Hot Dish Review

An old favorite from back in the day…..
My favorite dive, Elmyr in L5P, has been the scene of many hours of drinking margaritas, eating their awesome quesadillas, and just hanging out. I’ve always felt at home with the punk rock crowd. The walls are covered with murals, graffiti, rock posters and flyers….makes it harder to see the roaches.

I recently met SS there along with his brother TS, in town from SF for the funeral. I like to sit on the covered patio but SS wanted to sit at a table in the bar area. Too hungover for tequila, I ordered a refreshing Corona with lime. Me and SS have had countless quesadillas there. Never greasy, almost healthy, they are crisp on the outside and full of flavor.

SS got his usual, steak with avocado. I was going to get my usual too, chicken, onion, black beans, and jalapenos, with guacamole on the side, but ended up getting shrimp instead of chicken. Something new! Each comes with your choice of three salsas, all of them great; pico de gallo, salsa verde, and regular. The plate is garnished with a lettuce leaf with a huge dollop of sour cream.

So what the fuck happened? Our quesadillas were soggy. There was what seemed like a whole can of black beans in mine. SS said his steak was cut into chunks instead of the usual strips….he didn’t like it. And they were bland, too. Guacamole and salsas were as good as always, adding the only flavor to the mushy things.

Standard Tex-Mex items like soft tacos, nachos, and burritos are also on the menu. Everything is a la carte, no worthless rice and refried beans here!

After eight or so years seems like Elmyr is having some quality control issues. I’ll go back, of course. It’s like visiting an old friend.

By the way, I never get their chips. They suck.

1091 Euclid Avenue 404-588-0250

Leave it the Top Flr guys (Darren Carr, Jeff Myers, Shane Devereux) to introduce yet another new concept to Atlanta! B and I finally dined at their new restaurant, Sound Table, having been there a few times already for cocktails. Only open a few weeks now, this is the space where B and I attended the Dinner Party in February, Darren Carr’s other venture with partner Patrick La Bouff.

The Sound Table is a dual concept; downstairs is a bar/lounge with local and national DJ’s spinning, upstairs is a full restaurant. When the upstairs is winding down, the downstairs is cranking up….literally. Very New York. Jeff Myers, plus a third partner in the business, Karl Injex, are DJ’s so the emphasis on music here is natural. As their ad in Creative Loafing so appropriately states, sound is on the menu.

Their drink menu downstairs is just as detail oriented as the dinner menu upstairs, with a selection of old-fashioned spirits poured and shaken into creative cocktails like the Pink City Rickey and the White Tiger’s Milk.

Upstairs, lights are low, walls are exposed brick. Seating is mostly wood slat benches. Fine if you are wearing pants, not so good if you are wearing a mini dress. But the benches do serve to create a minimalist Asian-style vibe that diners see mirrored throughout the menu.

Our fabulous server Nick started us off with a fantastic 2007 cab, Blue Rock “Baby Blue”. He also recommended the fried sugar snap peas to snack on, calling them “addictive”. Seasoned with soy sauce, they were yummy.

The menu has a multi-culti flair, with everything from Israeli falafel to Algerian cous-cous. Everything is a la carte and reasonably priced to fit the Old Fourth Ward neighborhood. Four sections differentiate portion size and serving style. Bowls, for instance, are served in….you guessed it, bowls. Of the four bowls offered we ordered three; a salad, a soup, and a curry dish.

I love frisee. And duck confit. So the salade frisee, also with macerated raisins, was a given. Crispy and light.

Seeing Vietnamese pho on a menu not on Buford Highway just worries me. I’ve eaten lots of pho, on Buford Highway and in New York. With Vietnamese people. Pho has rules. I’m not sure it’s a good idea to try to duplicate it here, although the presentation was approaching correct. But the broth lacked depth. B and I both wanted more spice.

Ditto on the Kaeng Daeng pork with red curry, coconut milk, and kaffir lime. Served over perfect sticky rice, it needed more sauce, more spice.

Having drank all the cab we moved on to the 2008 Monastrell, Olivares “Altos de la Hoya” from Spain.

