Thaicoon - Marietta

The Sherlock Holmes Roll - not sure why it is called this but I love this spicy tuna roll topped with more fish and a tiny piece of lemon. Tangy, spicy and delicious!

Recently we dined at Thaicoon in Marietta just before viewing a performance of "The Sound of Music" on Marietta's historic square. This restaurant has a sister located near where I live at the Sage Hill shopping center on Briarcliff Road. For no particular reason, I have not actually had a meal there although I've ordered take out several times. This was a great opportunity to sample the offerings, which are similar at both restaurants. My favorite dishes here include the above fancy sushi roll and the basil duck. The tom yum kung soup was also good. The Panang curry with scallops was too bland for me - one of those instances when the spice stars don't mean a thing - definitely a disappointment after our recent trip to Thailand! Thaicoon was crowded - it was Saturday night - so make a reservation if you're going at a popular time. If you have never tried Thai food this is a great place to start. There is a full Japanese menu available as well including several other creative sushi rolls like the Caribbean Roll, which includes snow crab and shrimp tempura.

Basil Duck - tasty.



Panang Curry with Scallops - not enough spice for me!



Tom Yum Gung - good flavor but not heavily spiced.

Taste of Atlanta 2011 This Weekend

Delicious pork belly/fried banana bites at JCT Kitchen, one of the 80 restaurants participating in Taste of Atlanta this weekend.

I was invited on a fun progressive tasting highlighting some of the fabulous restaurants featured at this year's Taste of Atlanta event, to be held in Tech Square this weekend, October 22 and 23 with a special Friday night party on October 21. Taste of Atlanta features food, cocktails, wine, beer, cooking demos, competitions and more, with dozens of Atlanta area restaurants featured. Click here to purchase tickets. Looks like a great weekend for the 10th Anniversary of this fun food festival. Below are some highlights from the sneak peak.

Bar upstairs at JCT.



Special fall drinks at JCT Kitchen.



Dining room at Tuk Tuk Thai Loft.



Mieng Kum at Tuk Tuk. We loved these!



Beef with sticky rice. Oh how I adore you sticky rice!



Shrimp and chicken toasts.

Garlic Thai and Sushi in Decatur

Green papaya salad and grilled squid with mango.

We celebrated my cousin's birthday at the recently opened Garlic Thai and Sushi in Decatur. We opted to sit on the patio, where quite a few tables are available for al fresco dining. In addition to an extensive Thai menu, the restaurant also offers a selection of "street food", with a separate menu, and a paper sushi menu. The most outstanding thing we tried is the fried catfish (below). The massaman curry was also tasty and creamy. The sushi we tried did not stand out - the salmon nigri did not have much taste at all and the fish was too thinly sliced. Also frustrating, the server got our sushi order wrong even after scrutinizing the paper menu and asking us about what we wanted twice. It was also odd that the sushi - just 2 pieces of nigri and one roll did not come out until after all the other food was delivered. I could understand this if the place was full, but only about 2 other tables were occupied. Still, we did not try much of the sushi so there could be other rolls that would be better. I'd love to see a sticky rice with mango dessert - one of my favorites.

Inside the space has been nicely redecorated and includes photographs of southeast Asia. The restaurant is open for lunch and dinner.

Patio view.

Ginger shrimp, massaman curry and fried catfish.

Rain on Cheshire Bridge

Super Rain Roll - shrimp tempura with avocado and smoked salmon on top - sushi for those who don't eat raw fish!

To celebrate several events including a very late birthday for one of the law partners in my office and my two year anniversary with the firm, we visited Rain, located in the Tara theater shopping plaza at the corner of Cheshire Bridge and LaVista. This is a nice place for a celebration lunch as the atmosphere is calm, quiet and soothing and the prices are not too high.

We all enjoyed the Super Rain roll and the tempura appetizer. I ordered the sashimi and tempura combination lunch, which also includes choice of soup or salad, several pieces of California roll and cucumber salad. The salmon sashimi (my fave) stood out. The tempura was excellent also.

Everyone seemed to enjoy their dishes, although I did not try anything other than the vegetarian curry, which was appropriately spiced and tasty. For dessert they brought out a complimentary ice cream/sticky rice platter with candle - nice touch! I love sticky rice so this was right up my alley.

Tempura appetizer.



Sashimi/Tempura lunch box - delicious salmon, my favorite!



Curried vegetables - nice and spicy.



Teriyaki Chicken.



Cashew Chicken.



Sushi/Pad Thai lunch box.



