Hot Dish Review

Now that my office is near Buford Highway, tempting tacos and fiery pho are just moments away. Last week, I invited my friend BG out to lunch for his birthday. His Mom is Vietnamese, so I let him choose the restaurant….Dai Loi #2. Ironically, it is the same one I have visited several times, located in one of dozens of Asian strip malls on the street.

The decor is not nearly as gawdy as I remembered, save for the huge crystal chandeliers. Walls are turquoise and deep red, an unusual combination that I really like. Faux marble tables are cluttered with Sriracha and other condiments.

No need to waste time perusing the menu….the numerous photos won’t help you. All you need to know is you are ordering pho Thai, the one with beef and no tripe. Unless, of course, you want the long clear tendrils of grizzly tripe.

BG and I ordered a small bowl each. The traditional accompaniments arrived in seconds…a plate of bean sprouts, fresh jalapeno slices, basil, and cilantro and limes. Moments later, two steaming bowls of pho were delivered. Customizing your pho can take some time, adding some hot sauce, maybe a bit of hoisin sauce, and copious handfuls of herbs.

Pho is made with oxtail broth, flavored with onion and cilantro. Very thin slices of raw beef are added at the end, cooking in the hot broth while the bowl is enroute to your table. A tangle of rice noodles rest at the bottom of the bowl. Slurp them up with your chopsticks along with a tender slice of beef, crunchy bean sprouts, and fragrant herbs. Wipe your brow as the sriracha takes effect.

I love Vietnamese food, from pho to lettuce wraps with grilled meats dipped in fish sauce, it is a cuisine rich in flavor and tradition, and naturally healthy.

At lunch with BG, I caught a glimpse of the dessert menu and commented on how I crave the authentic dessert drink made of crushed ice, red beans (or bean paste), coconut milk, and jelly candies. Sounds like a freakshow, right? Turns out, BG finds the weird riot of textures somewhat disconcerting. I had to order one to go.

Dai Loi’s dessert contained two kinds of beans, one large white variety and the typical red beans, a.k.a. azuki, both canned in high fructose corn syrup specifically for use in sweets. The addition of crushed peanuts was a pleasant surprise. Chewy, crunchy, wonderfully weird.

4186 Buford Highway 404-633-2111

Open just over a month, Joey Riley’s new bistro in Brookhaven has quickly become the neighborhood hotspot, with its casual atmosphere and fusion menu. The warm golden walls are virtually naked but one hardly notices beyond the well-heeled crowd.

My dining companion was BB, the obvious choice given his history with the chef owner. BB will be opening his own restaurant and bar nearby in a few months so it certainly doesn’t hurt to know the competition, friendly or otherwise.

The place was packed as we waited for a couple of seats at the kitchen counter. I love eating at the bar, but I really love eating at a counter where the line cooks’ performance is the entertainment.

A few moments later, Joey brought out a small bowl of house roasted cashews and peanuts, spiced up with Thai chili and scallions. They went well with BB’s beer. He also gave us a bowl of spicy Berkshire pork rinds, a.k.a chiccarones, that were greaseless and crisp….an ironic but weirdly good pairing with my glass of Laurent Perrier champagne.

The third small plate we sampled was the pub fries served with duck fat mayonnaise. I’ve long preferred mayo over ketchup, and Riley’s housemade mayo was particularly tasty for dipping his crunchy fries which were not at all greasy.

Riley also sent out a bamboo steamer with two Chinese steamed buns, a starter listed under “First Impressions”. It made a good one. Pork belly, pickles, and hoisin sauce on soft, piping hot buns could have only been improved by adding cilantro.

Both of us enjoy a good glass of red wine so we decided to get a bottle of Syrah called 6th Sense. This is one of the best wines I’ve tried in recent memory….vanilla and nutmeg on the nose and smooth despite a peppery kick. I’ll be looking for it at retail, should be affordably priced around $15.

