Monthly Archives: September 2013

Sun In My Belly

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Sun In My Belly, Kirkwood

Oh I just love when friends visit. Besides being able to show off Atlanta in the Fall I get to bring them to all the neighborhoods with glorious food being offered in every corner. This past Sunday morning my friends and I headed to Kirkwood to try the ever so popular breakfast spot Sun In My Belly. We got there before a big rush but still had a wait a little, however, I truly didn’t mind because we melted right into one of their couches and had no problem lounging with good coffee before we were able to be seated. While many items on the brunch menu were tempting I decided on the PBLT (Pimento Cheese, Bacon, Lettuce, & Fried Green Tomato) Sandwich topped with a fried egg and served with a side of Hashed Potatoes. It was just what I needed to start my 24th year of living here on earth! It had lots of flavor but not one out did the others. The bacon was probably the best I’ve had all over town, thick and not too well done. Now while I was hoping that someone would get the French Toast I had no such luck, but that just means I will have to come back! The restaurant was super cute and the menu for the supper club look delicious. It is categorized as a neighborhood cafe and I truly saw that when I was there; younger families, people picking up coffee, older couples, a baby shower taking place, the place was comfortable and the food delightful.

 

The Optimist

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The Optimist, the Westside

I had come here a few months back when I had cousins in town and was blown away. But when I came here again last week I didn’t even need a menu, I came for one thing and one thing only. I was on the hunt for their Maine Lobster Roll, which is inconveniently only served at lunch. I love lobster and lobster rolls because who doesn’t like an easier way to eat lobster? I once went to the Maine Lobster Festival and had six lobsters in two days, no I am not lying ask my sister! The roll at the Optimist had massive chunks… I found a whole claw nicely on top when they brought it out. And while I’ve enjoyed lobster rolls up and down the atlantic seaboard I find it interesting how the rolls are often similar and the meat is normally generous but it’s the mayonnaise ratio that I often judge. This roll had more of a mayonnaise vinaigrette, light and not at all over powering, which I appreciated because it did not deter the lobster’s fresh flavor. The bun was lightly toasted with butter and served with fries. Maine is roughly a 1,000 miles north so I’m glad I was able to find a place in Atlanta to cure my hankering!

Atlanta Fish Market

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Atlanta Fish Market, Buckhead

Went out again last night for another friends birthday and he chose Atlanta Fish Market, I am very lucky that my friends like trying new places as much as I do! The menu is large and can be overwhelming if you don’t make decisions well, but seeing as I do not have that problem I was ready to order quickly. However, others were not so I wasted no time ordering a dirty dry Hendrix Martini straight up to get the evening going. For starters we all split the Oyster Sampler Plate and Oysters Rockefeller. The raw oysters were nice and clean, I know it’s a matter of opinion but I would rather not swallow the sea when eating an oyster. I have never had oysters Rockefeller before but it won’t take me a long time to try them again, these had an awesome essence of bacon, I’m thinking they used bacon fat and we all know that makes dishes much better! I love seafood but always lean toward shellfish rather than fish; I ordered 1 Crab Cake, which is 95% crab meat, and Mussels “Gilbert”. I wish I saw how big the bowl of mussels was going to be because I would not have ordered the crab cake. Not that I was disappointed in trying both… it was just a lot of food! The mussels came in a traditional white wine sauce and our server kept bringing the bread so the broth was put to good use. And finally came the only tradition I like for birthdays, DESSERT! There were five of us so it was only natural to get four desserts when we were all so full already. We got the Creme Brulee, the Bread Pudding, the Chocolate Praline Explosion, and the birthday special Strawberry Shortcake.  We all shared and in an orderly fashion too, each passing the plates clockwise until we had tried all. The bread pudding was extremely sweet and topped with a vanilla cream anglaise, a good dessert to share! The strawberry shortcake was topped with fresh strawberry ice cream that was incredible. I appreciated how brightly lit the restaurant was, that sounds like a stupid thing to notice but it’s nice to see what you are reading on the menu and eating when your food comes. The last thing that I thought was cool, while no one in our party did this, is that one can go up to the fish tank and choose which fish they want and how they would like it prepared, talk about a fresh catch! I’d say Joel’s birthday dinner was a success and I’ll be coming back if for nothing else the oysters Rockefeller.

