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.

As you can see, $15 buys 5 dishes and one cocktail from the happy hour drink menu.

We got a few dishes from the menu such as the fried tofu (above) and slutty sushi rolls (below).

Of course, I am incapable of sticking to the menu, so I had to order some nigiri.

Verdict: A great little deal with delicious food.

After a week of cooking and relaxing in Miami with my family, I’m back in the saddle with a clean bill of health (yay!) and have been eating my way around Atlanta. I found the most insanely good Vietnamese restaurant and that review is coming out in Creative Loafing this week. So, stay tuned.

I made a trip to Young Augustine’s for lunch with Moon and we had a good–not great–lunch.

Loved this Chicago style dog. It had all the right ingredients, textures, and the price was right.

And this pimento cheese appetizer with homemade kimchi was awesome even if the bread was a bit stale. I loved the creamy, creamy pimento cheese though. I want to bathe myself in it. The place also has a great beer list and a load of other items worth trying.

Like every other blogger and food critic around town, I visited Miller Union–my favorite new restaurant of 2009–for lunch before I left for Miami. I started with one of the homemade rhubarb sodas.

It was gorgeous; tart, sweet, and the perfect foil to my main, a cheeseburger.

The cheeseburger was cooked to my liking and the patty had a nice amount of juicy fat. My only complaint was the bun. It fell apart too easily and made eating the monster a little tough without some knife and fork intervention. The restaurant does get points for the enchanting homemade French fries and ketchup.

Speaking of Rhubarb, I drove out to Roswell to check out The Pie Hole, a cuter than cute pie shop near downtown Roswell.

Deciding was hard, but I settled on a strawberry rhubarb pie. I didn’t get a picture of the pie, but it was awesome. The crust was super flaky and the filling was pleasantly sour. There were so many other delicious looking pies to choose from so a return visit is definitely in order. Just a note: the bakery also sells pies by slice if you don’t want the temptation of a whole pie at home.

In home-cooking news, I bought a new rice cooker for my kitchen since my old one broke a few years ago. I decided to go a little fancier and get one of the fuzzy logic cookers so I could have all the nifty timer settings.

I went for the Zojirushi 10-Cup Neuro Fuzzy Rice Cooker and Warmer. I have made a bunch of things in it already–congee, every rice under the sun, and steel-cut oatmeal. It has pushed me to cook more Asian dishes at home. I adore this thing.

I was driving up Buford Highway to meet a friend for lunch and spotted this odd sign:

Mexican pizza? Color me intrigued.

Turns out this Pizza Patron is the first location of a franchise based out of–big surprise–Texas. I ordered La Mexicana and a cajeta filled churro.

The pizza was decent. It tasted a lot like Domino’s pizza with Mexican toppings. Yeah, it’s no Antico, but the oddity of the place–and price point–make it blog worthy.

We took Moon Junior to Nakato for her first hibachi experience since it was her birthday. I have a soft spot for hibachi despite its cheesiness factor. We normally eat shabu shabu in the Garden room, so this was my first visit to the hibachi side. The amount of food was redunkulous and our chef was a cut-up.

Since I do love sushi, I couldn’t resist ordering an uni handroll. It was some of the best–read: fresh and creamy–uni I have had in a long time.

CARVER’S COUNTRY KITCHEN & GROCERY: The facade of Robert and Sharon Carver’s Southern meat-and-two dive is deceivingly spartan. But the inside is cluttered with an eclectic mix of clippings and knick-knacks. Carver’s fried chicken has plenty of crunch and juicy meat. You can either get an order of leg and thigh or a breast so big the Carvers actually call it the “Dolly Parton.” Any of the sides (you get two vegetables and bread with your order) satisfy, but starchy items are the best on the menu — especially the hush puppies and mac-and-cheese creamy with Velveeta. 1118 W. Marietta St. 404-794-4410. www.carverscountrykitchen.com.

BUSY BEE CAFÉ: The bars on the front window of Busy Bee Café might intimidate first-time visitors. But there’s a reason for that crowd of people hovering near the door waiting for a table. The restaurant is full of life, warmth and loads of freshly made soul food. The “beelicious” fried chicken is marinated for 12 hours to ensure the flesh is moist and flavorful. The bird is then lightly breaded and fried in peanut oil until the skin is covered in crackly golden brown bubbles…..

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RESTAURANT INFORMATION:
Address: 1782 Cheshire Bridge Road
Phone: (404)347-9055
Website: Woodfire Grill
Cuisine: American (New)