Hot Dish Review

Crystal River is the quintessential retirement community in central Florida with lots of golf courses and quaint shops. There are also numerous restaurants that serve fresh local seafood….primarily fried. Charlie’s is one of them, located directly on the bay where their own boats bring in the catch of the day to serve and sell in the market.

Open since 1959, Charlie’s hasn’t changed much, including the plastic tablecloths that mirror the nautical decor. The menu reads like any Andy Griffith era seafood diner….hushpuppies, fried oysters, baked potatoes, cole slaw. You get the picture.

Although I tried to discourage it, LC insisted on ordering the shrimp jalapeno popper appetizer. Sure, it would be fried, but the idea of a shrimp surrounded by cream cheese then stuffed inside a jalapeno sounded rather appetizing. And isn’t that what an appetizer’s for?

The time-warp menu comes with matching prices, entrees coming in around $13. Each comes with two sides of your choice. Completely out of character, I ordered the crab stuffed baked tilapia with fried okra and a baked potato. Normally I would include a side salad but my Mom warned me to steer clear of the 1972 throwback made with iceberg lettuce and packaged slivered carrots….keepin’ it classy. Don’t even think about asking for “field greens” here, it would only confuse your waitress. (I would normally say server, but it doesn’t seem appropriate here).

My parents ordered their regular, unadorned broiled fish, ironically with those iceberg side salads.

LC, always willing to clog another artery if need be, chose the scallops Rockefeller, a casserole dish with plump scallops, bacon, and spinach in a cream sauce, topped with shredded cheese and baked until bubbly. Fried okra and corn rounded out his dinner.

Our waitress brought out our beer order and moments later, the appetizer. Four large shrimp covered with cream cheese, then deep fried. But wait, something was amiss….no jalapenos whatsoever. Strange and not-so-appetizing. LC inquired but it only confused our waitress.

My stuffed tilapia was sprinkled with cayenne and baked until the fish was flaky and white….easy enough. Equally hard to screw up is a baked potato, but fried okra is consistently overbreaded wherever I try it and Charlie’s is no different, hense the small brown orbs decorating my plate, cleverly concealing the green vegetable.

LC’s scallops were nice, but the dish was simply too rich. If you get a chance to visit Charlie’s with your great Aunt Betty, stick with the classics….and stay away from the shrimp “jalapeno” poppers.

224 NW US Highway 19 352-795-3949

In Helen, Georgia’s mini Bavaria, Oktoberfest begins mid-September. LC and I made plans to visit my folks on the first official day, unaware of the parade on Main Street. The weather was gorgeous but the crowd of visitors was anything but, sporting fitted denim shorts and mullets (dudes and chicks!).

We arrived right after the parade, effectively missing the traffic and just in time for lunch with my Mom. Hoping to snag one of only four balcony tables at Olde Heidelberg, we quickly made our way across the street and into their smoky bar downstairs. One picnic style table remained, overlooking the square where beer drinkers gathered to listen to a guy sing and play a keyboard that was the rest of his “band”.

LC likes to order appetizers, even at lunch, so we started off with the sauerkraut roll-ups topped with crispy bacon that we enjoyed a couple of years ago. Tangy, salty, and a good pairing with my Warsteiner Oktoberfest draft.

Mom ordered a salad with grilled chicken breast which looked pretty good, especially for a restaurant that specializes in spaetzle. LC and I split the wurst platter, a combination of knackwurst, bratwurst, and smoked pork chop with sauerkraut and coarsely mashed potatoes with brown gravy, plus an additional side of red cabbage. Can’t have too much cabbage….or can you?

We didn’t make it to the Festhalle this trip, but plan to visit again soon and have more beer….and less cabbage.

8660 N. Main Street, Helen 706-878-3273

There we were, driving through the woods in Alabama looking for LC’s friends’ place on Smith Lake. It’s the kind of area with poorly marked, winding county roads. LC has a fantastic sense of direction, instinctively getting us wherever we are going with little effort. But this destination required a search party to come find us.

When we finally arrived, we both needed a shot of tequila! Our hosts, another couple from Nashville, and me and LC hung out while all the kids played in the lake. They had stocked up on groceries for an awesome grilled dinner including a pork tenderloin and yellow squash. But first, the Nashvilles prepared an appetizer that blew our socks off.

