thing to a perfect candy bar we’ve ever tasted.
…candy bar
That term is an insult. This is a bar of fine chocolate with perfectly layered flavors. The richness of the chocolate guides the way for soft, creamy caramel that hides a dose of bitterness that makes your tongue tingle with curious interest and pleasure. Then, it finishes with the light floral flourish of hibiscus. The hibiscus adds its own touch of subtle tartness that keeps the flavor of this chocolate bar a unique thing onto itself. This combination of flavors and textures is nothing short of edible artistry.
Vosges
(We bought our bar at Alon’s Dunwoody location.)
Raspberry Crumble Bar
We’d love to tell you about this crumbly cookie bar filled with raspberry jam. But just one tiny bite in, it hit the floor. Our little devil dog scarfed it up in one quick piggy bite. She clearly loved it. We could tell by the way she lapped up every crumb of the floor.
Alon’s Bakery
4505 Ashford Dunwoody Road NE
Atlanta, GA 30345
678 397 1781
Coffee & Donuts
Rich, creamy coffee dotted with a Krispy Kreme donut hole…
pure genius!
It was love at first bite… or was it the second.
The coconut banana was a perfect summer day option, too. But, we both agreed. The coffee and donut pop was the real winner.
Other Flavors On This Hot Summer Day:
Raspberry Lime
Hibiscus Margarita
Blueberry Lemonade
Coconut Banana
Mango Habanero
Chocolate Sea Salt
Peach ‘n Cream
Check out their website for hours and locations:
King of Pops
(Our favorite location: Decatur Square)
The Beautiful Restaurant
3 Short Ribs
That’s the generous portion served at The Beautiful Restaurant.
Short Ribs in Brown Gravy
This is pot roast’s richer, tastier cousin.
Incredible beef flavor was the hallmark of every bite. But, what really appealed to us was the fork, tender beef. This short rib was braised the perfect amount of time to allow the beef to reach that succulent melt-in-your-mouth tenderness. But, it wasn’t braised long enough for the flavors to escape the meat. We’ve all tasted that piece of beef that falls apart into shreds and lacks flavor from a cook’s neglect. That was most certainly not this dish. This was divine comfort.
Fried Chicken
Crisp, crumbly breading surrounds tender thigh meat. They were completely sold out of white meat. And, we could understand why. This chicken is good… really good. We’ll be adding this restaurant to our list of fried chicken favorites. This place might not top the list. But, it’s a very worthy addition.
Sweet Potato Casserole & Macaroni ‘n Cheese
Sweet ground clove, plenty of sugar, raisins and marshmallows touched with golden brown edges, this was a dessert masquerading as a vegetable. But, we both loved it.
Mac & Cheese And Stuffing With Gravy
Creamy, custardy and cheesy, that’s one of the ways we like our mac & cheese. Meanwhile, the cornbread stuffing has a pudding-like quality that reminds us of spoon bread. Topped with brown gravy, this is richer and tastier.
Broccoli & Rice Casserole
Super duper cheesy, the broccoli is really an afterthought. But, who doesn’t love cheesy comfort food casseroles?
Potato Salad
Eggy, tangy, creamy, and mildly sweet, this potato salad had us craving backyard barbecue. It was chock full of crumbled hard boiled eggs, pimento and relish.
Southern Style Corn Muffins
Moist, crumbly and perfuming the air with the scent of sweet corn, loads of fresh cornmeal made this great muffin what it is. This perfect specimen was dense from the cornmeal rich batter and ever so mildly sweet. There’s no doubting the Southern roots of this muffin.
The Beautiful Restaurant
2260 Cascade Road Southwest
Atlanta, GA 30311
404 752 5931
Vaca Frita
Mmm, vaca frita…. so good.
Tender beef braised in a garlic-y broth is shredded and pan fried. Then, it’s tossed with slivers of onion. Little Cuba decorates the plate with paper thin slices of fried plantain and congris. This is one great dish.
Fried Plantain Strips & Congris
The brittle snap of razor thin plantain strips work well against the savory, comfort food goodness that is congris. In college we frequently made a cheap meal out of Versaille’s congris and maduros. For a few dollars, we could stuff ourselves silly. Now, we can afford more. Yet, this is what we crave. While this version might not take us straight to Miami, we’re hovering in a nearby airspace. Lovely, now, we’re homesick.
Pollo Asado
If it’s this perfect every time, we’ll be back again and again. This tender, melty white meat was a glorious indulgence. So tender, the lightest bite had the meat falling apart in our mouths to savor its divine richness.
This might just be the best version of the dish we’ve ever been lucky enough to taste.
