Chow Down Atlanta

Dear friends,

We have a long-standing family tradition:  my over-generous parents take us to a trip every Christmas.  Not only do we get to see the world, we’re able to just chill and spend time with each other.  Not that we don’t spend enough time with each other as it is, we do (we talk to each other several times a day and we all go out to dinner every Friday).  It’s just that we’re a very tight knit bunch and we like it when we’re all together.

Anyway, we’re off to the Caribbean tomorrow.  Chow Down Atlanta will be on a semi-hiatus until I get back on January 2nd.  I plan to laze around and do nothing but eat, play, and sleep but  I will try to post pictures as much as I can.

Happy Holidays!

xoxo
Chloe.

There are only a handful of good Vietnamese places in the city. Two of my go-to places when the craving hits are Phoenix Noodle and here which has been a favorite haunt of mine for 3 years now. Vietnamese restaurants are only as good as their pho. Here, the pho is strong, very well seasoned, and boiled for hours. It’s a must-eat at every visit.

But there are other equally good items on the menu. The Cha Gio (fried spring rolls) are crunchy and bursting with flavor and fillings. They make for great appetizers.

The Bun dishes here are excellent and comes in a bowl of cold vermicelli noodles on a bed of shredded lettuce, cucumbers, bean sprouts then topped with your choice of grilled meats. It’s a fantastic, filling dish.

The crispy fried noodles with assorted meat toppings is not only a beautiful dish but a fantastic one at that. Simply put, it is delicious.

The barbecue plates are just as good. They are served with fresh steamed jasmine rice and a side salad of sliced tomatoes and cucumbers. I get mine with a fried egg to kick it up a notch. The meats are flavorful, with good portions, and they are cooked well.

You can’t go wrong with anything here. Go and try it.

Insider tip:
On Pleasant Hill Rd. next to Super H Mart.

The scoop:
What The Pho
2442 Pleasant Hill Rd
Duluth, GA 30096
(770) 814-9396

Technorati Tags: What The Pho, Vietnamese cuisine, pho, Duluth, Pleasant Hill Rd, Gwinett

I love Korean food. In fact, my obvious passion for this cuisine hadn’t gone unnoticed and, thus, I’ve been declared an honorary Korean by none other than Mr. E-D-Man himself. Thank you. I am honored.

This is the third reincarnation of this building. It was first a Japanese restaurant complete with a sushi train and color-coded plates. Cool concept but it didn’t fly. Next, it became a Korean restaurant. High on prices but low on taste. And now, Jang Su Jang. I’ve been to this place for lunch two times. The last time was with the lovely Blissful which was also her second time.

I liked the boiled pork belly. The taste of the meat itself is simple but the kimchi and radish slices it came with made it very interesting. There were also a lot of meat in one serving that it’s really good for two people.

The Dahk galbi (chicken barbecue) was just okay. Although it was flavorful, it was nothing but a Korean version of chicken teriyaki. A good choice for the unadventurous.

The beef noodle soup was awful. It was bland, thin, and watery. It did have a little bit of spiciness, but that’s about all there was to it. I wouldn’t order this again.

The bulgogi was so-so. Flavorful, but lacking in oomph. Tasted boiled, too.

So far, the only good thing on the menu are the dumplings. Oh, are they heavenly. The wrapper is soft, perfectly cooked. The meat inside is tasty. Great as is, but fantastic with the dipping sauce. There are two kinds on the menu, regular and King dumplings. The word King has nothing to do with the size. There is a difference between the two but I just can’t remember what it is for the life of me.

Verdict: I’m disappointed with their food. But I would come back for the dumplings alone. That, and the banchan.

The scoop:
Jang Su Jang
3645 Satellite Blvd
Duluth, GA 30096
(678) 475-9170

Technorati Tags: Jang Su Jang, Korean cuisine, dumplings, Duluth, Gwinnett

Gasp — I spent close to $100 at Souper Jenny today. That’s for 2 lunches at $14 each (my sister loves this place), 2 tubs of soups to-go, a peach bread, and a personally-signed Jenny cookbook that set me back another $22. It’s to add to my ever-growing collection of never-opened, mostly autographed cookbooks.

My sister’s lunch

My plate

There were free cupcakes today (we ate 2 each) and a book signing for Jenny’s new cookbook. Lots of people. As always. And if you don’t already know, they have amazing soups, sandwiches, and salads. All freshly made each morning. With the best and freshest ingredients. You get two items with soda/water/ice tea for $12. Good deal.

The scoop:
Souper Jenny
56 E Andrews Dr NW
Atlanta, GA
30305-1316
Phone: (404) 239-9023

Technorati Tags: Souper Jenny, lunch, lunch deals, brunch, fresh daily, Buckhead, sandwiches, soup

I do a good amount of driving from OTP to go to Star Provisions and H&F weekly for my bread addiction. Specifically, I go for my weekly ration of baguettes. I went to Parish Foods & Goods last week to have lunch and saw their baked goods very tempting. But first, lunch.

I looked around to see what everybody was eating before settling on the Fried Green Tomato BLT. First of all, it was huge. Really huge. A good value at $7.50. There were crisp fried green tomatoes with just a light dusting of batter, 4 substantial slices of thick bacon, fresh red tomato slices and lettuce, in a spicy remoulade. Lots of different textures. It was delicious and very filling. My only complaint is that they could have used slightly thicker slices of bread. The bread, which were grilled to perfection, simply couldn’t hold up to all the filling and disintegrated in my hands. Shame. It was good bread, too.

Of course, I couldn’t leave without grabbing some baked goodies. Got a couple of baguettes that were very hard and tasteless. Despite rejuvenating them in the oven. To the trash they all went. The chocolate tea bread was a bit dry but very chocolatey in taste which I like. I just can’t get past the dryness. The banana-nut and blueberry muffins were bursting with flavor and fabulously moist and dense just the way I like them. Will remember to get more next time.

There are a lot of interesting items on the menu that I’d like to try in future visits. Yes, I’ll be back. But not for the baked goods.

Insider tip:
They have to-go meals for 4 people that can be picked up daily.
Sandwiches range from $6-10. Dinner entrees range from $12-24.

The scoop:
Parish Foods & Goods
240 N Highland Ave NE
Atlanta, GA 30307
(404) 681-4434

Technorati Tags: Parish Foods & Goods, Inman Park, Atlanta, bakery, New Orleans cuisine