As we sipped our awesome wine we watched as the line cooks put up dozens of burgers, many of them doubles. You may remember chef Riley won the Battle of the Burgers a few months back before the restaurant’s doors were even open with a pimento cheese, slaw, and green tomato chow chow topped burger, now available all the time at Kaleidoscope.

We could have stopped there but decided to continue through the menu, ordering the Thai style beef jerky, pieces of lean dried beef enhanced by a zingy dressing made with fish sauce and lime juice.

There’s a good bit of Asian influence on Riley’s menu. Rumor has it he studied in Asia prior to landing at The Buckhead Diner. There is also a strong dose of good ol’ Southern cooking. Start with the ahi tuna tartare and follow it with shrimp ‘n’ grits. Why not?

Following our array of appetizers, BB and I decided on two entrees, the sage roasted pork porterhouse and the skillet fried chicken breast, mainly because I wanted to try all the sides that came with them.

The pork porterhouse, an enormous slab of swine, was cooked to medium at the chef’s recommendation. Some folks might be squeamish about undercooked pork but it doesn’t really phase me, as long as it is a quality sourced meat such as Berkshire pork used by Kaleidoscope. It was served with fingerling potatoes and Brussels sprouts.

There’s an ongoing drama with Brussels sprouts dating back to an experience we had at Bocado. Prepared with pine nuts, parmesan, tiny croutons, and a good dose of vinegar, the flavor of their Brussels is fantastic. They are, unfortunately, al dente, and I prefer most of my veggies cooked until soft. I’m from the South after all. BB, on the other hand, is a Yankee and likes them al dente. And that is how they are at Kaleidoscope. I didn’t care for them.

I rarely order fried chicken. By rarely I mean never. However, chef Riley serves his with local collards and baked mac ‘n’ cheese, both of which I insisted on trying. The airline breast had a good amount of breading but it needed a bit more seasoning. Some portions had become slightly soggy, others slightly greasy, but the chicken beneath the crust was seriously tender.

I may not be an expert on fried chicken but I damn sure know my collards. You might even say I’m a collards sommelier! The collards at Empire State South were perhaps the best I have ever tasted, but these were a close second, simmered in chicken stock (according to BB) and flavored with pancetta.

The mac ‘n’ cheese was not quite as stellar. Although it is finished in the oven with some crisped breadcrumbs on top, the sauce that coats the corkscrew pasta is rather thin.

Dessert? Of course. Our server rattled off at least ten options. It’s hard for me to remember a verbal listing, but luckily we both fixated on the same one….the s’mores brownie. Toasted marshmallows are good on just about anything.

I’ll be back for the burger.

1410 Dresden Drive 404-474-9600

Driving back from Florida, B and I made efficient use of our time, getting gas and eating all in one stop. Lunch found us at McDonald’s in Gainesville, sharing their awesome fries with our Filet ‘O’ Fish sandwiches. Sorry no photos, but chances are you’ve seen a McDonald’s Filet ‘O’ Fish at some point in your life. However, we did note the diminished size of every component of the sandwich….fish, cheese, and bun.

Our second stop was near Macon where we stumbled upon a Mexican restaurant, sorta like a Moe’s wanna-be. It was called Caliente. Its cookie-cutter Southwestern furnishings matched its standard Tex-Mex fare of tacos, burritos, and quesadillas.

The chubby dude behind the counter had the personality of a toad. Poor thing. I inquired about the choices of meat and decided on a ground beef taco. One taco, soft or hard shell, was $4.95. Excuse me? It came with chips but that was hardly any consolation considering I can get a red chilli steak taco at El Taco for $1 less! Not to mention they serve tequila. No contest.

B decided to get the kid’s combo meal….a taco, chips, small cheese dip, soft drink, and cookie for $3.20. Good deal if you want all that stuff. She asked why I didn’t do the same but I really just wanted a taco with all the fixin’s….cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, and sour cream and guacamole from squirt bottles. I’m sorry, but if you can dispense guac from a squirt bottle, it might not be authentic. Just sayin’. Caliente did have a salsa bar with a few choices including pico de gallo and salsa verde.

