Hot Dish Review

It had a been a long, long time since I last ate Indian food, other than the frozen tikka masala or palaak paneer dinners that are actually quite palatable.

But I had a craving so I talked LC into going to Desi Spice, just a few minutes away, located above the Midtown Art Cinema. The decor is not fancy, with only a few ornate gold Indian pieces set against a background of red and turqoise, puncuated with plain white tables and cheap black chairs. It was getting late and only a few guests remained. Preferring to keep my dining experiences geographically authentic, I ordered a King Fisher beer imported from India.

More familiar with Indian cuisine than LC, I decided we should share a couple of my favorites, including the spiciest Indian dish, vindaloo, available with your choice of proteins. Nevertheless, he spotted tandoori wings on the menu, so we tried them. They were an unnatural shade of red and not nearly as spicy as we had hoped.

I steered away from fried samosas in favor of naan, traditional Indian flatbread cooked in a tandoori oven, with two dipping sauces, a spicy chili and a refreshing raita made with yogurt and cucumber, a strange call for me, the cucumber hater.

An order of palaak paneer and shrimp vindaloo, would be plenty for us to share. We snacked on the pleasingly chewy naan, alternating between the spicy and the cool dips. The dishes arrived with a side of jasmine rice which we spooned onto our plates, topping it with the shrimp vindaloo. LC noted right away that the shrimp were overcooked. It seems they had been simmering in the sauce for hours. I was surprised to find no vegetables in the dish, just twenty of the tiny rubbery shrimp. The sauce displayed some depth, but I’ve had hotter vindaloos.

The palaak paneer was more pleasing. Cubes of cheese with a firm, dense texture were buried in the rich creamed spinach.

My last experience here was a bit better. The place is consistently busy and I’ve read both glowing and negative reviews online; some say it is the most authentic Indian food they’ve had in Atlanta, while others say the exact opposite. All I can say is, don’t get shrimp.

931 Monroe Drive NE 404-872-2220

My craving for sushi is rare, not because I don’t love raw fish, but because it is so often bastardized that it isn’t even sushi at all….pseudo sushi if you will. Or better yet, pseushi!

Truth is, I’ve been spoiled by the superior sushi at MF Buckhead. Expertly cut pieces of fatty tuna melt in your mouth. What appears to be a simple slice of hamachi is flavored with a whisper of chili oil and adorned with shaved jalapeno. Not only is the presentation beautiful, the astounding flavors can only be described as umami. And that doesn’t even touch on the deliciousness of the duck and fish prepared on the robata grill.

Pardon my rant, but I can assure you that tempura shrimp with asparagus and spicy mayo is not authentic sushi. It’s an American invention to suit the unsophisticated American palette, after all, I can’t imagine a redneck eating raw sea urchin.

And so the Americanization of sushi is not at all surprising. Ra Sushi, Ru Sans (the Walmart of sushi restaurants), and Genki are perfect examples of the popularity of the idea of sushi translated into something more accessible. With this preconceived notion bouncing ’round in my head, LC and I stepped into Genki’s Virginia Highland location.

When the weather is nice, there is nothing I enjoy more than dining on a lovely patio. Genki, like its neighbor Fontaine’s, has a patio out back but also offers front row seating at the open window facing N. Highland. I was surprised those seats weren’t taken, but when we sat down, I realized why….fans with the strength of jet engines blasted us from above. Required by the city to keep out bugs, the fan makes it impossible to enjoy people watching, much less, dainty slivers of raw fish.

So we moved to the patio out back. It’s actually a wrought iron balcony that overlooks the parking lot, the same one that serves Noche and La Tavola across the way. Although I wasn’t truly craving sushi, I had a taste for cold unfiltered sake. While seated in the window, LC insisted on ordering the cheese kari kari appetizer, a combination of imitation crab, cream cheese and red pepper that is battered and fried. I tried this horrific dish years ago and vowed to never allow it to cross my lips again.

I decided to order the BBQ ribs appetizer solely based upon the fact that it was served on a bed of their magical flash-fried crispy spinach, sprinkled with sugar and ginger. I used to visit the Buckhead Genki often with friends AA and SP, always ordering a few pieces of sushi and a whole bowl of the spinach….greasy, unhealthy, damn delicious! Make sure to bring dental floss if you plan on ordering it.

Although I couldn’t pinpoint anything Asian about them, the ribs were quite tasty, but of course, it was the fried spinach that made the dish. Unfortunately, the years had erased my distaste for the cheese kari kari so I took a bite. They should call it hari kari. I poured another tiny cup of sake. And another.

For our main course we decided to share two rolls. A creature of habit, I usually order the Dancing Eel roll which contains imitation crab and avocado, topped with grilled eel and sweet soy sauce. Genki’s version was as good as any, although I will have to admit this roll is pseushi….nothing raw, nothing authentic. The photo is scary….reminds me of Killer Clowns from Outer Space!

LC wanted to try the Virginia Highland roll made with spicy tuna and mango topped with escolar, avocado, raw jalapeno, and masago. Even the addition of the neon green wasabi didn’t make it spicy, but I was pleased with the combination of flavors and textures.