Maduros
Another minute in the pan would have been nice. But, these were still tasty. It’s that touch of savory sweetness that rich, garlic-y Cuban food demands. It’s just not a meal without a plate of maduros on the table.
Sit back, relax and enjoy.
Little Cuba
3350 Chamblee Tucker Road
Chamblee, GA 30341
770 451 0025
Diablo Shrimp
This was a very tasty version of the dish. Fat, tender shrimp were doused in a perfectly spiced sauce. Dried chile peppers lent rich flavor and heat. The double dose of starch was our choice. They’d happily serve refried beans or tomatoes on a bed of shredded lettuce.
A pile of warm corn tortillas made the perfect wrappers.
Carnitas Con Ensalada
Tender pork with crispy delectable bits at the edges, we couldn’t ask for more.
Chips & Salsa
We’ll be back for a Torta… or two.
Taqueria El Dorado
2570 Pleasant Hill Road
Suite 102
Duluth, GA 30096
678 957 1377
Sweet Pumpkin Coffee Cake
This might be the best sweet at Tous Les Jours. It’s definitely our favorite. (…Or, is it one of those light and fluffy custard buns? Hmm.) Candied pumpkin chunks decorate the woven sweet bread that’s garnished with slivers of almond and black sesame seeds. A wedge of this for breakfast makes any day special. Pair it with your favorite coffee or tea to start your day the right way.
Custard Bun
This fluffy little bun is filled with a mildly sweet custard. They’re too easy to devour.
Tous Les Jours, it’s the little bake shop inside of Super H.
Check out their other locations:
Tous Les Jours
We like the Doraville location.
Super H Mart
6035 Peachtree Road
Building B
Doraville, GA 30360
770 986 2300
Masitas De Puerco
Tender, garlic-y cubes of roast pork are pan fried and served topped with a generous mound of gorgeous caramelized onions.
Congris & Maduros
Both were close to perfection. And, we both commented that Papi’s congris might just be the best version of the dish that we’ve tasted outside of Miami.
Smoky and rich with all the right flavors, yet, the individual grains of rice were light and fluffy. They weren’t stuck together in a heavy, clunky mass. Each little grain was free to balance precariously on our forks.
So good.
This little salad on the side was a pleasant break from all of the crazy rich and delicious food.
Jerk Chicken With Black Beans & Rice, And Maduros
Tender, skinless chicken breast meat was drenched in what we would call a Cuban version of jerk sauce.
Very Tasty.
Marry The Rice & Beans
Don’t forget, there’s extra parking in the rear.
Papi’s Cuban And Caribbean Grill
216 Ponce de Leon Avenue
Atlanta, GA 30308
404 607 1525
The Diavola Pizza
Sopressata, Pepperonata, & Bufalo
Very generously loaded with thin slivers of sopressata, those thin slivers get crispy at the edges. It is those crispy edges that are one of the highlights of this delectable flavor combination. The way that the richness of the sopressata mingles with the vinegary bite of spicy red pepper. Then, the buttery buffalo mozzarella rounds it all out and adds a mellowing element. This was another perfect pizza.
Good To The Last Slice
…again
Eat here.
Antico Pizza Napoletana
1093 Hemphill Avenue NW
Atlanta, GA 30341
404 724 2333
Burger King’s Sweet Potato Fries
Burger King’s new menu makes an easy target. And, say what you will about most of the new additions. These sweet potato fries are really good. We’d say they hover somewhere just above other fast food fry options. If we’re starving, we’d pick these sweet potato fries over the rest. That is… IF… And, ONLY IF, the same golden brown, crispy fries are available at all Burger Kings.
Carolina BBQ Whopper
Ok, sure, we’re still with you. This was an edible fast food burger. Even if the sweet bbq sauce was a bit too sweet for our taste, we might choose this again. (Time to qualify: That is to say, we might choose this again if we’re starving and Burger King was our only option.)
Burger King’s BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwich
Ok, you’re losing us.
Now, lets think. What’s the kindest thing we can say about this? It’s better than Subway’s disgusting and inedible version of barbecued mystery meat. Phew, there, we did our good deed for the day.
Caramel Bacon Sundae
Oh, Burger King. You make us want to cry.
There are so many things wrong with this. Where oh where to start? There is absolutely no sense of subtlety or nuance. (Yeah, I know, this is Burger King…. What are we thinking? Of course, there isn’t.) If someone is even going to think about putting smoky pork with a sweet thing, it needs to be done in extreme moderation. And, that smoky pork tidbit would have to be crisp to the point of brittle. Then, and only then, would the tiniest sprinkling of smoky, salty flavor accent the caramel. This soggy slab of undercooked, flabby bacon on top of soft serve ice cream is utterly repugnant.
Burger King
(You know where to find them.)
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