Chow Down Atlanta

I took a short road trip a few weekends ago when the weather was just beautiful to the southern tip of the Blue Ridge Mountains. The purpose: Dillard House. To eat. The city of Dillard is in Rabun County which is less than two hours northeast of Atlanta. Two miles more north and you will find yourself on the state line of North Carolina. The scenic drive is breathtaking and the views of the smoky mountains in the beginning of fall, more so.

Dillard House is deeply rooted in history. It was built in 1917 by Carrie and Arthur Dillard. Modern day Dillards have built on to the restaurant and developed the grounds to accommodate a hotel, cottages, chalet, stables, petting zoo, and business center, plus provide numerous on site activities. But what really attracts people to come in droves is their restaurant.

Family owned and operated since 1917, the Dillard House Restaurant serves family-style, all-you-can-eat dining all year round. There are two dining rooms. The main house which is huge and the Dillard Hall. The hall is a small house fitted to accommodate a few dining tables for patrons who come in between meals — say, 30 minutes or less before the next meal is served, or during the one-hour lull between breakfast and lunch. Rather than let people wait for the next service, they are ushered to the adjacent hall where they can already enjoy the next meal to be served. Brilliant, if you ask me. The menu changes but on our visit looked like this:

I cannot remember all the meal prices but lunch (which we ate) was $21.95 per person. Each meal includes four to five meats and about a dozen sides. All the meat and veggies are grown in local and surrounding area farms. Every single menu item is made fresh, in-house, using only the freshest ingredients.

What they do is bring all the food to the table and they replenish each item as needed or requested. Overall, the food was okay. There were some favorites and not so favorites. The barbecue chicken was very good; tender, moist, flavorful. The fried chicken was good but not fantastic. The country style steak was tasty and much better than the fried chicken. For the sides, I really loved the stewed harvard beets that still had a lot of crunch in them, the cream corn was creamy and had lots of whole kernels, the waldorf salad was refreshingly light, the acorn squash souffle was sweetish and not very mushy, and the yeast rolls were divine. There were also housemade jams and jellies and the blackberry one is superb (had to take home bottles of it). Dessert is a strawberry cobbler that even the non-dessert eater like me, loved it.

Overall, the food is good, although, not in the so-good-let-me-drive-two-hours kind of way. Still, you must experience this place at least once. The grounds are beautiful and peaceful. A nice respite from the hustle and bustle of Atlanta.

Insider tip:
Both the homemade lemonade and sweet tea are fantastic.
The country store right outside the restaurant sells homemade jams, jellies, and the country ham they serve.
Reservations taken for parties of 15 or more.
1-800-541-0671 or 706-746-5348

The scoop:
Dillard House Restaurant
768 Franklin Street
Dillard GA, 30537
706-746-5348
Open 7 days a week and all holidays.
Breakfast: 7:00-10:30
Lunch: 11:30-5:00
Dinner: 5:00-8:00

Technorati Tags: Dillard, ayce, family-style dining, Southern

I ate half of the chocolate chip in one sitting

There’s this grandma, we call her Miss Sharon, who works at Saks. For years, she has been supplying homemade lunches and freshly baked, homemade pumpkin bread to her fellow sales associates. For eight years now, we have been buying her bread, in bulk, during the holiday season. It was accidental how we discovered her goods. Playing at the makeup counters one day eight years ago while shopping with our mom, my sister and I saw a basket of goodies in one corner. Oh my, they look so good! So we stalked her and followed her around. We have been buying her loaves ever since.

She makes the very best pumpkin bread on the planet. They are so dense, heavy (close to two pounds each loaf), extremely moist, and amazingly delicious. She only uses the best ingredients. Flavors include cranberry, apricot, apple, blueberry, plain, and chocolate chip. They are all good.

We have only seen her in the makeup section. Usually during the weekdays in the afternoons. She leaves around 4pm. My mom has her phone number. I will post it before the week is over. Pumpkin bread is $9 each.

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

My sister and I went to a very good friend’s wedding and stayed at the W Hotel in downtown where the bridal party/family/friends are all staying. After dancing ourselves silly at the event (we were literally the last ones there, by the way), we headed up to the Drink Shop for the after-party. All these worked up an appetite, unfortunately, the bar only serves food up to 10PM. So guess what we did: order room service!!! This is our 3AM burger. It was thick, juicy, delicious. Served perfectly medium on a buttered, sesame seed bun. The fries were amazing — crispy up to the last bite. Yummy!!!