 

 

IL Localino

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IL Localino, Inman Park

I went to IL Localino last Saturday for a friend’s birthday dinner and since this is her favorite spot in all Atlanta I was eager to try!  From the outside it looks like a small dark quiet restaurant but when I walked inside, although still dimly lit, the place was raging with character. The walls are covered with pictures, hats hanging all around, which you can wear if you feel so inclined, and oldies are playing and nothing gets better than oldies. If you have a bigger crowd this would be a very good place. I opted for a favorite of mine, Penne alla Vodka, and I was not disappointed. A few got salads that looked pretty good and I would say most people got a pasta dish. I can’t say that the food blew me away or was that creative but sometimes when you go to a place you want to know that what you order is what you’re going to get!

Dixieland Delight

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I often prefer late lunches do to the fact that I hate waiting in long lines when I know I have to get back to work. Recently, I took the opportunity after the bulk of my work was done for the day to head on over to Grindhouse Killer Burgers. I have passed this place a 100 times but not until recently did I get a craving to go. You order at the counter and then can sit anywhere you like, they have outdoor and indoor setting and thus still being nice out I chose to sit outside. I ordered a single patty Dixie Style Burger, a side of Frings (half fries & half onion rings), along with a Vanilla Milkshake. The place was clean and I didn’t have to wait long for my food. First came my milkshake, which was good but didn’t really stand out, perhaps next time I will get an extra thick one. Next came my burger and frings. I have had many things on burgers before but never a fried green tomato and since coming to the South I have loved trying them. The burger was also topped with North Carolina cole slaw and pimento cheese, a truly southern concoction. I’m glad I only got the single patty because although it looked smaller than most burger you get out it was loaded! Whenever I go to a burger place I like ordering one that is already on the menu since the chef already did the hard work of pairing this with that. I can’t say this was the best burger but it definitely had a lot of flavor, which I thoroughly enjoyed! I love the Vidalia onion rings, very sweet and good ratio of onion to cornmeal dusting but I wasn’t crazy about the crinkle cut fries, not necessarily bad but kind of like the milkshake just okay. When I finally left I was full and content which is really all you need to get you through the rest of the work day.

Ink & Elm

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Ink & Elm, Emory Village

Last Friday I went to my first private dry run for a restaurant that was opening soon. I went with not knowing what to expect and was blown away. Right when you walk in you already think you’re far away from Atlanta. The inside is very decadent and lavish, similar to New York Restaurants with an elevated feel to it. The bar has these huge leather chairs that commanded instant respect. I started off the night with a glass of Cava a sparkling wine from Spain which only seemed appropriate. Once seated and gazing at the menu I knew it would be hard to make any instant decisions, but luckily I was with five fellow foodies so all was not lost. Although the oysters looked tempting I opted for the Vermont Burratta Salad with heirloom tomatoes, sorrel, pickled squash, and black garlic puree; I ate it with a fork but I could have used a spoon! On the table was also the Warm Roasted Broccoli with asher blue, frisee, golden raisins, and honey citronette; if every broccoli dish was prepared like that I would be a vegetarian in a hot second. Next I got the Pork Chops with a vidalia gravy, pear, and polenta. But I was also thinking about the Steak Frites or the “Brick-cooked” Chicken— both were ordered by other table members and not one person was disappointed with their selection. Lastly came dessert and four of us split three; the Sticky Cinnamon Bun, White Carrot Cake, and the Triple Chocolate Tart. My favorite was the carrot cake which was made with turnips and had the splendid spice of cardamom; it was a fantastic twist on a classic. The table went through three bottles of wine the first was a Martinelli Zinfandel from Sonoma and while it was a big red with was not earthy enough. The next two bottles were Eberle Cabernet Sauvignons from Paso Robles and you could definitely taste the terroir! Tracy and I then decided to end the night on the tavern side, which I found out that had an equally exciting menu and enjoyed a glass of Excellia Tequila; neat of course. Now while I had never actually thought one would purposely sip tequila this glass was one you would not want to rush. The service was supreme I would say it coordinated well with the presence of the restaurant. I’m not sure how many times I will have the opportunity to attend a private dry run of a new restaurant but I can assure anyone that any opportunity will not be missed.

