The service at Madras Woodlands (2201 Lawrenceville Highway, 404-248-9333) is achingly slow. My friend and I, who have both traveled to India, joke that waiting for our order feels just like being there. Bursts of people — mostly office workers on their lunch breaks — enter the restaurant and sit down, only to jump back up in an instant to hit the expansive buffet, a better option than ordering from the menu if you’re pressed for time. On this visit (and my next) I forgo the buffet because the menu, which reads like a greatest hits of all Indian sub-cuisines, is just too enticing to pass up. There is something to be said for a place where everyone, carnivore and vegetarian alike, can find something they want.

There’s a large selection of chaat (Indian snack food) items to choose from and all of the dishes I’ve sampled have been well-executed. A towering bowl of bhel puri (puffed rice with chopped tomatoes, raw yellow onion and cilantro) is dressed with a tangy tamarind dressing that slightly wilts each football-shaped morsel without making it soggy. The brightness of the sauce and chopped raw produce prevent the dish from feeling too heavy. Medhu vadal look like doughnuts, but these deceptive circles of fried fun aren’t anything like their sweet cousins. They’re savory, lentil-based crunch monsters, but still airy and almost creamy on the inside. The dish comes with a light lentil stew for dipping that’s reminiscent of your mom’s vegetable soup.

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Asha’s husband, Bobby, acted as the host while Asha cooked away in the kitchen.

This is my personalized menu (everyone got one) from the first supper club with a focus on Kerala, Asha’s home.

All of the courses were paired with drinks. The first course came with spiced Darjeeling tea.

Beef and potato croquettes with green papaya pickle. I could have eaten twelve of these. They tasted like Kibbeh.

Kerala chicken stew served with a wedge of vattayappam (thick savory coconut bread with an angel food consistency).  This course was served with a Chenin Blanc.

Fish curry, which was also served with a tiny glass of beer.

The famous Souper Jenny Levinson happened to be one of the guests that magical night. She found her way to the kitchen to help Asha plate (of course).

Beef with kappa (taro root) cake, which was also served with a wine whose name escapes me.

The finishing touch: a little warm chai to go with these beautiful coconut crepes.

The next Spice Route Supper Club is a traditional sadya, the banquet that is a staple of Kerala celebrations. Sitting on the floor on mats, each person receives a banana leaf on which the 21 dishes are served. Asha will guide you through the history and ritual of the meal. Some of the dishes you can expect include:
—Avial, the classic coconut-enriched Kerala vegetable curry
—Sambar, the classic tamarind-based vegetable stew of South India
—Ginger curry
—Beet pachadi, a silky yogurt-based curry
—Thoren, vegetables stir-fried with grated coconut nut, mustard seeds and curry leaves
The dinner is on October 30th at 7pm and space is very limited. The cost is a minimum donation of $65. You can get more information or contact Asha to secure your seat through her website.

I pride myself on being the type of home cook who can make any recipe you put in front of me. However, Indian cuisine has proven to be my biggest challenge. It’s a beautiful cuisine, but incredibly difficult to master.

As I build my knowledge of the flavor profiles needed to really cook the dishes well, one store has become my favorite place to shop for ingredients: Cherians International Groceries. Cherians offers a dazzling assortment of every product imaginable from the Indian subcontinent.

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“Not today,” says the gruff older Indian woman behind the counter at Kusum Foods (2899 N. Decatur Road, Decatur, 404-296-3338). That’s the third time she’s said that after I’ve asked for a specific dish. I’m frustrated and a little embarrassed, so I try to joke about the lack of availability, but her stoicism doesn’t break. I finally select a few dishes with success and escape to my booth in the oddly bright blue room. The woman shouts that one of my orders is ready and I timidly approach the counter to whisk away my chaat, a style of street snack originating in India’s Gujarat state – the birthplace of Kusum’s cuisine. Gujarati cuisine is primarily vegetarian with an emphasis on seasonality.

Many of the chaat use similar ingredients such as chickpeas, potatoes, chutney, yogurt and onion. However, the dishes’ appeal is that they satisfy different textural cravings through different preparations. Bhel puri – a mound of puffed rice topped with mixed diced onions, potatoes, a spicy and sweet chutney, and crispy chickpea flour noodles – is at once sweet, savory, crunchy, tangy and earthy. It is best when eaten quickly since the chutney can make the rice soggy. Paani puri – one of the most well known styles of puri – arrives on a plate with a cup of sweet water.

