Chow Down Atlanta

One word: Pork. Three words: Braised Pork Belly. Enough said.

Available during lunch only. Braised for 6 hours and they only make one pot daily. Comes plated with perfectly steamed Jasmine rice and a fried egg. I ate it 3 days in a row two weeks ago. It was greasy, fatty, tender, delicious. It is deadly. And all for $4.99.

Next best thing: Fried Chicken. Double-fried. Crunchy. Tasty.

Third best thing: hot pots. I’ve been waiting for this joint to open.  I even sent Sean when he was home during his winter break to check it out one day but they hadn’t open yet at the time.  The hot pots are just like from her older sister on BuHi. And same owner.  But it’s nicer here.  And bigger. They have lunch meals, not just hot pots.  It gets ridiculously busy during lunch.  Go now!

P.S. Get the spicy broth.

Mini Hot Pot 2
2174 Pleasant Hill Rd., Suite 101
Duluth, GA 30096
678-417-8888

Technorati Tags: hot pot, Duluth, soups

After undergoing a multi-million renovation, The Georgian Terrace, an Atlanta institution, now sports a more grand, more modern appeal while still retaining its Southern feel.

Included in the face lift is the beautiful Livingston restaurant and bar headed by Chef Gary Mennie. The stylish space includes snakeskin-covered furniture, chrome and leather seats, and floor-to-ceiling windows, among other things. A revolving door was retained from the original design and now stands as a stationary place to showcase wine bottles. It seems out of place, really.

On a recent visit with a regular lunch buddy, we decided to get items from three sections of the menu. We started off with the Wellfleet Oysters Gratin. Served on a bed of rock salt, whole peppercorns and star anise, the oysters are plump, fresh, and briny. The spinach, cheese, and bacon added just a tiny hint of flavor and texture. Great execution on this simple dish.

Next, we went with the Pick-3-for-$15 martini lunch: peeky toe crab salad, white truffle chicken salad, and grilled hangar steak. While the presentation was superb (using stemless martini glasses), the flavor of each item was lacking. As my friend, I also noticed a considerable amount of lettuce in each serving. The peeky toe crab was under-salted which focused on the taste of the mayo instead of the crab. Sad. And such a waste. The white truffle chicken salad tasted about the same. I did like the texture of the chicken which was grilled before being tossed in dressing. The hangar steak was cooked perfectly but sadly, I couldn’t discern any stand out flavor. Meh.

For our mains, we went with the Georgia White Shrimp and a good ol’ burger. First off, five medium pieces of steamed shrimp doesn’t justify $14 in my book. Especially if it’s devoid of any flavor. Although fresh, the shrimp’s simplicity couldn’t be saved by the bland fava bean puree. The bits of ham hock did add a tiny hint of flavor but not enough to elevate the dish. I was totally disappointed with it.

The burger was mediocre at best. I wasn’t too keen on the crumbly, flavorless, dryish bun. Honestly, I’ve had better fast food burgers. Worse, I bit several pieces of hard rock salt in the patty. This just didn’t do it for me.

Overall, a disappointing meal — both in taste and in value. I was hoping Chef Mennie would be more inventive with the food. I’m pretty sure his menu is a work-in-progress.

Insider tip:
Complimentary valet parking — however, you must have your ticket validated.

The scoop:
Livingston Restaurant + Bar
659 Peachtree Street NE
Atlanta, GA 30308
(404) 898-8316

Technorati Tags: Georgian Terrace, hotel restaurants, bar, Midtown, Atlanta

The city of Duluth’s extensive downtown renovation created not only a live, work, play community, but a quaint yet modern Main street lined with locally-owned businesses. In the midst of this historic area is a row of commercial town houses, one of which is home to Chocolate Perks, a casually elegant coffee-slash-ice cream-slash-cupcake-slash-sandwich shop.

