Chow Down Atlanta

I first came to Haru Ichiban close to 10 years ago. It was such a fantastic place that I came several times a week.  Japanese sushi chefs in the city came to eat here all the time.  I still see one or two of them every now and then — to eat ramen. Aside from the ramen, food here was authentic, high quality, and delicious. But not lately. Last month, I put them on my “Time Out List”.  Restaurants on this list are those that used to be stellar but has slacked off so I’m giving them some time to recover and hopefully my next visit will be better. Despite of this small hiccup, their ramen has been solid all these years and I must have it at least once a week.

The menu boasts of the usual fare including a combination lunch where you get to choose two items and the blink-and-they’re-gone daily specials which sell out within the hour. But the one thing they really are well known for is the ramen. A ginormous bowl of hot broth is mixed with perfectly cooked egg noodles and slices of delicious, housemade roasted pork. There are four flavors of broth to choose from, plus an assortment toppings that you can pick.

The Shio flavor, my absolute favorite, is seasoned with natural sea salt. Although it uses chicken broth, it doesn’t really taste like chicken soup. The pork slices play a major part in the overall flavor and the result is a savory, tasty soup. Believe me when I say this is comfort food at its best.

My other favorite is the Tonkotsu broth which should not be confused with tonkatsu (which is fried pork cutlet). Tonkotsu is a pork-based broth made by boiling pigs’ bones for several hours. The result is a creamy broth that is so fantastic.

The Soy flavor is chicken broth seasoned with soy sauce. Be warned, this broth is on the salty side. I stopped getting this because I got tired of diluting it with my hot tea just so it can be eatable. However, if you like your food salty, then this is perfect for you. The Miso flavor is a salt-based broth infused with soy bean paste. This isn’t your regular miso soup, instead, the broth is sweetish with a nutty undertone.

Haru Ichiban has the best Shio Ramen in town hands down. I recommend you stick with the roast pork topping for your first visit as this is how it is normally served in Japan. It will also allow you to taste the basic flavors the way they’re intended to be.

Note: I am compiling a side-by-side comparison of Japanese ramen from the three best places in town so stay tuned for that.

Insider tip:
Lunch menu also available on Saturdays.

The scoop:
Haru Ichiban
3646 Satellite Blvd
Duluth, GA 30096
(770) 622-4060

Technorati Tags: sushi, Japanese, Duluth, Pleasant Hill, Gwinnett

I have been frustrated with Atlanta’s lack of real, good, authentic Indian restaurants for some time now. Most times, the cuisine has been customized to the American palate. Such is the case here at Himalayas. I came in on a Friday night and the place was packed. With non-Indians. Bad sign. While service is good, the kitchen got slammed and the wait was a good 25-30 minutes for the food to arrive. They seriously need to add another tandoor oven.

The mixed appetizer plate came with a vegetable samosa, a pakora, 2 pieces of chicken tikka, a beef sheekh kabob, and an onion bhajee. While the samosa had a flavorful filling, the pastry shell was so soaked in oil that it fell apart as soon as you bit into it. The chicken tikka, however, was perfection. The pieces were fork tender and evidently marinaded for hours. The sheekh kabob, resembling more of a sausage due to its minced meat, was delicious with its perfect blend of spices. The fried onion patty was also a disaster with half of its weight and all of its flavor coming from the frying oil.

Perhaps the only saving grace here is the tandoor chicken, which, if anything else, is a winner (as was the beef kabob). The meat pieces are fork tender and very flavorful. You can actually taste a hint of yogurt in every bite. Best of all, there is a lot of flavor as you bite deeper into the meat.

The curries, unfortunately, all taste the same: sweet. All the ingredients are so mixed together that there are no discerning flavors. The naan, although yeasty and with lots of buttered goodness, is so stretched thin that there isn’t enough chewiness that makes naan bread the awesome bread that it is.

