Chow Down Atlanta

Once in a while, a craving for Szechuan cuisine hits and Sichuan House is the answer. Szechuan cuisine is characterized by very spicy foods with lots of heavy sauces and gravies. Because of the geographic location of the Sichuan province in China, the climate lends a hand in food spoiling very easily. Thus, food preservation is necessary. Pickling, smoking, drying, and salting are techniques that have been perfected in the region. Personally, I like Cantonese food better (having visited Hong Kong yearly while growing up so my taste buds are more accustomed to it); but that’s just me.

Sichuan House boasts of authentic Szechuan cuisine. Their Traditional Choice Menu includes items geared more to the Chinese palate — the Tea Smoked Duck is fantastic, the Stir-fried Beef Tripe is delicious, the Roasted Whole Tilapia with Scallions is a must try, the Cumin Mutton (or beef) is also a must try (very flavorful); however, the Spicy Sichuan Pork (salt and pepper pork with tons of chili peppers) is disappointingly all heat and no flavor.

Other items form the Traditional Choice Menu that I never tire of include the Winter Melon Chicken Soup, Ground Pork with Mustard Greens and the not-on-the-menu Shredded Chicken in Spicy Garlic Sauce. The Winter Melon soup is comforting with big chunks of chicken and slices of sweetish winter melon. It’s a good take on the plain chicken soup. The pork with mustard greens is absolutely delicious with a good bit of bitterness from the greens balanced by the saltyish pork. The chicken in garlic sauce with julienned winter melon, wood ear mushrooms, red and green bell peppers is a spicy, tasty dish. Get past its oiliness from the chili oil and you have a dish that’s truly a winner.

For a truly authentic Szechuan food, Sichuan House offers a piece of China. For the not-so-adventurous, a toned-down American version is available. The place is clean and bright while the staff is helpful but can get absent-minded (especially when they’re busy shucking vegetables in a nearby table. No worries, just flag them down to get service.

Insider tip:
All orders come with house roasted peanuts (roasted at home by one of the servers) and pickles.

The scoop:
Sichuan House
5900 State Bridge Rd
Duluth, GA 30097
Located on the corner of 141/Medlock Bridge/Peachtree Pkwy and State Bridge Rd/Pleasant Hill Rd where Target and Home Depot are.

Technorati Tags: Sichuan House, Duluth, Gwinnett, Atlanta, Szechuan cuisine, Sichuan cuisine, spicy food, Chinese cuisine, Cumin Mutton, Tea Smoked Duck

From the outside, you’d think this place is just another strip mall food joint: the sign is ordinary and the outside looks like a fast food deli complete with menus posted on the glass walls. But since it was their opening week at the time, I was determined to give it a try. And boy, was I surprised. Inside was a lovely restaurant with shiny maroon concrete floors, muted golden walls, dark wooden tables and chairs, columns, and Grecian style decoration.

The menu is typical Greek — salads, pitas, roasted chicken… nothing fancy and not extensive either. But if you want a quick bite to eat and you’re already in the neighborhood, then this is the place to try. For starters, they give you a free plate of four different kinds of dips: cucumber-yogurt, chili, honey-mustard, and garlic-mayo; with pieces of grilled pocket pita on the side. I’m saying pocket pita here as opposed to the flat doughy pita

Read the rest of this entry »

I went to Super H Mart on Pleasant Hill Rd in Gwinnett to get a huge bottle of Kimchi. I used to get my Kimchi at Han Gang Korean Grocery on Steve Reynolds Blvd in the early 90s. It was the first big stand-alone Korean grocery store in Atlanta where they sold meat and seafood aside from the usual fresh veggies, canned and dry goods, and also had a food court inside although very small. Since that has closed, I’ve been going to three other places.

At Super H today, they had three different kinds of fresh firm tofu: Plain, Carrot, and Spinach. The carrot tofu had only the slightest hint of carrot taste in it. Not overpowering. Just a tad carrotish if there’s even a word. The spinach tofu is equally awesome, with just a slight infusion of spinach so as not to kill the true taste of the tofu. These faintly flavored tofu aren’t really the type you’d use in cooking. Instead, you eat them as they are, cut up into cubes and drenched lightly with Korean sauce made with soy sauce, peppers, scallions, sugar, sesame oil, and sesame seeds. They’re great in salads, as appetizers, or as an accompaniment to grilled meat and seafood. By the way, these gems are less than $2 per block.

Technorati Tags: Super H Mart, flavored tofu, tofu, spinach tofu, carrot tofu, plain tofu, Pleasant Hill Road, Gwinnett, Korean grocery, food finds Atlanta, Atlanta, kimchi

If you ever find yourself north of I-85 around Chateau Elan and needed a sugar fix, then head on over to Mayfield Dairy. Although you won’t find any cows grazing (except for a giant cow statue in the middle of the front field), what you will find is a down-to-earth ice-cream parlor where a scoop of ice-cream costs a whopping $1.50. That’s a steal for the creamiest ice-cream around. Ice-cream bars are only $0.50 each.
Mayfield Dairy is a Tennessee company that opened their Braselton, Georgia ice-cream plant in 1997. They have been in business since the 1920s. The Braselton plant has a visitor center and tours are given every half hour. The huge visitor center houses the ice-cream parlor, a gift shop, and a small theater where each tour begins. Tours are given regularly and are free of charge.

Insider tip:
The parlor only offers ice-cream by the scoop, ice-cream bars, and milk products. There are a few tables in the back of the visitor center by the theater where you can sit down and eat. Only cash or checks accepted.

The scoop:
Mayfield Dairy Farms
1160 Broadway Ave.
Braselton, Georgia 30517
1-888-298-0396
Monday through Friday 9 a.m. - 5 p.m., Saturday 9 a.m. - 2 p.m. Closed Sunday.
Tours begin every 30 minutes on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday (with exception of no tour at 12 p.m). Tours on Saturdays are every hour on the hour. No tours on Wednesdays. Last tour begins 1 hour before closing.

Technorati Tags: Mayfield Dairy, ice-cream, Gwinnett