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Kitchen confession: I’m a hopeless failure when it comes to making Indian food at home. Really. I’ve tried hundreds of recipes, but the results are lackluster and sometimes inedible. Like any good cook in the throes of lazy denial, I blame my blunders on my lack of fundamental knowledge of Indian flavor profiles. I need all the help I can get.

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(Photo Courtesy Modern Day Masala)

Everything we’ve had was good but their noodles are great. Where else in Atlanta do you find Yen Ta Fo or Boat Noodles? The Khao Pad Kai (fried rice with chicken) is great although it could use just a bit more tomato to be like my favorite vendor in NakornPathom. The pad ka pow kai (chicken with basil) and pad khing kai (ginger chicken) were just like my host Mom used to cook. All of the curries were spot on. The potak is perfect and I can’t wait to go back to try the Tum Yum and the Pad Thai.The owner is super nice and came out to chat with us about real Thai food. He says he can make other dishes too with a bit of notice. Also, there were a few things they had that were not on the menu so ask if there’s anything special that day – you never know what you’ll get.

Moon is a Thai food fanatic. His brother lives in Los Angeles and he always returns moaning about how Atlanta has no good Thai food. I always say Nan is a great spot, but it is on the pricey side. So, I am always looking for new spots to appease his cravings. Nothing ever does the trick. But our first visit to KoKai Thai Bistro had Moon exclaiming he’d finally found something to scratch his Thai itch.

The restaurant advertises that is serves authentic Thai street food. The space is very modern with loads of light and a cutesy counter designed to look like a fake street cart. There are abstract pictures of chickens and eggs everywhere–I assume “KoKai” must mean chicken in Thai.

Lighting fixtures and rafters

The “street cart” counter

Rose tea: One thing that perplexes me about all of the Asian restaurants in Georgia is their tea selection. Tea is such an integral part of most Asian cultures. Yet, diners are normally given basic black tea. However, KoKai offers at least one premium tea selection: The rose tea. It’s served in these beautiful glass tea pots where you can watch the blooms expand and fill the middle chamber as it steeps. As lovely on the tongue as it was on the eyes.

Thai iced tea: Moon’s brother ordered this and I just had to take a photo. Pure sex in a glass.

Larb kai: Our first dish and our table’s favorite of the meal. Crumbled pieces of chicken mixed with red onion in a slightly spicy and tangy sauce with that underlying pungency Thai food is known for. You wrap the chicken in the little cabbage cups and eat it taco-style. Add a little chile paste or chopped chiles and you have a textural smack-down full of intense flavors.

Condiments: an assortment of blazing Thai accoutrements. The tiny green chiles are mixed with lime and fish sauce. The larger green chiles (in the back) are the spiciest.

Nua Toob: The restaurant calls this “beef jerky.” The meat was chewy, but super flavorful. And the tangy and smoky red sauce was perfect against the fat of the meat. We all loved it. There is also a pork version.

Pad Thai: Yes, this dish is incredibly ubiquitous and boring for some. But this is a litmus dish for me that I really love when it is done well. We chose shrimp and fried tofu. The noodles were lightly coated in sauce and chile powder. The sauce was thankfully not cloying, but there could have been a touch more sauce. The shrimp was perfectly cooked and the pillowy tofu was lightly crisped on the outside. A good dish, but not the best I have had. However, I would order it again.

Basil fried rice: We ordered this “Thai hot,” but it was pretty tame. No matter. It was gorgeous. The basil added a slight sweetness to the crisped rice and tender pieces of chicken. I mixed in a little of the pickled green chiles and it was perfect. It was gone in a flash.

Red red chicken curry: Moon loves his Thai curries. He said the flavor profile of this curry–which we ordered in lieu of the beef curry they were out of–was spot on. However, he said he would have liked it to be a bit thicker and more intensely spicy. I thought it was pretty good, but I am not a huge fan of Thai curries. I prefer denser types like Indian or Japanese.

Verdict: An incredibly cute and tasty Thai place that is definitely worth a visit. In the true spirit of street food, our orders came out in a flash. Our only complaint as a group was that they could have made things much spicier. But the condiments on the table remedied any lack of heat. We all agreed we’d return because we enjoyed our meal and there is still so much to explore.

RESTAURANT INFORMATION
Address: 5495 Jimmy Carter Boulevard. Norcross, 30093
Phone: 770-409-9219
Website