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Imagine a world where… Oddly, this wasn’t the worst part of the meal. That distinction goes to the greens. The greens were easily one of the worst thing we’ve ever had the grave misfortune to taste… metallic, dreadfully overcooked, and just downright awful in every way.
Com Mai’s Duck Noodle Soup
Tender duck, rich broth, bright green herbs, mushroom,
It’s one delicious bowl of goodness working in harmony.
This was just one of many delicious and lovely meals served with attentive care… Com Mai
Bourbon Snow Cone? Is it a snow cone misted with bourbon? Ok, seriously, where’s the bourbon? It’s most definitely not in our glass. Is this a poor excuse for a prank? We prefer not to be pranked when $10 cocktails are involved. What we were served was (quite literally) watery ice slush with candied pecans floating in it. There might’ve been a hint of bourbon flavor. But, it was incredibly hard to tell… mixed in with what must have been at least 4 ounces of tap water.
Interestingly, a neighboring table ordered the exact same drink. Their glass appeared to be overflowing with bourbon. Only the fewest ice shards topped their glass. Is it a problem with consistency? Or, did we look like an easy mark? We confess. We’re usually very agreeable. But, when our glass appears at the table sans bourbon, make no mistake, we will comment on it.
Varasano’s Brew? When we asked our server who made this “brew” of unknown origin, we were told that the management wouldn’t tell the servers. Why you ask? Well, that’s because they might pass the information along to guests. Silly guests, you’re not entitled to this top secret information. When we asked if we might be given a little hint, we were told that it MIGHT be in the “Miller” family.
Nucci
The Nucci Capicola? Check. Arugula? Check. Olives? MIA Emmenthaler? MIA Herbs? MIA
The crust was fine. But, it was lacking in the maturation that we’ve come to expect from a dough used in a Varasano’s pie.
Calzone? Undercooked on one side. The look? Shabby urban chic? Well, it’s closer to shabby. We were told that this location opened in October. How is it possible for a restaurant that opened in October to be in such a state? In lieu of a podium, there’s a short table littered messily with sticky menus. We know this because we stood there for at least 5 minutes before someone finally wandered over to acknowledge us. Then, you pass by an odd DJ stand. Dead air plants litter the nearby wall. The dead air plants mingle with some healthier (but still sunlight starved) herb plants. We’re all about the food. That’s true. We try not to be affected by our surroundings. But, the incredibly shabby, drab… ok, not drab. We’ll say it. Our table was dirty. Actually, if we’re being 100% honest, it was sticky and dirty. Sticky drink glass rings (of what we’re guessing were the last diners at the table) were clearly visible all over the table. We had to wipe it down. Also, both plates delivered to our table had large chips missing from the top edge… on the service side of the dishes. Actually, we shouldn’t call them chips. That would be too generous. There were chunks of china missing from both of our white rectangular plates. Is this what to expect from Varasano’s as the brand expands? We’re done with this location. Never again. Period. If it’s true that we vote with our wallets. We’ll be taking our voting dollars elsewhere.
Smoked Turkey, Brisket, Burnt Ends…
Pulled Chicken & Pork
The Burnt Ends
We enjoyed each. But, the burnt ends were a clear favorite.
Grit Cakes
The carrot casserole and black eyed peas were our favorite sides.
The carrot casserole was a serious high point to our meal. We just couldn’t resist ordering a large side to-go. And, someone made a meal out of it two days in a row.
Praise The Lard’s Stupid Sauce This was our favorite.
There’s a sauce or two … or three… to please everyone.
There were no ribs on the day of our visit. And, since barbecued ribs are our favorite, we must return to give those a taste. Praise The Lard BBQ
Gam Cho
Even if you say you’re eating in the small space, it’s served up as to-go food. If one of Gam Cho’s two tables are available, you can linger a bit.