Oaxacan hangar steak, medium rare, came on a long plate with a spicy puree. It was tender, flavorful, awesome. I ordered the Belgian-style frites with it, a classic pairing. Hot, crispy, and served with housemade mayo, the fries were cut a bit thick for my taste but B loved them.

Chef Devereux was not there but the kitchen was in the capable hands of his Chef de Cuisine, Andrew Sheridan. As members of the Shane Devereux fanclub, we couldn’t help but be disappointed. Service, however, was spot-on. Dishes were expedited in a steady and professional fashion.

Sweet potato cheesecake (I think) was for dessert. Not made in-house, but good nonetheless. They will be making sweets there soon.

I don’t know how much wine we drank but both B and I were wickedly buzzed as we hobbled down the stairs. WTF? We are usually such pros!

B said it best when she said our meal was good, but not compelling. We are looking forward to returning to Sound Table when they’ve had a minute to smooth out some of the kinks. Good luck boys!

483 Edgewood Avenue at the corner of Boulevard

Eight chefs. Two hundred guests seated dockside at lake Clara Meer in Piedmont Park. Dinner Party’s first big event and the weather forecast was threatening thunderstorms, but alas, it was Patrick and Darren’s lucky day. Humidity may have wreaked havoc on some of the chicks’ hair but no rain.

B and I parked in the controversial Piedmont Park deck and walked a bit….glad Patrick recommended no heels. Three drink stations provided cocktails as we arrived at the stone building near the dock. A short rum and ginger drink was a spicy and refreshing start from mixologist Greg Best of Holeman and Finch (I think).

The chef line-up was impressive, including Hector Santiago of Pura Vida and one of last season’s Top Chef contestants. Nick Melvin of Parish and Craig Richards of La Tavola were cookin’, as was Andrew Sheridan listed as chef at The Sound Table, Darren’s new restaurant (along with partners Jeff Myers and Karl Injex) which opens tonight (tonight?).

Local farms provided the farm-fresh veggies and meats while the Pope High School culinary team worked with the chefs for this event to benefit the Piedmont Park Conservancy.

It was nearly impossible to choose a seat as each chef had a different menu, utilizing the same local ingredients for each course. But I love Top Flr so B and I sat at Shane’s table, ironically next to Patrick’s lovely Mom who was seated next to Felicia Feaster, my zodiac twin.

Overlooking the water, the venue was illuminated by candlelight as dusk settled around us. Diners were giddy with anticipation.

Dinner Party guests usually get a printed menu but Shane changed his dishes at the last minute so our table was at his mercy, except for me. I got his actual menu notes! Sommelier Valerie was pairing and pouring, I don’t know how she managed to come up with different wines for each course, and each chef, but she did a splendid job.

Our meal began with an enormous Georgia prawn, split and topped with collards, complimented by vibrant cherry tomatoes, shaved pecorino, and a light citrus vinaigrette.

My favorite dish of the evening, however, would be the second course. I knew the moment I deciphered Shane’s scribbled words of “pork rillette” and “Vidalia confit”. His rillette was less fatty than Abattoir’s but nevertheless rich, served over a perfectly crisp crostini topped with the sweet yet savory caramelized onions. Candied kumquats provided an additional sweet note that works so well with pork. Just brilliant.

Our entree was a thin slice of top round atop a Ceasar salad. We didn’t love it. My steak was not very tender and I thought the dish was a bit boring after the first two incredible courses. But with the red meat came the red wine….hooray! A 2008 Dolcetta d’Alba.

Dessert was a cheesecake, I believe made with Sweet Grass Dairy chevre, presented in a tiny jar with mascerated strawberries. A spoon would have been the preferred utensil to eat it with but given the circumstances, what the hell. Good but not amazing like the dessert at the Dinner Party B and I attended in February.

