They Grow 'em Big in Marietta

Following a wonderful ride on the Silver Comet Trail, my friend Jay suggested Marietta Diner - a place rumored to have huge desserts and even huger portions. On Saturday evening around 6 PM there was a considerable crowd milling about outside. It was encouraging to hear that the wait was only 15 minutes for our party of 4. After waiting about 20 minutes we were seated inside the busy, large dining room. Before we sat down we had a chance to admire the three, yes three, cases of desserts near the front of the restaurant. The height of the cakes is amazing and the prices for all of the menu items arevery reasonable considering just about every plate could feed at least two people. I ordered the seafood paella, which came on a HUGE plate filled with rice and shrimp, scallops, mussels, chicken and lobster (two tails!) in a tomato sauce. Although I doubt a Spaniard would call this authentic paella, it was tasty, albeit a bit too salty for my taste. The dish came with a choice of salad and soup as well as bread and spanakopita. I tried the matzoh ball soup, which was delicious with an airy, large matzoh ball floating in chicken soup stock with a few noodles. The Greek salad was also stellar, with a nice vinaigrette dressing, feta cheese and olives. Seriously, you could be full just after eating these pre-entree offerings. The spanakopita was okay - not as good as some I've had a authentic Greek places - but it is a nice touch that they offer it along with some of the main courses. For dessert I had a bite of baklava as well as a bite of coconut cake and I split a slice of red velvet to take home. Honestly the desserts were disappointing to me. The baklava tasted a bit soggy and although the portions of cake were huge, the taste was not overwhelming. I can't say enough about the value, though. It took three meals to finish my dinner and there was still some extra left. This is a good place if you want a real variety of options as they had breakfast served all day, burgers & sandwiches, Greek specialties and all kinds of meats, seafood and pastas. I will have to try it again to taste some additional menu items.

Cake Case #1



Cake Case #2



Cake Case #3



Huge menu!



Delicous matzoh ball soup and Greek salad.



Paella



Kimberly got the gyro platter - looked quite tasty.



Jay and Gloria shared the broiled seafood platter - yum!



From left: red velvet cake, coconut cake, baklava.

Amy's Ethiopian Food & Cafe

It's hard to believe I waited this long to try a restaurant that not only sports my name, but is also near where I work and live. On Friday night Amy's Ethiopian had several tables open including one by the window. Our waitress was very nice, and she took our order effectively and accurately although her spoken English was not the best. We said we liked "spicy" and she suggested the spicy lamb tibs. Although the dish was not at all fiery, it was tasty and enjoyable. The vegetarian platter was interesting, and although we never figured out what every item was, we ate all that was on the platter. Compared to other Ethiopian places in the city, the food here did not overwhelm me. However, the service was very warm and friendly and the atmosphere was relaxed. Also, the food did not take inordinately long to arrive, as it tends to do at some Ethiopian places. I would return here in the future for some qualify Ethiopian fare close to home. The owner/chef graciously came up to speak with us after we'd eaten and was pleased to see that we'd devoured almost everything. If you've never tried Ethiopian food before, TRY IT! You eat with pieces of injera (spongy bread made from teff flour) and no cutlery is used. It's definitely a unique dining experience, reminding me again how diverse the world's cuisines can be.

The small storefront on Cheshire Bridge Road.



Spicy lamb tibs with salad, cabbage and extra injera.



Vegetarian platter - my favorites were the yellow lentils, the cabbage and anything with jalepenos!

Midweek Potluck!

My friend Pamela graciously hosted a potluck last night. We had a nice time catching up and eating!

Kimberly brought delicious bruschetta - my favorite was the tomato & garlic.



Pamela provided delicious cheese fondue with bread cubes.



And a Mediterranean chicken and rice dish - yum!



Claudia brought a gorgeous salad - pictured here with the chicken dish.



For dessert I made Magic Cookie Pie - usually I make this sinfully sweet bars in a 13X9 cake pan, but I had a graham cracker crust handy so I made it as a pie - so easy!

