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Which
eateries do you frequently haunt?
9/13/05 |
Anybody
who documents his or her meals, or makes critical commentary
about the food they eat and service they receive in restaurants
is often presented with THE ‘inevitable’ question.
You know, the ‘Which restaurants do you choose to eat
at on your days off and what do you eat?’ question. And
I think it’s an important query, one that helps the reader
to get a better feel for the author’s personal taste.
Even though I don’t like to believe I am a creature of habit,
I do frequent a few places and would definitely spread the love
among a few others if it weren’t for distance and some of
the fiercest traffic in the world. Not to mention the ridiculously
high price of gas nowadays, which has me mulling over the idea
of converting my car’s engine to run on secondhand deep
fryer oil. Go ahead and laugh, but it really works.
These days I haunt the halls of 5 Seasons Brewing (5600
Roswell Rd, Atlanta, south of 285 in the Prado Shopping Center
Tel: 404-255-5911) more than any other restaurant. 5 SB is a
casual neighborhood type place located just outside of what I’d
consider to be my hood. It’s an oversized gastro-pub serving
a mostly organic American menu with occasional nods to Japan.
I immediately get comfortable with a seasonally handcrafted brew
at the bar. Dennis Lange (co-owner) aggressively works the floor
with a beer in tow before stopping by to tell me another fascinating
story of his time well spent as a chef in Japan.
Brewmaster, Glen Sprouse, climbs down off the beer tanks to converse
strategy and planning with Spike (assistant brewmaster) and co-owner
of the local favorite Terrapin. Yes, this is the epicenter of
Atlanta’s beer culture.
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Caramelized clay pot at RiceSticks
5 Seasons Brewing: Hand
crafted beers, pizza, kurobuta, kobe burger, specials,
duck two ways
RiceSticks: Shiso
leaves, pork clay pot, Vietnamese beef stew, Spring Rolls
Pho Tan Tan: Pho and spring rolls
Hong Kong BBQ: Barbecue roasted duck and pork,
pork fried rice
Cantina La Casita: Poblano cheese dip, pork tacos,
tamales, mushroom tacos, flan
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5 SB isn’t just a brewpub – I come for the food just
as much as I do the beer. It’s the only place in the city
I know of currently serving naturally raised Kurobuta, (purebred
Berkshire pig) – a supple yet meaty pork usually listed
on The 5’s lengthy specials menu.
From the every day menu, I routinely order spicy sopresseta pizza
($10) and for lunch – the blissfully rich kobe burger ($9)
sided by pommes frites, which I drag through a feisty buffalo
quail sauce giving me reason to take another swig off my beer.
It’s no secret that Vietnamese is my favorite of all cuisines
and RiceSticks (5920 Roswell Rd, Suite B-113 Tel: 404-252-6337),
a place I’d frequent more often if they were open for lunch,
currently serves the most addicting of all dishes in town – caramelized
pork clay pot ($12.95). It is at once sweet and spicy, mushy
and crispy, exotic and wild; yet – still – comfort
food. Like untamed hot-n-steamy sex, but with a long-time companion.
Pho Tan Tan (4646 Buford Hwy. Chamblee Tel: 770-455-9474)
serves the city’s best pho, hands down. It’s the perfect
bowl that captivates me with its magical aromatic steam the moment
it’s placed in front of me. I enjoy the smells of anise,
clove and garlic that combine with the steaming juices of paper-thin
slices of rare eye-round rising upwards instantly filling the
room.
Sure, you could say I’m a regular.
One of my favorites for nearly 20 years now (geez, I’m getting
old fast) is Hong Kong BBQ (5385 New P'tree Rd) located
in the China Town Sq. Food Court. I know that for some crispy
dead animal carcasses hanging from the ceiling along with the
lack of English being spoken might be more than a little intimidating – but
so worth braving for the savory barbecue roasted pork and duck.
Cantina La Casita (560 Gresham Ave, East Atlanta Village
Tel: 404-622-8081), though not even remotely close to my digs,
has become a regular Saturday or Sunday lunch stop. The smoky
poblano cheese dip and stringy roasted pork tacos are just what
I need during these long dog days of summer.
Oh, and who am I to pass up homemade flan?
But what if I expand the question at hand to cover those places
I’d frequent often if I lived in the neighborhood?
For starters, Slovakia (164 Roswell St., Marietta Tel:
770-792-4443), Atlanta’s only major Eastern European restaurant
would certainly be atop my short list. I could eat golden pork
every single day for the rest of my life and be perfectly content.
If I lived in Alpharetta you’d find me at Xian China
Bistro (5316-A Windward Pkwy. Alpharetta Tel: 770-442-9999)
with a sweaty brow and runny nose while grazing on spicy Xian
prawns. Also, you’d be likely to find me nibbling on those
thin crispy pizzas topped with grande cheese and fontanini sausage
at Zola (14155 Hwy 9, Alpharetta Tel: 770-360-5777) more
than once a week. And during the cooler months, it would be Andy’s
Indian Grill (3070 Windward Plaza, Alpharetta Tel: 678-242-0155)
for the metro area’s best Indian buffet – it’s
stellar in both variety and quality.
Now, if I called Grant Park home, Agave (242 Boulevard
SE, Grant Park Tel: 404-588-0006) would be my home away from
home, serving Atlanta’s best Southwestern fare and this
city’s best fried chicken. I am, of course, referring to
the fiery cayenne poblano fried chicken.
Another margarita, please!
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| Contact
Tom: tom@altantacuisine.com |
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