Chow Down Atlanta

Southern Sweets has been providing desserts to many restaurants in Atlanta since 1992. I stopped by on a recent trip to YDFM for a quick bite to eat. I’ve loved their moist, delicious cakes for a while now and my favorites include Red Velvet, Golden Chocolate, and their Chocolate Sour Cream pound cake.

Their deli offers an extensive list of made-to-order sandwiches using only fresh ingredients and house-made bread. On this recent visit, I wanted to go Southern so I chose the Ham and Pimiento Cheese sandwich. This big sandwich really hit the spot. The bread was freshly baked, the cheese pimiento was creamy and cheesy, and the lettuce and tomato were crisp and fresh. I’ve had a good number of sandwiches here and they’re all pretty good.

A solid place for a quick bite to eat and satisfy a sweet tooth.

Insider tip:
Sandwiches start at $5.65 for a half order and $7.50 for a whole one. Fresh made soups available daily. Cake slices are $5.20.
Located across the street from YDFM on Rio Cir.

The scoop:
Southern Sweets Bakery
186 Rio Cir
Decatur, GA 30030
(404) 373-8752
Open daily from 9am-6pm
Saturday 11am – 5pm

Technorati Tags: bakery, cakes, sandwiches, deli, Decature

If you want good shawarmas, then this is your place. The meat is juicy, not dried out like some places, the tahini sauce is spot on, and the veggie filling is fresh and tasty. The bread is also made in-house. In fact, they are a major distributor of Middle Eastern breads and baked goods here in the South. Shawarmas come in your choice of beef, chicken, and falafel. All are equally good.

If you’d rather prefer to eat you shawarma with a fork, then the plates are for you. Instead of having the filling assembled inside a pita bread, they are laid out on platters, served with a side of pita slices. They’re exactly the same as the shawarmas, just in a different presentation.

The Lamb Kabob platter, which I didn’t see on the menu, but highly recommended by the owner, was quite delicious. The lamb was well seasoned and perfectly grilled. It came with yellow rice, baba ghanoush, hummus, and couscous.

The Baba Ghanoush is mild tasting but good, nonetheless. There is no overpowering garlic taste which allows you to taste the eggplant even more. The consistency is quite good, too, creamy but with enough texture. The Grape Leaves are a little too tart for my taste but they’re plump and fresh. Six pieces will set you back a mere $2.99.

Assorted pastries are made in the bakery in the back and include the usual baklava, harsah, and wabat, as well as muffins, danishes, and croissants. If Middle Eastern fare isn’t what you have a taste for, fear not as they have pizzas, strombolis, and calzones.

Insider tip:
Open daily from 7am to 9pm.
Only the Alpharetta location has a deli.

The scoop:
Jerusalem Bakery (Alpharetta)
4150 Old Milton PKWY
Alpharetta, GA 30005
(770) 777-0193

585 Franklin Road
Suite 160
Marietta, GA 30067
770-419-1666

Technorati Tags: Middle Eastern, shawarma, Turkish food, ethnic grocery, Alpharetta

I’m off to Europe this Saturday for two weeks.  All I can think of right now is pizza in Rome and dumplings in Prague.  I need to pack.  And I need to update this site.  I changed phones and phone carriers which is what’s been consuming my time –  not to mention the 2 hours I stood in line to get my new phone   I’m having Blackberry (and true-blue Push email) withdrawal.  But I’m getting over it.  I will update this site before I leave and will have a couple of posts while I’m gone.  In the meantime, check me out on Facebook and Twitter.

There were only a handful of good Thai restaurants in Atlanta when we were young. Back in the late 80s/early 90s, our family rotation included King and I, Thai of Norcross, and Taste of Thai (aka ToT). The former two have changed hands twice since then, while the latter is still with the original management. Two years ago, the family sold ToT to someone who used to work at the restaurant and branched out to the north and opened Lime Juice. This wasn’t known to me until I ordered a dish that I knew could only be found nowhere else but at ToT. Then, one of the young servers recognized us and asked us why she hasn’t seen us in a while. We gave her a quizzical look — well, what do you know, she was the same young ‘un as us back when we used to go to ToT every week and she was there helping serve in between doing homework. Small world.

