Cathead Biscuits & Blueberry Cakes
It’s hard to gauge their size. But, these are very big, fluffy biscuits. The size of a cathead? Maybe. (Probably bigger, we can’t be sure. We don’t have a cat with us to compare. We’ll take their word for it.)
Smucker’s Jam Assortment
Packets of Smucker’s honey and syrup were available, too.
(In that butter basket peeking into the shot)
3 Over Easy Eggs & Perfectly Browned Hash Browns
(And, a side order of biscuits & gravy for the hungry man at the table)
2 Eggs with Country Ham, Red Eye Gravy & Grits
The one real failure was the country ham. It was excessively tough, dry and chewy.
And, the red eye gravy had an unpleasant murkiness to it. The grits were the typical old-fashioned style. Bland and boring. A little butter and Tabasco livened them up nicely. The country ham was unsalvageable… thank goodness for the blueberry cake & biscuit basket.
JR’s Log House
6601 Peachtree Industrial Blvd.
Norcross, GA 30093
770 449 6426
Old Fashioned Corn Bread
BBQ Chicken, Spinach Casserole & Brunswick Stew
BBQ Chicken, Mac & Cheese, & Brunswick Stew
JR’s Log House
6601 Peachtree Industrial Blvd.
Norcross, GA 30093
770 449 6426
Wrapped with a pretty red bow
Inside
(two protective layers of glossy tissue were removed prior to this shot)
From top left (clockwise):
Fleur de Sel Caramel — Very Good — soft & creamy caramel with lovely rich caramel flavor
Mint — Not a favorite, but, it might grow on us — strong menthol with chocolate background
Port Fig — Awesome — rich fig flavor with subtle port wine notes that don’t overpower the dark chocolate
Coconut — Luscious — soft center white chocolate cream with coconut that melts instantly on the tongue
Coffee Praline — Pleasant — chocolate mocha with subtle nuttiness and a few tiny pieces of chopped nut were scattered on top
Grand Marnier/Marzipan — Incredibly Yummy and Addictive! — dark chocolate ganache on top with a thin layer of rich almond marzipan on the bottom
For us, these were nice to very good chocolates. They lack the powerful burst of dark chocolate that makes the best chocolates. But, they’re yummy nonetheless. And, they’re all too easy to eat. This small box clocked in at around $10. These chocolates offer a nice quality for a very affordable price.
Venezuela — 61%
Normally, we prefer higher percentages in our favorite dark chocolate bars. But, this artisan bar had a lovely milk chocolaty, smooth, creamy and mellow quality that we really enjoyed. At just under $6.00 a bar, this was a tasty value. This might be a new favorite. We need to sample another bar or two… just to be sure you know.
Alon’s Bakery & Market
4505 Ashford Dunwoody Road
Atlanta, GA 30346
678 397 1781
Little Gems Salad with Crispy Oysters
Composed of bittersweet greens, delicate sweet-yet-spicy watermelon radish, incredibly rich local bacon, hunks of sharp bleu cheese, and dressed lightly with vinaigrette… this salad was the perfect balance of refreshing crispy greens and hearty, satisfyingly rich proteins. Love it.
Shrimp & Grits
Shrimp so tender there are no words to describe them… perfection maybe. The crispy soft poached egg had wilted a wee bit by the time it was served and there was just a touch too much gravy. But, those are minor quibbles. This is luscious comfort in a bowl.
JCT Kitchen & Bar
1198 Howell Mill Road
Atlanta, GA 30318
404 355 2252
Gaucamole
Thankfully, this time the guac had plenty of avocado with a nice chunky consistency and only a touch of diced tomatoes. On our last visit, there was an over-abundance of diced (unripe) tomatoes causing a bland, watered down guacamole.
Quesadilla de Camaron
For many years (close to 10), this dish consisted of two small griddle fried flour tortillas stuffed with shrimp, peppers, onion and cheese. Now, it appears to be a single flour tortilla sliced into three pieces. It’s still tasty, but, for $12.95…
Chicken Mole Special
This is a lovely rich mole with a nice balance of sweet and heat. The flour tortilla was jammed with tender slices of chicken breast. And, topped with two cheeses, this daily special was the winner of the day. But, we long for days gone by when Taqueria Los Hermanos was a sure fire winner with almost every dish.