If you’re not a very adventurous eater, then this spot is for you. Tandoor, Royal Palace (Norcross), Udipi Cafe, and Zyka still retain my current Indian rotation with Tandoor blowing everyone away.

Insider tip:
Special dinners (combo meals) available.
Homemade desserts.

The scoop:
Himalayas Indian Tandoori Restaurant
5520 Peachtree Industrial Blvd
Atlanta, GA 30341
(770) 458-6557

Technorati Tags: Indian food, Chamblee

Sometimes, it’s good to go to a place where everyone’s been but you. That way, most inconsistencies have been worked out. My second trip to FBB was this Saturday for a family lunch. My first trip was a blur but this second one was more memorable. I was really lusting for The Lopez, but I came late and my folks have already finished with their appetizers so I didn’t think it was fair to make them wait any longer. It’ll have to be another time.

Adoration came in the form of the special of the day: Beef Ribs. This scary, intimidating, monstrous dish looked depressing — it was covered in black crust. But it was the softest crust, more of a coloring than crust, really. First bite and it was barbecue heaven for me. It was oh so tender, moist, and very, very flavorful. It was so good by itself but a few douses of the sweetish barbecue sauce made it ever more wonderful. A winner!

My sides of collards and fried okra were good, not impressive, but better than most. The greens didn’t have the offensive bitter taste and the fried okra were battered lightly and fried golden. Both good choices. The jalapeño corn bread was just so-so. It was dryish and not enough heat.

My sister’s sliced brisket was also quite delicious. The meat was so tender and moist. Overall great barbecue meats. Her Brisket Chili was amazing. It was flavorful with lots of meaty goodness. I didn’t care much for the onion rings as they were just pedestrian. The Brunswick Stew was good in flavor but just didn’t do it for me. The Mac-n-Cheese was meh. It was gooey and starchy. Quite a turn-off.

The best barbecue I’ve ever had was at my uncle’s. A Georgia transplant who’s lived here most of his life, he prides himself in slaughtering a whole cow and making the best bbq ever. No place has come close. When I was younger, we used to go to Austin at least once a month for barbecue. But that got old. I’m so glad FBB came into our chain-laden scene. We now have another choice and no longer have to put up with chains who come and go.

Insider tip:
The parking lot is tiny but street parking isn’t difficult to find.

The scoop:
Fox Bros. Bar-B-Q
1238 Dekalb Ave NE
Atlanta, GA 30307
(404) 577-4030

It’s difficult to find a place when the only sign they have is in Korean characters. I passed by this place literally twice before I realized it was a restaurant. Opened four months ago, it’s a favorite among Koreans and the two times I’ve been, I have yet to see any non-Koreans except me.

This place specializes in soups although there are other Korean staples on the menu. I was floored by the Spicy Kimchi Galbi soup. It is the best in the city. If you’ve been a regular visitor on this site, you’ll realize I was meant to be Korean. That or I must have been one in my past life. I eat Korean more than any other cuisines at any given time. I’ve been to about 90% of all the Korean restaurants in the city and I seriously drive up and down Duluth, Suwanee, and Buford Highway looking for newly opened Korean restaurants. But back to my soup. The broth was so bold and sharp — flavorful, simmered for hours, with chunks of fork-tender boneless galbi, leeks, and pickled cabbage. It is very spicy but not so that only the heat is what you taste. Despite it, the tasy broth shines through. This is truly the best soup ever.

I’m not a fan of Sulungtang (bland milky beef soup) but it’s a yard stick when it comes to milky soups (and yes, they don’t come seasoned). Their version is quite fantastic, too. It has lots of tender beef slices and clear noodles. The broth has the right amount of milkiness, and with a few shakes of salt, becomes a wonderful first course.

Galbi-gi is another measuring stick when it comes to barbecued meats. Theirs has the perfect balance of sweet and salty, marinated for hours, has tender pieces of ribs that are grilled lightly yet perfectly. Quite delicious but on the expensive side. A few pieces will set you back $15.99.

