Pumpkin Manju
Sweet pumpkin shines. It’s rare that pumpkin is showcased without the assortment of sweet spices that accompany it in one form or another. It’s refreshing to savor the simplicity of sweet pumpkin and nothing more.
Panko crusted fried dough filled with meat, potato and veggies
Like a pierogi… but, better. The fried dough is surprisingly light and airy. This provides an interesting contrast to the rich filling.
Sweet bean filled pastries, nut tarts, cream filled breads, cookies, muffins, and little cakes… Mozart Bakery has something for everyone. And, like White Windmill Bakery, I love the way most of the little treats are individually wrapped. White Windmill offers a larger selection and might be more than a little bit prettier. But, Mozart offers a few unique nibbles.
Cafe Mozart Bakery
5301 Buford Highway NE
Atlanta, GA 30340
770 936 8726
Sesame
2 for $1
For $1, two of these Vietnamese baguettes are an unbelievable bargain. With tapered ends and a seriously good crispy, flaky crust, we preferred these over the standard bánh mì baguette.
Standard Bánh Mì
3 for $1
But, if the sesame baguettes sell out, these will do the trick quite nicely.
And, 3 for $1… incredible.
Lee’s Bakery
4005 Buford Highway NE
Atlanta, GA 30345
404 728 1008
Kranky
Chocolate covered corn flakes, these were not bad… in that convenience store candy sorta way.
Obleas
Rice paper wafers filled with a thin layer of cajeta (goat milk caramel)… but, the cajeta had an unpleasant gritty texture. They’re edible, but, not a fan.
Huevitos
Now, these were truly awful. They might be the worst excuse for a candy… ever. The taste? Toothpaste in a candy sugar shell. Yuck. You’re not supposed to swallow toothpaste. These were so very wrong on many levels.
The next time we visit Carniceria Mi Pueblo #2, we’ll skip the candy and hit the cabinet with baked goods up front. For a small market, the cabinet had a nice assortment of pastries, cookies and sugar crusted rolls.
Carniceria Mi Pueblo #2
4005 Buford Highway
Atlanta, GA 30345
404 636 7727
3 G Salad
Green papaya, green mango and green apples sliced in a fine julienne topped with shreds of grilled lamb and fried shallots. This salad is a lovely combination of bright green flavors with just the right touches of sweet and sour to accent the freshness of the fruit. The shredded beef and nut topping make this hearty enough to be a meal.
Special Fragrant Rice with Salmon
A mountain of rice surrounded by vegetables, grilled salmon, one fried egg and a slice of shrimp cake is topped with even more shredded meat and fried shallots. It’s served with a bowl of mildly spiced vinegar dressing. This dish is a great example of the sum being greater than the parts.
Special Fragrant Rice with Grilled Beef
Ditto above… just substitute tender, marinated & grilled beef for the salmon. We found it to be equally delicious. But, the dish was significantly richer with the beef. The sweetness of the marinade added even more to that richness.
Co’m Vietnamese Grill
4005-E Buford Highway
Atlanta, GA 30345
404 320 0405
Fried Chicken Liver Bruschetta
We both loved this dish. That is really saying something when one of us is on the fence about their relationship with chicken livers, in general. The cornmeal shell was crisp and golden. Yet, each chicken liver had just a hint of pink. This is a make or break point with us. When the touch of pink is gone, the chicken livers turn mealy, bitter and extremely unpleasant. We would have happily made a meal of this dish. And, we both spent some time discussing how this could work. We both agreed that served over a bed of buttery grits dotted with cloves of roasted garlic, they’d be a knock out.
Fish & Grits
So close… That really sums up this dish. Everything was so close to being a winner. The fish itself was a gorgeous piece of tender, flaky flounder and the breading was perfectly crisp. But, there wasn’t a speck of salt used in the preparation. The collard greens were mild, but, good. When we drizzled a bit of the Carolina BBQ sauce on them, they were great. The grits were a bit bland. And, the sauce was listed as red-eye gravy. This should have a good amount of salt from the ham alone. But, that wasn’t the case. We believe this sauce was a simple brown gravy. If each element of this dish were to be seasoned properly, it has the potential to be a real hit.
(Note: We both prefer very little salt in our food. And, if there was the tiniest amount of salt in this dish we would have been happy)
BBQ Pork Sandwich with Mac & Cheese
This sandwich had a good amount of tender pork. Tender with a nice Carolina BBQ sauce, we enjoyed the pork… not the bun. The bun was soggy and falling apart after 3-4 bites. The Mac & Cheese was tasty, but, the cheese seemed to be a bit of an afterthought. If we had to guess, we’d say the filling was predominantly ricotta (or some type of farmers cheese) with cheddar mostly or only on the top.
The Biscuits
These were the only true failure of the meal. At first glance, we thought they were some type of shortbread. But, once we cut one open, we realized it was an uncooked and unleavened biscuit. We politely showed them to our server. She apologized and quickly returned with a plate of identically uncooked and unleavened biscuits. We looked at each other in confusion. After shooting a few glances back and forth at each other, we cut into the biscuits and couldn’t help but giggle. Yes, they were most definitely identical to the first two biscuits. They went untouched. But, we periodically scowled at the ugly little things throughout our meal.
