Among the sixty-eleven food blogs that I enjoy reading, there’s one with the curious name of “A Lifelong Romance…with my Whisk…”. A few months ago, she wrote about a restaurant I’d never heard about before, called simply Gyro Gyro. I looked it up on Urbanspoon and realized that it was in a part of town that I’d never seen, either. It’s on Winters Chapel Road, sort of between Dunwoody and Peachtree Industrial, north of the perimeter and south of Spalding. All these years, I’ve thought that whole area was entirely residential, but it turns out there are a few creaky old shopping centers there. Continue reading “Gyro Gyro, Dunwoody GA”
Tag: mediterranean
Olive Bistro, Vinings GA
A couple of weeks ago, Marie and I met up with Lakshmi Jagad, who has been writing a good blog called The Rich Vegetarian for a couple of years, to enjoy a good supper and talk shop about our hobby. She suggested that we meet up at the Vinings location of Olive Bistro, which has been popping around with a few different locations since the original location opened in Little Five Points in 1997. The Vinings store, which is at the far end of the Kroger shopping center at Cobb Parkway and Paces Mill, has been doing good business for five years now. I have been racking my brain and asking around what was in this space before; it was, perhaps, a Cajun-themed restaurant. Continue reading “Olive Bistro, Vinings GA”
Papouli’s Gyros, Macon GA
When I was a cubicle farm dweller in Alpharetta, I would often head east on Windward Parkway and enjoy a really good lunch at Papouli’s. It’s located in a large and nice strip mall, where the restaurant failures are many, and cannot be counted on two hands. The supper traffic along this corridor is practically non-existent, so unless a manager can keep a number of big catering accounts or have a thriving after-work scene with drinks specials, their restaurant could be in trouble. Papouli’s has neither, but it still thrives. Continue reading “Papouli’s Gyros, Macon GA”
Rumi’s Kitchen, Sandy Springs GA
A couple of weeks ago, Marie and I had dropped off our daughter with her godmother for an evening of pizza and dressmaking, and then joined the long, slow crawl of cars making their way along Hammond to replenish our stock of Penzeys Spices from their wonderful store in Sandy Springs. Among other things, we had run out of Penzeys Sandwich Sprinkle; bread was not tasting right anymore. We did not have any specific plans for supper; we figured that we would eat wherever the mood struck. Once we finally made it to Roswell Road, we started moving and passed Rumi’s Kitchen. The name was familiar, but I couldn’t place it. We got a fabulous recommendation from the girl who rang us up at Penzeys, who told us that their Persian dinners were completely wonderful. Continue reading “Rumi’s Kitchen, Sandy Springs GA”
Cafe Agora, Atlanta GA
Quite a few people have mentioned Cafe Agora in Buckhead to me over the years, most recently a commenter called Chef Helen, who recommended their awesome baba ghanoush. When I told the fellow working the register that I’d heard theirs was the best baba ghanoush in the city, he lowered his brow as though I’d belittled him. “Everything here is the best in the city,” he insisted. Big words for such a small restaurant! Continue reading “Cafe Agora, Atlanta GA”
Falafel King, Decatur GA
A couple of Fridays ago, my plans got changed. There’s a restaurant – it would be churlish to name them before I give them another try, so let their identity slide – that I had hoped to visit some time ago. Now, I knew that I wanted to go get some lunch on Friday, but not where. On Thursday evening, I opened the brand new issue of Southern Living that had arrived in our mailbox, and wowed at the description of an item that this place makes. It isn’t on their menu; you have to know to ask for it. So at eleven sharp, I arrived, ready to eat, and grumbled that they didn’t open for another half hour. I sat in Starbuck’s with a mediocre doughnut and read for a bit. Eventually, I walked over, placed my order, paid my money, and was then told that, oh, me oh my, they weren’t going to have this interesting item today after all. I got my money back and looked for something else to eat. Continue reading “Falafel King, Decatur GA”
Mediterranean Grill, Marietta GA
I’ve mentioned before that 2004 was, for me, something of a mistake-filled year. Well, the mistake in question lived in Decatur for a while before moving way out to Morgan County, and one of the few very decent things to come of that experience was her introducing me to her favorite restaurant in our area, a wonderful little place with the simple name of Mediterranean Grill. It opened in the late ’90s in the same strip mall as Wuxtry Records and Rainbow Grocery and ChocoLaté Coffee, across the street from Evans Fine Foods and it is completely delicious. I have visted many times, and the only thing on their menu that I don’t really like is the baba ghanoush. I’m certain that they won’t take offense to hear that they don’t do one single thing to my liking, because they do everything else incredibly well. Continue reading “Mediterranean Grill, Marietta GA”
Marie, Let's Eat! 