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.

I spent the first years of my life in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Since many of my early food memories involve those native dishes, I’ve always kept an eye out for good, home-style Brazilian cuisine. It had always been hard to find in metro Atlanta, at least until recently. Marietta and Sandy Springs have become the unofficial homes of an increasingly large Brazilian population. Clusters of Brazilian bakeries, restaurants and grocery stores have opened to provide expats with everything they need to feed their nostalgia. Minas Emporium (7405 Roswell Road, 678-731-9960) is one such place, a tiny grocery where you can find anything from a Brazilian soccer jersey to tapioca flour to beautifully marbled steaks. Minas also happens to serve one of the greatest all-you-can-eat Brazilian lunch buffets in town. The best part? It’s only $6.99 — $4.99 if you take it to go — every day except Sunday.

Feijoada, one of Brazil’s most-loved national dishes, is a hard-to-find item that’s normally only served during the weekend or on special occasions. However, Minas serves it almost every day, a true find if you’re a fan. Feijoada is prepared by cooking various cuts of smoked and cured pork, beef, sausage, and vegetables together with black beans until the whole thing is tender and thick. The cooked-down black beans cover each chunk of meat in a creamy broth. It’s pure heaven when ladled over a mound of white rice.

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Churrascarias get a bad rap among food snobs. Maybe it’s the guilt-inducing, all-you-can-eat smorgasbord of meats, salad bar, and gooey cheese rolls. Maybe it’s the bridge-and-tunnel clientele that frequents such establishments. Maybe it’s the lofty price. Well, this food snob is going on the record as a churrascaria fan. Unfortunately, I’m not a fan of paying $50-plus for the experience — even if the value is high. So I’ve been on a mission to find a lower-priced alternative. Many local Brazilian markets, such as Marietta’s Coisas do Brasil, sell inexpensive plates of thin steaks with beans and rice, but there’s little variety and satisfaction when you’re craving a more full-blown meat extravaganza.Porto Brasil (7887 Roswell Road, Sandy Springs, 770-390-2280) is a happy alternative. The restaurant looks like a franchise with its bright yellows and greens reminiscent of the Brazilian flag. Appearances can be deceiving, though; it’s actually an independent restaurant tucked away in a small strip mall close to the border of Sandy Springs and Roswell. Porto’s concept is simple. It provides an all-you-can-eat assortment of traditional Brazilian cuts of meats, a cold bar, a hot bar, and some desserts for $9.99 during the week and $10.99 on the weekends.

Those expecting a fancy Fogo de Chao atmosphere will be disappointed. The décor, save a few posters, is relatively spartan. The staff’s warm hospitality, however, makes up for the sparse furnishings. They’re always smiling and extremely attentive despite the self-serve setup. Porto is all about instant gratification. The minute you walk in, you can make a beeline for the buffet, grab a plate, and get to eating. The containers of hot sides hold the treasures. Fork-tender braised oxtails. Breaded and fried bananas. Corn soufflé. Kidney beans mixed with bacon. Black beans. Dried and crumbled yucca with bacon, which you sprinkle over your beans. On the cold side, there’s crunchy romaine best eaten with the lip-puckering Italian dressing that doesn’t resemble anything you’d get out of a bottle.

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My husband and I are seated in the back of Cuerna-Vaca Supermarket (5000 Roswell Road, Sandy Springs. 404-236-0022) waiting on our order. A group of Mexicans on their lunch break take a seat behind us. Soon after, I hear one say to the other in Spanish, “check out that girl in the yellow dress” (yours truly), followed by a few other remarks regarding my, uh…assets that are unfit to print. This isn’t the first time my fair complexion has landed me in the gringa box even though I’m Mexican.

When our waitress returns with the first of our dishes I order another tamale in Spanish—D.F. (Distrito Federal), slang and all. I hear one of them silently say “shit…sorry” under his breath.

“Boys will be boys,” I chirp happily without turning around. They all let out a nervous laugh and move onto other subjects like work, their families in Mexico, and, most importantly, what to eat.

Read “Ethnic City: Cuerna-Vaca Supermarket”

(Photo by Jennifer Zyman)

Looks like another burger place is about to open in Sandy Springs. The Maryland-based franchise, a sister company of Boardwalk Fries, looked like it was very close to opening its doors when I stopped by yesterday. The website boasts fresh-cut fries, buns that are baked fresh everyday and fresh–never frozen–burgers. Stay tuned for my report once they open for business.

Owner Jackie Fukuya Merkel seems to know nearly every customer who walks through the door of Bishoku (5920 Roswell Road, Sandy Springs, 404-252-7998). Jackie is the daughter of Kimio Fukuya, the now retired owner of Sushi Huku, which Zagat once rated Atlanta’s best Japanese restaurant. Bishoku is just a few miles from Jackie’s father’s former restaurant, and the customers have followed.

According to one of the waitresses, Bishoku means, “beautiful dining.” The restaurant lives up to its name. Glossy modern woods and furnishings bear tiny winks of traditional Japanese decor. A keen eye for subtle details is also evident in the dinnerware. It’s not uncommon for the chopstick rests to change visit to visit.

Lunch and dinner menus are short (you can order from both during lunch). Tonkatsu – a crunchy fried pork cutlet sliced with precision – is served with sinus-clearing Japanese mustard, feathery shredded cabbage, sticky white rice and a molasses-thick sweet and sour tonkatsu sauce. Mix in a dollop of mustard for sensory overload. As katsu don, the same fried pork is served on top of a bowl of vegetables and silky eggs over rice.