Owner Marsha Anderson Bomar, who also happens to occupy a seat in the City Council, offers a place to hang out, relax, and eat breakfast, lunch, or snack. While there are daily sandwich specials offered, the staples here are paninis: grilled cheese, beef and cheddar, Cuban, chicken salad, and ham and cheese. Each order comes with crunchy pickles and prices average at $6.

clearly, presentation is an issue here — the soup was sloppily served that way — drippings and all

I’ve had two of the soups (both very good) and three of their sandwiches here: the grilled cheese with turkey, ham and cheese, and beef and cheddar. I was a bit disappointed with the value of the Grilled Cheese because it came with two slices of regular white bread, 2 slices of cheese, and 2 thin slices of deli turkey. I thought the $6 price tag was a little steep for the simpleness (in taste and creativity) of the sandwich which I can very well get in another deli for a buck less.

The Black Forest Ham and Smoked Gouda panini was a much better value. The sourdough bread was sizable, the ham was tasty, and the cheese was fresh. Overall, a much better choice.

My Beef and Cheddar on my third visit yesterday was another simple sandwich. The brioche was buttery and sweetish as it should be but was clearly ruined by over-toasting (or over-pressing). I know some folks like their bread on the dark-toasted side but it should not be the default. Instead, people should be permitted to have the choice. I wonder why they even allowed this to be served — they probably thought I wouldn’t notice? That or they are just indifferent about the quality of the sandwiches that come out of their kitchenette. This disappointment plus chips set me back $7. Although, I have no qualms whatsoever paying good money on food, it has to have value — portion size, price, creativity, cooking method (was it cooked over heat or was it sourced elsewhere then assembled), and taste. Incidentally, a can of Diet Coke was an additional $1.75. Pretty steep for a canned drink, no?

Aside from coffee and sandwiches, Chocolate Perks also serves ice-cream and homemade cupcakes, muffins, desserts, and chocolate truffles. The red velvet and chocolate mini-cupcakes were good in a fresh kind of way. They are not too sweet and you can tell good ingredients were used. But the best part of these cupcakes were the icing. I don’t eat icing but their butter cream concoction is just so good. The chocolate muffin is by far, my favorite. It is moist, chocolaty, dense, and delicious. Pair that with a cup of coffee and you have a power breakfast (or snack) in your hands.

This is definitely a nice addition to the area for a quick breakfast or lunch or simply for whiling time away. But what would be nice is for them to offer a simple Sunday brunch. And a soda fountain machine.

Insider tip:
Join their mailing list or Facebook group page for info on their daily specials.
Free wi-fi.
They use Counter Culture coffee.

The scoop:
Chocolate Perks
3160 Main St.
Suite 200
Duluth, GA 30096
770-342-0037
Hours:
M-F: 7AM-9PM
Sat: 8AM-11PM
Sun: 11AM-6PM

Technorati Tags: Duluth, GA, sandwiches, coffee shop, ice cream, cupcakes, breakfast, lunch

I have a standing weekly date with a longtime friend who lives in Cumming.  We have breakfast, lunch, brunch or coffee one morning at least every week.  Braving the 17-degree weather, we ended up at The Red Hen Cafe on Windward Parkway.  It’s on the Deerfield office plaza next to an Italian place that I can’t remember the name of right now.

The place is small but cozy.  The decor screams Virginia-Highlands-slash-Buckhead and seems out of place in its chosen area.  But it works.  It’s actually a breath of fresh air amid impersonal office spaces.  I love the bright and cheery walls.

My friend had the house-made corned beef hash plate.  It came with 2 eggs, a choice of toast, french toast or pancakes, and a choice of grits or fresh fruit.  Substantial amount for a breakfast plate.  Her scrambled eggs are a little overdone for my liking. But the corned beef hash was nicely seasoned and had a great chunky texture.  I’m all for chunky rather than mashed which is what most breakfast places serve.