Magic Cookie Pie
Ingredients:
1 prepared graham cracker pie crust
shredded flaked coconut
chocolate chips
butterscotch chips
pecan or walnut pieces
1 can sweetened condensed milk

Preparation: Layer ingredients as follows, coconut, chocolate chips, butterscotch chips and nuts. There are no exact amounts allowed! Then pour on can of sweetened condensed milk and spread evenly over mixture. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes or until pie is slightly browned. Enjoy!

White Windmill Bakery - Quite a Treat!

While my family was here over the weekend we also ventured through the rain to White Windmill Bakery & Cafe, one of the trendy Korean bakeries in town. This place has a great selection of baked goods, chocolates, cakes and teas and I noticed this visit that they also offer frozen yogurt (it looked similar to Yoforia's original flavor). The sweets here tend to be subtly sweet rather than over the top, and much of the offerings reminded me of my time in Japan. This is a neat place to take out of town visitors who are not familiar with Koren bakeries.

Grandma and Mom check out the pastry counter.



The bakery provides baskets to hold your goodies while you shop. My favorite pastry is the one on the left (I got two!). It's a sweet, crumbly dough with cream inside. Sometimes it has a slightly nutty taste. I had similar pastry in Japan so it brings back good memories.



Rows of different pastries with descriptions.



Cakes on display.



Mocha cake my stepfather picked out.



Tea service - this pineapple green tea was delicious.

Hot, Spicy & Homestyle - Little Szechuan

Last night I took my family, visiting from out of town, to Little Szechuan, one of my favorite Chinese places in Atlanta. The place is never packed and it's a comfy spot to have some great, reasonably priced Chinese food. The place is tucked into a small strip mall at the corner of Shallowford Road and Buford Highway. The leftovers make great lunches and dinners - somehow we always end up with a LOT of food here! At the end of the meal customers are given orange slices to clear the palate - a nice touch.

Complimentary nibbles served upon arrival - the pickles and marinated bean sprouts have a nice kick.



Hot & Spicy seafood soup and salt & pepper calamari (appetizer portion - with some already eaten!)



Vegetable dumplings. These were a special of the day but I think the chef is considering adding them to the regular menu. They were a big hit with my grandmother since she doesn't eat meat out and has never before been able to order dumplings at a restaurant.



Fried red snapper with hot & spicy sauce.



Sesame chicken (left) and kung pao sole - very spicy and also so tasty.



Stir-fried string beans.



Garlic eggplant - yum!

City Grill Birthday Lunch

From top left: Tangerine Bavarian with caramel sauce, Three Layer Coconut cake with Lemon Filling and Warm Chocolate Lava Cake with Tupelo honey ice cream.

Yesterday my office lunched at City Grill (downtown in the Hurt Building) to celebrate our managing partner's birthday. In addition to wonderful ambiance, City Grill has a special nostalgia for my firm since our office was formerly in the Hurt Building. Our skilled waiter, Bobby, took great care of us including offering a free dessert for the birthday girl. When we arrived it was moderately busy, mostly with suited-up business types. By the time we left we were the only people in the place. I like the tree-motif mural that covers the walls and the bar has a cozy area good for happy hour.

The food was decent, not great. The special soup of the day: spiced, creamed carrot, which came perfectly seasoned, was a delicious standout. The beef tenderloin served with the tenderloin wedge salad came cooked to perfection and the accompanying blue cheese provided a welcome bite to go along with the meat. The lobster and shrimp chowder was disappointing, more chunky than flavorful. The duck lettuce wraps, an interesting combination of shredded duck, fresh pineapple and plums, tasted too sweet to be an entree and the fruit flavors overpowered the duck. I could have easily been eating chicken or some other protein. The french fries served with the cheeseburger came nicely browned and seasoned; the burger was fine but not anything special.

Dessert was a mixed bag as well. The chocolate lava cake proved to be the best of the bunch, tasty yet typical. The Tupelo honey ice cream had a nice creamy taste, but the honey flavor did not come through as much as I expected. Coconut cake with lemon filling was stored too cold, rendering the cake a bit dry, although the lemon filling was sweet and delicious. The tangerine bavarian, fluffy and not overly sweet, seemed to be doused in sugar syrup rather than the "rich caramel sauce" described on the menu. When tasted against the other two, it couldn't hold its own, despite its unique components. The accompanying biscotti was a nice addition.

