Maki Fresh, Atlanta GA

Every once in a while, you get so much conflicting information in one go that you seem certain to short-circuit. That’s what happened when our old friend David said that I needed to meet him for lunch at this quasi-Japanese fast casual place run by the team behind the Zoës Kitchen chain that makes a startlingly good hamburger. David usually knows what he’s talking about, even if the information sometimes defies common sense, so a couple of Fridays ago, I drove over to the Peachtree Battle Shopping Center to see about this burger. Continue reading “Maki Fresh, Atlanta GA” →

Tin Drum Asiacafe, Roswell GA

Remember how I was just saying literally one chapter ago how I was going to order vegetarian entrees in Asian-themed restaurants from now on? Well, then we got invited to try out the new spring menu items at Tin Drum Asiacafe, available through May, and that had to be temporarily abandoned. Continue reading “Tin Drum Asiacafe, Roswell GA” →

Bangkok Cabin, Kennesaw GA

A couple of Fridays ago, I asked Marie what she was in the mood to try. She said that she’d like some Thai curry, and I set about looking for a nearby place that we had not visited before. For many years now, even before Marie moved to Atlanta, I’ve been driving past Bangkok Cabin on my way to Big Shanty Smokehouse, which is just two doors down on Cherokee Street. I’ve often been curious about this Thai restaurant and what the food is like, but it’s a rare, rare day when I’m ever going to want Thai over barbecue, and they’re just so close to each other. Fortunately, Marie’s around to give this blog a little more variety. Continue reading “Bangkok Cabin, Kennesaw GA” →

Pollo d’el Rey, Chamblee GA

One of the older little strip centers on Buford Highway, on the left if you’re going south inside the perimeter, has been home to a Domino’s Pizza – sorry, we’re not allowed to call them that anymore, they’re just Domino’s – for thirty years. Since Buford Highway is constantly changing and evolving, even more than most corridors in Atlanta – at least five of the restaurants that we’ve featured here in the last three years have shuttered, including two announced just this past weekend – we sort of notice when something sticks around that long, especially since even the larger national chains abandon their buildings or knock them down with oddball regularity here.

Plus, I have a remarkable anecdote about this Domino’s that I’d love to tell you one day, off the record. Buy me a ginger ale sometime. Continue reading “Pollo d’el Rey, Chamblee GA” →

Short Ribs over Cheesy Polenta

This is Marie, contributing an article about a slow cooker recipe for beef short ribs. It’s just about the end of slow cooker season and I’d hardly used mine, so was feeling a bit of a.push toward getting some of those easy recipes cranked out. This is what seemed most interesting after a good bit of browsing: beef short ribs over cheesy polenta. The majority of my protein winds up as chicken and a certain teen of my acquaintance had mentioned steak with longing in her eyes (but that will need to wait for warmer weather when the grill becomes useful again), so it seemed like a good idea to get beef for once. Also, I’d meant for a long time to try making polenta and just hadn’t ever gotten around to it. Continue reading “Short Ribs over Cheesy Polenta” →

Blue Sky Barbecue, Woodstock GA (CLOSED)

One indecisive Saturday recently, the girlchild asked to stay in bed, and so her brother and I went out to eat something. I was so indecisive that I started one direction and changed my mind, and then turned the other way. I finally figured out which direction out of our neighborhood that I should go when I remembered hearing that a barbecue place opened on the outskirts of Woodstock last year. It’s called Blue Sky Barbecue and it’s just off GA-92, less than a mile west of I-575 on the way to Acworth. Continue reading “Blue Sky Barbecue, Woodstock GA (CLOSED)” →