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We’ve Moved (kind of…)

•April 13, 2010 • 3 Comments

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So here’s the deal. You’ve always been able to reach this site via http://eatbufordhighway.com. And that will remain true. It’s just that http://eatbufordhighway.com will now be the only way to reach this site.

You used to be re-directed to https://eatbufordhighway.wordpress.com (where you are now). But all of the gooey insides and all of the fun new stuff will be over there => http://eatbufordhighway.com

So update your feed readers and bookmarks and all of your other Internet gee-gaws. We’re still here, we’re just over there => http://eatbufordhighway.com

Posted in OK
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Old Hickory House

•March 30, 2010 • 2 Comments

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When I first moved to Atlanta (by way of Boston) in 1989, I remember trying the barbecue at Old Hickory House at their now defunct location on Piedmont Road in Midtown Atlanta. To say I was underwhelmed would be an understatement. The fact that I have not darkened their doorstep in 21 years attests to the impression they made.

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Posted in American, Not Buford Highway
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Pan American Bakery

•March 26, 2010 • 1 Comment

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You’ve got to love a good pun – especially one that works all the angles: “Pan American Bakery”. Get it? It’s a Colombian bakery (South American), but it’s in the U.S. (North American) – “Pan American” – get it. And they bake Cuban bread – I guess that’s just “Pan”. Oh, and “pan” is Spanish for “bread” – and it’s a bakery. Get it?

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Posted in Colombian, Cuban, Not Buford Highway, Restaurants
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Bacalao a la Vizcaiña

•March 25, 2010 • Leave a Comment

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My friend A. was born in Cuba. Recently, she mentioned one of her favorite dishes – Bacalao a la Vizcaiña – which I met with a blank stare and multiple requests to repeat it (I meet lots of things that way). I swear, I think Mandarin is easier than Spanish… – embarrassing, with my Spanish roots and all.

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Posted in Cooking, Dinner, Spanish
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Community Q

•March 22, 2010 • Leave a Comment

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After a recent hike up Stone Mountain, HX and I stopped for a quick lunch at Community Q in Decatur. Somewhere (maybe on Google Maps) I seem to have read that the folks at Community Q were on a mission of some sorts (I don’t really recall – locally sourced, sustainable, something like that?), but I really haven’t hunted that info down. If that is the case, more power to them, I was there to eat and don’t really have a problem with eating just about anything…

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Posted in American, Barbecue
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Crawfish Shack

•March 17, 2010 • 1 Comment

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A couple of things have stopped me from visiting Crawfish Shack until now. I spotted it pretty early on, even before they opened, but by the time they did open it was off my “route” along Buford Highway. Then the levee broke (no pun intended – really, I didn’t catch that until way after I wrote it) and the hype machine started. And nothing says “stay away” to me more than overblown hype (especially if the Yelp-weenies are behind it).  So I gave it some breathing room and after some of the noise subsided it was back on my list. Then came what is probably the biggest problem I can find with this place – they close at 7PM most days. When I leave the house to hunt for dinner at 6:30, I’m just not going to pick a place that will be kicking me out 15 minutes after I arrive.

So on a recent Friday afternoon, I found myself working from home and decided it was finally time to give Crawfish shack a try. The menu reminds me of the fish camps we used to frequent when I was a kid in Florida and South Carolina. Fish, shrimp and oysters, either fried, fried or broiled. Hushpuppies or fries. Place your order and sit.

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The grouper was fried perfectly, the hushpuppies were tasty, if small, and the shrimp were a bit overcooked. But I’m not complaining. A large group (10+ people, maybe more) was noising up the place and acting like boors (even asking for a discount, as it was their first visit!), but the staff continued to smile and remained attentive to every customer there. Pretty amazing, all things considered…

Have yet to try the chả giò (this place is Vietnamese, by the way). Saving that for my next visit.

Crawfish Shack
4337 Buford Highway
Atlanta, GA 30341

Posted in American, Vietnamese
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Bamboo Grill and Hot Pot

•March 4, 2010 • 2 Comments

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Com Ga Thailan

In chasing ethnic food along Buford Highway (or anywhere for that matter), one thing that I have difficulty with is that restaurant owners are often afraid to break the boundaries of what they think people expect.

