Del Torro’s Artisan Chocolate Sauce

(In today’s chapter, Marie writes about a new product that we were invited to sample.)

We received an invitation to try out some chocolate sauce by Wheeler del Torro, a chef based in Boston who has also worked in Philadelphia, Paris, and a host of other places. He’s been getting some recognition for his desserts and treats after a few years of making a name in pop-up restaurants and other food events, and has a vegan ice cream shop as well, which looks pretty interesting. Should I ever happen to be up in his area I’d stop by, as enjoying ice cream without a stomach ache afterward would be a delightful thing. He offered us the opportunity to try one of his jars of chocolate sauce, and it shows the craft he put into it. Continue reading “Del Torro’s Artisan Chocolate Sauce” →

Presto Latin Cantina, Marietta GA (CLOSED)

The real world had been doing that stupid thing that the real world sometimes does. It had been ages since I saw our old friend David; I suggested that we have lunch, and he suggested we meet up at a place near the Big Chicken called Presto. It’s a general “Latin” restaurant that is principally Columbian, but they offer recipes from Mexico and Cuba and everyplace else south of Florida. On weekends, they not only have live music, but a number of traditional Columbian soups and stews. Continue reading “Presto Latin Cantina, Marietta GA (CLOSED)” →

Macarons

(I asked Marie to share a few words about what the heck these crumbly and creamy treats are, and she has this to say…)

We chanced on a beautiful display of macarons the other day after dinner and had to pick some up. They look like little jewels in the case, in all those pastel shades. We chose four (vanilla, blueberry, raspberry and strawberry), and then asked which are most popular – apparently the strawberry is one of the top sellers. I should have taken the green tea as well – it must have been excellent. I liked the vanilla one best of those we got. Continue reading “Macarons” →

El Autentico Sinaloense Pollos Asados, Doraville GA

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” →

Edgewood Corner Tavern, Atlanta GA

There are many places that I’ve read about and said “Hmmm, I’d like to go there,” and many others that I’ve read about and said “I’d like to go there along with Marie.” That’s the case with Edgewood Corner Tavern in the Old Fourth Ward. It’s one of four Corner Taverns in the city, the most popular of which is probably the one in Little Five Points. Each of them has their own specialties, along with a dense menu of reliable bar food and a very satisfactory and deep list of beers, but the Edgewood location was spotlighted last year in this report at A Hamburger Today. Continue reading “Edgewood Corner Tavern, Atlanta GA” →

Pizza 3.14, Marietta GA (CLOSED)

This is Marie, contributing a small article about a local pizza joint we tried out. No one enjoyed the visit more than the baby did, because they have an arcade with a game that shows trucks jumping Monster-Truck-style over unlikely bits of terrain, and the game had a wheel and lever and buttons. He did not care in the least that all he got to see was the teaser footage; for him, it was an unending free video game. Continue reading “Pizza 3.14, Marietta GA (CLOSED)” →

Photo Post 8: The Sno-Cap at Sunset

Slightly omitted from the previous chapter was the reality that this trip to Columbia was not a complete success at all, especially on the wallet. The previous day, I had my tires rotated, and I then celebrated our arrival at the children’s museum by mounting the curb and blowing one of them. At first, I would have said that Columbia’s not a good city to be looking for obscure tires for a weird little Mazda on a Saturday afternoon, but then I got home and looked up my tires and learned that I was lucky to find one at all. Even the big Kaufmann Tires chain has only three in all of Georgia. Anyway, I drove around and around. Businesses started closing and I was hobbling around on the spare doughnut going from store to store looking for something to use. It took two and a half hours to find the tire, then I collected Marie and the baby, and hit the three restaurants that we wanted to see. Continue reading “Photo Post 8: The Sno-Cap at Sunset” →