For their first BIG event, the boys certainly did an impressive job! But you know, I really wouldn’t expect anything less. Look for photos to be posted on their website and on facebook soon.

www.dinnerpartyatlanta.com

Opening a fine dining restaurant during the worst of economic times doesn’t sound like a smart business move, but somehow Pacci has survived and thrived. Perhaps it’s chef Keira Moritz who has gained notoriety and respect among her mostly male peers. Maybe its location in one of several new, trendy midtown hotels brings it the automatic business that hotel restaurants rely on, serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner to guests.

Or, it could be that it simply kicks ass. It is fairly common knowledge that I rarely eat Italian food. But I acquiesed on this assignment for AFD because I liked that a successful female chef was running the show.

ST and I valeted the HotDishmobile last Friday and walked in to Pacci. There was Geno! How fabulous, I hadn’t seen him since his days at Spice Market. We sat newlywed style on a banquette with a view of the expansive and dark dining room, lit by sets of enormous globes that hung from the high ceiling, shaded by long black fringe. The burgundy velvet and wood tones of the decor are puncuated by light blue and cream jacquard armchairs, one per table. Elegant.

Geno started us out with a couple of specialty bellinis, one with vanilla liqueur and the other with passion fruit. Then he brought out an amuse bouche of butter lettuce with seafood salad, light and fun.

After some discussion, Geno recommended a wine flight for me….a trio of 2007 pinot noirs from Sequana Vineyard, each with a distinct character. I ended up ordering another glass or two of the spicy Dutton Ranch.

The kobe beef carpacio was our first course, dressed with capers, tapenade, and baby arugula. Their bread service was an assortment of crispy wafers, focaccia, and cracker-like bread sticks. Problem with that is, I love authentic Italian bread and would prefer to have that at an Italian restaurant, with sweet butter please.

For our second course ST chose the lobster and butternut squash bisque with creme fraiche. Smooth and creamy, I don’t recall any chunks of lobster but the flavor was rich, reminiscent of she crab soup.

Naturally, I ordered the duck confit. A perfect example of this cooking method, the meat was succulent, falling of the bones, while the skin was super crispy. Served over soft polenta with bits of gorgonzola and blackberry marmalade, it sounds like a foolproof combination. But somehow, the four main components were not integrated. I found the gorgonzola unnecessary and while I do love a sweet accompaniment to duck, perhaps the dish would have been even better with mascerated blackberries. Nevertheless, it was damn awesome.

Eating our way down the menu, next came pastas. ST tried the shrimp fettucini with creamy pancetta sauce, Spring peas, and a soft fried egg on top, a.k.a carbonara. Rich, rich, and delicious. I ordered the sweet potato ravioli (how predictable!). Four raviolis came topped with gorgonzola and speck with brown butter. Rich, rich, and delicious.

More? Yes. The pork chop with fennel, roasted yam, and pomegranate-basil pesto had my name written all over it. One of the best chops I have had in recent memory, very tender. Pesto provided a little Italian flavor, but it was the roasted yams, sliced into thin disks with crispy caramelized edges that were amazing!

ST got the dry aged New York strip, medium, with a side of cannellini beans. Big steak. Good steak. Guess what we had for breakfast….steak and eggs.

Desserts include the quintessential Italian tiramisu and panna cotta, but we opted for the straightforward sweets, chocolate strata and rum bread pudding. I cannot say no to bread pudding! Pastry chef Elizabeth Matheson’s version is baked in its own small casserole dish topped with caramel and a little dollop of vanilla gelato. Personally, I would drizzle the caramel on the hot pudding so it would remain gooey rather than on the cold ice cream, but no matter, it was fabulous. ST’s chocolate strata was a huge slice of chocolate cake layered with chocolate mousse, served with vanilla gelato. Pretty presentation, pretty chocolately.

We were stuffed! Despite a couple of minor complaints, Pacci made a great impression on both of us.

866 West Peachtree Street NW 678-412-2402

Last week I stumbled upon an article about the lengthy leisurely lunches typical of Mexico called la comida, starting around 3pm and lasting, sometimes, until 7pm. I totally get that….confirms my suspicions that I was Mexican in a past life!

I’ve always felt a special affinity towards Mexico….the food, the people, the place. Making guacamole, quesadillas, and flautas is second nature to me, no recipes required (although you may need one here is my kickass quac recipe!). And everything tastes better with cilantro on it!

