Two words: boiled bagels. If you’re a New Yorker then you know what I’m talking about. My brother regularly sends or brings me H&H Bagels from New York but I’ve found a close substitute here in the metro: Essex Bagels.
These huge, authentic NY bagels (the size of a child’s head) are dense, chewy, and doughy with a shiny, smooth coating. Boiling the bagels prior to baking ensures they have such trademark interior and crust. If you haven’t had one of these, then you must run and get one. It is that good.
Note: Essex uses bagel dough from BB’s. So if you can’t drive all the way to Cumming, this Johns Creek/Alpharetta option is much closer.
Insider tip:
Bagels are $0.95 each and Specialty Bagels are $1.25.
Bakers Dozen is $11.40
They have a nice dining area with tables and booths including free wifi. Breakfast (served all day) and lunch are available.
The scoop:
Essex Bagels & Deli
11030 Medlock Bridge Rd Ste 160
Johns Creek, GA 30097
(770) 476-8214
My affection for Korean food (specifically sundubu) was once again ignited by the sudden onslaught of cold weather last week. So Kong Dong has been a favorite spot for many years. I haven’t been back in a year due to the barrage of Korean restaurants that have been sprouting in Duluth like mushrooms lately, which have been keeping me quite busy. So this week alone (and it’s only Wednesday), I’ve been to two Korean tofu houses already.
Not much in the decor and menu have changed except they now have the fashion-of-the-moment call button. I opted for the usual combination tofu and galbi lunch. The soups come in four spice levels: White (draw your own conclusion), Mild, Spicy, and Very Spicy. I got the Spicy Pork Kimchi tofu soup. I love the silky, smooth, creamy tofu with lots of pickled cabbage and slices of tender pork. But I was disappointed with the broth — it was thin, watery, and not as spicy as it should be. A far cry from their soups of old. Worse, it has jalapeño slices! Let me explain why I despise jalapeño in Korean soups. First, it’s not the norm. Second, it alters the taste. Go ahead and scoff but it really does. Peppers all differ in taste — even between green and red bell peppers. When I asked the lovely Ms. Bliss about her opinion on this, she agreed and further stated that “she has no preference for raw bell peppers (as in salads since they taste pretty much the same) but there is a chemical reaction from cooking green bell peppers that produces a different taste in dishes.”
The galbi here is quite possibly the best prepared-in-the-kitchen galbi in the city. I have tasted galbi in over 25 restaurants in the metro and this one is just spot on. The sweet/salty marinade they use is just perfection and the flavor is all the way through the meat. The meat is also grilled just right.
The banchan here is also a tad better than in most places in terms of flavor. The jap chae is chewy and so tasty, the pickled long green peppers are delicious, the iced nappa cabbage soup is soothingly sweet and tart, the tiny anchovies are sticky and sweet, and the fried fish is lightly battered and fried golden. Add to all these the bean rice and you have a fantastic meal.
Insider tip:
Open early daily.
Closed on Tuesdays.
The scoop:
So Kong Dong
5280-C Buford Hwy
Atlanta, GA 30340
(678) 205-0555
My friend PT, aka the pizza enabler, invited me to lunch at Antico. I had never been so I jumped at the opportunity. That was Friday. I’ve been back twice since. To say it was the most fun lunch would be an understatement. Giovanni was not only the most gracious host — he’s funny, witty, and absolutely passionate about his craft. Lunch that day was more like a seminar on pizza making. I could probably open my own pizza joint afterward, armed with all his pizza-making “secrets”. But then again, yeah right — I can’t even bake to save my life!
First, it’s all about the ingredients: specially milled flour and authentic San Marzano tomatoes (canned within 4 hours of harvest with each can having a serial number and necessary seals/certificates) imported directly from Italy, fresh ingredients, delicious cured meats, extra virgin olive oil, all contribute to the makings of a great pizza. Then, the dough. It is a work of science in itself. The consistency is adjusted depending on the weather. Finally, the oven. At over 1000 degrees, the pies are baked an average of 60 seconds. The result, a masterpiece — the dreamiest pies ever — springy, crunchy crust with amazing char, gooey buffala cheese, outstanding pizza sauce, a bit of sogginess which is to be expected, and an excellent melding of sweet, spicy, salty flavors.
I have tasted all the pizzas but my absolute favorites are the San Gennaro and the Diavaola. In the San Gennaro, the spicy sausage chunks are tempered by grilled onions, the red peppers add sweetness, the buffala provides a chewy texture, and the crust supplies the canvas for the flavors to shine. While I do find the crust blandish on its own, it’s not really meant to be eaten as is, much like in Asian cuisine where you don’t really eat the steamed rice by itself.
The Diavaola combines spicy, garlicky sopressata, housemade peperonata, and fresh buffala. The sopressata is very tasty with the right amount of mild saltiness to it. The slices are thick enough to provide meatiness in a every bite. The peperonata is pleasantly spicy. Simply delicious.
