In the six plus years I have been doing the blog thing, one of the top three questions I get – aside from is that really your mouth in the picture (yes, it is) – is: where can I find good dim-sum in Atlanta. My answer has always been: nowhere. You see, my 4 years in San Francisco ruined me for life. When I moved back to dim-sum, all I could do was compare the usual spots people love (Royal China, East Pearl, etc.) to my favorite Daly City spot, Koi Palace. Today, if someone asks me where to get the best dim-sum, I have a different answer. Go to Golden House in Duluth.

Golden House is the newest spot from chef Danny Ting, a Cantonese chef you may recognize from places such as Wan Lai and Bo Bo Garden. Now, Ting resides in this palatial restaurant on Pleasant Hill. I waited to write about this until the restaurant had found its footing and I am glad I did. The menu is immense and we have to explore more of it, but today we went for dim-sum. My litmus dim-sum dish of har gow did not disappoint. The way you can judge the freshness aside from the sweetness of the shrimp and the suppleness of the wrapper is how much the dumplings taste like the metal cart. If there is the slightest trace of metal, the dumpling – and most of the dim-sum – has proven to be a waste of time. At Golden House, the shrimp tasted like it was alive moments before it was served to us. The dumpling skin was silky smooth with just enough stickiness to cling to the shrimp.

Pitch-perfect.

Sticky rice.

Shrimp stuffed eggplant.

Shrimp stuffed peppers.

Shrimp rice noodle (yes, more shrimp).

Beef balls.

Shrimp and chive dumplings.

The restaurant had posters everywhere advertising dungeness crab everywhere and Moon just can’t resist it. So, we got ginger and scallion forgetting what a pain this dish is to eat.

The flavor and freshness, however, was spot on.

The only other dish we ordered off the menu: Chinese broccoli with garlic.

Excellent.

Verdict: Bliss approved dim-sum served every day (if memory serves me correctly – call ahead because I am deep in pregnancy stupidity). Get there now and go often because Chinese chefs are notoriously wayward.

Part of the M. Wells team.

Tonight marks the inaugural dinner of the BATON supper series. The brainchildren behind the operation are these lovely folks: Moses Archuleta and Bryson Tedford.

If you recognize Moses that’s because he happens to be a member of Pitchfork darling, Deerhunter.

BATON is a little different than other supper clubs. They want to act as kind of an exchange program for chefs around the country so that others can see what Atlanta has going on and also bring a little something special to our plates. They’ll take place on the last Monday and Tuesday of every month at Gato Bizco in Candler Park. Tonight’s dinner was cooked by the couple behind M. Wells – Hugue Dufour and Sarah Obraitis- and a handful of awesome staff. If you aren’t familiar with M. Wells, it was a short-lived Québeco-American diner in Long Island City that wowed New York food lovers with its creative cuisine. Tonight, Atlanta got a taste. The theme was black pepper.

The menu.

The price point was right. The atmosphere felt very not Atlanta in a very cool way. And the food was pitch perfect Fall comfort food that tasted like it was cooked by your imaginary French Canadian grandmother. This is the rundown of what we had:

An amuse of apples with blue cheese, black pepper and sprouts.

Blue pointe oysters, coffee sabayon.

Georgia-Québec stew, oxtail, country ham, fresh corn.

Beef tongue pie, vegetable stew, tarragon, puff pastry.

Fall vegetables, shrimp butter, roots.


Liver and onions, sunchokes a la Cheryl, vermouth.

Banana cream pie.

Pudding Chômeur (I cannot describe how amazing this was).

Verdict: Tomorrow is the last night M. Wells is cooking here and while reservations are preferred, there were a lot (too many, actually) seats available tonight. You could probably still snag a seat tonight if you wanted. Not sure what time they close. Do your mouth a favor and go. No word on who is cooking at the next one, but you can sign up on BATON’s website.

Three years ago, Korean fried chicken exploded onto the Atlanta scene. However, most of the places that opened around that time didn’t last. The places that followed the “pioneers” weren’t as good or closed within a few months of opening. As a result, there hasn’t been anywhere to get a decent box of crunchy chicken for a while. So, I was skeptical when I spotted Box Chicken in the Pleasant Hill Super H Mart in that stall near the banchan and marinated meats.

Considering the fact that I had just had a relatively decent bowl of ramen at Raku Tonkatsu + Ramen (it has improved, by the way) I was not hungry, but my Moon cannot pass up fried chicken. So, being the good wife that I am, I got him a box.

While waiting the 15 or so minutes it takes for them to fry up the order (read more about how Korean fried chicken is made here), I chuckled to myself while reading the chalkboard behind the cashier.

I brought the chicken home to Moon and, luckily, he hadn’t eaten. I expected him to eat a couple of pieces (he’s a manorexic), but he couldn’t stop. According to him, it is “the best Korean fried chicken I have eaten in Atlanta. The hot sauce is flavorful and complex.” He also added that he liked that there were lots of boneless pieces making it easier to eat. I had some a few hours later and it was still crunchy and juicy thanks to the box design. Excellent flavor on the crust too. It was also crunchy the next day and the next. Props for the Coke and other goodies in the box. We consider it a destination. So should you.

