Chow Down Atlanta

Well. Technically, it was earlier this month. In any case…

You all know by now how much of a ramen freak I am. If not, you’ve been hiding under a rock Anyway, (my sister and) I always, always eat ramen with onigiri. It’s a ball of rice filled with yummy things — pickled plums, fish roe, etc. — and most often wrapped in a sheet of nori. Some izakayas grill them and those are the best. Earlier this month, I ate the best onigiri. At Miso Izakaya. It was beyond heavenly: grilled, with a few patches of toasty, crunchy bits, and filled with the most amazing crispy salmon. It was superb!!! An oh-my-gosh-give-me-a-moment-of-silence moment. I was totally blown away.

Did you know? I’ve had onigiris at most places in Atlanta: Taka, Sushi Mito (grilled), Haru Ichiban, Blue Fin (Duluth), Yakitori Jinbei, Umaido (grilled and filled with chashu), Sushi House Hayakawa, Sushi Yoko. They’re all good and they all have different versions. But Chef Guy’s onigiri is THE BEST.

Speaking of the best. Have you had their Pork Buns? To. Die. For. Duck Buns? To. Die. For. Don’t take my word for it. GO.

Oh, one last thing… I swung by one lunch time and Chef Guy just happened to make a couple of bowls of ramen that day. So I begged to have a taste. Guess what — it’s 5-star ramen!!! It was delicious!!! And the toppings were unbelievable. He’s still tweaking it but rumor has it he’ll have it out in full-force in April. Oh, I also heard the well-guarded recipe came from his sensei in Japan. I know, I can’t wait!!!

Miso Izakaya
619 Edgewood Ave SE.
Atlanta, GA 30312
(678) 701-0128

Technorati Tags: Japanese, Inman Park, Guy Wong

What would your death row meal be? Mine would consist of many dishes from many places. I’d call it Chloe’s Food Festival. And yes, I’m planning on having one all in one spot instead of making several stops daily. It would have ramen (of course), Korean dishes, Japanese, Wong’s buns, cheeseteaks, bread and butter, pork, sope, etc., etc.

In any case… Three weeks ago, during a boring Thursday night graduate class, I received Miso Izakaya’s December menu via email. The monthly omakase had everything I wanted. Everything. You know how all prix fixes never have all the things you like? Well, this one has it. It’s like, a menu, written for me. A Chloe Omakase. I had to wait a couple of weeks. A celebratory dinner for another semester completed. Was it worth it? You bet. It was my death row meal.

My $25 omakase started with Blue Crab miso soup. My mom taught me and my sister how to eat crabs on our own when we turned 4. It was a rite of passage. We’ve loved them since then. My miso soup was the perfect starter especially since it was freezing outside. The lump crab meat was fresh, sweetish, and tasted of the ocean. Cliché, I know, but it did!

Next came Crispy Duck Buns. There is no one, and I mean, no one in the city that makes better Chinese buns than Chef Guy Wong. I’ve been to literally all the dimsum places in town and his is 5-star. Really. The buns are pillowy soft with a smooth sheen. The filling? Out of this world. Wong’s Buns (as I call them) are so fantastic you owe it to yourself to try them. I had to eat a few extra orders of his Kakuni buns. These had super tender stewed pork belly in sweetish-salty reduction sauce that is truly amazing.

Steamed Gindara was next. Black cod, prepared Japanese-style, has been a childhood favorite. The fish melts in your mouth. So delicious. So clean tasting. Here at MI, it was served with a gingery soy sauce that was so mild which allowed the real taste of the fish to stand out. Honestly, I could eat 5 pounds of this. With a side of sushi rice.

Kakuni & Grits. Aside from many, many types of food, I’m also all about pork. Grits, you say? So did I. But it paired so well with the stewed pork belly. It was creamy and cheesy. The pork literally melted in my mouth. The tasty fat liquefied the minute it hit my tongue. Wow. Double wow.

The perfect ending to this amazing meal was a scoop of homemade, roasted black sesame ice cream that reminded me of another favorite, taro (purple yam).

So there. I was so happy after I ate. Oh, and guess what’s in store for January? Ramen!!! Go. Now.

Miso Izakaya
619 Edgewood Ave SE.
Atlanta, GA 30312
(678) 701-0128

Technorati Tags: Japanese, omakase, Inman Park

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

I come from a family of big appetites (thank heavens for good genes or we’d have ballooned popped by now).  After eating a plate of fried chicken, collard greens, biscuits, and muffins last Saturday, we had the audacity to keep our reservations at Shaun’s an hour later. But we never made it. The Inman Park Festival was in full force and no valet, available lot, nor parking spot is in sight. Since mom didn’t want to walk in the area late at night (she’s paranoid like that), we ended up at KRS instead. Where there’s valet.

