Odalys Bakery Panaderia

Odalys Bakery Panaderia is a Latino bakery, located in the Grand Oaks shopping center on South Blvd. This place has excellent pastries. I love the above doughnut with custard inside and the guava turnovers are also delicious. Both are under $1 each and are often warm out of the oven when I've visited. Odalys also has a variety of cookies and other pastries along with breads and cakes including individual slices of tres leches cake, one of my favorites! You can order large cakes for parties at reasonable prices as well - I have not actually ordered an entire cake myself, however. English is not widely spoken and I don't believe they take credit cards. When you enter, take a metal tray and tongs from the front counter and place your goods on the tray - self-serve style. There may be some guessing involved as to what something is but since very few items are more than $1 it can be a learning experience without breaking the bank. Get the custard doughnut. Trust me. This is a fun place to go after visiting one of the many small taquerias on South Blvd.

Some of the breads and pastries available.





Grab a try and tongs and pick up some pastries! Warm out of the over selections are still on their cooling trays (left).

Rosa Mexicano's Foods of Baja

Conejo de Fideos - deliciously different!

Over the weekend I had the opportunity to try Rosa Mexicano's special Foods of Baja menu, which features culinary advisor Jonathan Waxman's special Baja-influenced menu from now until July 1. I dined at the Atlanta location, which recently welcomed Executive Chef Brad Weideman to the team. Foods of Baja features a fun menu with several really interesting dishes worth trying. My favorites include the lump crab meat tostadas - so much crab meat with interesting flavors that add just the right amount of flavor without being overpowering - and the fideo pasta - special Mexican dried pasta with rabbit, chicken and portabella mushrooms in an wonderfully spicy habanero chile-roasted tomato salsa. This entree is delicious and unusual - definitely a good choice.

All three desserts that we tried were fantastic as well, including the special Baja menu dessert of plum and blackberry compote with crema catalana - very creamy and fruity with crunchy crust bits on top. The churros are seriously one of the best things I've eaten in quite some time (see last photo, below). Calvin also really enjoyed the special drink (Miel de Toronja) with its unique smoky flavor and we had wonderful service from Ramon - what a great waiter! If you are looking for something different to try during the rest of the month, definitely check out the Flavors of Baja menu at Rosa Mexicano.

The Miel de Toronja (left): Herradura reposado tequila, Vida mezcal, honey, fresh grapefruit and lime.



Amuse bouche of seared scallop with slow braised beef short rib - Mexican surf and turf.



Tostada de Jaiba con Coco. One of my favorite menu items!



Zucchini a la Parrilla. Loved the most chile cornbread.

Tacos de Camarones de San Felipe (shrimp tacos)



Our expert guacamole maker.



Spicy guacamole - you can't eat at Rosa without ordering the guacamole!



Salsas and bottomless rice and beans, which accompany every meal.



Compota de Ciruelas y Zarzamoras - tasty plum and blackberry compote with crema catalana.



Pastel de Queso - apple cheesecake with cajeta and candied pecans.



Churros.

Awesome churros with three dipping sauces: chocolate, caramel and raspberry guajillo. We almost didn't order these but luckily Ramon talked us into it and we were not sorry - these are very good. The presentation is also nice - the churros come in a bag with cinnamon and sugar which Ramon shook table side to ensure each churro was coated with a nice layer of sweet goodness. The caramel sauce was my favorite but I also love that the raspberry guajillo has a serious kick!

Disclosure: The meal described in this review was complimentary.

Tantra Restaurant & Lounge

Signature dish - seared ostrich with mushrooms and onions. This is one tasty steak, and healthier for you than beef too.

I was invited to try Tantra back in May. Located on Peachtree Road, next door to Imperial Fez, Tantra is a real treat. Calvin and I enjoyed a spectacular meal with great ambiance and service. The hummus with lamb and the scallops were my favorite dishes and the desserts were awesome too. They also offer an ostrich filet, which is very tender and delicious - something different is always fun too. This is a great special occasion place and with the lovely bar, also a nice place for drinks and appetizers or dessert!

Tasty, although a bit salty, flat bread provided at the beginning of the meal with a tasty herb butter - we liked the butter so much we had to ask for more!



Lamb tartar with shallot butter on matzah - very tasty and unique, but not as much lamb flavor as the hummus with lamb, below.



Hummus tahini with sauteed lamb - one of my favorite dishes of the evening. Absolutely delicious!



Mussels with red bell pepper coconut broth - also outstanding.



Basil Caramelized Scallops - another winner. I love this dish. Basil, scallops, whipped potatoes and greens. Yum.