My ham plate was so-so but nothing really jumped at me when I looked at the menu so I settled for the boring Red Hen Breakfast plate.  I did like the thick french toast that came with maple sugar and maple syrup.

Verdict:  it’s good that there’s another choice for breakfast in this part of town but I seriously don’t think they can beat The Original Pancake House (a personal favorite) and I know it’ll be nearly impossible to compete with the forever-full Cracker Barrel next door.  However, service is great.  It’s just not enough to get me out of bed on a cold 17-degree morning ever again.

The scoop:
The Red Hen
5310 Windward Parkway
Alpharetta, GA 30004
(678) 297-0200

Technorati Tags: The Red Hen Cafe, Alpharetta, Windward Pkwy, breakfast, brunch, lunch

I love Korean food. In fact, my obvious passion for this cuisine hadn’t gone unnoticed and, thus, I’ve been declared an honorary Korean by none other than Mr. E-D-Man himself. Thank you. I am honored.

This is the third reincarnation of this building. It was first a Japanese restaurant complete with a sushi train and color-coded plates. Cool concept but it didn’t fly. Next, it became a Korean restaurant. High on prices but low on taste. And now, Jang Su Jang. I’ve been to this place for lunch two times. The last time was with the lovely Blissful which was also her second time.

I liked the boiled pork belly. The taste of the meat itself is simple but the kimchi and radish slices it came with made it very interesting. There were also a lot of meat in one serving that it’s really good for two people.

The Dahk galbi (chicken barbecue) was just okay. Although it was flavorful, it was nothing but a Korean version of chicken teriyaki. A good choice for the unadventurous.

The beef noodle soup was awful. It was bland, thin, and watery. It did have a little bit of spiciness, but that’s about all there was to it. I wouldn’t order this again.

The bulgogi was so-so. Flavorful, but lacking in oomph. Tasted boiled, too.

So far, the only good thing on the menu are the dumplings. Oh, are they heavenly. The wrapper is soft, perfectly cooked. The meat inside is tasty. Great as is, but fantastic with the dipping sauce. There are two kinds on the menu, regular and King dumplings. The word King has nothing to do with the size. There is a difference between the two but I just can’t remember what it is for the life of me.

Verdict: I’m disappointed with their food. But I would come back for the dumplings alone. That, and the banchan.

The scoop:
Jang Su Jang
3645 Satellite Blvd
Duluth, GA 30096
(678) 475-9170

Technorati Tags: Jang Su Jang, Korean cuisine, dumplings, Duluth, Gwinnett

Gasp — I spent close to $100 at Souper Jenny today. That’s for 2 lunches at $14 each (my sister loves this place), 2 tubs of soups to-go, a peach bread, and a personally-signed Jenny cookbook that set me back another $22. It’s to add to my ever-growing collection of never-opened, mostly autographed cookbooks.

My sister’s lunch

My plate

There were free cupcakes today (we ate 2 each) and a book signing for Jenny’s new cookbook. Lots of people. As always. And if you don’t already know, they have amazing soups, sandwiches, and salads. All freshly made each morning. With the best and freshest ingredients. You get two items with soda/water/ice tea for $12. Good deal.

The scoop:
Souper Jenny
56 E Andrews Dr NW
Atlanta, GA
30305-1316
Phone: (404) 239-9023

Technorati Tags: Souper Jenny, lunch, lunch deals, brunch, fresh daily, Buckhead, sandwiches, soup

I do a good amount of driving from OTP to go to Star Provisions and H&F weekly for my bread addiction. Specifically, I go for my weekly ration of baguettes. I went to Parish Foods & Goods last week to have lunch and saw their baked goods very tempting. But first, lunch.

I looked around to see what everybody was eating before settling on the Fried Green Tomato BLT. First of all, it was huge. Really huge. A good value at $7.50. There were crisp fried green tomatoes with just a light dusting of batter, 4 substantial slices of thick bacon, fresh red tomato slices and lettuce, in a spicy remoulade. Lots of different textures. It was delicious and very filling. My only complaint is that they could have used slightly thicker slices of bread. The bread, which were grilled to perfection, simply couldn’t hold up to all the filling and disintegrated in my hands. Shame. It was good bread, too.