The first thing that impressed me was that this place is packed every lunch time. By noon, there’s a wait out the door. But what’s most exciting to me is the food. The northern Thai chef cooks unbelievably great Southern/Central Thai food in addition to some Northern dishes which he does exceptionally well (as expected, of course). Papaya salad (som tam), a signature Northern dish, which uses crisp, shredded green papaya in a spicy sweet/sour sauce, is as genuine as you can ever get. You can really taste the nam pla (fish sauce), a heavy influence from the north. It is spicy and light.

Another must try here is the northern dish, Yum Woon Sen, with the requisite ingredients: bean thread noodles, ground chicken, shrimp, red onions, mushrooms, and peanuts in a spicy-sweet-sour dressing. It is delicious but very, very spicy. Beware, requesting for a 3-pepper heat level is only meant for asbestos-tongued like me.

The Yellow Curry Fried Rice, a childhood favorite at ToT, is the best I’ve had in town. This isn’t your usual sticky, risotto-textured, rice casserole version. Theirs is true fried rice in form: loose rice held together by delicious yellow curry with chunks of tasty chicken. The smoky flavor is addicting.

ToT makes Spicy Basil Chicken (another childhood favorite) like no other in town. I was surprised to see this signature dish in Lime Juice, not knowing in the beginning that Lime Juice is, in fact, ToT. They use ground chicken which creates great texture and stir fry it with jalapeno and green bell peppers, and sweet basil leaves. The result is the most flavorful Thai dish you’ve ever had. Couple that with a fried egg and you have a Thai meal eaten like a native.

I grew up to this family’s cooking so I love this place. Dining here is like eating at your grandma’s house.

Insider tip:
Lunch entrees either come with soup or spring rolls.
Soda refills are $1.
Lunch prices range from $8-10 and includes soup or spring roll.
Dinner entrees average $15 (but portions are big).

The scoop:
Lime Juice Thai Bistro
684 N Main St
Alpharetta, GA 30004
(678) 242-2991
Mon–Fri: 11:00 A.M. — 2:30 P.M. / 5:00 P.M. — 9:00 P.M.
Saturday: 12:00 NOON — 9:00 P.M.
Sunday: 11:A.M. — 4: P.M.

Technorati Tags: Thai cuisine, Alpharetta, Atlanta

Three words: Korean Black Goat. Possibly the only place serving Korean native goat dishes, Bang Ga Nae sits on PIB between Pleasant Hill and GA-120. This place used to be a Malaysian restaurant years ago. I’m glad they’ve kept the pond with waterfall inside. Rather than tables, they have booths with high backs for privacy. They also have two tatami-style seating arrangement for bigger parties which I would not recommend unless you want to sit cross-legged which is so bad for your knees.

Now if you’ve never had Korean goat before, then you’re in for a treat. I’ve only had black goat in Asia and this is the first place I’ve seen it on the menu. Black goat meat is very tender and not gamey at all. Here at Bang Ga Nae, they serve black goat meat in many different ways: stewed (the most common way of preparation), broiled, and deep fried. I wanted to taste the meat in its purest form so I opted for their Deep Fried variety. Lost in translation, my sweet-and-sour sauce on the side ended up served with the meat. Oh well. In this dish, the goat meat is sliced in thin strips then dipped in cornstarch batter before deep frying. The coating is very light and thin but with a slight chew. The meat? Buttery. Melt-in-your-mouth good and better than lamb, mutton, or veal. I can’t wait to go back for their stew and broiled meat.

Although pricier than most Korean places, they do have combo specials that pair galbi with noodles or soup. They also have bibimbap and soups that start at $5.99. Bang Ga Nae is an absolute delight. And go for the black goat meat if anything else.

Notes: The sweet and sour sauce that they use is totally different from the Chinese kind. It is very light (in taste and color) and they use pineapple juice as a souring agent. It is very good but get it on the side so your meat won’t get soggy. A much better alternative is to dip your deep fried goat meat in Korean chili paste.

The galbi here is quite expensive at $14.99 and the serving is small (about the same as the lunch portion as Book Chang Dong) but the meat is sliced thicker (though fattier). Taste-wise, I’m not a big fan — for some reason, it just didn’t do it for me. Good but not stellar like other places.

Insider tip:
Friendly but excruciatingly slow service.

The scoop:
Bang Ga Nae
3312 Peachtree Industrial Blvd., Suite B
Duluth, GA 30096
(678) 417-7769

Technorati Tags: Korean cuisine, Duluth, GA, Peachtree Industrial Blvd, Korean goat, black goat