Not very many Korean places serve fried rice (most only serve bibimbap which they also have). Here, there are three kinds of fried rice: beef, pork, and shrimp. I love it that they use dry cooked rice (as opposed to mushy and soggy). They add lots of slivered meat and chunks of egg. The smokiness of this rice dish is enough to whet your appetite. It’s a good filler and goes well with the galbi.

Incidentally, they have the freshest, housemade kimchi with its crunchy veggies and deep, red sauce. They give you 6 at most but if you’re like me, I’d rather go for quality than quantity. This is now one of my most favorite Korean places. Do not miss the spicy soup.

Insider tip:
Right next door to Umaido.
In the shopping complex where Super H Suwanee is located.

The scoop:
Kang Seo
2790 Lawrenceville Suwanee Rd.,
Suwanee, GA 30024
(770) 932-7753

My dad’s office was literally two blocks away so eating here when we were younger was a regular thing when we came to play at his office. It’s been about a couple of years since I’ve been at Mary Mac’s so I talked a friend into joining me for lunch last week. I remember when Mary Mac’s was just a tiny space. Over the years, they’ve added a room here, a room there, and now they just about occupy the entire block. By the way, be very careful when crossing the street in these parts — we almost got killed twice, and while crossing on a crosswalk, too!

The one thing I love the most about this place is the service. They are all so warm and hospitable. So proper and professional. I surmise these wonderful people have been serving here for many years. I don’t think there’s anyone here under the age of 40.

First the bread basket. I am a certified breadaholic. I love soft, moist, yeasty rolls and sweetish corn bread. Unfortunately, such is not the case here (anymore). The rolls, while warm and freshly baked, didn’t have the yeastiness southern cuisine is known for. The corn bread was also a tad on the dry side. You’ll need to slather a good amount of butter to compensate.

We started with an order of Mudbugs. These are big, plump crawfish tails battered lightly in cornmeal then fried golden. The crawfish had a good bite and not too chewy. The chunky tartar sauce is a bit too mayonnaisey so I suggest you dip them in cocktail sauce instead.

My fried pork chops were moist and tender, fried perfectly, and had a thin, crisp batter, but was just a bit undersalted for my tastes. The creamed corn was absolutely fantastic. They use fresh corn with light cream. Delicious. However, I was quite disappointed with my collard greens. They were offensively bitter. Don’t get me wrong, though, I love bitter vegetables and always order bitter melons from Asian restaurants. If you haven’t eaten bitter melons before, don’t. Really. It’s an acquired taste and I don’t know anyone except me and my mom who actually like the stuff. But if you must, then take baby steps and get bitter melons in black bean sauce. But back to my collard greens. I’ve eaten a fair share of collard greens in my life and I never fail to get it whenever I’m in a southern restaurant including here. The collard greens here were uneatable. And I don’t remember them being that bad here. A bit more vinegar while cooking would have solved the problem and my addition of copious amount of pepper vinegar couldn’t save this one from anything. Oh well.

My buddy’s Chicken and Dumplings doesn’t even sound appetizing to me. Maybe because I have never, ever tasted a good Chicken and Dumplings. The starchy, chewy, sticky dumplings just don’t do it for me. And I still don’t know what possessed my friend to order this awful excuse for baby food. Incidentally, my mom made homecooked baby food for us. So yes, we were spoiled. So I was already prejudiced before his food ever came and I wasn’t surprised because I was right all along. I still have not found a place that makes good chicken and dumplings.

I still love this place. I have fond memories here. And it’s an Atlanta institution. We never fail to bring out-of-town guests here all the time. If you haven’t been, you have to try it at least once.

Insider tip:
All-you-can-eat lunch special available to parties of 3 or more.

The scoop:
Mary Mac’s Tea Room
224 Ponce De Leon Ave NE
Atlanta, GA 30308
(404) 876-1800

Technorati Tags: Midtown, Atlanta, Southern cuisine