Overall, this is a nice special occasion restaurant with tremendous service. I would like to try the dinner selections before I render a definitive opinion on the food.

Bar area.



Classic, classy ambience - don't mind Jim on his phone!



Marcia, Ruth and Toni enjoy lunch.



Wonderful carrot soup, left, and lobster and shrimp chowder, right.



Duck lettuce wraps with wontons.



Bucatini pasta with shrimp and broccolini - could have used more shrimp & broccolini and less pasta!



Cheeseburger with french fries.



Grilled tenderloin wedge salad - very tasty meat.



Organic baby greens salad with Pecorino dolce.

Lunch Standby: Lee's Bakery

Lee's Bakery is one of my favorite places to pick up a quick lunch during the week. Usually I get a roasted pork banh mi sandwich, which consists of roasted pork, pickled vegetables, garlic mayo sauce, fresh jalepeno peppers, and cilantro on a fresh, French baguette. Lee's also has a full service restaurant space in addition to takeout, where soups and other Vietnamese specialties are available. I've been meaning to try their banh xeo (yellow pancake) as I've yet to find a decent version in Atlanta - yes, this is one food that I feel is better and offered at more places in Charlotte, NC, my hometown. They also sell bread at great prices and make wonderful croissants including one with chocolate inside!

Yesterday I opted for something different, the fresh spring rolls and a Chinese steamed bun. I love fresh spring rolls - these are with pork and shrimp, and at 3 for $3.00, it's a great deal. The steamed bun was not exactly what I expected and I would not get it again. I was expecting barbecued pork on the inside like the steamed buns at dim sum restaurants. Instead there was a small piece of sausage, 1/2 hardboiled egg and a small amount of ground pork. Mostly, it was just steamed bread. At $1.50, it could be a filling lunch all in itself if you weren't looking for a whole lot of taste! Next time I get a banh mi I will post a photo. The best place for banh mi, in my opinion, is Quoc Huong, which is a little too far out BH to justify going all the way there from my office. Luckily, Lee's version is very tasty and at $2.50 also makes for a very cheap yet filling lunch.

Steamed Chinese bun and fresh spring rolls from Lee's Bakery.

Tuesday Night "Mexican" - Salsa Con Sabor

Tuesday night Mexican has become a tradition for one of my favorite groups - the UUCA 20's/30's. This week we ventured to Salsa Con Sabor, a restaurant specializing in Peruvian, Puerto Rican and Cuban cuisine (I know, none of these are Mexican, so we aren't exactly stuck to only one cuisine and to me, that's a good thing!). Going with a large group gave me the opportunity to take lots of great photos, and while I did not taste everything nor do I remember what everything is called, I will do my best. As far as the atmosphere of this place, our group of about ten was just about the only party in the place. This could be because they did not have any heat - yes, many of us were glad we had coats with us and we donned them for the entire meal! The service was a little slow considering how empty the place was, but the waiter was helpful and indulged us as we asked questions about Spanish pronunciations, ingredients and the meaning of "Salsa Con Sabor". My favorite thing here is the ceviche, although the spicy, creamy seafood is a close second. This is a good place to come experience a variety of cuisines and with a HUGE menu, I don't think you'll have a problem finding something - that is, unless you are a vegetarian as the person in our group who didn't eat meat was forced to eat french fries!

Chicken fricasse with sweet plantains and rice.



Mofongo (mashed, fried plantain ball), top, and chicken and beef kabobs.



Puerto Rican spaghetti, at least I think this was Puerto Rican - if not, please remind me someone!



Ceviche de Pescado - they offer a mixed seafood version as well that I'd like to try next time.



Cuban sandwich with beans and rice.



Spicy, creamy seafood stew with rice and an egg!



Mofongo with roasted port, rice and sweet plantains.