This awesome burger is from BLT Steak (which also provides all in-room dining at the hotel 24 hours daily).

The scoop:
BLT Steak
45 Ivan Allen Jr. Blvd. (use W. Peachtree Place if your GPS can’t find the newly-named street)
Atlanta, GA 30308
(404) 577-7601

Technorati Tags: room service, W Hotel, burger

I just want to let you know about this awesome, fantastic, amazing hotdog at H&F. The hotdog is made in-house. It is juicy, tasty, fresh-tasting and does not have that salty, cured meat taste. I would have loved a more snappy casing but the taste pretty much compensates for that. The bun is buttery and soft. The pickled peppers and onion topping are like relish on steroids: fresh, crunchy slices and has the perfect sweet-sour taste. Really nice! Grab one tonight!

The scoop:
Holeman and Finch
2277 Peachtree Road
Suite B
Atlanta, GA 30309
Phone 404.948.1175
Fax 404.969.3034
Hours of operation
Mon - Sat 5:00pm to 1:30am
Sun - 12:30pm to 3:00pm

Technorati Tags: H&F, gastropub, Buckhead

Our parents made us go to the BGE cooking demo last week. We grew up on BGEs. Our parents (who have 4 at home in varying sizes) are hard-core fans so we are forced to go to almost every BGE event. The cooking demo happens at the mother ship in Tucker every Thursday evening at 5:45PM. General Manager Bobby Cresap, a graduate of Le Cordon Bleu, heads up all the classes.

Although we were the youngest ones there by at least 25 years, we still had fun. It’s like being in a cult, but in a fun way. The best part? The eating part.

Check out the class schedule here. Wine, beer, soda, and bottled water, plus food cooked in the demo are all included in your registration fee.

Big Green Egg
3417 Lawrenceville Highway
Tucker, GA 30084
770-934-5300

Technorati Tags: Big Green Egg, Tucker, cooking demo

Lenox Square Grill is like a breath of fresh air. It gave mallers another dining option. Tired of eating the same food at the same places while at Lenox, our hyper mother decided we needed to give it a try . We ate there three times in one week. Then we came back for more the following week. LSG is part of the group that brought us Tavern at Phipps, Joey D, and New York Prime, to name a few. Occupying the space that was once The Clubhouse, the ambiance is just a tad more casual but with the same clubhouse look and feel. Yes, the same. Nothing in the decor has been changed. But gone is the stuffy feel. It is still classy but in a more down-to-earth kind of way.

The menu is extensive which is not surprising since they are open from 7 in the morning until 2AM. I already have a (current) favorite in the Giant Barbecue Beef Rib. My mom and I have eaten it twice. It is a huge slab with fork-tender meat and melt-in-your mouth fat. It is slow-roasted for 8 hours. What is not to love? By the way, I do not like my meat swimming in barbecue sauce so I always get this with barbecue sauce on the side.

The blackened True Southern Catfish comes with two beautifully pan-seared fillets that are seasoned well, fresh tasting, and tender. For $10.50 with two sides, you can not beat its value.

The Barbecue Beef Rib sandwich is meat cut from the Giant Barbecue Beef Rib so if you do not want to mess with bones, this is a good choice. It comes bathed in just enough barbecue sauce. The meat is cut into long cubes which adds more texture than the usual pulled meat. The egg bun is soft and buttery.

The Lenox Country Dinner comes with two country-fried, boneless pork chops that were just delicious. They are very lightly battered and fried golden. The chops are so juicy and tasty. It came with two sides and a giant biscuit that was fresh from the oven. The biscuit is not your usual southern variety. This one has a sweetish soft crust and an airy, yeasty inside. The sausage gravy, which I am not a fan of, is surprisingly good, with lots of sausage chunks.

We have tasted many sides. The creamed corn is outstanding, made from fresh whole kernels. Creamy and sweet. I get an extra order of this every time. The coleslaw has just the right amount of mayo and is not overly sweet. Both the collard and turnip greens were soft, yet not mushy, and not offensively bitter. The sweet potato fries are consistently crispy and not oily. The fried okra is battered lightly and fried golden.

I was feeling famished one visit so I also got a side of Challah French Toast with my meal. I would not order this again — it was a bit over grilled so the bread became hard. It also lacked more of the custard batter that make French toast what they are, and I could hardly taste the cinnamon even though the menu specifically said they use cinnamon batter.

It is great that there are more dining choices at Lenox Square now and you never have to go far or drive away from the mall. Food is good, prices are very reasonable, portions are big, and service (and management) are both exceptional.