Sticky rice with coconut and green tea ice creams and chocolate sauce. Yum!

Spoon Eastside

Calamari - delicious!

A couple of weeks ago we took some out of town family and friends to Spoon Eastside on Moreland Avenue. I also had an early dinner there about two months ago sans camera. Overall this is a fine place for Thai food, although the prices are a bit higher than some of my other Thai faves like Little Bangkok on Cheshire Bridge - or shall I say, the portions are a bit smaller! The place was not crowded at all on Friday night, which might mean bad news for this restaurant, which also has a location near Georgia Tech. Everything was good but one of the main reasons I like this place is that it's right across the parking lot from Morelli's Gourmet Ice Cream. Spicy food followed by creamy goodness cannot be beat! My favorite dishes here are the fried calamari, the massamun curry and the spicy seafood salad (not pictured). What is your favorite Thai restaurant?

Basil rolls and special fried shrimp appetizer.



Pad Thai.



Massamun Curry with tofu.



Pad Kraprao - spicy basil with chicken.

Mango with Sticky Rice

On Sunday my friend Thy called to let me know she had prepared sticky rice with mango. This is one of my favorite desserts, often served at Thai restaurants. She even made a coconut sauce to go over the sweet, sticky rice and she provided sesame seeds for sprinkling. This is the best sticky rice I've ever tasted. I have never made it as you need a steamer basket to make the rice properly. Thy - thank you so much! You are awesome. I really enjoyed the sticky rice!

Penang Malaysian and BuHi Farmer's Market

Nasi Lemak - sometimes I get a real craving for this!

Wednesday evening I convinced a couple of my girl friends to accompany me to dinner and to the Buford Highway Farmer's Market (5600 Buford Highway, just outside the perimeter). We dined at Penang, which serves up tasty Malaysian and Thai cuisine. I had the nasi lemak (pictured above) which was spicy and tasty; I love the savory coconut rice. The curry chicken served along with the pickles and anchovy mixture really hits the spot with the rice, too, and the hard fried egg is an interesting addition, although in my opinion it could do with a little less cooking! My friends seemed to really enjoy their noodle dishes (below) also. They pretty much cleaned their plates, as did I, so I'll take that as a good sign.

I will have to do another post on the BuHi farmer's market sometime. Let me just say IT IS AWESOME! It's quite different from DeKalb Farmer's Market, with more in the way of packaged goods from other countries and less in the way of fresh fish and deli products. This was especially evident with the Japanese selection as well as the Eastern European goods. I didn't even have a chance to check out the African/Caribbean section or the Latino section - definitely on the list for next time. They have several prepared foods sections as well, which are probably busier during the day. From what I noticed these include a Mexican bakery (with fresh-made tortillas, breads & pastries), a taqueria up front, a Korean/sushi counter and an Eastern European counter with pierogies, pastries, cheeses etc. I will be back soon and I promise to take photos. Honestly I was just too excited to take any this time! I also enjoyed their variety of produce and going on a weeknight was probably a good idea - not crowded at all and much easier to navigate than I've found at the DeKalb market. Try it - you'll like it!

Tiki-like entrance.



Thai Basil Noodles.



Pad thai, veggie style.

Hanukkah/Birthday Part Dos

As the holidays approached we headed to Charlotte, my hometown, for some Hanukkah and birthday celebrations. We also attended a very neat Hindu wedding (see above post). It seemed like we were carried from one party to the next, celebrating with my dad's office, then a family Hanukkah party, then with my friend getting married and then for my birthday. Luckily my big day was not over yet!

Cooking latkes in Charlotte.



Amy with Cousin George.



Sticky rice with mango birthday "cake" from Monsoon Thai Restaurant - this is one of my very favorite desserts!



Calvin opening one of his presents as Grandma Sarah looks on.



The real cake! My mom's yellow cake with chocolate frosting. I'm feeling pretty good as you can see!

Thai It Up!

Lemon Sea Bass and Spicy Eggplant with Chicken

Little Bangkok on Cheshire Bridge Road is one of my favorite hole in the wall ethnic restaurants. I was first introduced to it by my cousins Joanne and Craig, and as it's quite near where I live and where I work, I've been a regular there since I moved to Atlanta. One of the keys to dining here is to recognize the small specials list that stays on each table. The lemongrass steamed sea bass is like a flavor explosion in your mother - really a unique and tasty dish. Little Bangkok will tailor the spiciness of the dishes to your taste and thankfully, if you ask for it spicy, it really is hot!