Continue Reading “Ethnic.city: Bishoku”

I wanna be Christiane Lauterbach when I grow up.

She always finds the best restaurants. We’ve been subscribers to her amazing publication, Knife & Fork, for many years. No one does a better job of covering food in Atlanta and beyond.

In her latest issue, she found this new Japanese spot called Bishoku. Moon and I had it on the top of our list. My fellow Japanese addict, Mr. Eat, Drink, Man, tweeted about a great meal there yesterday. That was all the reason I needed to go there immediately.

I went with my gal, Chloe, for lunch today and it was on point. The restaurant is fancy, but the prices are cheap. I love that they are open for lunch. And the Tonkotsu ramen (pictured above) was *almost* as good as my beloved, Yakitori Jinbei. Another thing I love about this place is that the owner is the daughter of the man who used to run Sushi Huku–it was recently sold to a young Korean chef. This was my family’s favorite sushi restaurant growing up and I have many fond memories of my dad buying the owner beer after beer. We used to have so much fun there and the food was always wonderful. His daughters are doing him proud with Bishoku.

Here’s what we ate:

Oshinko: Perfectly briny with plenty of snap.

Crab and cream croquettes.

Innards: Crab and cream croquettes.

A mayo shot just because.

Tonkotsu ramen: Good all around. No pork in ours, but I didn’t miss it. My only complaint is that the broth got salty towards the bottom. I think it may have been the end of the batch. Still very good. Better than Umaido and Blue Fin by a landslide. They use manufactured noodles, which I prefer. More uniform and consistent. The texture is superior to most handmade noodles I’ve had elsewhere. I also adored the spoons they serve with the soup.

An amazing dessert of thinly sliced apple over buttery crumble and a small dash of whipped cream. The perfect end to a lovely meal.

MIRAGE RESTAURANT: This white-tablecloth Persian mainstay is starting to look a little worn around the edges. The food, however, stands the test of time. Generous portions of juicy Kabob Koubideh (skewered and charbroiled ground beef and onion patties) are a carnivore’s dream. The Shirin Polo – a heaping mound of buttery rice – is fragrant with sautéed barberries, raisins and orange peels. Slivered almonds and pistachios add a slight crunch. The pieces of steamed chicken breast round out the dish to make it a satisfying meal. 6631 Roswell Road, Sandy Springs. 404-843-8300. www.miragepersiancuisine.com.

RUMI’S KITCHEN: Sandy Springs is the epicenter of Persian cuisine. This relative newcomer to the scene is a favorite of diners looking for a bit of modern flair to their dining repertoire. Rumi’s freshly made bread is addictively crackly and soft. It’s served in a cone with a plate of briny white cheese, fresh herbs, walnuts, room-temperature butter and crunchy radishes. It’s hard not to make a meal of it. But save some room for the soul-soothing eggplant and veal stew and Cornish hen kabob. 6152 Roswell Road, Sandy Springs. 404-477-2100. www.rumiskitchen.com.

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When David Sweeney opened Dynamic Dish on Edgewood Avenue, the gifted chef’s creative dishes and pristine presentation showed Atlanta that vegetarian food doesn’t have to be boring or bland. World Peace Café (220 Hammond Drive, Sandy Springs, 404-256-2100, www.worldpeacecafeatlanta.com) isn’t your stereotypical vegetarian restaurant, either.

The full-service restaurant is owned by the Rameshori Kadampa Buddhist Center, which operates under the philosophy that inner peace is crucial to world peace. The cafe does its part by serving healthy, organic and stimulating food to its surrounding community. It also hosts educational classes and events led by Gen Kelsang Mondrub, American Buddhist monk and resident teacher of the Rameshori Buddhist Center. There is a certain calmness about the two-story loft-style space. Tranquil music trickles out of the speakers, service is quick and unobtrusive, and the energy is appropriately meditative. A staff of volunteers runs the kitchen and the proceeds are reinvested into the Buddhist center. While the efforts on behalf of Buddhism are exemplary – and carried out at similar “World Peace Cafes” around the world – you won’t feel hit over the head with religion when dining here. If anything, your conversion will only involve a newfound appreciation of vegetarian cuisine.

There are two types of diners: Those who don’t mind brash service, long waits or odd locales as long as the food is good, and those who prefer a more polished dining experience to feel at ease. If you find yourself in the former group and also happen to love Thai cuisine, you’ve most likely braved the odd yet delicious Panita Thai Kitchen in Virginia-Highland. However, Panita isn’t as odd as you may think.

It’s not uncommon to find yourself standing in the doorway at Sawadee Restaurant (4920 Roswell Road, 404-303-1668) waiting for someone — anyone — to emerge from the dark end of the dining room. But the wait is a nice chance to gawk at the faded opulence of this quirky spot tucked away in the corner of the Fountain Oaks Shopping Center. Cindy, the owner/cook/server will inevitably burst out of the kitchen with a remarkably large presence for such a tiny lady. Cindy likes to chat and has the pleasant habit of lingering near your table as you eat. It was during one of these solo meals with my inadvertent dining companion that I discovered her surprising back-story. Cindy’s Thai name is Panita — the actual Panita after which her husband named his restaurant. Click here to read the rest…