I have a little news that’s exiting for me: in case you haven’t heard, Moon and I are expecting a baby in December and I also accepted as position as the Editor of Eater Atlanta. If you follow me on Twitter or Facebook, you heard the news a couple of weeks ago, but I did want to post something over here. You may be wondering what this means for this site. Well, since my work over at Eater Atlanta (follow Eater Atlanta on Twitter or Like us on Facebook) is a bit more involved, I’ll be cutting back on my work for Creative Loafing although I do aim to write 1-2 reviews for them a month and contribute to special food issues such as The Best of Atlanta, which I just turned in my picks/write-ups for this past week.  My cutting back at Creative Loafing is good news for this blog. I hope to have more time to post original content. And you all thought I had abandoned you after six years together!

I have lots of eating to catch you up on. Since I am knocked up and super lazy, Moon and I have been eating out a lot – maybe *too* much. I was going through my phone today and had a “holy shit I need to write about these meals now” moment. Here are some nibbles for you in case you’re hungry for ideas or just in the mood for a little iPhone food porn.

While Moon’s brother was living here (he works on a popular television show that was filming here for six months), Miller Union became one of his favorite haunts. So, it was only fitting we take him there for his last meal in Atlanta. Chef Steven Satterfield and team did not disappoint.

Homemade charcuterie platter. Note the “duck jelly” at the bottom right.  It was a big win with the table.

My shrimp boil.

One of chef Pamela Moxley’s ridiculous new desserts. Specifically, the upside-down blueberry cake.

Tom Maicon of Food & Beer (formerly Atlanta Cuisine) recently wrote about Franco’s Italian Tavern and gave its pizza high marks. Since my search for New York style Pizza is never-ending in Atlanta, I went up one weekend and also used it as an excuse to get some BB’s bagels. The menu is quite large, but we focused on pizza-mainly a NY Style and a classic Italian pizza. The difference, from what we could tell, being the cheese.

NY-style

NY-style upskirt

Margherita

Margherita upskirt.

Verdict: Good crust texture and flavor. Sauce very bright on both pies. Biggest problem was both pies were not seasoned so none of the flavors popped. Not a bad pie if you live nearby, but Verra-Zanno still reigns supreme for NY-Style pizza. What else you got, Atlanta?

Smashburger is rapidly expanding all over Atlanta. A location recently opened near my house so I thought I’d give it a go one day for a quick lunch. I went super basic and got a cheeseburger and fries.

Before I assembled.

Afterwards.

Verdict: My expectations were low, but I was pleasantly surprised with the overall quality of the food. Good, soft bun. Well seasoned meat that tasted fresh. Even the fries were good. All in all, not a bad addition to the area although I would still choose Five Guys over it. I will, however, be returning.

A lot of my friends are crazy for One Eared Stag so I went by to see what the story is. In short, the menu is inventive with some fun things to try, but there is still a lot of room for improvement in the execution of the dishes (the squid in my fish stew was a bit undercooked) and service can be very very odd. I also found the vibe very strange. Maybe because little has changed since it was Shaun’s? There was, however, one dish that knocked.my.socks.off.

This was the best strawberry shortcake I have ever had. No joke. The biscuit was salty, not too sweet, and super flaky. The strawberries were also perfectly tart so the dish wasn’t a cloying sugar bomb as many are. Ditto for the whipped cream. I need to get back here for this dessert. Amazing.

I have been to No. 246 twice since it opened. Once for dinner and again for lunch.

My dinner was exceptional with the agnolotti with corn and mushrooms being the standout. My husband’s braised rabbit pasta was also very good. I really enjoyed the toasts (pictured above) that were fun even if they weren’t perfectly prepared. My lunch was just aight. My porchetta sandwich was a bit salty, the jus tasted super fatty, and the fries – while handcut and tasty – lukewarm. Still developing although I am really enjoying the menu and space. The noise level, however, had me hoarse at the end of dinner because my talkative self had to practically shout to be heard.

The funny thing about pregnancy is that you wake up in the morning with a craving and you MUST eat that NOW. Today, it is a cheesesteak from Roy’s in Marietta. The other day it was a Medio Dia from Super Pan. Still one of my favorite sammiches in Atlanta. Just look at this beauty.

Reopening a restaurant with a new owner and chef while keeping the same name, look, and style of cuisine is a risky proposition no matter where you fall on the dining spectrum. That’s exactly what the owner of the “new” Cafe 101 (5412 Buford Highway, Doraville, 770-458-8399) has done. Once the darling of critics and food lovers alike, the old Cafe 101 — whose reviews still grace the restaurant’s entrance — received a less-than-stellar health inspection score and, after months of decreased quality, closed. The new Cafe 101 is led by a Taiwanese chef/owner who hails from Los Angeles. Though much of the menu seems familiar — including the handful of Szechuan dishes — this incarnation’s energy has clearly been renewed.

The smaller plates hold the most interest. One such dish, the Taiwanese-style fried chicken, is virtuously greaseless with bite-sized pieces of white- and dark-meat chicken encased in a batter as light as tempura and fried to a beautiful crisp. A little dish of ground chili with the tiniest hint of smoke arrives alongside the chicken to scatter on for a little heat. Add it in increments or you’ll be coughing for a good five minutes. Pork wontons swimming in a sour-and-spicy bowl of sauce are tender, fresh-tasting and remain intact when plucked from the small bowl with chopsticks. Less successful or desirable dishes like the “green pea cake” — a gelatinous white substance made, chilled and formed into cubes, then draped in a spicy sauce — sound interesting enough, but fall flat.

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