Just a few snap shots of what I had the pleasure of trying.

Just a few snap shots of what I had the pleasure of trying.

A Roman Holiday

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No I didn’t run off to Italy but I was able to escape to two Italian eateries this evening for a delightful two hours. I worked late so I missed my yoga class and was too tired to fix anything for dinner therefore, it was a great night to try a new place! I decided on Gio’s Chicken Amalfitano on the westside. I have only heard wonderful things about this relatively new establishment. The menu is small but all dishes are prepared with TLC (tender, love, and care). I ordered the Sorrento Lemon Chicken. It came with a side salad, much better than a typical side, super simple with a light dressing and fresh shredded parmesan. And then the main dish was ready, the smell was heavenly, the potatoes looked perfectly roasted, and the chicken was incredibly juicy. The lemon herb sauce was out of this world good. The dish itself proved to be more than I could eat in one sitting so lucky me will have lunch tomorrow! I was driving home and still had the lingering urge for something sweet. I parked my car and walked to get Chocolate Gelato at Paolo’s Gelato Italiano on the corner of Virginia and Highland. Since it just turned September it was not too hot for an evening walk and it was even better on the way home with a gelato cone in hand! While I would rather be in Rome this night of escape into Italian cuisine was not too shabby.

Jake’s Ice Cream

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Jake’s, Inman Park

I don’t eat as much ice cream as I would like and since that is the case I don’t like eating bad ice cream. Luckily I have friends with the same sentiment! Jake’s is located in a sort of co-working space for restaurants. There is a burritos place, a coffee joint, a breakfast & lunch spot and finally the ice cream corner. A very cool idea, with wi-fi & comfy chairs to boot! Jake’s has multiple flavors on their website but not all are available everyday, meaning all flavors are fresh! And since you will probably be wondering about two or three flavors they don’t care that you ask for multiple samples, I always appreciate good customer service. The two flavors I was between was diesel fuel a chocolately coffee ice cream and the red velvet no explanation necessary. I ended up going with Diesel Fuel and I made the right choice! Although I could be back soon to either try the red velvet or the vanilla malt. Yes, you can always run to your local Publix and pick up a carton of whatever but I challenge you to raise your standards and head over to Jake’s for a quality scoop!

Chai Pani

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Chai Pani, Decatur

Before moving to Ohio and then Atlanta I used to have Indian quite a bit. Don’t get me wrong I have had good Indian since moving from California but just not as frequently. That might change now that I know about Chai Pani. I heard about this from Atlanta Eats and I was ready to dive in when they were talking about it at 10:30 in the morning, but I was good and waited a few weeks before I headed to Decatur to check it out. My friend Taylor and I went on Saturday night and right when you walk in you see a gathering of people around a man passing out pastry like cups with a mixture then dunked in a juice. Not having seen this before I was very curious but it took me a while to read what it was because people were always in front of the sign! Once we sat down we each got one and I will warn you they are juicy so best to eat in one bite. I don’t think I have had anything like it before, it was light and refreshing the big flavors were cilantro and onions but not over-whelming. We wanted to try a variety of things so we decided to go for two street food, think tapas and one thali, think a full meal on one plate. The first dish was Kale Pakoras, fried kale, with a sweet yogurt and green cilantro dipping sauces. When you hear that something is fried you are probably assuming that it is heavy but on the contrary this just had more of a crispy/ crunch to it The second dish was Bhel Puri, which was like a party in your mouth. It was sweet tangy and spicy, all flavors hitting at a different time! This is one of their most popular dishes and I can see why. The third dish was the Arangaon Chicken Thali, I have no clue how they prepared the chicken but it was unbelievably tender. It came with sabji- a cauliflower dish, basmati rice, daal, kachumber- a cucumber & tomato salad, raita, papadum, and roti. If one were to order this for themselves they would easily have enough food for two meals. I think that’s why I love Indian food, it’s so easy to share that you get to try multiple dishes! I already saw two other dishes I want to try so needless to say I’ll be back, the question is how soon?!