While Giovanni does not allow you to customize your pizza, there’s a perfectly good reason to it. The ingredients on each type of pizza are designed to provide the best combination of flavors and textures, thus, the resulting pie is of the highest quality overall. Here’s a short video of Giovanni with a brief explanation:
To cap off a perfect meal, one must have perfect Italian espresso made from an old-fashioned maker. The coffee is strong and so good.
And what goes with espresso? House-made cannoli and sfogliatelle. Both are delectable and freshly made daily.
Lastly, some Limoncello. Also made in-house daily. Strong. Tart. Sweet.
Finally, it’s time to go. Verdict: pizza perfection made the old-fashioned, authentic, Italian way. As a parting shot here’s Giovanni with my moo card.
There are over 100 photos on this set. Click on the picture below or here to see more pictures:
If there’s one food event you must not miss then this one is it. Every year since 1998, the makers of the Big Green Egg puts out a huge meat fest called Eggtoberfest. It is held on the 3rd weekend of October. My parents have been making us go for close to a decade now.
sample of a serving: every person gets one each
The festival kicks-off on a Friday with a catered dinner (from Bold American this year) and an open bar followed by an all day meat fest the day after. There are 350 BGEs that are fired during the event where participants outdo each other by cooking the best barbecue, pizza, breakfast fare, chili, and whatever else they can cook in a BGE (which is just about everything). You are free to take all the samples you can eat. Mind you, these samples aren’t the itty-bitty ones you usually see in festivals. These are almost full size servings and most are! There was so much steak, lamb, pork, chicken, and fish that you are literally full after just an hour. Sodas, water, and beer are included in the ticket price as well as a gift bag filled with goodies and a t-shirt.
Don’t miss it next year. Tickets go on sale sometime in August and sell out within the hour. There were over 1000 people on waitlist last year and no one ever clears. No one cleared this year either.
If you’ve been a regular visitor of this site, you know that I pretty much cover the Korean beat more than anything else. I think I have close to 30 entries on Korean restaurants alone! I love Korean food and literally drive up and down BuHi, Duluth, and now Suwannee to find new places. Eat It Atlanta tipped us off via twitter about this place a couple of days ago.
I sampled all the tacos and all the snacks on my visit yesterday. My thoughts: I honestly have mixed feelings with the food. I’ll elaborate later as it is a busy weekend for me — 2 big lunches and 1 huge dinner with open bar on Friday alone, 2 food festivals today (Saturday), and 2 places to visit tomorrow.
It’s awesome and I just love it — Korean tacos — Korean flavors in a take-with-me-anywhere, eat-quickly, eat-anytime concept. They have 5 tacos here at Hankook. Fried tofu is typical of Southeast Asia and it’s how I like to eat it. The crispy outside and softer inside is a great play on texture. Added with greens in some type of vinaigrette dressing, I really liked the tofu taco. I’d get this again next time. The bulgogi taco is another hit. The marinade is milder in flavor but went well with the dressed crispy greens. Now about the flour tortillas. You must know a good bit about Korean cuisine to realize that using corn tortillas simply will NOT work in this type of tacos. The Korean flavors (sweetish/salty/spicy meat marinade) will clash with the taste of the corn tortillas. The taste of corn tortillas will also overpower the taste of the meat. It’s not a good combination. It’s like using, say, a tomato-garlic-pesto bun on a burger. You wouldn’t and shouldn’t do that. This is not Mexican-style tacos. Using flour tortillas instead is really a good call on Tom’s part.
The Naeng Myeon is a typical summer dish as it is served cold. I’ve had many versions of this dish, some made with soba noodles, some with arrowroot (clear and black), some mul (with broth), and some bibim (salad). I like mul in winter and bibim in the summer. The version here is bibim, made with chewy soba and the taste is spot on, although I would have liked it to be more on the spicy side. Think of it as a cold noodle salad. I wish they used a spicier red chili paste or at least have the option to choose the heat level. No matter, it’s a refreshing dish.
The Bibimbap isn’t really a snack but a meal in itself. First of all, the serving is huge. Second, it has all the requisite ingredients of a one-dish meal: warm rice, cold veggies (mildy pickled cucumbers, steamed bean sprouts, mushrooms), bulgogi, and topped with a fried egg (my preference over raw egg seen in more authentic Korean places). This would have been a hit in my book had they used a spicier gochujang.
Skip the thick-battered tempura sweet potatoes (pedestrian) and Duk Pokee which is rice and fish cakes in a spicy sauce (flavor is off – tasted more like canned tomato sauce). But do try the Gunmandu which gives you 6 pieces of deep fried dumplings (think pot stickers) with a good filling of minced pork. The ginger-scallion flavors are all there. The Jap Chae is bland and doesn’t really go well with tacos. It’s more of a side dish to barbecue meats.
So is it drive- and crave-worthy for me? All I can say is that I am very happy that folks ITP now have some form of Korean food that is very accessible to them. While my spoiled self makes do with a gamut of outstanding Korean places within a 10 minute-drive from where I live. I know you’re jealous (*smile*).
The scoop:
Hankook Taqueria
1341 Collier Rd
Atlanta, GA 30318
(404) 352-8881
