This is Marie, contributing an article about froyo. Actually, I brought along our froyo expert, the teenager. She likes froyo more than anybody else and makes “Ooooh, shiny” type noises every time we pass any froyo place. However, as our regular readers are aware, I am the serious dessert fiend of the family, but I have an abusive relationship with dairy. I am, regrettably, lactose intolerant. While of course (of COURSE!) I prefer the high-butterfat, extremely creamy, hard-as-a-brick-when-cold type of ice cream, the active cultures in frozen yogurt mean I can have a bowl without it hating me back. Nevertheless I took it easy. Continue reading “Menchie’s Frozen Yogurt, Marietta GA”
Zeal, Marietta GA
This is Marie, contributing an article about Zeal Modern Eatery. I had been invited to join some friends there for an evening meet-up and menu sampling, and really enjoyed the place. Sadly, it was raining so I did not take photos of the exterior, but it’s in the end of a strip mall so a) easy to find and b) looks much like any other store. The interior is pretty, though, with the bar area separated from the tables so if you care to watch the widescreen with a drink you won’t be given stinkeye by people trying to have dinner. Continue reading “Zeal, Marietta GA”
Log Cabin Smokehouse Bar-B-Que, Rome GA
There are lots of nice treats to be found in our hobby, but here is one of my favorites: visiting a barbecue shack miles from anywhere that I’ve never heard about previously, and learning that it has been around for almost fifty years. This is the great thing about barbecue in the rural southeast: in the larger city, everybody’s in competition for the same dollars, and large fees are paid to PR companies to get stories placed anywhere for people to read. Five miles east of Rome, however, there’s nothing but the building and the regulars and the food. I love this part of our hobby. Continue reading “Log Cabin Smokehouse Bar-B-Que, Rome GA”
The Shrimp Boat, Rome GA
For those of you keeping track of such things (point of order: it’s only those of us who blog who keep track of such things!), Urbanspoon divides each state into “major metros” and then all the spaces in between become their own category. Georgia has ten “major metros” (Atlanta, Savannah, Athens, etc.) and then everyplace else, from Brunswick to Tallulah to Summerville to Thomasville, is all “Urbanspoon Georgia.” For our 100th Urbanspoon Georgia story, I wanted to select something a little bit special to me, so one Saturday last month while Marie had to work, I packed the kids up and we drove an hour northwest to Rome. It’s here that one of the oldest (possibly the very oldest) of the seven remaining Shrimp Boat restaurants is doing business in its second location. Continue reading “The Shrimp Boat, Rome GA”
Château de Saigòn, Atlanta GA (CLOSED)
Oh, friends, the story of Menu Envy that I relate today will surely break your heart. Or not, if you’re sensible about it. See, one day last month, a buddy named Stephen posted to Facebook a photo of his order of Thit Kho To (Pork Clay Pot) from Château de Saigòn on Buford Highway. It looked absolutely delicious and so I resolved to try it as soon as I could. I shouted out to Vincent and Helen to see whether they’d like to join us, and we met up on a Saturday evening. Continue reading “Château de Saigòn, Atlanta GA (CLOSED)”
Best BBQ Cantonese Cuisine, Duluth GA
A couple of months ago, Marie and I had the pleasure of meeting the founder of Tin Drum Asiacafe, Steven Chan, after admiring his work from afar for a few years. We got to talking about food in Atlanta, and the authenticity – or lack thereof – of Chinese cuisine in America (see my recent story about the book Chop Suey, USA for more on that subject), and he invited us to join him and his wife for dim sum at what he contends is the best and most authentic dim sum restaurant in the Atlanta area. Marie sadly wasn’t able to make it in the end owing to a work commitment, but Bella Vivere joined us at Great Wall Supermarket one Saturday last month. Continue reading “Best BBQ Cantonese Cuisine, Duluth GA”
Acre, Auburn AL
Several months back, in advance of our trip to Florence AL to participate in their Restaurant Week, I reached out to several other convention and visitors’ bureaus around the southeast to let them know what their peers in northwest Alabama were up to. I wasn’t obliged to; I just liked what they planned in Florence a whole lot and figured that other organizations might enjoy watching how it developed and might follow their lead. Among the agencies that I contacted was the Auburn & Opelika Tourism Bureau, and they were kind enough to invite us to their city to treat us to an astonishingly good new restaurant called Acre. Continue reading “Acre, Auburn AL”
Marie, Let's Eat! 