Taiwanese pop songs bounce off the high walls of Bento Cafe (5495 Jimmy Carter Blvd., Norcross, 770-300-9798, www.bentocafe.com). Colorful orange signage and manga-inspired illustrations pepper the space, which feels more like a cool converted warehouse in the heart of a major city than a restaurant in a Norcross strip mall.
An energetic gaggle of young girls in spiky heels, smart winter coats and carefully manipulated scarves burst in and make their way through the restaurant to one of the kitchen-grade stainless steel tables. Without so much as a glance at the menu, they rattle off a list of dishes to a young waitress sporting a fashionable blunt haircut and colorful sneakers. When the food arrives, the girls’ chatter comes to an abrupt halt and they pounce with wide, hungry eyes.
In a time when “street food” is a marketing term, Bento is lauded by many Yelpers of Taiwanese descent for its hard-to-find home-style dishes and real-deal street snacks. Nibble-friendly appetizers such as pickled cabbage, chewy braised bean curd coated in thick sauce, and sweet Taiwanese sausage start off the meal. A platter of pillowy dumplings arrives with silky exteriors and juicy pork filling tinged with green onion. Fried fritters abound, from fish balls to chicken nuggets coated in a spicy and smoky powder (the correct plate-to-mouth technique involves impaling them with a wooden skewer). The snack food section holds some intimidating items but it’s worth the plunge. Take, for instance, the ba wan – a gelatinous dumpling that looks like a jellyfish floating in a pool of orange-red sweet and sour sauce. But the dumpling’s thick, translucent skin is just the vehicle for the hefty main attraction: a mixture of chewy vegetables and salty, minced pork.
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No matter how much you love vegetables, getting enough of them in your diet can be a task – especially if you have a busy schedule and no time to cook. The market is flooded with “healthy” snack alternatives, but the truly healthy options taste like Styrofoam. The tastier versions tend to be high in calories and fat, and full of weird additives.
The Fresh Market, a chain of specialty food stores based in Greensboro, N.C., makes a line of vegetable chips that manages to be full of flavor and good for you without the nasty preservatives. Instead of deep-frying the vegetables the traditional way, the market uses vacuum-frying technology. Vacuum-frying is done at a lower temperature, which means that the item being fried absorbs less fat, and more nutrients remain. The vegetables are rendered crisp, with clean flavors and a vibrant natural color.
How would you like to get these Jamal's Buffalo wings delivered to your doorstep tomorrow?
Guess what?
Do it.
Cafe di Sol has all the right parts in place. The restaurant--located in the old Diem space--is inviting, there's a killer covered patio, the bartender makes a wickedly spicy bloody mary, and the food, while not perfect, has a little something for every craving.
My favorite dish thus far: The chicken biscuits with mushroom gravy. Flaky biscuits, crunchy fried chicken without a trace of oil, a lacquer of gravy and two picture perfect eggs. Add a bloody and you have one happy Sunday.
The two-course presentation was a lot of fun for everyone and we liked it so much we ordered two. Great meal with friends and the cupcakes from Little Cake Bakery were a perfect sweet note to end the night.
Our extremely friendly waitress took our order and everyone scattered. Junior camped out in the little cubby with video games, Moon made love to the jukebox and I examined the impressive beer menu. It was a nice way to spend a rainy Monday birthday night until we were approached by a manager and told kids are not allowed downstairs for their safety. Apparently the hostess wasn't told. We offered to move upstairs twice, but he told us to stay downstairs. It was a birthday buzz-kill, but we made up for the awkward experience with ethereal chocolate mousse birthday cake from Alon's Bakery when we got home. Around the time of our meal, the policy re: kids was undecided, but Ormsby's settled on the following per their PR representative, Melissa Libby: No one under 21 is allowed downstairs after 6pm and no one under 21 is allowed in the restaurant/bar after 8pm. I personally feel they are losing out on a lot of potential revenue from families who live nearby, but a policy is a policy. What do you think?
We went to Sauced, Ria Pell's new spot, where I ate the weirdest food I've had in a long while. I am floored with the retro face-lift they gave the previously barren space. It's warm, the kind of place that you just want to hang out in.
The food is another story. The comfort food concept is a great idea, but the execution is seriously lacking; we experienced over-salted food, a soggy beef wellington that had huge chunks of fat, cloying cocktails and sloppy plating. I hope Ria smooths the bumps out because the bones are certainly there. Take heed and give it a little time.
We unfortunately left feeling unsatisfied. So, we did the thing food obsessed people do and went down the street to Shaun's for a second meal.
