Chow Down Atlanta

Teela is a new venture from former Eros owner Nik Panagopoulos who aims to bring fun food — tacos — this side of town.  The new digs is nestled inside Sandy Spring’s City Walk which is a huge upscale plaza with a big Kroger, bars, restaurants, and shops. Lots of parking spaces, too. Teela sits on one end close to one of the exits.

The Trios starter at $8.50 is a great way to sample the appetizers at Teela. It comes with a bowl of salsa, guacamole, and queso. I particularly loved the fresh, warm tortilla chips dusted with nacho seasoning that adds and extra oomph to an otherwise ho-hum chip and dip combo.

I sampled many tacos during my visit. The Brisket had chunks of fork-tender meat simmered in a blend of Mexican spices.  The Fajita Steak is quite possibly the best in the menu, with thick, juicy slices of flavorful steak. The Fried Chicken, Bang Bang Shrimp, Mushroom, and Pork Carnitas are all equally good. Tacos are smallish so 2-3 can make for a filling lunch (or dinner).

Enchiladas come two to an order but I requested two different kinds for mine. The Mole Chicken and and Fajita Steak were both good — tasty, with huge chunks of meat.

Overall a great place and fun place, complete with a funky patio — great for meeting people for drinks and a quick (and a cheap) bite to eat.

Insider tip:
Menu can be found here.

The scoop:
Teela Taqueria
227 Sandy Springs Pl NE
Atlanta, GA 30328
(404) 604-9893

Technorati Tags: Tacos, Sandy Springs, Mexican, Bar, Roswell

I like Aqua Blue. I continually place it in my Favorite Restaurants list for their consistently good food and great service. My friend and I came back Wednesday night to try out their Winter Harvest Wine Dinner. They have monthly wine dinners where you get a 4-course meal with fine wine pairings all for $45 per person. It’s a good deal.

Our first course was a Tropical maki made with red tuna, crab, avocado, masago, mango, kiwi, and mandarin orange. The accompanying Adami prosecco from Italy was really good. In fact, it was my favorite wine of the evening. It was crisp yet smooth.

The Muscovy Duck Breast salad was fantastic. Clearly, one of the best duck salads I’ve had. The duck was tender, fresh, and very flavorful. Hoisin is not my favorite seasoning but the chef made it so smooth tasting that there was only a slight hint of it. The salad also had sweet roasted pecans, pear slices, and goat cheese and slightly doused with cranberry vinaigrette. I loved it. It came with Bouchaine pinot noir that was a little too dry for my taste. I didn’t like drinking it by itself but paired with the salad, it was a good combination.

For the main entree, we had a Beef Roulade stuffed with sundried tomatoes, mushroom duxcell, spinach, butterklase cheese on a bed of lentils then finished off with a black truffle glaze. It was a heavy dish and needed a cabernet sauvignon (Edge - Napa Valley) to ease off the filling taste. A good choice of entree for the wine.

Dessert came in a Chambord-infused dark chocolate mousse bombe topped with toasted coconut and accompanied by fresh whipped cream, and berry coulis. It was paired with a zin from Michael Davis. It was another great combination and a perfect ending to a wonderful wine-paired meal.

This monthly wine dinner event is a steal at $45. I highly recommend it. Call the restaurant for next month’s schedule and menu.

The scoop:
1564 Holcomb Bridge Rd
Roswell, GA 30076
(770) 643-8886

Technorati Tags: Aqua Blue, fish, steaks, seafood, American cuisine, fusion, Roswell, Alpharetta

I keep forgetting to write about Aqua Blue.  I remember when John Kessler gave it a mediocre review back in 2001. But Aqua Blue has come a long way and the one-star rating hardly represent it now. My last visit was about a month ago with 6 of my girl friends. I called in the reservation an hour before arriving and although they were booked solid that Saturday night, they gladly accommodated us and got us seated upon arrival. Of course, beggars can’t be choosers so we had to sit in the bar area up front. However, they’ve wonderfully re-arranged the place to make it look like a private seating area. I was impressed that they would even go through the trouble considering that people were lining up outside. (It is important to note that I used an assumed name when I called — I hardly ever make restaurant reservations under my name. In fact, aside from my friends and family — with the exception of Molly Spruill, Adam Murphy, and Chef Peter Golaszewski — nobody really knows how I look like.)

But back to AB. I’ve visited a few times and although I wouldn’t say everything on the menu is good, most everything I’ve eaten is. I find the Fire Cracker Chicken as the most disappointing choice on the menu. The honey-mustard sauce totally overpowered the tasteless chicken pieces which was fried in soggy batter. It reminded me of something from a fastfood Chinese place and the $9 price tag was so uncalled-for. Please, don’t order this ever.

The AB Calamari was a half-a-notch better but still a weak dish. The squid was chewy and the sauce was so ordinary. I mean, it was nothing but sweet and sour sauce with a bit of chili flakes in it.