Of course, I couldn’t leave without grabbing some baked goodies. Got a couple of baguettes that were very hard and tasteless. Despite rejuvenating them in the oven. To the trash they all went. The chocolate tea bread was a bit dry but very chocolatey in taste which I like. I just can’t get past the dryness. The banana-nut and blueberry muffins were bursting with flavor and fabulously moist and dense just the way I like them. Will remember to get more next time.

There are a lot of interesting items on the menu that I’d like to try in future visits. Yes, I’ll be back. But not for the baked goods.

Insider tip:
They have to-go meals for 4 people that can be picked up daily.
Sandwiches range from $6-10. Dinner entrees range from $12-24.

The scoop:
Parish Foods & Goods
240 N Highland Ave NE
Atlanta, GA 30307
(404) 681-4434

Technorati Tags: Parish Foods & Goods, Inman Park, Atlanta, bakery, New Orleans cuisine

I love bakeries and specialty food markets. I place Star Provisions on top of my list followed by H&F Bread Company, and Alon’s Bakery. While I do believe that Star Provisions has the best baguettes in the city bar none, the ones at Alon’s are pretty good contenders. On a recent visit, I got these amazing Chocolate Chunk Pecan bites for $7.99 a pound. These are like chocolate chip cookies but on steroids. They are simply heavenly. I also got some chocolate croissants (again, Star Provisions’ croissants are better), a loaf of sourdough bread, and a slice of some chocolate cake that I forgot what it’s called (delicious, nonetheless). I also got some house-made chocolates but I couldn’t resist and finished all half a pound on my drive home.

I grabbed a quick lunch of Chicken Pesto sandwich that was really delicious. I’m not a fan of pesto but theirs is so mild and tasty. It was the first time I’ve had this sandwich and I was really impressed with it.

Alon’s is a good place to get artisan breads baked on the premises, assorted hand-made chocolates by the pound, cookies, pastries, cakes, salads, sandwiches, cheeses, and other specialty food items.

Insider tip:
There’s a coffee bar inside.

The scoop:
Alon’s Bakery and Market
North Highland: 1394 N. Highland Ave, Atlanta, GA 30306 - 404.872.6000
Park Place: 4505 Ashford Dunwoody Road, Atlanta, GA 30346 - 678.397.1781

Technorati Tags: Alon’s Bakery And Market, Dunwoody, Highland Avenue, Perimeter, specialty market, gourmet market, bakery, lunch, sandwiches

I’ve been to V1 BBQ more than six times since it opened in August including a Saturday night when there was a 20-minute wait for a table. Although no one beats Hongkong BBQ when it comes to roast meats, V1 is a great contender and a much cleaner place. I actually went to Hongkong BBQ for a late lunch today and further realized no one can trump their roast pork. But I love V1 and have become friends with the staff who give warm and friendly service.

Hainanese Chicken is my favorite Cantonese chicken dish. It’s the national dish of Singapore which they have adopted from the Chinese. I’ve had Hainanese chicken in hundreds of places; all over Singapore, Hongkong, and China. I’ve had it in Chinatowns in NYC, Toronto, San Francisco, and here. V1 has the best Hainanese Chicken outside of Asia. Simply put, their Hainanese chicken is superb — it’s clean: the chicken doesn’t smell fishy, it is steamed perfectly (cooked all the way through), it is not fatty, and there are no traces of dried blood inside. It is seasoned all the way to the bone so each bite is as fantastic as the last. It is so flavorful, succulent, tender, and juicy. I love it.

The roast pork, roast pig, and roast duck are all also good but, like I said, Hongkong BBQ still has the best. Not even Ming’s BBQ can come close to Hongkong BBQ. The roast pork here at V1 just doesn’t have the requisite texture and crunch. Theirs is a little on the soft side.

