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48 Powder Springs Street, Marietta
678.337.7999
Lunch:
Mon. – Fri., 11a.m. – 3p.m.
Dinner:
Mon - Fri., 5:30p.m. – 9:30p.m.
Sat., noon – 9:30p.m
Despite its conservative small town look and feel, the Marietta
Square (and surrounding side streets) has become rich in
ethnic fare. Over the past 5 years, a variety of different
cuisines have been represented — from Turkish to Slovakian,
from Dominican to Australian, and now even Colombian.
Has anybody else noticed that all the ethnic eateries are
fleeing the high rent ITP neighborhoods for cheaper pastures?
This is leaving us ITP’ers with mostly scenester restaurants
that open with more swank than schtick. Being an ITP’er
with a serious ethnic food addiction, I’m literally
going broke at the gas pump.
But at least I’m blowing it all in style chasing restaurants
like Kiosco, located just off the Marietta Square. Here,
the silky smooth, sort of wiggly, ball-shaped tamales arrive
piping hot, bundled with generous chunks of shredded pork
and chicken, yellow rice, and dotted with starchy lentil-like
peas.
The interior is thankfully swankless. No trendy fixtures,
no sexy booths, and no cocktails and cleavage crowds — just
pretty darned good Colombian grub served in comfortable surroundings,
and at a fair shake. The tiny room offers only seven widely
spread out tables, mostly for family-style dining.
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Tamale at Kiosco
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Be sure
not to fill up on the hearty tamale — Kiosco
isn’t one of those fly-by-night 1-dish wonders — the
entire menu is practically bulletproof. Plump, juicy
Colombian-style chorizo is made in-house, half dollar-sized
arepas are warm and dense, almost like a pancake without
the fluffiness, and empanadas have a crunchy corn exterior
that gives way to a pocket of hot mushy goodness.
A juicy, well-seasoned half roasted chicken is wrapped
in skin so sinfully golden brown and crispy I’ve
become an addict. I’ve even become partial to its
slight fennel-y finish. My only gripe, if you want to
call it a gripe, is that it’s a tad too salty.
Ethnic restaurants define themselves by how well they
prepare traditional offerings. In this case, that would
be a dish called Bandeja Paisa whose paper-thin wafer-y
steak is surprisingly tender and comes with a quick burst
of flavor, unlike most Colombian restaurants around town
that serve a rubbery, tasteless piece of meat. If you’ve
never eaten this dish before, it’s topped with a
fried egg and comes with sides of housemade chorizo,
crispy chicharron (think bacon), and rice & beans.
Colombians, like me, are known for having a bit of a
sweet tooth. At Kiosco you have several options when
it comes to desserts. I recommend the puckery passion
fruit flan or creamy tres leches panna cotta, which is
so much lighter and refreshing than the traditional heavy
cake.
Kiosco brings more culture to a part of town that seems
to embrace diversity, at least when it comes to food.
This charming little eatery, run by a passionate husband
and wife team, seems to draw business with relative ease.
And why not, it’s priced right, interesting, and
represents its country well. Pass the tamales, please! |
tom@atlantacuisine.com
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