Pappasito's is great for groups

So, Heather finally got a new job! So, in honor of this event, I got a group of people together to celebrate. We decided on Pappasito's because it is Mexican and because it was a good location for various people coming from Atlanta or from Kennesaw.

And it's good for groups! I called ahead to reserve a table for 8, which they were happy to do. I also said that we wanted to sit on the patio, since it was so nice out. They said that was not guaranteed, but they would do their best. Fine.

We got there, and after a minor glitch of them sitting another large party at our patio table, they were able to still put us out there with just a small wait. No biggie, since people hadn't all arrived.

The food was good! Margaritas were good! And strong! I got my nachos with no meat, as usual. They don't do half orders anymore, so that's a bummer. I just can't do the whole order with all the chips I eat!

We ordered guacamole and yellow cheese dip, which was delish. Overall, a nice time!

Planet Bombay

I ordered from Planet Bombay last night, and it wasn't as good as the first time I ordered from there. I just don't know what went wrong. I got the same things: order of nan, order of Chana Masala, and an order of Chicken Saag. I mean, it was good. It just wasn't great.

Maybe it had to do with the fact that I was ordering on a Friday night instead of a weeknight. The Chana Masala was runny and not spicy. The Chicken Saag was bland. Oh! And they put my Chana Masala in a broken plastic container. I got that sauce EVERYWHERE.

This is after a weird interaction in the restaurant too. The first frustrating thing about this restaurant is that the only parking they have is a paid parking lot. So you have to explain that you are just picking up food and will be right back, and the parking attendant looks at you like you are probably lying. That sucks.

When you get inside the restaurant, there's an overwhelming smell of curry. It's on you when you leave. Which is why I want to get in and out of there as quickly as possible. You have to walk to the back to get your order. So I do, and they ask me to sit. Fine, but I'm hoping they'll hurry since they already told me it would take 25 minutes, and I've given them 40 by the time I get there.

And I sit. And sit. And I'm trying to make contact with a server, but they are ignoring me. Then, a guy comes in to put covers over the fish aquarium in the restaurant. So I have to get up to get out of his way. A server stops to ask me to sit. All the available seats are taken at this point, so I tell him so, and said that I would be happy to just settle so I can clear out. No love.

Finally, I get my food. But I mean, come on! If it's going to take an hour, tell me it's going to take an hour!

I will go back, since that's not the experience I had the first time. But I'm hoping it doesn't happen again...

Sushi with Al

Al and I had lunch at MF Sushi today. He had never been, I always crave sushi, and I owed him lunch.

It was good! Mike and I went there on our first date, and it was very romantic. And expensive! Be prepared for the prices if you go for dinner. For lunch, however, it's quite reasonable. Al and I concluded that that's how they rope you in. You go once for lunch, and when you find out how good it is, you go for dinner, and then they get you!

I digress.

They have sushi lunch specials that range from $10-20. And each one comes with a bowl of miso soup and a generously-sized ginger salad. I loved the salad -- the ginger dressing is very salty and yummy. The miso soup was typical.

The fish itself it very fresh. No complaints. I will definitely come back here for lunch.

Oh, one other thought: I tried, at an earlier date, to order takeout from here, and was unsuccessful. I called their number twice, and both times, was disconnected. Strange.

OK Cafe's mac and cheese and squash casserole is out of this world!

Yesterday, Mom met me out at Lenox to go shopping. Afterward, we went to OK Cafe, one of our favorites. It's so freaking good. It's over in Vinings, but since it's on the way home for Mom, it makes a good stop for her.

The decor inside is fun and kitschy. There's a money tree inside, for example. You know, it's just fun. Interesting artwork. Total diner feel. And hella good food.

OK, OK, I have fallen victim, once again, to ordering only one thing on the menu. But once you know something is good, why would you stray? It's the veggie plate. You get to choose from four of the items on their veggies list, and the options that I always go for are: green beans, steamed cabbage, mac and cheese, and squash casserole.