I always have better luck on the mains, though. On this visit, I had the Hardwood Grilled Center-cut Pork Chop. It was delicious! It was cooked to the perfect medium temperature, was thick, juicy, tender, and very, very flavorful. The Jalapeño Grits that I chose for my side was amazing. The stone-ground grits had great texture, were creamy, cheesy, and had a nice hint of heat that went really well with my chops. This is my favorite dish here and I’ve ordered this on a couple of occasions.

My friends entrees were equally good. The Pecan Crusted Trout was clean tasting and the hash that came with it was superb — sweet potatoes, corn, tomatoes, and thin green beans in a peach-butter sauce. This is my other favorite here. The grilled North Atlantic Salmon was a little dry for my liking but the Pan Seared Jumbo Shrimp served with grilled veggies and blackberry coulis had a lot of character. I liked the saltish flavor of the grilled shrimp with the sweetness of the coulis. It was a creative combination.

You can’t go wrong with the steaks here. They are of great quality, perfectly cooked to your preferred temperature, juicy, tender, and very tasty. The Miso Glazed Chilean Sea Bass is another great choice. The sea bass is light tasting and comes with baby bok choy (Chinese cabbage), fresh spinach, and shitake mushrooms in a mushroom broth that provides the perfect saltiness to the otherwise bland fish. This is a very good light entree.

The verdict

I love Aqua Blue’s main entrees more than their weak appetizers. Service, ambiance, and decor are all impeccable. This is a true gem in this part of the suburbs.

Insider tip:
Located on the corner of Holcomb Bridge and Old Alabama Rd.

The scoop:
1564 Holcomb Bridge Rd
Roswell, GA 30076
(770) 643-8886

Technorati Tags: Aqua Blue, fish, steaks, seafood, American cuisine, fusion, Roswell, Alpharetta

Located in a strip mall on the corner of Old Alabama and Holcomb Bridge Road just east of GA 400, Nelayan is one of only a handful of Indonesian restaurants in Atlanta (which numbers less than 5). It is odd because there’s actually a big community of Indonesians here in Atlanta. They’ve only been opened a few weeks yet you’ll see a bunch of familiar faces on a regular basis.

The place is small with only about 10 tables yet it is spotless and bright. There’s a counter that separates the kitchen which is common in Asia and used to place cooked dishes a la cafeteria style. Plus a wall of shelves by the entrance showcasing dry goods for purchase. Notable items include kropek (shrimp crackers that you fry in oil), kecap manis (sweet soy sauce), pastries, chips, and other Indonesian pantry staples.

My favorite Indonesian food is the bihun. I eat bihun in every single meal whenever I’m in their part of the world. Even for breakfast. No, make that, especially for breakfast. It is comforting and filling. Nelayan’s bihun is exactly as the ones in Indonesia. It’s made with rice noodles softened in broth then topped with tasty stir-fried chicken with mushrooms and green onions. It comes with a side of meatball soup that you can eat on its own or dump on the entire dish. Don’t worry, it not gonna make a soupy dish as the noodles will readily absorb most of the liquid. Either way, it’s great. If there’s only one dish that you need to eat at Nelayan (or Indonesia, for that matter), then this is it. It is so delicious. Period.

The Barbeque Chicken is another winner. It is marinated, boiled in its own marinade, then grilled over charcoal. It is fantastic with its sweetish-salty glaze. It comes with rice, soup, cucumber slices, and hot chili paste. This one’s a perfect size for lunch. The Chicken Satay is also a great choice. Their version is a regular entree portion (with 6 big skewers), unlike other places where they serve it as an appetizer. The chicken is grilled, then topped generously with a thick peanut sauce but not as peanuty as the Thai version. It’s served with cubes of steamed rice cake. It is important to note that you don’t eat these cakes by themselves as they are bland have no taste whatsoever. Instead, you sop them up with the peanut sauce before biting into them. It’s a great combination, believe me.

Other items which I’ve tried include the Stir-fried Vegetables with Tofu, Shrimp, and Chicken. It’s a few steps above its Chinese counterpart with it’s very flavorful sauce and crisp veggies. The Grilled Fish wrapped in banana leaves is to-die for. Unfortunately, they hardly have it and the one time they did, it was unbelievably delicious. Their Nasi Goreng Kambing (curry fried rice) is actually made of lamb instead of the customary goat. No matter, it is yummy.

Family-owned and operated Nelayan has long been added to my Asian rotation. Although a little on the expensive side, food is consistently top quality and delicious. Service is warm and friendly (like you’re family).

Insider tip:
Entrees start at less than $10 but average over $15. The Ice Cacang dessert is a must try — it’s similar to the Vietnamese version — with fruit and jelly in a sweet syrup then topped with ice.

The scoop:
Nelayan
1570 Holcomb Bridge Rd
Roswell, GA 30076
(770) 650-7775

Technorati Tags: Nelayan, Indonesian cuisine, Indonesian restaurant, Roswell, Holcomb Bridge Rd., kambing, bihun, Atlanta restaurants