Don’t get me wrong, I love my tacos carnitas, phở tái, niu ro mien and char kway teow, but damn it, I’m paying you to cook, not think! I’ll do the thinking around here – you get back in the kitchen and cook like your frickin’ mother…

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Cha ram nem nuong

Fortunately, I’m starting to see a few places break away from the mold and differentiate themselves, cooking the food they like to cook. Bamboo Grill & Hot Pot is a newcomer to Buford Highway, and is broadening the offerings seen on most Vietnamese menus in the area. The big standouts on the menu are lau (Vietnamese hot pot – hence the restaurant’s name), and a few claypot dishes (Cơm Tay Cầm Do Bien, Com Ga Thailan). Lau is a big, cook at your table affair – it ‘s a lot of food. The clay pot dishes are served in a pot that is reminiscent of  Chinese clay pots, but the dishes themselves remind me more of Korean dolsot bibimbap – crispy rice and the vegetables still sizzling in the bowl when it comes to the table.

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Bun Thai

A few other ingredients caught my eye on the menu as well – duck being the one I’m going back for (bun mang vit – duck bamboo vermicelli soup), snail paste – the one I’ll pass on for now.

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In a slightly eerie strip mall near the CDC on Buford Highway, Bamboo Grill is located in the space formerly occupied by Pho Pasteur.

Bamboo Grill & Hot Pot
4646 Buford Hwy NE
Chamblee, GA 30341

cơmof

Posted in Dinner, Restaurants, Vietnamese
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Montaluce Wine and Food Conclave

•February 6, 2010 • 3 Comments

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Sliding southward out of the mountains, the big V-8 was sucking in sleet and freezing rain faster that gas. Turning off onto an unmarked side road, the sleet finally gave way to snow. The Benz had all it needed – a tank of high-test and cold, dense air. We, on the other hand, were hurting. We needed something to take the edge off – fat. Preferably something super-trans-modified and searingly hot…

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So why were we now sitting in the snow, moaning over McDonalds? We were at our edge. The long day behind us had left us reeling. Because after six hours of refined food and more wine than I will typically see in 4 months (I lost count after 16), we needed something to remind us how special what we had experienced was.

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Rob and Brent Beecham had graciously invited local food bloggers to a Food and Wine Conclave at their Montaluce Winery, hidden away somewhere outside of Dahlonega – hidden in the sense that I couldn’t find it. Which given that I was pretty sure I was mistakenly invited, I’m thinking the hidden part was intentional…

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The stumbling for words began almost as soon as we turned onto the property – as in how the hell am I, who most definitely is not a wine guy, supposed to write about this? Well – I’ll keep it simple. The property, even covered in ice and fog – is beautiful. The winery, a massive Tuscan-style building that also holds Ristorante La Vigne, is impressive, inviting and best of all – comfortable. The people – friendly, warm (and I never use that word) and just truly nice – it’s not often that you meet people that really, sincerely seem happy with what they are doing. The food and wine speak for themselves.

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The menu

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Chicken Liver Mousse with house made pickles and lavosh

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Smoked steelhead trout, boiled peanuts, fennel, Meyer lemon, sweet tea froth

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Montaluce Risata, sangiovese rose

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Coppa di testa, apple mostarda, cider braise cabbage, apple

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Chicken thigh terrine, chicken oyster, cipollini onions, baby carrot, celery leaf

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Butternut cup custard, maple gel, oat crumble, buttermilk espuma

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Executive Chef Steven Hartman

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Chicken livers

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Tamis

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Too many cameras

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Ristorante La Vigne

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Wine Bar

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Charcuterie leads to celebrity

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Winemaker Oliver Asberger

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Winery

Montaluce Winery & Estates
501 Hightower Church Road
Dahlonega, GA 30533

Posted in American, Dinner, Italian, Not Buford Highway, Restaurants, Wine
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Pork – The Cuddly White Meat

•February 5, 2010 • Leave a Comment

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So many people have asked me what the hell my header image and Twitter avatar was, I finally decided I should post a bigger version. It’s a pig. A tasty, tasty pig. A pig the size of a Volkswagen.

The last time I saw him, he was living on a goat farm in SC. More like sleeping. Which he did not stop doing for the 4 hours I was there – even after I patted his jowl (needed to be make sure it was tender – that’s a honkin’ guanciale just waiting to happen…).

Mystery solved.

Posted in Not Buford Highway, Not relevant
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Butabara Kushiyaki

•January 17, 2010 • 3 Comments

Everything tastes better when it’s on a stick… And nothing tastes better on a stick than pork belly (butabara). You may be more familiar with the Japanese term yakitori (grilled chicken) – kushiyaki (skewered grilling) is a broader term, covering everything.

Pork Belly Kushiyaki

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Posted in Cooking, Japanese

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