OK, the green beans and cabbage are your basic run of the mill. But the mac and cheese and the squash casserole is so good, it'll make you cry. The mac is made with several cheeses, not sure which ones, and the squash casserole is also made with cheesy goodness. It's southern cooking like southern cooking should be.

I'm done with the Subway at 10th and Piedmont

I used to love going to this Subway. I know that they are all about the same, but at this one, I could:
a) order online
b) get to it easily
c) get in and out quickly because it's ready when I get there
d) pay with a debit card
e) the sandwiches were always made well
f) the guys who ran it were super nice and knew me by face.

So, now?

New owners.

How could it be that bad? Well, for one thing, they only accept cash. I mean, come ON. Really? REALLY?? In this day and age, I can't use a debit card at the local Subway?!

OK, so my list again:
a) order online
I can still do this.

b) get to it easily
No longer -- not with the construction on 10th AND on Piedmont

c) get in and out quickly because it's ready when I get there,
There's never any parking anymore, probably related to the construction

d) pay with a debit card,
Nope. Cash only.

e) the sandwiches were always made well
The last sandwich I got was so poorly wrapped the food partially fell out of it in the plastic bag.

f) the guys who ran it were super nice and knew me by face.
The new woman sneered at me, and didn't appear to know more vocabulary than the words "Cash only" and a couple of gesturing grunts. But I'm assuming that she is indeed literate because the last time I stopped by, there was a sign on the locked door saying that they had to close temporarily, with no further explanation, despite the fact that there was no warning of this when I ordered online. I understand that the application might not be built to handle this, but it does ask for my cell phone number, which they could have called to save me the trip.

Unfortunately, that was the most convenient Subway to me, so I'm going to have to find a replacement store. Sigh... I really liked those other guys.

Chicken and Brie: nom nom nom

I met Kelley out for dinner at 97 Estoria. This place is just a stone's through from her place, and is quite great. It might be a tad intimidating for the yuppy-at heart -- you'd almost think it'd be a pre-req to have a tattoo before stepping into this place -- but the food is delicious, and the beer is cold. And I'm sure my boyfriend would like me to note: they have pitchers of PBR.

I always get the chicken and brie sandwich when I go here. It's so freaking good. I mean, really. Even now, after thinking about it, I want to go over there and get a sammy to go. Alas, I am at home on the couch with the flu. Bugger!

They also serve potato chips with blue cheese on top. That's quite delicious too, although I couldn't see making a whole meal out of it, and it's a gigantic serving. But a good idea if you have a group.


One final thought: this place is hella smoky. Don't plan on wearing anything that can't easily be washed.

Hanging out in Vinings

Ginny, an old friend from high school, came to visit all the way from Charleston. Laura organized a girl's night out, which turned out to be in Vinings. After sipping on some cocktails, five of us ventured down the hill to eat at Garrison's.

This is a great restaurant. Well, actually, I don't know how affirmatively I can say that: I've only been there twice, and I ordered the same thing both times. But others more adventurous than I agree that it is very tasty. There are two other locations besides Vinings: Perimeter and Duluth.

I ordered the lobster bisque and the house salad, which is greens tossed in raspberry vinaigrette with sundried cherries, walnuts, apples and bleu cheese. The salad was a bit overdressed, so I'd order it again with the dressing on the side. But overall, YUM!

We also had drinks. Note to self: be sure to say you only want your martini lightly dirty.

After dinner, we went to Meehan's for a cocktail or three. Interestingly enough, there were cops in there with cops-in-training, and they were asking people if they wanted to participate in field sobriety tests for the sake of teaching a trainee on a legitimately drunk person. Amanda volunteered, and I was able to take some incriminating photos: insta-blackmail.

The bar was nice -- I'd definitely go back.

Mellow Mushroom, you were soggy!

I had Mellow Mushroom at an office lunch yesterday, and I just feel it's my duty to disclose just how soggy that pizza was. Okay, okay, i know that it was a bulk order, and it's possible it had been sitting out for a few minutes. But no more than 10 minutes, I assure you!