This chicken has a super hard (brittle hard… and in our opinion too hard) crispy crunch to it. The small condiment cup of sauce on the side for dipping had a pleasant not too sweet to mild spice balance to it. Though, given that super crispy crunch, we would have liked the chicken pieces better had they been tossed in the sauce. We’re pretty sure that’s the way it was shown on the menu.
…like right here, actually (Oh yeah… BTW… We think that’s some sort of slaw on the side. But, we would have no way of knowing. We didn’t get any. We were too busy gnawing on our hard chicken pieces to notice this until after the fact.) If we were given the option, we would’ve never opted for the sauce to be served on the side. We had no idea this was even an option until we opened our container.
“Wow, these are hard… like rock hard…” The chicken was dry and hard… like deep fried chicken jerky. Another note: Instead of serving this to the only two people in the place. It was left to sit in the back. It must have sat on the counter as every dish was made. By the time it made it to our table, it was barely warm… and rock hard.
“It’s so saucy and glossy…” “Did we pick this sauce?” “No, we defintely did NOT pick this sauce.” “This should be Go Chu Jang Sauce.” “What is this? Korean Gravy?” “Yeah, of course, it’s the only one of the sauces that I’d never pick.”
*Please Insert Lyrics To T.I.’s No Mediocre*
“Thank God! This one has the right sauces.”
This was (BY FAR!) the best part of our meal.
After almost an hour drive outside of the perimeter and over a twenty minute wait (for the only two people in the place), there were just too many mistakes in one meal. This is too far to drive for us to consider a re-visit and risk another round of this many mistakes for a fast food style meal. Sorry to say it, this is very rare for us. But, this is a one and we’re done.
If we’re ever in Buford again…. yeah, probably not.
Papaya Salad With Shrimp & Pork
So fresh and delicious, always…
Salt & Pepper Shrimp
It was all good. …Again Nam Phuong
River Street Sweets
Presentation: 3, Taste: 7 These were sloppily thrown into a box with close to zero thought that these chocolates might be a gift. So, if we were in the mood to be harsh, we might say the presentation value is closer to a zero than a 3. It was just a hot mess of chocolates strewn every which way into an ordinary box. But, we will also say that the super fresh nuts and soft caramel make for a tasty guilty pleasure. Easily, the nuts and caramel are the best part. The chocolate coating is shockingly thin on every piece… even on the turtles. So thin, we wonder how that it’s applied to the tops of the turtles. We might guess a pastry brush if we thought that was possible. It would not be an exaggeration to say that the chocolate on top of each turtle is so thin that it seems to be painted on. The dipped chocolate praline has a wee touch more than that. River Street Sweets
La Hacienda
Salsa & Chips
With Two Salsas
Mole Poblano This dish alone was worth the visit.
Mole Poblano With Refried Beans & Rice
Chimichanga
Covered in runny cheese sauce, the portion was very generous.
We’ll definitely be returning to try more of the menu at La Hacienda. La Hacienda
Spicy Shrimp, Scallop, & Squid Salad
The menu says squid. Squid or cuttlefish? We think it’s much more likely to be cuttlefish. The scored pieces are quite large and thick (yet, tender). And, out of all the times we’ve ordered this, we’ve never gotten tentacles.
Regardless, this dish is still a favorite.
Pad Thai
Peanuts, bean sprouts, shredded carrot, and lime wedges sit off to the side filling a fairly large portion of the plate. Our noodles were rather heavily dressed. So, we’ll wait until a future visit to comment further on this dish.
Spicy Noodle Beef
Flat noodles, sliced beef, green beans, sliced onion, bean sprouts, shredded carrots and roasted peanuts in a spicy sauce. We both commented that this dish had a lot of flat noodles with a small portion of beef and an even smaller portion of vegetables. The green beans were used quite sparingly. We’d almost go so far as to say they were so sparingly used that they were more of a garnish. (We’ll give this dish a second chance on another day, too.) Thai Restaurant Of Norcross |
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