My taco reminded me of the kind you make at home, with store-bought Ortega shells. Honestly, I prefer Taco Bell, even with the revelation that their “ground beef” is only 35% meat.

B loved the chips, mainly because they were salty. I thought they were too thick and out of an industrial size bag.

But here’s the kicker. I assumed the kid’s taco would be tiny but it was the same size as the regular one! What the f*ck? To make matters worse, the dude forgot to give B her cookie.

Guess we should have ordered burritos.

6255 Zebulon Road, Macon 478-471-8110

B and I went on a roadtrip to Florida last weekend. It was more like a drive-by, arriving Saturday for a show featuring JB from Widespread Panic, then heading back to Atlanta on Sunday, but we did manage to eat at a seafood restaurant in Orlando called Landry’s.

On the main drag where most of the buildings take on the cartoonish nature of the theme parks nearby, Landry’s is no exception, boasting a kitschy marquis like an old movie theater. The decor inside, however, is best described as “regular”. B and I chose a table in the bar area since we were in a hurry.

Landry’s is the kind of place that has every kind of seafood prepared in every possible way…..grilled, fried, broiled, steamed, stuffed, and covered in special sauces. There are a few trendy dishes like the blackened sashimi, which we ordered, but the menu is mostly old standards like fried shrimp and stuffed flounder.

B ordered a Corona with salt and limes. Every time she does that I follow suit….just sounds too good to resist. Perusing the extensive menu we fixated on the appetizers. She had a hankerin’ for oysters and ordered a half dozen.

The blackened sashimi was a pretty display of rare ahi tuna with wasabi and ginger, the plate dotted with a mystery sauce that tasted oddly of petroleum. Looking at the menu now I see that it was mango sauce. Really? Otherwise, the fish had little flavor except the heat of the wasabi.

We also tried the shrimp stingers, an appetizer of jumbo jalapenos stuffed with whole shrimp and pepper jack cheese, then fried and served on a bed of onion strings. So much for eating light. Like fried balls with tails, these things were spicy, cheesy decadence. I devoured most of the onion strings as B was savoring her raw oysters.

Our fourth item was called oyster bar trash. Blackened shrimp and jumbo lump crab meat with a helping of white rice. Tasty, but certainly not worth the $13.99 price tag.

I ordered a second Corona. The tally for our seafood snack, before tip, was $60. No worries. We had purchased lottery tickets in a small town called Cecil, so we were assured of a windfall!

Landry’s appeared to be an old-fashioned family-owned restaurant so I was disappointed to discover that it is a chain, with 22 locations across the Southern U.S, from Vegas to Myrtle Beach.

We bummed cigarettes for dessert and headed to our hotel to pretty up which didn’t take long. One Dixie cup of cheap red wine and we were lookin’ sharp!

8800 Vineland Avenue, Orlando

A rerun….hoping me and B don’t feel like this tomorrow!How appropriate. No food and no sleep (OK, B claims I slept for three hours but I think it was only one) makes me hungry and sleepy. After Widespread Panic on Saturday night, which was at the Verizon Ampitheatre in Alpharetta, me and B piled into a vehicle that was headed to the after party.

It rained. We danced. But we didn’t eat or sleep. The next morning found us in Cumming. Happily headed back to civilization around 12:30, B and I needed to get our cars. The catch? CL was holding our keys hostage at Hobnob.

In the rain and against our will, we met him there for brunch. The warm space and inviting patio would be great on a sunny Summer day. Mimosas all around and a concise menu of heart-stopping cholesterol-laden goodies seemed appropriate on this chilly, dreary day. For me, the “hangover helper” was a no-brainer. Two poached eggs served over fried green tomatoes and toasted English muffins, topped with tomato Hollandaise and goat cheese. I added a side of bacon.

Breakfast potatoes accompany every brunch entree at Hobnob. They are as appealing to me as sauteed cardboard, so I offered mine to B. Along with my potatoes she would have two fried eggs, a biscuit, and cheese grits, all a la carte.