We’ve always loved this old building.
Farmstead 303
303 East Howard Avenue
Decatur, GA 30030
404 377 3550
Mixed Vegetable Parotta
Thinly sliced parotta with a mixture of thinly sliced cabbage, peppers, onions and other vegetables are tossed in a mildly spiced red sauce. No cilantro leaves garnishing the dish this time… I missed the freshness of a cilantro leaf here and there lightening up the dish.
We forgot all about this visit from July… probably due to the fact that it was almost identical to this visit.
Kara Dosa & Vegetable Bonda
Both were crisp and hot… fresh off the griddle and out of the fryer.
And, the standard lineup of chutneys were present… coconut, cilantro, and sweet tomato. We ended with two steaming hot cups of masala tea. Our addiction to masala tea instigates most of our visits.
Madras Saravana Bhavan
2179 Lawrenceville Highway
Decatur, GA 30033
404 636 4400
Fried Yuca Cups with 3 fillings
In order of preference… No. 1 avocado, No. 2 picadillo, and a distant 3rd place goes to the shrimp creole. Next time, we’ll get the avocado filling for all three.
Ending up here, somehow. An unusual discovery was made. Quite fitting, given the purpose of Paranormal Norcross’s website. If you need paranormal consultation in Norcross, they’ve got you covered! In any event, we’re glad for the discovery. We were rewarded with a fabulous meal.
Glazed Salmon with mango salsa, yellow rice and tostones
This made a perfect summer dinner. Perfectly grilled salmon with sweet and tangy mango salsa. And, tostones… they might not be the prettiest thing in the world. But, they sure are tasty. I can predict we will be eating this again very, very soon.
Vaca Frita, Maduros, Black Beans & Rice
Fried Cow. Yum. This dish is a bit heavy for summer. But, it’s one of our all-time favorite Cuban dishes when it’s done properly. So, we had to give it a try. Slow-cooked beef is shredded and pan fried with onions. Finish that off with a drizzle of lime. Then, serve with the mandatory maduros, black beans, and rice. This might not be the best version we’ve tasted. But, it was very nicely done.
Maduros
Now, this is the way properly cooked maduros should look. Hello, out there… Atlanta Area Restaurants! I’m talking to you! Properly cooked maduros should be made with ripe (RIPE) plantains and fried to a deep dark caramel brown. Is it really that hard?
Mango Pie with guava swirls
I hate to be redundant. But, yum. It’s sweet and a little tart with all of the added complexity that guava brings to the table. It’s the perfect summer dessert.
And, they have live music on the weekends. I think we’re really going to love this place. Next time, we’ll be trying the guava cheesecake. That’s even more motivation to return…soon.
Mojitos Cuban American Bistro
35 South Peachtree Street Northwest
Norcross, GA 30071
770 441 2599
Mixed Root Chips
We really enjoyed these. Sliced paper thin, they were crunchy… yet delicate. And, the sweet potato chips had that sweet and salty thing going on… why aren’t sweet potato chips more popular?
Yucatekas
Mild spice & vinegar flavored yuca chips… these were great too. But, as expected, they have the harder crunch that yucca chips always tend to have. Too bad we didn’t have any guac… they’d be perfect for dipping.
Diana Alboroto
Cracker Jack flavored corn nuts with a mildly burnt caramel taste. Originally, we gave them a mixed review. But, they really grown on you after a handful or two.
Pumpkin seed, sesame seed & nut brittle… LOVE IT!
Mercado Real De La Villa
1175 Indian Trail Road
Norcross, GA 30093
770 931 2877
Tortas Gigantes!
We both loved this place before taking a single bite. Love the name… the staff is friendly… and they make GIANT tortas! What more do you want?
La King
Or, as we like to call it… everything but the kitchen sink. Yum.
The Espanola
Assorted types of porky goodness, cheese, jalapenos, avocado and sliced tomatoes.
Crazy good, period.
Tortas Gigantes
1175 Indian Trail Road
Suite F
Norcross, GA 30093
678 805 8792
Burrito Acapulquenos
Loaded with flaky fish, nearly melt-in-your-mouth tender calamari, and grilled shrimp… this burrito with creamy poblano sauce is stuffed with fish (and, covered in even more fish) was a real winner. Even though we’ve eaten this before, it was better than we remembered it to be.
Nibbling on tortilla chips with our meal, the bright flavors of cilantro-rich salsa helped to lighten up the rich and creamy poblano pepper sauce. (above)
Enchiladas de Mole
Rich in flavor, but, little heat… this was a lovely deep dark mole with a sweet, smoky background of chocolate. Each enchilada is generously filled with sliced chicken. The green beans might’ve been a tad over-cooked. But, the fact that they were fresh green beans made up for that little error.
The specials list on that day
How long have we been eating at Taqueria Los Hermanos? too many years to count
Have we ever had a bad meal? No, but, we do miss their original guacamole.
Taqueria Los Hermanos location of choice? Tucker
Taqueria Los Hermanos
4418 Hugh Howell Road
Tucker, GA 30084
678 937 0660
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