I was hoping to order a couple of additional small plates that I had not tried before, but alas, the rolls were enormous! LC suggested they offer 1/2 rolls….not a bad idea. So instead, I finished off my sake and ordered green tea ice cream, which was surprisingly made by High Road Craft Ice Cream, our local purveyor of specialty frozen treats. We both noted an overwhelming nutty flavor, perhaps from the rice powder High Road adds along with the green tea. Interesting.

For a neighborhood sushi stop, Genki does the trick, but it wouldn’t satisfy my craving for authentic sushi….if I had one.

1040 N. Highland Avenue 404-853-3315

This is my Summer for roadtrips. From Orlando to Louisville to Pigeon Forge, we’ve put some serious miles on the Hotdishmobile, making several interesting stops along the way. One such stop was in Knoxville, driving back from Dollywood.

LC had lived there briefly and was familiar with the city, especially the area around the University of Tennessee, who’s campus is near the river. Although he had not been there in years, he still recalled a great restaurant along the boardwalk called Calhoun’s, so we exited the highway and made our way toward the water.

Finding the restaurant on the Tennessee River only took about 15 minutes. We made our way to the spacious patio and ordered margaritas made with fresh lime (no sour), and a few appetizers to share. Time was tight since we had to get back on the road to Atlanta. Luckily, service was swift so we had a smorgasbord of snacks lickity split. And I do mean lickity. Calhoun’s specialty is ribs, so LC ordered their hickory smoked “ribatizer” with crispy fries, all finger-lickin’ good.

Our weird combo also included a skewer of decent char-grilled shrimp, a gooey side of mac ‘n’ cheese, a rich dish called spinach Maria, and a bowl of Calhoun’s signature white chili made with chicken, white beans, cilantro, and topped with crispy tortilla strips. The chili was good but I would have loved it if it had some heat.

We cleaned our plates and hit the road for a few more hours of driving bliss.

400 Neyland Drive, Knoxville 865-673-3355

Often named among the best Indian restaurants in Atlanta, Bhojanic has been on my list of places to try for years. I finally had an opportunity to dine there with B. It was her first restaurant review so we were prepared to sample a bit of everything.

The space was warm and inviting with burgundy crushed velvet curtains and soft lighting.

We started with a glass of malbec and an order of naan with raita and chutneys, plus two dishes from the tapas menu, Bhojanic shrimp and eggplant makki ki roti.

Despite my disdain for cucumber, I really like raita. B and I tore off pieces of the naan and dipped it in the cool yogurt sauce. The jumbo shrimp sauteed in a tomato and onion masala were tasty but we were hoping it would be spicier. Likewise, the eggplant dip was somewhat bland, but I loved the traditional Indian flat cornbread that was served with it for dipping.

Chat is described on the menu as a popular Indian street food, consisting of crispy chips or noodles combined with savory toppings and chutneys. It sounded really weird so we had to try it. We chose the chat papri made with crispy flour chips, potato, garbanzo beans, yogurt and mint chutney. I hate mint and requested the chutney on the side. However, as is often the case with Indian food, mint and cilantro are interchangeable, so there was a chance I would, in fact, love it.

The chat arrived, just as weird as we thought. A hodge-podge of crispy chips, cold yogurt, garbanzos…..it was like nachos gone horribly wrong. Turns out I was right about the mint chutney, though. It tasted more like cilantro, loved it!

There is no vindaloo on the menu at Bhojanic. Our server explained the cooking is from a region where the food is not so spicy. So our repeated requests for hot and spicy were met with tepid results.

Not enthralled by the chat, we had saved sufficient room for a thali, a cafeteria style metal tray, each compartment with a different veggie or meat dish. B and I couldn’t decide so we ended up getting two thalis, each with one meat and two veggies.

Each thali comes with rice, chapati (whole wheat flat bread), papadam (crispy lentil cracker), salad, and raita. For our meats we chose the goat curry and the chicken tikka masala. Among the four veggie selections was saag paneer, creamed spinach with cubes of Indian cheese. I often buy the same dish as a frozen entree called palaak paneer by Ethnic Gourmet. It’s delicious. B wanted to try the black lentils called daal makhini and the potatoes and cauliflower, alu gobhi. Our final vegetable was the bhindi masala, sauteed okra with caramelized onions.

We finally got our wish! The goat was pretty spicy, in a yogurt based curry sauce. Unfortunately, goat is always more bones than meat. Another Indian entree I purchase in the health food department at Kroger is Ethnic Gourmet’s chicken tikka masala, boneless tandoori chicken in a tomato cream sauce. Bhojanic’s version was very similar, and therefore very tasty. A couple of beers cooled off our palates.

Of the vegetable sides on our thalis I liked the saag paneer and the okra best, although I don’t remember any caramelized onions with the okra. Both B and I were running out of room, filling up on chapati and chutneys, but ordered one dessert anyway.

We opted for a traditional Indian dessert called rus malai, two small cheese dumplings in a saffron cream sauce. Yes, it was weird. The saffron flavor was nice but the spongey, cheeselike texture was unpleasant.

There aren’t too many things B and I haven’t tried so our intention was to venture out of our comfort zones a bit. Mint chutney, chat, cheese dumplings for dessert….I’d say mission accomplished!

1363 Clairmont Road, Decatur 404-633-9233