My eggs were perfectly poached, however I would have preferred regular Hollandaise. I love goat cheese but it somehow didn’t work here. The fried green tomatoes were rather thickly breaded, but the tangy flavor was terrific. Three big slices of chewy bacon made me smile. Another mimosa please!

B ate about half of her meal and took the rest home for her animals. I rarely have leftovers, not that The Bunny would consider eating them if I did.

Their regular menu includes soul-satisfying dishes like Southern Spring rolls filled with pork and collards and Belgian endive boats with dried figs, goat cheese, candied pecans, crisp prosciutto and tobasco honey. Hobnob deserves a try one evening soon!

1551 Piedmont Avenue 404-968-2288

Last week at Trader Joe’s, LC spotted this awesome bottle in the alcoholic beverage department. It looks like a jug of moonshine but it’s really a beer called Mississippi Mud, a mix of porter and pilsner best known as black and tan. Clever marketing, but would how would it taste?

Rather than the traditional pairing of cheese with wine, I decided to try this beer with a couple of cheeses and accompaniments.

I had picked up some pickled okra after eating a bite of LC’s bloody Mary garnish at Diesel on New Year’s Day. I love okra. I also had some cherry tomatoes on hand and served both with a chunk of smoked gouda. I know, it’s pedestrian, but it reminds me of back in the day when me and WP couldn’t even afford such a luxury, swiping it on occassion as a special treat.

I also bought a wedge of taleggio, pairing it with roasted almonds, honey, and chopped dried figs. A fresh loaf of ciabatta and some sweet butter completed the snack.

The brew was dark in color, much like a Guinness. Its rich flavor was a perfect complement to the hearty cheeses I had chosen. I particularly liked the combination of pickled okra, smoked gouda, and the beer.

Dark beers are a great alternative to red wines in the Winter. I’m sure this won’t be our last jug of Mississippi Mud.

One evening before Winter arrived, LC and I were on the phone, him slurping away on some sort of treat. Slightly annoyed, I asked what he was eating. “It’s a snowcream popsicle, tastes just like real snowcream” he said.

Snowcream? I had never heard of it. LC explained that it is made with freshly fallen snow, eggs, milk, vanilla, and sugar. How creative!

Naturally, when it snowed on Christmas Day, I was excited to try it out. I was in Tennessee with my parents and my Dad insisted they didn’t use eggs in snowcream when he was a kid so I took his advice. Click here to check out my snowcream experiments!

Last week, after three days of being snowed in, LC and I ventured out to Kroger. And there they were….Mayfield’s Snowcream Popsicles.

Why didn’t we make it with the snow you ask? Snowcream must be made with fresh, fluffy snow. The layer of ice made last week’s snow undesirable for making the homemade dessert.

We ate a couple as soon as we got home and he was right, they do taste like the snowcream I made from real snow, very much like vanilla ice milk, a frozen dessert that is lighter and less creamy than ice cream (duh, that is why one is “milk” and the other is “cream”).

With only 45 calories each, Snowcream popsicles are practically guilt-free, unless you eat three or four like we did!

Just as the roads were becoming too treacherous to drive Sunday evening, LC and I decided to order delivery from Top Spice. Let me clarify…..it was too dangerous for us to drive, not the delivery guy!

Top Spice has a full Thai menu as well as some Malaysian specialties, including my favorite Mystic Claypot. I always miss out on the actual clay pot since I’ve only had it delivered, but the dish is irresistible nonetheless, full of plump shrimp, squid, onions, peppers, and okra in a rich, spicy curry.

LC tried the Prik Khing beef, sauteed with green beans, red peppers, and onions in a spicy chilli sauce. We both requested extra spicy but his turned out hotter than mine.

I attempted to order sticky rice with our entrees but the voice on the other end said “sticky rice mango?” So I said “sure, whatever”. Basil rolls were ordered too….mandatory appetizer.

The poor delivery guy made it through the snow. LC and I dug in, dipping basil rolls in a cloyingly sweet sauce. Surin’s spicy sweet sauce is far superior, but the basil rolls themselves were pretty good.

