Chow Down Atlanta

Bread is my kryptonite. You know how some people absolutely must have dessert? I’m like that with bread. Slathered with butter and I’m in heaven. Well, I was in this new tiny plaza on BuHi near Shallowford Rd. And I smelled fresh-baked bread. They bake the breads in the premises!!! Mexican breads and pastries including pork tamales and snacks. Breads are soft and chewy. Go around 3PM when the baker puts all the goodies out. Yummmmm.

Pan El Buen Chapin
5090 Buford Highway,
Atlanta, GA 30340
404-457-4220

Technorati Tags: bakery, BuHi, Mexican

I’m on a roll here. Two farmer’s markets in two weeks. Ha! Except I really didn’t come for the farmer’s market originally. It just so happens that there was a gun show inside the farmer’s market. Yep, that’s what I said, too. So this past Sunday, there was a gun show that my mom dragged me to. A festival of some sort. Inside the Atlanta State Farmers Market. In Forest Park, south of the airport. Since we were already in the area — in this case, inside the venue — my mom decided to look around and get some melons and tomatoes.

ASFM is the biggest farmers market in the nation. It’s also open 24 hours a day. Inside the 150-acre compound, there is a Welcome Center, a USDA office, and three restaurants. There’s also a 26,000-ft exhibition hall with a snack bar inside. Most produce from big-time farmers is delivered by 18-wheeler trucks but smaller scale farmers also sell their produce.

A couple of years ago, my best friend Mark and I used to eat at their cafeteria/restaurant weekly, driving from our Cobb Pkwy offices to burn our 2-hour lunch breaks. There are now two additional restaurants in the premises but only one is open on Sundays: Taco Rancho. There was a lot of talk when this place opened last year due to the colorful resume of its chef Jose Rego. Good friend Jimmy liked it when he visited last year.

I had their cheese dip, steak burrito, chicken burrito, carnitas taco, chicken enchiladas, and Mexican corn. Let me just say I’m not a big fan. But it’s great that there’s a restaurant open on Sundays if you happen to be there on those days. The cafeteria/restaurant is still my favorite place to get cheap eats at ASFM. Don’t miss it when you visit!

Atlanta State Farmers Market
16 Forest Parkway
Forest Park, Georgia 30297
(404) 675-1782
Open 24 hours a day
Welcome Center: Tuesday thru Saturday 10:00 AM thru 4:00 PM.

Taco Rancho
16 Forest Parkway
Building 38 (free-standing building next to the garden center)
Forest Park, GA 30297
404.366.1968
M-F 7AM-4PM
Sat/Sun 10AM-4PM

Technorati Tags: farmers market, Mexican, Forest Park

You’re a student. You like cheap eats. You go to Bad Dog. Enough said.

$2.99 Tacos. I just wish they weren’t swimming in too much sauce. But maybe sometimes, you need sauce to drown add flavors.

Chips & Salsa. $4. Three kinds of salsa with four kinds of chips. Salsa: Fresca, Pineapple Plantain, Smoked Tomato. Chips: Yucca, Plantains, Boniato (sweet potato), Corn. I want more chips, please.

Bad Dog Taqueria
1579 North Decatur Rd NE
Atlanta, GA 30307
(404) 370-8822

Technorati Tags: Mexican, Tex-Mex, Emory, Druid Hills

I’ve visited countless of times. Really.

Craving for real Mexican food that’s really good? Well, there’s a place for that — Gorditas. Way out OTP. It’s been the only place on my rotation ever since the lovely Ms. Bliss took me there this past winter. Although the place is no longer in business (technically), the menu and the chef have moved to its sister restaurant next door. The food doesn’t taste exactly the same (especially when the original chef isn’t cooking) but it’s still great, nonetheless.

Tacos

Sope

Tostada

Special Burrito

Chilaquiles

Pambazo

Caldo de Res

Molcajete

Quesadilla

Things to note: tortillas are made in-house, fresh, daily. The Sopes are creations of perfection. Get the chicken. The Tostada is a close cousin to the sope and only differs in texture. The Special Burrito is topped with warm, gooey, creamy cheese (dip). The cabeza (head) and tripa (tripe) are both stellar, both seasoned very well with the cabeza being fork-tender and the tripe being very crunchy. Get it on tacos and burritos. The Chilaquiles are the best in town. Choose the red salsa. The Pambazo is a monstrous dish. The Caldo de Res (beef soup) is so hearty, perfect for a rainy day. The Molcajete (the kitchen sink) includes a variety of grilled meats (chicken, shrimp, chorizo, beef, pork), good enough for two, and a great way to try a bunch of different things. The Quesadilla isn’t your run-of-the-mill version with its housemade toasted tortilla.

Guess how many times I’ve been there? This much.

Gorditas La Rancherita
2055 Beaver Ruin Rd
Norcross, GA 30071
(678) 206-0107

Technorati Tags: Mexican, Norcross

They had the best flan pie and chocolate-custard cake. They were baked fresh on the premises. By a lovely woman. I bought whole ones as well as batches regularly and and ate them in one sitting. They sometimes wouldn’t even make it home because I ate them in the car. They. Were. Insane!!!

Tomorrow is when they close their doors to the public. Permanently. But…

404.246.5274

The lovely woman will keep baking my pie and cake. And bread. And goodies. And pupusas. Anytime. Keep this number handy because you will not find it anywhere. Nowhere. Ever.

More here.

La Princesa
formerly known as
La Promesa Bakery

Technorati Tags: bakery, Mexican, flan, custard cake