What’s better than mofongo? Mofonjo with shrimp smothered in spicy red sauce. We first visited the Dominican Restaurant & Bakery last year. Check out those pictures here.
Mofongo is made of deep-fried plantains that have been smashed and fried again. Then, they are coarsely mashed into a dome-shaped form. Bits of deep fried pork are the genius stuffing. The shrimp (one variation) are served on the side. They leave it to you to break into the giant dome of mofongo.
When you do, this is your reward. Still-crispy shreds of deep fried pork and pork skin. This is unbelievably good. I wish I could eat this every day.
This crispy golden-edged deep fried fish (tilapia?) was delicious, too. Topped with pickled onions, this was perfect with a side of black beans & rice.
All of this amazing food came to less than $25 with drinks.
(We still haven’t found the baked goods… but, we’ll be back soon to look again.)
Versase Dominican Restaurant & Bakery
510 Pleasant Hill Road
Lilburn, GA 30047
770 931 8412
With only a few bagels left, we were able to grab one of each remaining type. One poppy, one egg and one everything, each bagel was soft and tender on the inside with a nice chew to the crust. When asked where they got their bagels, they told us they make the bagels in-house.
There is a nice assortment of deli goods to accompany these bagels. And, a handful of pre-packaged baked goods shipped in from Brooklyn. Like these cinnamon dusted chocolate rugelach…
And, these black & whites…
The black and whites are a bit too dense. And, i’d like the black side to have more chocolate flavor. But, considering the fact that they’re pre-packaged, they’re not bad. This chocolate babka with super-thin little layers of bittersweet chocolate is tasty, too.
The Kosher Gourmet
2153 Briarcliff Road, NE
Atlanta, GA 30329
404 636 1114
Granola Bar
Sawicki’s has a bakery case with most of the items made in-house. Baguettes and a couple other items are shipped in from Alon’s. We couldn’t resist a couple granola bars. They were incredibly rich with plenty of oats and jam-packed with chocolate chips. When you jam this many chocolate chips in… is it still a healthy treat?
I wasn’t particularly crazy about these wagyu franks. They were saltier than I expected them to be. And, the saltiness buried most (if not all) of the beef flavor. At $7.50 a lb, they’re reasonably priced. Unfortunately, they are more than a little forgettable.
Served with sparing dabs of Moutarde de Meaux, the only identifiable taste from the dog was salt. Every other flavor was lost under the mustard. Granted, this is one powerful mustard. But, we’ve served it successfully with other mild sausages.
There was a gorgeous slab of grass fed beef (ready to be cut into strip steaks) for $23 lb.
Aztec Cheddar
This mild cheddar made an attractive addition to our cheese plate. Marbling streaks of guajillo pepper and coocoa powder are lovely, but, the flavor characteristics are quite mild. The guajillo peppers impart a delicate hint of flavor. And, there’s a teeny tiny taste of bitter cocoa giving a glimpse of smokiness when combined with the pepper.
Sawicki’s Meat Seafood and More
250 West Ponce de Leon Avenue
Decatur, GA 30030
Chesapeake Crab Benedict
Two crabcakes, each topped with a perfectly poached egg, sit next to a generous portion of home fries that have a lovely deep golden brown shell. I love my home fries to be crisp on the outside and creamy in the middle. So, these were perfect for me. Fluffy rolls were sliced, nicely toasted and wisely served on the side. I think this is a great idea. I’d rather have crispy toast on the side than a soggy limp muffin underneath.
Shrimp & Grits (There are two eggs… one is hidden under the other.)
The sauce might be showing a bit of separation in this picture. But, the taste was incredible. Using crawfish as a base to their sauce, the richness and depth will be something that all future shrimp & grits dishes will need to top. The flavor was extremely memorable in the best possible way. Normally, an overly decadent usage of butter might scare me away from a dish… not this time. I was stealing bites of this left & right. The shrimp were so perfectly cooked they nearly melted in our mouths. In fact, they were so tender they reminded me of rock shrimp.
At least 7 or 8 shrimp were hidden in this dense sauce.
Does this look familiar? Yes, the Shrimp & Grits were so addictive we came back the next day. We both ordered our own… no sharing. Interestingly, the sauce was a bit different on the second visit. While it was very good in its own right, the flavor wasn’t quite as rich and intense as the day before. This sauce was smoother and more polished with a distinctive freshness from sweet red and green peppers. But, we both missed the decadent butteriness and intense crawfish flavor from the day before. The crawfish flavor was still present. It was simply more subdued and subtle.
We’ll be back… without a doubt.
The Depeaux
303 East Howard Avenue
Decatur, GA 30030
404 377 7234
Gator Bites
The Depeaux is dishing up these perfectly fried bites made of alligator tail meat. As South Floridians at heart (and frequent visitors of New Orleans), we’ve sampled gator here and there. It’s usually disappointing. Sometimes it’s overcooked, sometimes it’s tastesless, and other times we find ourselves wondering… where’s the gator? Not here. These tender pieces of gator were crispy golden on the outside & moist inside. Taste-wise, the flavor was similar to that of a richly fried cutlet of tender pork… or maybe veal. There is a hint of fish in flavor & texture, but, in a good way. We really, really enjoyed this.
And, by the way, this is an appetizer. It was beyond generous for two. Three or four could easily share this as a starter.