While I enjoyed my second Corona with lime, they were cutting banana peppers in half and stuffing them with cream cheese. Then, each half was wrapped with a piece of bacon, skewered, and put on the grill.

Our host JM grilled them low and slow, allowing the bacon to get crispy without charring the delicate peppers inside. I took a bite, expecting the mild flavor of banana peppers, but the damn things were spicy as hell, tempered only slightly by the mellow cream cheese. I probably ate a dozen of ‘em….crazy good!

Try these the next time you grill out to really spice things up!

Happy Easter to all my Hot Dish bunnies!
As a child me and my Mom always colored eggs for Easter. I continued that tradition on my own until just a few years ago when I switched to making deviled eggs….appropriately inappropriate!

This is so elementary it’s not even a recipe, really.

Omega 3 eggs (I use Eggland’s Best)
Dijon mustard
Lite mayo
Salt and pepper to taste
Cayenne
Paprika for garnish

Boil the eggs for about 9 minutes. Let cool and peel. Cut the little guys in half lengthwise and scoop out the yolks. Mix with desired amount of mustard and mayo with a fork until creamy (start with a tablespoon of each for about 4 eggs). Add a pinch of cayenne, maybe a dash of hot sauce if you like. Fill the eggs halves with the yolk mixture and sprinkle with paprika.

This year I tried to be fancy and piped the yolk mixture in with a plastic bag with the corner snipped off. Not a bad effort!

Just one of 80 restaurants participating in Taste of Atlanta October 22nd and 23rd!The Niyomkul family is to Thai food in Atlanta what the Bastianich family is to Italian food in New York. Charlie and Nan have given us an authentic taste of Thailand for many years with Tamarind (now closed), Tamarind Seed, and Nan.

Now their daughter DeeDee is at the helm of their latest operation, Tuk Tuk Thai Loft in the Brookwood Hills shopping center. Her focus is on street food, some of the same dishes her grandmother prepared as a street food vendor in Bangkok years ago.

Entering the tiny lobby, one is greeted by a shiny new motorized rickshaw, called a tuk tuk, complete with orange and white leather seating. It is surely a prop for many visitor photo opps, especially after a few drinks.

From there, guests take an elevator to the third floor which opens to reveal a gorgeous space, a brilliant renovation from its former incarnation as Taurus.

Greeted by Thaddeus Keefe, chef DeeDee’s fiance’ and business partner, he gave me a brief tour of the dining room and kitchen, each element brought from Thailand and painstakingly chosen by the couple. Speaking of their decision to open Tuk Tuk, Keefe quipped “We were going to get married but ended up having a baby instead (laughing)”.

Seated by the manager CY at a table next to a large shelf filled with Asian cookies and such in metal canisters, B and I ordered a bottle of red wine. We both loved the restaurant’s sleek decor with dark wood tables and elegant lighting. Each table had one odd chair. Naturally, I chose to sit in the lone tapestry armchair which was quite low, requiring CY to bring me a booster cushion without missing a beat. The staff was just that accomodating throughout our meal.

B joined me for a menu sampling that started off conservative but ended in full-on gluttony. Thaddeus recommended small tastes of several starters, beginning with a single serving of a popular street snack called mieng kum, beautifully presesnted on a spinach leaf with chopped peanuts, lime, ginger, onions, and coconut, the flavor of each ingredient clear and pronounced.

An assortment of skewers were presented, two each of beef, pork, and mini beef meatballs, suspended from a metal frame with dipping sauces below. Both B and I favored the beef with the tamarind chili sauce. A side of sticky rice in a tiny bamboo steamer reminded me of the sticky rice I used to get in New York, the size of a baseball, wrapped in plastic wrap.

The third item from the menu’s small plates was the hoy tod, a crispy omelette with mussels recommended by friends on Facebook. Sounded interesting, but with most things described as crispy, it was battered and fried. It was topped with scallions, cilantro and “three flavored chili sauce”. However, I found the main flavor of the sauce to be sweet. Somehow, I think I would have preferred it un-fried.