Those lazy lunches remind me of the old BH days when a few of us would gather at El Azteca, sit around and drink margaritas and smoke cigarettes. More friends would show up. Some would leave, some would stay. There could be as many as a dozen at a time, a revolving door of salsa and tequila, laughter and friendship….the very definition of la comida.

The first warm day of Spring you’ll find me on a patio somewhere. Friday me and ST made another visit to Pure Taqueria in Inman Park, this time for our very own la comida. I intended to make myself at home and just chill. My traditional shot of Herradura Silver, shaken, with salt and lime was a great start, followed by a Negra Modelo for him and a house margarita for me….a comparative steal at just $5.95.

Guacamole, “Gringo” cheese dip, chips and salsa were soon to follow. Their guac is good and chunky, although I wish it had more jalapeno and cilantro….always more cilantro please! Love the cheese dip with pureed jalapenos on top. But the chips….aye carumba! Too thick.

Thomas, the owner, was there. I like that. And the manager, Cliff, was very hospitable. They both recommended the jaiba, or crab fritters. Four fried balls resting in a sweet and sour chili sauce, drizzled on top with a habanero-avocado mayo. I thought they were a little fishy, didn’t love ‘em.

Then a crazy blast from the past….Pam from The Tombstones days comes out to check on us. Funny how people’s lives are intertwined.

On our first visit to Pure we didn’t try the tacos. I still search (so far in vain) for the corn tortillas of Playa del Carmen. The kind that taste like corn. Filled with tender beef, a few shreds of white queso, and that chunky guacamole with plenty of jalapenos and cilantro….the best tacos ever! I was anxious to try Pure’s tacos made with corn tortillas. Would they have that authentic Mexican corn flavor?

We ordered four tacos a la carte; camarones (shrimp) with poblano slaw, puerco (pork), beef short rib with smoky pickled red onions, and carne asada….skirt steak like in Playa del Carmen. That would be the true test. Our favorite turned out to be the shrimp, even though they were breaded and fried, they had great flavor and texture. Naturally, the tortillas were just OK, like everywhere else. The short rib taco didn’t thrill me or ST, but the others were quite good, although I must admit I think the tacos at El Taco have a slight edge.

ST ordered the grilled hanger steak and jalapeno mac ‘n’ cheese for his entree and I had the chicken enchiladas with mole sauce. Mole is an acquired taste. I don’t know why I continue to try to like it, it’s a taste I haven’t acquired. Not bad, just not my thing. ST’s steak, cooked perfectly medium was tender and delicious, although I believe mac ‘n’ cheese should always be baked. Pure’s version, with penne, could have been made with Velveeta.

No room for dessert this time…..thankfully we had dessert before we came.

I do like Pure. There are more creative dishes on the menu that I plan to try like the quesadillas made with corn masa turnovers and the Hamburguesa Sedgwick, a grilled angus burger with avocado, bacon, jalapenos, braised onions and pepperjack cheese….hell yeah!

300 N. Highland Avenue 404-522-7873

I’m a Southern girl. Sorta. My Mom is German, my Dad is American and I grew up in a small town in Tennessee.

Although my Dad’s family was poor, they ate remarkably healthy. They grew what they ate….green beans, corn, squash, tomatoes, everything. The chickens that ran around the coop could easily end up on the dinner table, having already provided their eggs for breakfast.

Fast forward to my childhood. My Mom was a health nut, always looking for ways to modify Southern favorites. She substituted low-sodium chicken broth for regular in my Grandma’s cornbread dressing. Later, she started using Egg-Beaters instead of whole eggs. Just suble changes, the same great flavor, better nutrition. We ate from the garden in the Spring and Summer, canned green beans for the Winter. I loved okra, poke salad, fried green tomatoes, and sweet taters….and still do!

So what most folks consider Southern cooking is somewhat unfamiliar to me (by most folks I mean yankees). There were no grits or casseroles in my house, no fried chicken or macaroni and cheese.