With Mardi Gras right around the corner, this is going to be our go-to spot to grab a bite in Decatur. The renovated train depot is charming and the staff is super friendly. Love it!
Next Up: The Depeaux — Part 2 — Two Days of Brunch
The Depeaux
303 East Howard Avenue
Decatur, GA 30030
404 377 7234
Jerk Chicken with Red Beans & Rice
We first visited this great spot just east of Stone Mountain Park soon after they opened. And, the food has done nothing but get better and better. The chicken hits all the right spots: spicy, smoky, tender, juicy, and a hint of sweet & sour tang. Coconut milk adds lovely sweetness to the rice & beans. They are the perfect foil for the heat of the chicken. Seriously, yum! The picture (above) shows less than a third of the incredibly large portions we are given on every visit. Check out the full to-go box (below). Both meals were literally bursting at the seams. Each meal had 4 pieces of chicken, giant portions of rice, buttery cabbage with mixed veggies and fried plantains.
Brown Stew Chicken
The brown stew chicken has an equally full spectrum of flavor. It’s a slightly healthier alternative due to the lack of skin on the chicken. While I’d say that the brown stew chicken is a bit less spicy (a little tamarind, maybe, with some coconut milk to add to the sweetness?), both dishes offer up nice heat. We order both every time and share. We can’t pick a favorite. And, we almost always grab a couple of the yummy spice buns for breakfast the next day.
J & J Jamaican
5210 Stone Mountain Highway (Hwy 78)
Stone Mountain, GA 30087
770 498 8919
While this location (both as a Mellow Mushroom and now) has remained incredibly reliable for years. I think I’m enjoying the pizza even more now. The crust always has a nice crispness to the exterior, good flavor (minimal doughiness) and it is significantly less greasy than its Mellow Mushroom days. That was a very minor issue for me when it was part of the Mellow Mushroom chain.
This is a nice spot to grab a quick pizza if you are in the Pleasant Hill/85 area. I’ve always liked the big wooden booths… nice and comfy.
Ida’s Pizza Kitchen
1340 Pleasant Hill Road
Lawrenceville, GA 30044
770 817 0666
The Grammy Awards — January 31, 2010
For a list of the nominees: Grammy.com
I really don’t have any favorites.
Ras Madhuri
Soft flattened balls of pastry are soaked in syrup then topped with a creamy fudge-like icing, pistachios, and garnished with a cherry. The syrup-soaked cake-y balls have a texture much like a Cuban tres leches. But, they’re richer… if you can imagine that. The dense fudgy icing gives a clues to how this can be true.
Halwasun
Halwasun hover near the top of our list of favorite sweets at Gokul Sweets. These super-rich patties of almonds and pistachios have the texture of a soft & chewy power bar. But, you’ll actually want to eat these. With a cup of masala tea, they make the perfect ending to your meal. We try to share one (because they are so very rich), but, we usually fight over the last bite. They’re dangerously addictive. To define them in a word… divine.
Falooda (or faluda)
Falooda is a milk float with vermicelli noodles, basil seeds(Gokul Sweets translates them as black jelly beans… I love this), and ice cream drizzled with rose syrup. This one had at least two flavors of ice cream… vanilla and mint. I wish I could justify eating this as a meal. It is one of the best uses of rose syrup in existence. Creamy vanilla ice cream makes the perfect background to the sweet & floral rose syrup. Yum!
Almond Burfi, Laddu, Ras Madhuri & one hidden Halwasun
Our to-go box of treats encourage us to work on our own version of home-made masala tea.
Gokul Sweets
763 Dekalb Industrial Way
Decatur, GA 30033
404 299 2062
Pav Bhaji Dosa
Two of our favorite vegetarian spots for a quick meal are Chat Patti and Gokul Sweets. We’ve been fans of Chat Patti for over 8 years and fans of Gokul Sweets for over a year. But, since we’ve only been taking shots of our food diligently for a short time Gokul Sweets was first pictured here & Chat Patti here. We’ve lost count of the number of meals we’ve eaten at each. And, we’ve never had a bad meal at either spot. As a matter of fact, they usually exceed our expectations. It seems that no matter how many times we visit, the complex blend of sweet, savory and hot spices wake up our taste buds and give the impression of something new with every experience. If any food could turn me into a vegetarian, it would be Gokul Sweet’s pav bhaji dosa. The combination of smooth & creamy potato, rich spices, and soft pancake-like dosa is a match made in heaven.
Dabeli
This might look like the Indian equivalent of a slider. And, maybe it is. This soft bun holds a ball of spiced potato, onions, cilantro, and ground peanuts. It’s dressed with two sauces and another sprinkle of even more spices. It’s nothing short of delicious.
Cross-section of Dabeli
You can see the generous dose of coarsely ground peanuts in the middle of this shot.
Vada Pav
This ball of potato has a completely different list of spices. The spices resemble what you might buy at the grocery store labeled as “curry powder”. But, here the spices are richer and fresher. It’s deep fried like a fritter with a chickpea batter. The deep frying adds to its street food appeal. But, it’s just window dressing. The flavor comes from the lovely blend of spices.
The appeal of a great lunch would be enough to draw us back again and again. But, the added appeal of a variety of baked goods, spiced nuts and snacks to take home are the icing on the cake.
Gokul Sweets
763 Dekalb Industrial Way
Decatur, GA 30033
404 299 2062
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