Thaddeus suggested yum woon sen, a salad composed of minced seafood and chicken on cellophane noodles with fresh lime, onions and a touch of palm sugar. The sliced raw cabbage served alongside reminded me of larb, however, diners aren’t expected to wrap the meat in the leaves. I really enjoyed the spicy salad with the fresh, crisp cabbage…..yum! (pun intended)

Another recommendation from Thaddeus was the kra pow moo made of minced pork with Thai sweet basil and garlic. A mound of rice on the same plate was topped with a battered and fried egg. B and I like our Thai food spicy as hell. With each subsequent dish, we found the heat becoming more and more intense.

For our final savory dish we chose the Panang curry, substituting shrimp for the beef. Rich and spicy, the fragrant curry was excellent over the jasmine rice, full of plump shrimp.

Long before our visit I had read their menu online. The Bangkok snow cone caught my attention. It sounded like my favorite Vietnamese dessert made with shaved ice, coconut milk, red beans, and jellies. Nothing could stop me from ordering it, not even the six courses I had just consumed!

Well, I wish someone had stopped me. The Bangkok snow cone was horrific. An enormous bowl of shaved ice was drizzled with a bright pink “rose syrup” that tasted like cherry. My experience with red beans in Asian desserts is the sweetened canned variety, however, these were regular beans, and I swear there were garbanzos in there too! Texturally, the jellies were good but could not overcome the abomination of the dessert as a whole.

Please go to Spice Market and order the Thai jewels for a delicious riff on the traditional Asian dessert made with shaved ice. Or better yet, go to any Pho house on Buford Highway and point to the picture of a parfait on the menu for the real deal.

DeeDee suggested the coconut tapioca pudding. B wanted fried bananas too. So the kitchen combined the two for a decadent treat that we both loved!

1745 Peachtree Road 678-539-6181

Grab your Lederhosen….it’s that time of year again!

Last weekend’s amazing weather provided the perfect backdrop for a visit to Helen, the faux Bavarian village near Dahlonega that gives locals a taste of Germany, in a redneck sort of way.

Their Oktoberfest celebration is actually rather fun. Me, LC and his awesome parents hit the road to check out the Festhalle, dance the polka, and drink a lot of beer!

Since my parents are part-time residents of Helen, it is a frequent destination for me. However, this was their first visit to the quaint and somewhat cheesy North Georgia town. We started off with lunch at Old Heidelberg. My Mom joined us.

We chose a table on the tiny balcony, me and Mom’s new favorite spot. Ice cold beers, Warsteiner draft for me, cooled us off in the blazing Oktober sun. An appetizer described as sauerkraut and bacon rolled in dough sounded both weird and delicious. And it was.

Mom ordered her usual goulash soup while the rest of us split various kinds of wurst. LC and I tried the trio which included bauernwurst, bratwurst, and knockwurst. Served with sauerkraut and whipped potatoes with gravy it was a hearty portion, certainly enough for two.

Old Heidelberg serves some of the best German fare in Helen. A note of trivia: the restaurant is the most photographed building in Georgia. Another beer to wash it down and we were ready to walk around town and see the sights on our way to the Festhalle.

LC’s parents are really cool and laid back. His Dad, KC, shares my birthday so that gives him an automatic advantage where I’m concerned. And his Mom, FC, must be a saint to put up with them both.

At the Festhalle we ordered a pitcher of beer and the parents picked up three bags of candied beer nuts somewhere when we weren’t looking. Soon they were up on the dancefloor doing the polka!

On the drive back to Atlanta we stopped at one of the many farmer’s stands, this one specializing in all kinds of sauces, jams, and condiments….they had a whole room of them. We got some hot boiled peanuts to snack on.

There are only two weeks left of Oktoberfest. This weekend will most likely be the busiest, as the leaves finally begin to change to Fall hues. The weather promises to be stunning once again so hop in the car and head North to enjoy beer and brats in Helen!

Nacoochee Grill is one of those restaurants where I’ve eaten dozens of times. It is located in Helen, Georgia, where my parents live part-time and at least one of them has accompanied me on each of those visits. Sometimes a friend of mine, or theirs, joined us, but my last meal there was with LC on our way back to Atlanta from Lake Burton.