What I’m getting at is I don’t like typical Southern food….the artery-clogging butter-laden Paula Deen fare. I tend to avoid any restaurant that is even remotely Southern. However, ST had a nice gift card for Dogwood. I had been wanting to go since they opened, having perused the menu, despite its Southernish pedigree.

The space is beautiful with big photos of Dogwood blossoms, white tablecloths, and soft, romantic lighting. I started with a glass of the peppery Hullabaloo zin and ST got a Negra Modelo.

Their specialty is the grits bar. Not a bar at all, but rather specifically Red Mule yellow stone ground grits from Athen, GA topped with one of three toppings: Brunswick stew, pimento cheese and Benton’s fried ham, or braised mushrooms and shaved parmesan. ST likes grits and I felt compelled to try them so we got the Brunswick stew topped bowl. Super creamy, they seemed to have some cheese in them. I could eat a ton of this stuff!

Another Southern thing I don’t like is biscuits. Dogwood’s bread service was reminiscent of biscuits….kudos for creatively making that connection without serving actual biscuits. The crust was crunchy and it was hot out of the oven, admittedly pretty good, although it would have been better with unsalted butter.

We split the grilled baby romaine salad with smoked bacon, blue cheese, Fuji apples, dressed with a creamy red wine vinaigrette. It was awesome, probably my favorite dish of the evening.

My starter of roasted Georgia quail with cornbread-andouille stuffing with country ham butter and mushrooms was really good. The skin was somewhat crisp, a solid flavorful dish.
ST ordered the crispy gulf oysters with caramelized fennel-onion jam, and fried shiitakes. I’m not a big fan of oysters but tried one of the four. I was a big fan of the sweet caramelized onions.

For our entrees ST ordered the Painted Hills NY strip, medium, served with duck fat potatoes and I had the (no surprise here) local honey glazed Ashley Farms duck breast with sweet potato and poached pears.

His steak was huge and delicious. The leftover meat became steak and eggs for breakfast. My duck was the best I’ve had in a long while and as you all know, I eat a lot of duck. Cooked medium, the skin was crisped, the thick slices displayed atop pureed sweet potatoes and poached pears. The best part, however, was the surprise of a bit of honeycomb. Fucking awesome!

Our dessert was a modern take on s’mores…..chocolate creme brulee with a dollop of torched marshmallow, and a graham cracker biscotti. I didn’t taste much graham flavor in the biscotti, it would have been better with just plain ol’ graham crackers like the ones Grandma used to keep in her cupboard.

Ingredients like Georgia mountain trout, pecans, hominy, pimento cheese, peanuts, and grits sound Southern but don’t let the menu fool you. This is upscale dining. My Grandma never made blood orange fumet or sauternes sabayon.

If Atlanta restaurants keep blowing me away with modern comfort food (like Miller Union) and kickass “Southern” fare, I may just consider myself converted.

565 Peachtree Street 404-835-1410

Hours after arriving in Rio, AD and I were at a sidewalk cafe on the corner called Churrasco Vila Rica. Neither of us speak any Portugese so even requesting a menu was a task! She had her phrase book which came in handy but it was Deborah, seated at the table next to us, who gave us loads of advice….about Carnival, food, and watching our backs in Brazil.

She helped us order something to share. We wanted authentic Brazilian food, the everyday fare that the neighborhood folks love. Churrasco is a thin skirt steak, not the most tender or high quality cut, especially since it was cooked well-done. But we couldn’t complain, it’s grilled flavor hit the spot. Served with black beans, rice, and batata frita, a.k.a. fries.

There was also a mystery dish. We noticed other diners sprinkled it on their meat or beans so we followed suit. No one, not even Deborah in her relatively decent English, could tell us what is was exactly. Turns out it is called farofa, a traditional dish of the region. Made of toasted manioc flour it usually contains bits of bacon. I still don’t get why they use it, but I was compelled to do the same….hell, there was bacon in it!

We washed it all down with lots of cold cerveja!

Street food is everywhere in Rio. You can count on skewered and grilled steak, sausage, and chicken. AD got a steak skewer one afternoon that was really delicious, dipped in farofa of course.

