Do any Atlantans remember El Pollo Loco, or has it been forgotten already? The California-based chain only had a fleeting presence in this market – perhaps nine stores, maybe, in a four-year period – but for those of us who visited it, it left good memories. Their schtick was flame-grilled chicken, with a nice, flavorful, perfectly seasoned taste that wasn’t too dry despite the evident char on the meat. A little squirt of lime juice and that just did me fine. Continue reading “El Autentico Sinaloense Pollos Asados, Doraville GA”
Category: chicken
Zyka and Niramish, Atlanta GA
A few years ago, Marie and I enjoyed a restaurant that was in one of the strangest locations anybody could think to set up one: inside an old roller skating rink. I was reminded of that when I pulled into what used to be a church on Scott Boulevard in Decatur. Most of the building is now a Montessori school, but the old rec room and kitchen has been refurbished into a no-frills Indian restaurant and banquet facility called Zyka, and it’s completely wonderful. Continue reading “Zyka and Niramish, Atlanta GA”
Poutine
I had only tried poutine once before I sat down to a bowl of it for breakfast a few weeks ago at Bantam & Biddy. That was at a McDonald’s at a service island somewhere near London, Ontario, and I had a few bites and threw the rest out. But I’m not a fool; I figured that if I were to have ordered poutine at some little place with a line out the door in Montreal, I’d have been assured a better dish. What I had here was certainly bottom-rung stuff. I don’t recall whether it was actually and honestly listed on the menu as “McPoutine,” or whether I have just decided to call it that to emphasize the awfulness of what I ate, and to pass the blame and the judgement not on the dish, but on McDonald’s, who can make anything bad. Continue reading “Poutine”
Parkette Drive In, Lexington KY
In the previous chapter, I explained that when the children and I made our first stop on the trip to Dayton to join Marie, my daughter ate very lightly. This is because we watched the segment of Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives where Guy Fieri visited Lexington’s Parkette Drive In and she decided that she really wanted to indulge here. Regular readers may recall that she has, in her mercurial teenage way, gone back and forth over whether she actually enjoys fried chicken or not. The segment sold her on the idea. Continue reading “Parkette Drive In, Lexington KY”
Nostalgia Burns in the Hearts of the Bulldogs
I gave in to an absurdly nostalgic day in the Classic City a couple of Fridays back, revisiting old haunts, walking around, having some beer and reading. I did not eat as much as I might have; my trip coincided with a social media-led lunch at Weaver D’s, the world-famous meat-n-three that has been having some financial difficulties. When word got out that Dexter Weaver needed his guests to come on back, they did so in droves. I don’t know whether it sparked enough of a reminder to get people back here regularly; time will tell. It didn’t for Harold’s Barbecue in Atlanta. Nevertheless, there was enough of a mob and parking was impractical, so I wished him well and moved on. Continue reading “Nostalgia Burns in the Hearts of the Bulldogs”
Seven Hens, Decatur GA (CLOSED)
Perhaps schnitzel might be Atlanta’s next food trend? It’s showing up at a few places, and, this summer, a neat little place that specializes in chicken cutlet schnitzel opened in that same great strip mall where Wuxtry Records and Mediterranean Grill are located. It is called Seven Hens, and I first read about it when My Little Foodies gave it a writeup. It sounded interesting and, since Marie and the baby and I were out with our teenage girlchild one Saturday last month, we stopped by for supper. Continue reading “Seven Hens, Decatur GA (CLOSED)”
Jerk Kitchen, Marietta GA (CLOSED)
We’ve hinted before that Urbanspoon has a flaw or two in it – just hop back two chapters – but that shouldn’t release restaurant owners from the responsibility of taking advantage of the darn thing. Take Jerk Kitchen for example. This is a pretty darn good Jamaican restaurant that’s just down the road from us, and it’s been there for almost a year without us knowing anything about it. The owners, a husband and wife from Kingston, working with a chef from Montego, chose what looks like a murderously tough space on the far end of a strip mall, sort of in the elbow between a Wal-Mart and one of those Chinese super buffet places. We never even look in the direction of either of those businesses, and had no idea this place was here. We only found it one Friday evening when, unsure what to eat, we started paging through the “recently added” restaurant list in Urbanspoon and found it listed, about ten months late. Continue reading “Jerk Kitchen, Marietta GA (CLOSED)”
Marie, Let's Eat! 