I took a peek at the accidental dessert order and was appalled by its garrish bright green color. There was a day-glo green dipping sauce and sliced mango that was not ripe. Horrific looking and horrific tasting too.

Both of our entrees hit the spot. The quality of their seafood is terrific, and not overcooked as is often the case with squid. LC’s beef was tender and the sauce was so tasty we ate it with the leftover rice for a midnight snack.

1529-F Piedmont Avenue 404-685-9333

Months following our first visit to The Sound Table, B and I stopped in for a late dinner after our official Christmas celebration….yes, two weeks late. We chatted with owner Darren Carr, then took the only table available to find an (almost) entirely revamped menu, due to new chef Brendan Keenan. Chef Shane Devereux developed the original menu with lots of Asian influences but is now spending more time at Top Flr.

A few original items remain such as the popular Oaxacan hanger steak and Spatchcock grilled chicken, most likely because they have cool names (LOL!). Seriously, the steak is killer. Me and B could not resist its tender temptation, pairing it with Brussels sprouts. At Darren’s suggestion we tried the sunchoke puree. A new dish, the grilled quail, also got my attention. We decided to split the four.

They closed the upstairs dining room early so this would be our first time eating downstairs. I really like the minimalist space. We started with a glass of red wine each, B choosing the better of the two, then laughed about the Christmas gifts we exchanged earlier in the evening as we waited for food to arrive.

A small square cast-iron dish was delivered, full of Brussels sprouts roasted with shallots, Benton’s bacon, and sherry vinegar. Damn. Who would have thought that Brussels sprouts could be orgasmic? As good at Top Flr’s, no doubt.

We ordered our steak medium rare, and like last time, it was on the rare side. Arbol chili marinated, and served resting in a pool of pico de gallo, there is no shortage of flavor here.

The grilled quail, however, was an odd bird indeed. Puzzling how it was listed under salads. Three slices of the quail’s leg and thigh were devoid of skin and served on a crispy grits cake that was substantial yet somewhat flavorless. Wilted greens alongside looked and tasted like bok choy and a sauce described as pomegranite balsamic wasn’t much more than a smattering of seeds. The sum of the parts was less than I expected.

Sunchoke puree sounded like an offbeat dish that would elicit oohs and ahhs much like Miller Union’s farm egg in celery cream. The poached egg was there but that’s where the similarity ends. There was a strange aftertaste that reminded me of dishwater, but B didn’t seem to notice. Perhaps it was the earthiness of the roasted mushrooms?

This new menu shares a lot of common ground with Top Flr’s quirky small plate concept yet lacks that definitive wow factor. One thing’s for sure, music is still on the menu. They were crankin’ up the funk as we were checking out.

483 Edgewood Avenue 404-835-2534

Several weeks ago when I was trying to cut back on sugar in my diet, I made an effort to eat more vegetables in lieu of fruit. My usual berries with breakfast went on hiatus. Instead, I devised this healthy and delicious omelette using veggies.

SOUTHWESTERN OMELETTE

3 egg whites (or 1 Omega, 1 white)
1/2 small tomato, diced
1/4 ripe avocado, diced
handful of cilantro
thin sliced onion
thin sliced mushrooms
lite pepper jack cheese
salt and pepper to taste

Saute onions and mushrooms until caramelized and set aside (Note: I usually prepare enough for several servings). Whisk eggs (whichever kind you use) with a dash of milk, if desired, and heat non-stick skillet to medium. Pour eggs into skillet, seasoning with a pinch of salt and pepper. Add some of the tomato, avocado, cilantro, and cooked onion mixture to one half of the eggs, allowing to cook a while longer until mostly set.

Flip and cook for 30 seconds, then flip back and add one slice of lowfat pepper jack cheese to the side of the omelette with the veggies. Top with remainder of filling and fold in half, allowing cheese to melt. Season with salt and pepper.

I serve my Southwestern omelette with two slices of pre-cooked bacon and a piece of whole wheat for a satisfying and tasty breakfast.