Vendors sold fruit, mostly bananas and mangoes, but also agua de coco, or coconut water. They literally slice the top off a coconut and insert a straw. Ironically, my Mom told me about coconut water recently due to it’s extremely high levels of potassium. It was 95 degrees most days during our visit in Rio. People get sweaty! Which as we all know depletes one’s potassium. And what is full of potassium? Bananas and coconut water. Just goes to show that folks are naturally drawn to what their body’s need.

It was Morocco that introduced me to the frango frita, a pear shaped fried dough filled with minced chicken. M would get one every day after the beach and soon, I too was in the habit. He would get the sugar cane juice with it, both for a mere 2.70 Reals (about $1.50).

Lots of juice bars and snack shops in our neighborhood, like Hobby and Chan, sold them. I preferred the ones from Chan. Although they were drier, they had an awesome green hot sauce that we drizzled on the fritters after each bite.

Our hostel was right around the corner. Time for cerveja! There was a cooler right there in the lobby so I would run down and get a beer and go back upstairs to the deck where me and AD would check emails, smoke cigarettes, hang with the gang, and make plans for the next day, all in the sweltering heat of Brazil. Um cerveja por favor! Obrigado!

AD is prepared to travel the world, staying mostly in youth hostels and carrying a light load in her backpack. I, on the other hand, have never stayed at a youth hostel. Gansevoort or The Delano in South Beach is more my speed. But what the hell, I am hostile at times, so I decided to rough it with her in Rio de Janeiro. (Check out her blog, lots of great photos!)

I discovered staying at Cidade Maravilhosa Hostel is the closest thing to camping without a tent. We did have AC, but only from about 8pm to 10am. Believe it or not the bed was comfy….I slept like a baby every night.

Breakfast was provided in a common room with a festively printed plastic tablecloth. Bread, crackers, cheese, ham, coffee were always out as well as various fruits like watermelon, apples, and bananas. There was often a semi-sweet bread, almost like cake, that I would eat a small square of with a traditional Brazilian chocolate goo called brigadeiros, made of condensed milk, cocoa, and sugar. Condensed milk, we discovered is a common ingredient in Brazil.

On the second morning I found the mini baguettes in a basket under the little buns. It became habit for AD and I to steal a couple of them each day, along with apples and bananas for (free) lunch on the go! My best discovery, however, was the panini press. One of the kitchen/cleaning ladies had made a panini that second morning. Too late for me that day but on the third morning I found the press and made a ham and cheese panini with a mini baguette. With coffee, fruit, and a sweet pastry, I had my daily routine, after which me and AD were off on the adventure of the day….Carnival, Ipanema beach, the botanical gardens, Cristo Redentor, the tiled steps and tram at Lapa, the beach at Leblon.

We became scavengers. We rode the subway and the bus. I washed my hair once that week, never put on make-up, and wore only swimsuits and cover-ups every day (dude, it was 95 degrees!). The shower in our room was scalding hot so we showered in our swimsuits on the common deck, the scene of the Fat Tuesday cookout.

Ricardo, who runs the hostel, is a big man. The entire staff was so helpful and welcoming. They invited us to the cookout, just $20 Reals (about ten bucks US) for unlimited steak, sausage, salad, rice, salsa, and caipirinhas. Everyone we met was from a different country. Our roommates, A and S were from New Zealand. T from Australia shared a room with M from Morocco. France, Israel, Germany, England, Denmark….people from all over the world staying together. It was really an incredible experience.

Grilled steaks were cut up and served as appetizers. There was lots of meat, some well-done and tough, others medium rare and tender. I saw the kitchen/cleaning ladies making the salsa downstairs earlier. It was simple Brazilian fare. Authentic.

The best part of the cookout was when Ricardo ran out of limes for caipirinhas. He sent a kid that worked there to get more but the store was out so he bought black grapes instead. Uva caipirinhas! I watched as he crushed the grapes then added condensed milk, sugar, and cachaca to the shaker. I can’t wait to recreate them at home!