The thing I like about Shaun's is that I like it a little more each time I go. The place evolves and I have to admit I may have sold this place short in the past. If you order well, you'll end up with new creations like this:
The Carolina Gold and Chicken soup. If you like congee, you'll go wild for this soup. It is full of rich chicken stock, buttery Carolina Gold rice (I heart this rice), an intense drizzle of sweetish soy reduction (?), chives, a julienne of fresh ginger, and crushed peanuts; a totally craveable dish I will return for as long as it is on the menu.
I went hunting for new Indian some days later and went to check out Tava Grill, an Indian/Pakistani restaurant stall located in the sparkling new Cherians;
All of the food is made to order and the menu is full of snack type food like the bun kabab above and more intensive dishes like nihari. Sadly, the overall flavor of the food was average and saturated with food coloring.
Not a gem of a find.
We went to check out Kusum Foods, a place John Kessler found and wrote about, since we were in the area.
The place is sterile, but the food has all the color your heart desires. The thali (above) was decent; I really liked those puffy crunchy things in the bottom right corner of the picture. But the real draw for me here is the chaat (Indian snack/street food). I adored the sev puri: a sphere of puffed rice that's cracked and filled with soft potatoes, yogurt and tamarind. I can't wait to get back and try more--especially the sweets.
I couldn't resist picking up a slice of yellow cake with chocolate frosting from Southern Sweets.
Amidst the exploring, I frequented my old standbys like this filling post-workout tofu sandwich at Dynamic Dish. Tip: check his Twitter feed for the daily menu.
The polar opposite of Dynamic Dish: the gut-bomb specials, like this Frito Pie with brisket chili, at Fox Brothers Barbecue.
Um, yum. Points for serving it in the bag.
And a warming cup of Kristen Hard's spicy (and pricey) Aztec hot chocolate at Cacao, her cute-as-a-button Inman Park boutique.
One of my favorite parts of the month was a macaron making workshop organized by Tami of Running with Tweezers and Shameeka of The Broke Socialite as part of Sugar Coma, a tour off all things sweet in Atlanta. Helen McSweeney, the force behind Tartelette, taught a group of us how to make basic macarons on Sunday afternoon. I am proud to say my less than stellar baking skills actually made something edible.
I like to use fancy camera tricks to hide my mistakes.
I'm still embroiled in my love affair with Miller Union. The food is made with good ingredients and care. The space is so welcoming and feels like you're visiting a friend.What else could you want from a New American restaurant? My favorites, so far, are the farm egg in celery cream with grilled country bread and the rabbit over grits. Miller Union is now hosting family-style "Harvest Dinners" every Tuesday. I am dying to go to one. Get more information here.
There were, of course, more meals throughout the month, but I am going to do bigger posts of those. Stay tuned for my review of Tuk Tuk and more.
I just got an email from Steven Carse, owner of The King of Pops. He also sent some photos; the one above is of him and his friend after they completed the mural. Steve writes:
I'm going to be opening in the old flower shop. I'm still shooting for March 1, but that is looking less likely as the days pass. I will have traditional paletas, but I won't limit myself (Watermelon mint, Tangerine Basil, Lemon curd, chocolate chip cookies and cream). I'll be using organic and local fruits when possible.
I grew up in Atlanta, and moved back a few years ago. I would love to be a positive part of the community, so let me know if you have any ideas for events that I could donate some product to.
Steve also said he has a Facebook page up for the King of Pops where you can get more information until the website is completed.
Owner Jackie Fukuya Merkel seems to know nearly every customer who walks through the door of Bishoku (5920 Roswell Road, Sandy Springs, 404-252-7998). Jackie is the daughter of Kimio Fukuya, the now retired owner of Sushi Huku, which Zagat once rated Atlanta’s best Japanese restaurant. Bishoku is just a few miles from Jackie’s father’s former restaurant, and the customers have followed.
According to one of the waitresses, Bishoku means, “beautiful dining.” The restaurant lives up to its name. Glossy modern woods and furnishings bear tiny winks of traditional Japanese decor. A keen eye for subtle details is also evident in the dinnerware. It’s not uncommon for the chopstick rests to change visit to visit.
Lunch and dinner menus are short (you can order from both during lunch). Tonkatsu – a crunchy fried pork cutlet sliced with precision – is served with sinus-clearing Japanese mustard, feathery shredded cabbage, sticky white rice and a molasses-thick sweet and sour tonkatsu sauce. Mix in a dollop of mustard for sensory overload. As katsu don, the same fried pork is served on top of a bowl of vegetables and silky eggs over rice.
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No word on when they are opening, but "King of Pops" has to be the best name for a popsicle spot EVER.