The pizza was inedible without a fork. And was super greasy. I will eat Mellow Mushroom again, but I will be prepared for soggy pizza.

No idea who's playing: I just like to throw parties

Sunday night, I hosted a Super Bowl party with a small group of friends. Just like last year, I ordered BBQ from Daddy D'z. It's super easy, super good, and everyone seems to like it.

This year went well. I ordered 4lb of BBQ for about 12 people, and I had enough leftovers to send some home with a few people, plus enough for several sammies for me. I also ordered slaw -- six servings, which was way more than enough. I document this, because I couldn't remember how much I ordered last year, and want to be sure I have enough, but not too much, for next year.

This year, I took people up on them bringing stuff. Al brought chips, Amanda brought four dips, Laura brought buns and pickles, and Amber surprised us with her homemade pinwheels. Note to self: don't tell a person to bring buns if she isn't going to get there promptly.

Daddy D'z is the bomb. First, let me just say how friggin' nice they are there. Both times I've called ahead for BBQ, I've talked to super friendly people who went out of their way to help me plan for the event. And the BBQ is just really good. I highly recommend!

The Giants won. Yayyyy. That's about the total excitement you'll get from me about pro football.

A new brunch spot!

For brunch on Sunday, Mike and I went to Solstice Cafe over in Grant Park. I read about it on Yelp, and wasn't disappointed at all! First, there was no wait, and we were able to sit outside, as it was really nice on Sunday.

I ordered the BLFGT (Bacon, Lettuce, Fried Green Tomato sandwich), which had goat cheese on it. SO. GOOD. It was served with their house salad, which had pears, strawberries, and goat cheese in it. Two major thumbs up.

I'm trying to remember what Mike ordered, but I can't seem to recall. Probably because I was engrossed in my own mean. I do remember that had homefries with his that were crunchy and good. Good thing to remember, since few places seem to prepare decent breakfast potatoes.

Oh, and they serve little bottle Cokes. Cute.

Only critique is that our friendly server fell off the face of the earth at the end of the meal, and finally Mike had to round her up inside. But my sandwich was totally worth the small inconvenience. I'll definitely be back.

Sotto Sotto

For dinner, Mike and I went to Sotto Sotto, which was great! The location was very trendy and pretty romantic. First, we had a round of martinis, and the bartender didn't over-dirty mine, which was nice.

For our appetizer, we ordered the antipasto plate. I was highly impressed on the serving amounts! Plenty of times, I've gotten a similar item for a similar price point and gotten such measly serving sizes. With this plate, you got three types of cheese, a variety of olives, and three types of meat. There was so much on the plate that we never finished it all.

For dinner, I ordered risotto. I'd never had it before, and I must say, it's pretty good! The one I ordered had wild mushrooms in it. I was expecting the texture to be mushier than it was, but it tastes very much just like rice, but with a creaminess to it. Thumbs up!

Mike ordered a duck breast pasta. It was good too, but I liked mine more. His tasted to me very much like lasagna. For dessert (yes, we went all out!), we had their ricotta cheesecake. SO GOOD. It was topped with some type of cherry and cherry sauce, and the crust was served on top, somehow. It was quite yummy.

Oh, I should also mention that we had a glass each of the barolo wine. I didn't look at the wine menu, so that's all I can say about the type of wine. But it was hella good. Worth remembering -- I'd definitely drink that again.

Final thought: the valet guys were hilarious. Mike and I were highly entertained.

Whoa! Lay off the eggs, will ya?

I coerced Mike into hiking Stone Mountain on Saturday, so we actually woke up at a decent hour on Saturday so that we wouldn't waste the day away.

Before heading out to the park, we wanted to get a quick breakfast, so we stopped at Highland Bakery to get a sandwich. Wow, this place gets packed! I had only been once before, at 7AM on a weekday -- let's just say that it wasn't quite as bustling at it was on Saturday AM.