We were passing right through downtown Helen at dinner time so I talked him into going to Nacoochee. The last time we went to Helen we tried to eat there, but the wait was an hour so we opted to go elsewhere. But on a Sunday night we had better luck….if you can call it that.

I like to sit in the original dining room on the right, a space with lots of windows in this renovated old house. This time, however, they sat us in the brightly lit room on the left. The downhome atmosphere seemed to be lacking in this somewhat sterile room.

A look at the menu brought more disappointment. The new owner had changed the menu, taking off many signature dishes and adding pedestrian crap like chicken wings. Sure, I understand the redneck appeal of wings, but Nacoochee was the one restaurant in town that had elevated itself to serve “cuisine”.

There used to be fantastic entrees like jerked mahi mahi with mango salsa and Asian glazed duck. Each entree was served with a choice of two sides, including Southern favorites like collard greens and baked sweet potatoes. We always got a salad as one side, served with their amazing honey balsamic dressing.

Well, now the entrees only come with one side. Thankfully, they still make their signature house dressing, but the salad is a fourth the size. LC had one with his blackened tilapia, but now the entrees only come with one side, so his piece of fish sat alone on the big plate, save for an XL serving of green tomato salsa. Just sad. However, the fish was seasoned and cooked perfectly over their live fire grill.

But first, we ordered an appetizer, something me and my parents never do. LC wanted to try the grits fritters, a combination of grits and cheese lightly breaded and fried, then finished with a drizzle of mustardy sauce. They were surprisingly not greasy, the crisp shell holding a sublime and creamy filling.

Another old favorite was the French country salad. I’ve had it often for lunch with my Mom. Field greens with blue cheese, walnut halves, onions (which I remove), and big chunks of chewy bacon, with bacon vinaigrette. I decided to have it for dinner, topped with grilled shrimp.

The plate of leafy field greens was nearly as big as before, topped with plenty of blue cheese crumbles. Two skewers of flavorful, plump grilled shrimp distracted me so I didn’t notice the lack of bacon until it was too late. Tiny bits of walnuts didn’t compare to the big halves that used to adorn this salad. On the contrary, there was no shortage of raw onion which I failed to have left off. House honey balsamic dressing was as good as ever.

Knowing what Nacoochee Grill used to be, and what it is now, just makes me sad. I think it’s called sellin’ out.

7277 South Main Street, Helen 706-878-8020

LC and I got a late start on Friday, driving to Lake Burton in the North Georgia mountains for a weekend get-away. Rather than making the trek all the way up to the condo only to have to drive back down for dinner, we stopped at the restaurant at LaPrades Marina where LC’s uncle’s boat is stored.

It’s called The Chophouse, an upscale open-air restaurant and bar made of rough-hewn timbers and huge log supports. The place barely escaped the F4 tornado that swooped down the valleys and up the mountains in the area, cutting a path of destruction that visible on land and from the lake.

We chose a couple of seats at the bar, taking in the tranquil scenery and chilling out with a nice cold beer. The weather was perfect, just prior to sunset. Although we had snacked on veggie chips on the drive, we were both famished, so we started off with an appetizer special. Described as BBQ chicken flatbread, it was also topped with smoked gouda, caramelized onions, and basil. Sounds sorta like California Pizza Kitchen’s infamous concoction. However, there was no hint of BBQ (thankfully), but the pizza was sauced with a rather garlicky pesto. I know my smoked gouda and I dare say it was not smoked. Despite these issues, it was a tasty starter.

Moving on we decided to split the double cut pork chop with a sweet potato on the side. I ordered a glass of red wine, a rare choice in the Summer. A simple salad came with the meal. The chop was dressed with blackberry fig sauce and crumbles of blue cheese, a winning combination. Accompanying veggies, cauliflower and corn, were entirely flavorless, but the 1 3/4″ thick chop was surprisingly juicy and tender, with a subtle smokiness. And as it should be, after all, this is a chophouse!

We would end up at The Chophouse every day, stopping in for an appetizer and drink after our boat excursion on Saturday and for brunch on Sunday. Steak and cheddar spring rolls came with a remoulade and BBQ sauce, neither of which I liked, but the snack gave us enough energy to make it back up the mountain to get ready for dinner.