Possibly the best Malaysian dish on the menu, the Homemade Noodle soup is fantastic and definitely a must-try. It’s a soup made with tasty chicken broth added with fat, chewy house-made noodles, pieces of Chinese broccoli, ground beef, then topped with crispy fried small fish. It is comforting and plain delicious. This is one of my favorites here.

I recommend sticking with V1’s Cantonese dishes. Their Malaysian dishes seem novice. These dishes are usually bland and the sauces are thin. Despite that, I do think they make great roti canai pancake. The pancake is flaky yet so chewy inside. But curry dipping sauce just doesn’t have that simmered-for-hours taste and is on the thin side. The bubble teas aren’t as good as other places either and they don’t put as much tapioca.

V1 is a must-try for their Cantonese dishes and competitive roast meats. The place is spotless and doesn’t give off a cheap Asian fast-food joint.

Insider tip:
Rice plates with two or three roast meats are a great sampler.

The scoop:
3940 Buford Hwy NW
Duluth, GA 30096
(770) 623-1896

Technorati Tags: V1 BBQ, roast pork, roast duck, roast pig, roti canai, Cantonese cuisine, Malaysian cuisine, bubble tea, Duluth

Flying Biscuit Cafe has been my favorite place for simple breakfast or brunch.  I’ve been going for a while since before they became a chain and remember seeing famous celebrities all the time, including Justin Timberlake recently, who patiently waited in line outside for a good hour to get seated.  Or Toni Braxton (at least, while she was still popular) who was so low key.  I went to their newly-opened location in Norcross (across from The Forum Shops) last weekend and had to wait a good hour at 9am in the cold!  I guess nothing has changed despite the takeover — the lines are still long and the food still tastes the same.

My favorite breakfast here is the High Flyer. I hardly ever get anything else. It comes with two eggs, chicken sausage, grits or potatoes, an oatmeal pancake, and a flying biscuit. It’s like a sample platter. The chicken sausages are deliciously flavored with rosemary and not salty at all. The grits are creamy and has just the right consistency. The pancakes are fantastic — organic oatmeal topped with housemade peach compote. Really, this is the best pancake. The compote is not too sweet with the peaches still having a good bite to it. And the flying biscuit — it’s slightly flaky on the outside and soft on the inside. Not only are they so good, they’re ginormous! They’re probably a good 4 inches thick! The apple butter is so good with them.

Another favorite here are the French toast. They’re these soft, thick slices of bread topped with raspberry sauce and créme Anglais. I usually get the raspberry sauce on the side because although it’s delicious, it takes away from the real taste of the toast. No matter, it gives the toast a nice sweetish touch.

Notice how huge the biscuit is above? Anyway, they really have good food here. I love all the omelette especially the Clifton Omelette made with three large farm fresh eggs with goat cheese, mushrooms & fresh basil, topped with spicy tomato coulis. The Egg-ceptional Eggs with two fried eggs on black bean cakes topped with tomatillo salsa and sour cream is also a great option. For a heavier alternative, you must try the Turkey Meatloaf and Pudge. The meatloaf is so flavorful. And the pudge is a great accompaniment (it’s their recipe for mashed potatoes with sundried tomatoes, basil and olive oil.) One last thing, the Fried Green Tomato BLT is also a must try.

For simple breakfast and brunch, my favorite places are the Flying Biscuit and the Original Pancake House. Food is good and always made with the freshest ingredients.

Insider tip:
Cookbook by April Moon now available.

The scoop:
Flying Biscuit Cafe
Several locations.
5270 Peachtree Pky NW, Ste 120
Norcross, GA 30092
770-407-5885

[tags]Flying Biscuit Cafe, Delia Champion, flying biscuit, breakfast, brunch, lunch, The Forum Shops, Peachtree Parkway[/dinner]