The layout was a bit claustrophobic. Not of the restaurant, mind you, but of the wait area. I easily get anxious when stuck in a tight space, so I backed myself up against a wall while we waited for our food. Next time, we'll have to actually wait for a table, and hopefully that will be a bit more sane.

My bacon, egg, and cheese croissant was good, but oily. And whoa, did they put a lot of egg on it or what? I started pulling egg out of it because there was just too much. By the time I had finished my sandwich, there was enough egg left over to create two servings. And I left a bunch on my sandwich. I wouldn't be surpised if there were about 6 eggs on my sandwich.

Mike is here!

Mike was in town this weekend, and we tried a variety of new places this weekend, which was quite fun and quite yummy!

On Friday night, we went for a late dinner at Sala, which is up-scale Mexican dining in the Highlands. The ambiance inside is really nice, and we had a waiter that was really helpful. We ordered taquitos for the appetizer (a last minute change by Mike -- I had heard the cheese dip, made with goat cheese, was ridiculous), which was okay.

The main courses arrived: I ordered Pollo con Espinacas, based on the recommendation of the server, and my expectations were not let down. It was so good! The only complaint was that I expected the chicken to be boneless. And for the most part it was! But there was a small bone in the dish which was hard to cut around without splashing little drops of cream sauce on myself.

Mike ordered beef enchiladas, which I think he enjoyed. In my opinion (and I think secretly in his), my dish was better.

We both got prickly pear margaritas, which were served with no ice. They were really tart, making us wish we had ice in our glasses, so for our second round, we made the request, and they were happy to oblige.

At the end of dinner, we migrated to the bar to finish our second drink. Mike got a wild hair to try some tequilas, so we discussed with the bartender. Criteria: we want something good, but not Patron, and not too terribly expensive. He promptly pulled down a bottle, and poured us some shots.

I sadly can't remember the name of the tequila, but I thought it was good! I'll have to ask Mike if he remembers the name of it... He also gave us a small taste of another tequila, which was much smokier. I preferred the first, and we contentedly sipped our shots, and pretended like we were tequila connoisseurs.

Why am I so lazy?

I had grand plans to head to the grocery store today and finally fill my barren icebox. No such luck. Call me lazy, or call me realistic because I know Mike's coming into town, and we never eat in.

So I ordered Fellini's.

This is very yummy pizza! I ordered their Fellini's special, which is basically a supreme pizza. What can I say about this pizza? The slices are huge! And yummy! I'd have to say this is one of my favorite pizza places in the city.

I also like Everybody's Pizza, which I came close to ordering. But for one thing, it's pretty pricey. Also, it's right in the Highlands, which makes the parking a major hassle.

Margaritas are yummy

I was going to have a taco night at home until Heather and Chris called me up and requested my company over at Tin Lizzy's. After finding a 45 minute wait over there, we headed over to On the Border instead.

It's your typical Mexican chain, so I hesitate doing a review. But what the hay. I ordered a Texan margarita, and whoah! Talk about heavy on the alcohol! I needed a bunch of lime to balance it out!

They were nice enough to let me order off of the lunch menu, so I got a bowl of tortilla soup and a fish taco. Part of the fish fell out of the taco, and looking at it closely, I think they use frozen taco fillets. Not too impressive, but it was good enough.

It's a good place to meet up with folks for a quick bite, but if you want to go for really good Mexican, you might just want to skip this one.

I had to get the bad Rusan's out of my brain.

Update (03/05/2008):
Just wanted to update that I had RuSan's again recently -- not sure exactly when -- and they were back up to their normal standards. Phew! I was nervous that I had lost my local, cheap sushi!!
***

I ordered sushi for a second time this weekend. I know, I know, it's obsessive, but I just couldn't shake the disaster that was Rusan's last night. I forgot to mention in my Rusan's post that they did a terrible job cleaning the fish: some of the skin was showing on more than one type of fish, and I actually had a fish scale on one piece of sashimi. Ick.

So, this time, I ordered from Zuma. It's a bit pricey, but I was desperate. Sushi is one of my favorite things to eat, and I had to get my previous night's experience off the brain.