Tantra has several inventive cocktails including the Tantric, left, which includes fresh thyme and Elderflower liquor.



Lemon scented Italian doughnuts + warm white chocolate cake with vanilla-lavender ice cream and berries. Both of these are wonderful and unique. I was already full when I got to the dessert course but I had to taste these anyway - so glad I did!



Espresso and Sambuca drink - great way to end the evening.



The dining room is dark, romantic and sensual - as it should be at a place called Tantra!



Nicely decorated bar area.

Brunch at Parish Foods and Goods

Beignets - a nice touch for Parish's Sunday Brunch.

After a full bachelorette weekend back in March I took a couple of my bridesmaids to Parish Foods & Goods for Sunday brunch. We must have been hungry because I neglected to photograph anything other than the complimentary beignets, which were quite tasty. I also had the Shrimp & Grits, a worthy version with a poached egg on top - I love poached eggs. My friends seemed to enjoy their selections as well - French Toast, which I tasted and the American Breakfast. This was my first time eating in the dining room, although I've eaten in the cafe downstairs several times. I definitely enjoyed it and hope to have the chance to return soon.

Urban Pl8 - Brunch, Lunch and Dinner

Double-patty Banh Mi Burger - a delicious concept, adding pickled veggies and jalepenos to a very good burger. There is also a lamb burger on the menu.

I'm intrigued with the (fairly) new Westside spot Urban Pl8, where I have dined for brunch (no photos), lunch and dinner. The restaurant recently expanded their dinner service to Wednesday through Saturday. Interestingly, their lunch and dinner menu is identical, although it changes quite often (even daily, sometimes). The look here is garage/warehouse turned restaurant and the whole place is really one big room with a nice, long bar and the kitchen visible from the dining area. I like this concept, although I think it may be difficult for them to control the temperature (especially during colder months). There is also a patio, which I hope is in full use now that spring has sprung and we are heading for HOTlanta's warmest months.

Hummus appetizer. Good, fairly standard hummus.



Lamb Pizza appetizer: the flavors did not mesh as well together as I'd hoped. This is not on the current menu.



Sweet potato gnocchi - winter item now off the current menu. This was so tasty! I am not usually a gnocchi fan but through I'd give it a try since this was a sweet potato version. Paired with duck confit and braised kale, it was delicious! I hope they bring it back next winter.



Stir-fry Brown Rice and Vegetables. Calvin ordered this and liked it but wasn't crazy about it.



Hangar steak - tasty; I think the new menu changes the base, but these white beans were delicious.



Veggie Burger.



Doughnut dessert.



Banana Toffee Cream Pie - tasty and fresh.

The above was from a family dinner. I also had lunch with a friend on a cold winter's day. Below are the photos from lunch.

Sweet potato soup - very creamy, sweet and delicious. This made my day!



Goat cheese salad with truffle oil. This salad was a bit underwhelming but fresh and tasty nevertheless.



Asian Beef Salad - tasty and crunchy.



Chocolate chip cookie sandwich with Mascarpone icing. Wow - a great finale to my first lunch at Urban Pl8.

La Pietra Cucina

Fried stuffed olives and Proscuitto di Parma.

Recently I took Calvin to a (very) belated birthday dinner at La Pietra Cucina, a true Italian restaurant that opened within the past two years in Midtown. It also happened to be a place I had wanted to try for months. I suppose I was just waiting on the right occasion. We were seated by the window, which was slightly cold; however, our server soon closed the curtains, which helped with the temperature.

We started with the stuffed fried olives (very tasty) and the Proscuitto di Parma: flatbread and wonderful proscuitto with fresh-made ricotta and pineapple mostarda (photo above). In a word, excellent. Honestly I could make a lunch out of the flatbread and would love every minute of it!

See below for further details on what we ate. For a special occasion restaurant, I recommend this place wholeheartedly. It's also nice that they offer lunch; this creates an occasion to try some of the lighter dishes and end up with a lower price point.

Calamari in Sicilian tomato zupetta - perhaps the most delicious part of the meal. This is enough for a light lunch entree (with the bread).



Black spaghetti with rock shrimp, scallions and calabrese sausage - quite spicy and salty with a unique taste. Next time I'd like to try one of the pastas made in-house.



Porchetta - special of the day. This was a bit heavy, especially with the potatoes, but the meat was very flavorful.



Gelato with a cookie - yum.



Sicilian hand dropped zeppole.

These light, delicious doughnuts with thick chocolate on the side were an absolutely outstanding finish to the meal.