Insider tip:
Live music at night.
Covered patio is also heated.

The scoop:
Lenox Square Grill
3393 Peachtree Rd NE
Atlanta, GA 30326
(404) 841-2377

Technorati Tags: diner, Buckhead, Lenox Square, American, Southern

Hawaii is a conglomeration of many ethnic cultures. As such, Hawaiian food has many influences from all the different races found on her islands. Plate lunch is an integral part of Hawaiian cuisine. It is similar to a combo plate, bento box, or meat-and-two.

Waikikie has an extensive menu of plate lunches to suit any island barbecue craving; plus some. I have been a regular here since 2006 and my standard orders are usually the Waikikie Combo and the Super Combo. The Waikikie combo comes with barbecue beef, chicken, and short ribs. The meats are all tender and marinated well. Each plate comes with two scoops of steamed rice and a scoop of macaroni salad.

The Super Combo has barbecue chicken and short ribs then topped with two over-easy eggs with gravy — though I always skip the gravy. Both are great choices and quite filling. In fact, you can not go wrong with any of the plate lunches. Even the fried rice and curry dishes are all good.

Insider tip:
Closed Mondays.
Tuesday through Thursday: 11:00 am to 9:30 pm
Friday and Saturday: 11:00 am to 10:00 pm
Sunday: 11:00 am to 9:00 pm

The scoop:
Waikikie Hawaiian BBQ
2160 Briarcliff Rd NE
Atlanta, GA 30329
(404) 638-1115

Technorati Tags: Hawaiian, barbecue, grill, Druid Hills

You just have to love this cute doughnut shop. It reminds me so much of San Francisco: from the concept, down to the store colors. Even the mascot is super cute.

Doughnuts are made in-house by hand daily using nothing but top notch ingredients — Valrhona, Tahitian, Canadian — are just some of the catch words thrown around at this place. Proprietors Arpana and Martin (both of whom are professionally-trained chefs), are both veterans in the restaurant industry, with stints at Mesa Grill and Craft, to name a few. I came in one morning, a week after they opened and saw Chef Martin busy making the dough for the following day. I love the bakery smell that permeates the place which is just pleasantly intoxicating.

There are about 20 types of doughnuts in any given day including the regulars, and a few specials that change daily. The doughnuts here are yeasty, dense, and resemble bread more than pastry. They are thicker in size, yet soft, with an inside that is airy and springs back up after each bite. They are good. But in a yeasty, bready kind of way. I like it that they are not cloyingly sweet either.

Insider tip:
Check website for daily flavors.

The scoop:
Dutch Monkey Doughnuts
3075 Ronald Reagan Blvd Suite 502
Cumming, GA 30041
(404) 432-5130

Technorati Tags: doughnuts, Cumming

My BGE idol, Mike (@Atl_GadgetGeek), has created a new forum for people (like me) who just can’t stop talking about food. Head on over there and check it out.

285 Foodies

Technorati Tags: food, forum

This is gonna be a quick and short post. I am literally pooped from trying to keep up with my hyper mother who does not seem to know the word sleep (or slow down). Hanging out with her (and my sister) is more tiring than having two full time jobs!

Anyway, I have been hitting up Well Bean regularly for a few months now. A popular chain in Korea, I was surprised that their soondubu actually taste homemade (rather than chain-made).  They have a pretty big tofu soup menu including uncommon types such as dumpling, ham and cheese, and crap (sic) meat. Their broth is always consistently good:  hearty, never thin/watery with a deep red color, and with the perfect flavor consistency.  The tofu chunks are creamy and have just the right amount of form so as not turn to mush after a few stirs. Best of all, their spice level is spot on.

The banchan items are all freshly made and each one has the right amount of sweetness, spiciness, and/or sourness.  They do not skimp either and will generously give 10-11 items even for a solo diner.

Their galbi is quite delicious and can easily go neck-and-neck with So Kong Dong. The meat is tender and marinated well.  Finger lickin’ good.

Verdict: an excellent place for Korean food. Avoid the busy lunch hour when not a single table will be available and service will be nonexistent.

Insider tip:
Soups start at $4.99. Combination meals (soup + galbi) are $13.99.  More expensive meals such as the Bossam or Kimchijeon will set you back $29.99.

The scoop:
Well Bean Tofu
2645 North Berkeley Lake Rd.
Suite 136
Duluth, GA 30096
(678) 584-0057

Technorati Tags: Korean, soondubu, Duluth