More on brunch later….

1488 Highway 197, North Clarkesville 706-947-0010

The weather on Sunday was perfect for golf, yet somehow I ended up drinking beer and eating at Meehan’s with LC, watching the Falcons lose. As my friend JC texted, “the birds failed to fly”. Indeed, beaten by our nemesis in every sport, Philadelphia. (It was the weekend of The Eagles in more ways than one).

I was cranky. A Corona with lime would solve that problem! My last visit to Meehan’s was pre-concert with the Coopers. Among our group both B and J ordered the Tex-Mex ahi tuna tostadas. I tried one and they were so good, I knew what I was ordering on Sunday before we even parked the car and I don’t even like tuna.

LC ordered jumbo Buffalo wings and a draft beer. My tuna tostada appetizer featured thick slices of seared tuna atop corn and avocado salsa on teeny-tiny chips, each with a dollop of sour cream and Sriracha, arranged around a mound of field greens. Problem is, the serving is very small, only six chips for $12. The bites were, however, as good as I remembered….a little spicy, a little tangy. I could eat four plates, easily. Another Corona as The Falcons tried to make a comeback.

Wings, in a hot vinegar-based sauce, set our lips on fire, cooled off by the chunky blue cheese and celery. The presentation and flavor were right on.

The Falcons lost and we headed out in the beautiful Fall weather, just perfect for golf.

After the longest day of my life last Thursday, I was on my way home when I got a call from BB to meet him at Bocado. Having already had a glass or two of wine, I couldn’t refuse the offer for a cap on my nightcap.

Some places do one or two things really well, becoming known for a signature dish. Bocado is a prime example. Their “stacks”, sandwiches piled high with all kinds of deliciousness, are what keep folks coming back, and also explains the restaurant’s monicker which is Portuguese for “mouthful”. If I want a fried green tomato and pimento cheese sandwich, I go to Bocado.

Their combo of roasted poblanos, fried green tomatoes, pimento cheese, and bacon on grilled sourdough is awesome. The ingredients are stacked, some warm, some cool, so that the cheese just begins to melt. It is served with a satisfying tomato bisque. Honestly, I would never have ordered this sandwich if I hadn’t read so many great reviews. I’ve also had the burger stack which has won many fans around town, including being voted Best Burger by Creative Loafing’s staff in their recent “Best Of” issue. It is served with flawless fries, dipped in mayo.

Beer and wine selections are smarter than smart. Bocado has great neighborhood appeal. But the truth is I rarely have the craving for that specific sandwich and it is the only thing I’ve eaten there that commands a repeat performance. And if I wanted a burger I would go to YEAH! Burger right around the corner.

There are plenty of other items on their menu and, admittedly, I’ve only tried about half of them (which is enough, right?). The big plates, with combinations like pork with borlotti beans and carrots and flatiron steak with potato puree and turnips, just don’t turn me on.

Seated at the bar I ordered a glass of red wine, a zin I believe. BB was on his second glass. It was already near 10pm, a bit late for a calorie-dense sandwich, so we chose a couple of small plates, the deviled eggs and crab fritters.

BB had already ordered the Brussels sprouts for us to snack on, a small plate that I rather enjoyed the first time. The petite veggies are halved, complimented by capers, tiny croutons, and shaved parmesan with a definitive vinegary bite. Their flavor rocks, just wish they were cooked a bit longer to smooth out the bitterness of the Brussels. BB likes them al dente, so no complaints from him.

Crab fritters, the fried and less classy cousin to the crab cake, were served with a corn and pepper salad and aioli that tasted pretty much like tartar sauce. Fishy fried balls. Not my thing.

Deviled eggs were much better, their creamy yolk filling topped with crisped bits of prosciutto. But the serving of five is a bit curious. On offer for dessert? Three types of cake, I kid you not. Neither of us like cake so there was a resounding “no thanks!”

Once again, I enjoyed the atmosphere and service at Bocado, but for me, the menu lacks that something special that would catapult it from ordinary to extraordinary.

Photos courtesy of BB