Zuma did not disappoint. The food was ready when I showed up, and when I got home, I was surprised to see so much! I ordered two different types of sashimi, and on the menu, they said that it would be 3 pieces each. Not only were they large pieces, there were 5 pieces of each! Whoa! Note to self: they hook you up here!

I also had the spicy tuna roll. They put a small amount of a creamy sauce on top, but it was totally unobtrusive. Could take it or leave it.

The meal was delicious. All the fish tasted fresh, seemed clean, and looked good enough to eat.

So I did.

Rusans, that was just sloppy.

Update (03/05/2008):
Just wanted to update that I had RuSan's again recently -- not sure exactly when -- and they were back up to their normal standards. Phew! I was nervous that I had lost my local, cheap sushi!!
***

I am finally back in Atlanta, where 37 degrees now feels balmy. I decided to pick up some sushi for dinner because I have no food in the house. Rusan's, of course.

I typically just order one of their sushi samplers, which has nigiri and a random roll. This time, I decided to order a la carte: four different types of sashimi and a spicy tuna roll.

Oh, Rusan's! Bad job this time! Ordinarily, my ratings of Rusan's are high! I mean, it's not top-notch sushi, but it's decent enough, especially since it is so cheap. First, the fish this time just didn't seem as good as usual. Second, and this more of a note for myself for next time, they put a bunch of spicy brown sauce over the spicy tuna rolls. I could do without that. Finally! They forgot to pack any wasabi! Boooooo.

The wait was also a bit long. I ordered from the Midtown location, across from Ansley, and they said it'd be ready in 15-20 minutes. I arrived 20 minutes later, and had to wait another ten. I know it's not a huge deal, but it's out of the ordinary! Just because you are busy does not mean I should have to wait for medicre sushi with no wasabi!

Another note to self: you don't like red snapper. Don't order again.

I am not writing this place off. I'm confident that this incident was isolated. But I feel it's worth noting. Maybe Friday night is not the night to go to Rusans...

Aloha Sushi

I forgot that I wanted to comment on Aloha. This is a restaurant really close to my house that offers sushi. And when I am feeling super lazy, I order sushi delivery. They have a sampler, which is what I get, that comes with miso soup and a ginger salad.

The sushi isn't the best in the world, but it's good considering it's brought to my door. They put several nigiri in the sampler that I can't identify, but other than one rancid one, I like them all.

Fontaine's has yummy bisque -- usually

Some friends and I went out to lunch at Fontaine's in the Highlands yesterday. I usually really like this place, and almost always order the soup and salad combo (lobster bisque + caesar salad = yum). This visit, however, fell a bit short.

It snowed this weekend in Atlanta. So we were freezing. Instead of my usual order, I went with a coffee, 8 Oysters Rockefeller, and a cup of the bisque. First, my waitress was pretty rude. She brought me lukewarm coffee, didn't bring me the water that I requested, and when I requested it a second time, she slammed it down hard enough on the table for my friend to make a comment.

I asked to have my coffee refilled. She said she'd have to make a fresh pot, in such a way that made it sound like I was causing her an injustice. I didn't get my coffee until we were half-way done through our meal.

The soup is usually thicker. This one was thin. Maybe it's the time of year so they don't have as much lobster meat to put in the soup, but it was pretty disappointing. The oysters were very good. Props there.

Typically, service is pretty slow at Fontaine's, but it has never been rude. I will discard this isolated experience...as long as it remains isolated.

Taqueria del Sol is packed!

Jayson and I went to Taqueria del Sol last night for dinner. Let me tell you, the line for food there is out of control! I wonder if they've explored better solutions for that. But, it's always like that, so at least patrons' expectations are set before they arrive.

We got the cheese dip. Nom, nom, nom. I had two fish tacos. Also quite good. This is always a good standby. As for being the best in Atlanta? Ehhh, not so sure about that. Tin Lizzy's is quite good, in my opinion, and I like the restaurant vibe better there. But Taqueria is still good.