Taqueria Los Hermanos
4418 Hugh Howell Road
Tucker, GA 30084
678 937 0660
Mava Badam
Badam Pista Rocket
Raj Kamal & Mango Barfi
Balu Shai
Chandrakala
(still our favorite)
Vada Pav
It’s sweet & savory. Crispy deep-fried yummy on the outside opens to soft potato comfort food goodness in the middle, these are one brilliant food in the world of things deep fried. We’ll never tire of these.
Gokul Sweet’s Club Sandwich
Our attraction to Gokul Sweet’s club sandwich wasn’t love at first sight. This is an unusual (and unusual looking) sandwich. It’s certainly not the most attractive sandwich and it’s more than a little odd. We still find that the slice of yellow American cheese never ceases to puzzle and confuse us a bit. Yet, at the same time, this is an interesting sandwich that grows on us a little bit more with every new visit.
Dabeli
It would be impossible to leave without consuming at least one more ridiculously addictive Dabeli. We don’t want to eat it. We have to eat it. We’re addicted. Is it a snack, lunch, meal-on-a-bun, or all of the above? One thing is a certainty, they’re always divine.
Gokul Sweets
763 Dekalb Industrial Way
Decatur, GA 30033
404 299 2062
Banh Tom Co Ngu
(Fried Sweet Potato Sticks with Shrimp)
Perfectly crispy, crumbly deep fried nests of sweet potato sticks are topped with shrimp still in the shell. This is a generously sized appetizer that makes a great lunch. This is definitely not a healthy everyday sort of lunch, but its an addiction we aren’t willing to kick. Luckily, we only give in to the need on special occasions.
Speaking of addiction…
It’s hard to pass up the bubble teas, too. But, it’s only half-bad when you’re sharing.
Saigon Cafe
Burnt Fork Barbecue
BBQ Chicken, Mac & Cheese, And Brunswick Stew
Burnt Fork BBQ has all the usual suspects and then some.
Both ribs and chicken were moist, tender and heavily spiced on our first visit. One of us instantly loved the rich blend of spices. (The other enjoyed the taste. But, thought there was a bit too much spice rub.) This complex mix of sweet and savory spices reminded us of Thompson Brothers BBQ.
Paper Thin Sweet Potato Chips
Super crisp and barely a hint of oil, these were great.
BBQ Rib Sandwich
We received a generous 1/4 rack of ribs served between crispy griddled toast. Usually, we leave the toast untouched. This crispy on the outside, dense and chewy in the middle toast was worth nibbling on and we gobbled up almost every bite..
The thick coating of spices might give the appearance of an over-cooked rib. But, every bite was moist and tender on the inside.
Memphis, Kansas City, and North Carolina Sauces are available. But, our meats needed no further embellishments. We sampled the sauces on the last nuggets of crispy toast corners.
And, our first taste of Cheerwine
We might not be hooked on it yet. But, it’s hard not to have a little bit of a crush on something called “Cheerwine”. We want more of both… Burnt Fork BBQ and Cheerwine. It might become a new habit.
Burnt Fork BBQ
614 Church Street
Decatur, GA 30030
404 373 7155
Theo Cherry Almond
(Organic Fair Trade 70% cacao)
For the price (roughly $4), this was a surprisingly nice bar. The almonds and dried cherries brought out just the right bitter and tart notes to improve upon the deep dark chocolate base.
Theo
(Available at Whole Foods)
The Chocolate Bar
A simple red box stuffed with tissue paper might not have the artistic flair of Sugar-Coated Radical. But, it allows the chocolates to make the journey home without melting in warm hands.
This box holds a key lime shell, praline ball, robin’s egg blue chocolate mint, yellow passion fruit heart, spiced dark chocolate square, 2 pistachio cherry hearts, and one golden honey circle.
For us, these fall into the chocolate-coated cream category. The supporting roles of praline, fruit purees and honey steal the show. We would’ve preferred the chocolate to take center stage. But, they were very tasty nonetheless. The praline with crispy toffee-like bits suspended in the cream had us wishing for a box full of them. And, the green pistachio heart held a surprise in the form of a rush of liquid cherry. It was a fun little surprise. Another winner was the chocolate covered honey cream. The soft milk chocolaty shell gave the impression of biting into real honeycomb as you break through to the even softer cream. The interesting texture combined with the deep, rich flavor of honey made this the most unique and interesting chocolate of the day.
The Chocolate Bar
201 West Ponce De Leon Avenue
Suite C
Decatur, GA 30030
404 378 0630
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