We were surprised to get a last minute reservation for 7:45pm on a Saturday night and even more surprised to get seated right at once, nabbing a great booth in a restaurant where not a single table was empty when we came in. The vibe was cool and upbeat, the crowd, a gamut from the hip to the oldies.

Since we just had dinner, we decided to go light. We started with the Roast Mixed Beet Salad with Sweet Grass Dairy goat cheese and candied pecans. This is one of my favorite salads and I almost always order it whenever it’s on the menu. The version here is simple and pretty straight-forward — big cubes of red and yellow beets, dollops of creamy cheese, candied pecans. I love the contrasting tastes and textures. It was a good sized salad and possibly good enough for two if you’re having a heavy entree.

My mom got the Bone-in Smoked Beef Rib (her favorite). The smoked rib was literally fall-of-the-bone tender and served in an au jus which is delicious: slight, slight hint of sweet, salty, peppery. This is oh-my-gosh-this-is-so-good at every bite. She never tires of it and neither do I.

My sister and I each had the Prime Japanese Waygu Beef Burger: twelve ounces of heavenly meat, ground as you order, and served medium rare. You can’t get any better than this. Well, not really. The meat itself is top-notch, no doubt, but the reason we’re ranking this No. 2 is because of the bread. It was on the dry side and not enough sweetness to cut through the meaty taste. Which is why H&F is still king. H&F bread on Chef Kevin’s burger meat? Well, that would be a dream.

Side notes:

Mom and sister got the Chocolate Mousse and Peanut Butter Ice Cream Cake for dessert. Both were good but it’s evident that desserts are not the major strength here.

Service was impeccable. We had a great kick out of a Hillary Duff dead-ringer for a server who gave us nothing but the best service. My medium burger was delivered medium-rare. No biggie there, I ate it all. Sister’s burger had to be taken back twice (her medium rare was delivered well-done, and very rare on the second try) but the manager handled it so well we didn’t mind the 45-minute wait. Kudos to him for the excellent treatment we were given (just so you know and I must say this, I always dine out anonymously). To top it off, valet had our car ready for us as soon as we stepped out the door. Fantastic.

Insider tip:
A few feet away from Rathbun’s.
They have Anne Amie wine!

The scoop:
Kevin Rathbun Steak
154 Krog St NE
Atlanta, GA 30307
(404) 524-5600

Technorati Tags: steaks, Inman Park, American food, Atlanta, Kevin Rathbun

Serpas is Chef Scott Serpas’ new endeavor (he did stints with Kevin Rathbun and at Nava, Sia, and Mitra). Chef Scott describes his food as “approachable dishes true to their Louisiana, Asian, and Southwestern influences”. It is located in the Old Fourth Ward in Inman Park.

The first thing that caught my eye here is the decor which is hip and trendy with exposed brick walls and shiny, smooth concrete floors. But we came here for the food so here it goes.

The Duck Spring Rolls were crispy fried and full of flavor. I immediately smelled the 5-spice powder (I abhor it) and was about to shun them but tried them anyway. Delicious. You can hardly taste the 5-spice although you can definitely smell it.

The Wild Mushroom Tostadas were very tasty. I particularly liked the heaping amount of lightly sauteed mushrooms topping a crisp tostado.

The Pigs ‘n Blanket were a bit ho-hum but still a fun, grown-up take on the favorite kiddie food They’re made with spicyish andouille sausage.

The Double beef patty is definitely one of the top burgers in Atlanta. The meat is freshly ground, cooked medium, topped with smoked cheddar, then served on a grilled and buttered upside-down bun. I don’t see the point of the upside down bun other than the fun factor. However, this sweetish bun added to why this burger top notch.

For dessert, we had the apple pie and the bread pudding. The Fried apple pie is a great surprise. The apples were not cloyingly sweet and the empanada was fried perfectly. The White Chocolate Cranberry Bread Pudding has all the gooey goodness of a fantastic bread pudding. I really liked it although it is very rich and a few bites is all I need.

Service is fantastic and prices are reasonable. Definitely a good place to add to my rotation.

Insider tip:
Do try the Backyard Lemonade. I had 3. Enough said. And I’m not even a big drinker. (It’s made with vodka, house-made lemonade, and ginger ale.)

Brunch served on Sundays.

The scoop:
Serpas True Food
659 Auburn Avenue
Atlanta, GA 30312
(404) 688-0040

Technorati Tags: Serpas True Food, Scott Serpas, Inman Park, true food