It wasn’t a luxury trip, it was an adventure. I wouldn’t change one sweaty, dirty minute! Thanks AD.

Talk about memories. Pura Vida is one of those restaurants that has stood the test of time for me. The scene of many dates, meeting of friends, and countless pitchers of sangria. It was where me and AD used to hang out with a pack of cigarettes back in the day when you could still smoke in public.

Chef and owner Hector Santiago was one of three Atlanta chefs competing on last season’s Top Chef, and although he went home relatively early, it surely garnered him and the restaurant some appreciated publicity.

The menu has undergone many changes over the years. Originally, Puerto Rican tapas dominated, now it is an amalgam of Latin flavors. Some dishes, like the garlicky mushrooms, the malanga root chips, and the chicken empanadas, are mainstays. The hanger steak pinchos is another, although Santiago has revised the presentation. I always order it and it was among the few tapas ST and I shared for a late night dinner Saturday. Chunks of tender steak are skewered and grilled, then drizzled with a punchy cilantro chimichurri.

Another staple is the sangria. Pura Vida serves both white and red, the best in town! The white sangria is full of fruits like pear, grapefruit, and apple while the red has grapes, orange, and apple, all liquor soaked. I always request lots of fruit and eat it out of my glass with a spoon. Our server, Nathan (or was it Andrew?) was efficient and cute.

Since it was ST’s first visit to Pura Vida and, like, my 50th, I wanted him to try some of my favorites. It had been a while since I had the coctel de camerones. The updated version is called diablo shrimp coctel….same basic ingredients of butternut squash, a creamy sauce and a hot sauce. Still awesome.

My all-time favorite dish is the duck maduros, plantains layered with duck meat. Santiago took it off the menu for quite some time, much to my dismay. Then it was back. Now it has evolved into the duck confit with caramelized plantains. OK, can’t complain! It is basically the same flavor as the duck maduros, a lusty combination of gamey duck and sweet plantains.

For a while, chef explored Latino variations on foie gras, creative, expensive, pretty damn good. These days he is back to basics. the little pork and ham sandwiches called mi media noche (midnight snack) and the burrito are prime examples. A few years ago he began offering goat, slow cooked in coconut milk with green banana mash. It is delicious, although the mash could use more flavor.

The atmosphere is festive. I usually enjoy sitting at the bar but it was late so ST and I snuggled in a booth which usually require a reservation, or at least a wait. Thanks Pura Vida for yet another great memory.

656 N. Highland Ave. 404-870-9797 www.puravidatapas.com

The construction at The Prado in Sandy Springs is finally (almost) complete, with it an assortment of new eateries. There seems to be a definitive slant towards healthy lunch options with casual spots like Evos, Yoreka, and Fuego Mundo. Next door there is a sign for Genki “coming soon”.

My colleague MC and I paid a visit to Fuego Mundo on Monday. Owner Masha Hleap-Hershkovitz was on hand to explain the concept….wood-fire grilled South American fare including tapas, skewers, salads, and tasty sides. The restaurant is vegan friendly, preparing veggies and tofu dishes separately from meats.

Entrees of marinated steak, chicken, or fish are paired with sides like black beans and rice or quinoa and plantains. There were two soups on the day of our visit and Masha brought us a taste of each….sweet plantain and vegetable with yucca. Flavored with cilantro, the veggie soup was my favorite dish of the meal.

The baked beef empanada and the yucca fries were not too exciting although MC really liked the creamy dipping sauce that came with the fries. Chimichurri marinated steak skewers, however, were seriously flavorful, the tender steak chunks cooked perfectly medium rare. The accompanying black beans, quinoa, and baked plantains were a bit bland. Honestly, everything but the steak and soup could have used more punch and spice. Sure, some Americans are pussies when it comes to spice but many of us travel and come from multi-cultural backgrounds. We want authentic!

For dessert Masha surprised us with a coconut sorbet. Very sweet but at a mere 100 calories and dairy-free, still a light ending to what felt like a guilt-free lunch.

Fuego Mundo 5590 Roswell Rd. #A-120 404-256-4330