Monday, September 18, 2006
Los Angeles, CA
Poquito Mas
3701 Cahuenga Blvd. West Studio City, CA 91604 (other locations)
(818) 760-8226
About 10 seconds after any trip to Los Angeles is contemplated, I start to think of Poquito Mas' burnt salsa (baja salsa). There's one down the street from my friends' place in North Hollywood and while in LA I eat there approximately once every two days. All of the tacos are small but delicious. My favorites are the ahi and the chicken, but mostly I come for the salsa bar. In LA there is stiff competition for Mexican fast food chains in this mold (high quality, fresh) including the excellent Baja Fresh, and Sharkys, but Poquito comes out on top.
The Poquito Mas website
3701 Cahuenga Blvd. West Studio City, CA 91604 (other locations)
(818) 760-8226
About 10 seconds after any trip to Los Angeles is contemplated, I start to think of Poquito Mas' burnt salsa (baja salsa). There's one down the street from my friends' place in North Hollywood and while in LA I eat there approximately once every two days. All of the tacos are small but delicious. My favorites are the ahi and the chicken, but mostly I come for the salsa bar. In LA there is stiff competition for Mexican fast food chains in this mold (high quality, fresh) including the excellent Baja Fresh, and Sharkys, but Poquito comes out on top.
The Poquito Mas website
Decatur, GA
Decatur is a close in suburb of Atlanta, about 10/15 minutes east of downtown.
Pyng Ho
1357 Clairmont Rd Decatur, GA 30033-5311
(404) 634-4477
I like Chinese food, but I'm no expert like some of the other contributors to this blog. But this is my favorite Atlanta Chinese restaurant. I tend to order the same things a lot in ethnic food restaurants and judge them on the basis of their proficiency in these dishes. For Chinese restaurants it is Hot and Sour Soup, the entree is really an afterthought. Pyng Ho makes a great Hot + Sour. They also happen to have an enormous menu full of interesting looking things, but I haven't tried too many of them.
Southern Sweets
186 Rio Circle, Decatur, Georgia
404-373-8752
11Am - 5pm
Southern Sweets is primarily a catering operation, specializing in cakes and pies. But they have a few seats and tables and serve sandwiches and salads foor a few hours a day. The sweet tea is good, as should be expected of any place called "Southern Sweets" and I love the salmon salad. Everything tastes good but some of the sandwiches are poorly engineered (the bread doesn't hold together with the filling). Southern Sweets is located in a kind of drab area just across from Your Dekalb Farmer's Market.
Southern Sweets' website
YDFM Cafeteria
Cafeteria is inside farmer's market at
3000 E. Ponce De Leon Avenue Decatur, GA 30030
404.377.6400
11a-8p
Your Dekalb Farmer's Market is on balance probably my favorite place to eat. It is a giant airplane hangar of a farmer's market with all kinds of great fresh food and highly recommended for locals looking for groceries, but this blog is for travelers, and they also have a good cafeteria. I go there a lot simply to eat even when I'm not shopping. It has a hot bar and a cold bar. The cold bar is salad and prepared salads, like lentil salad, bok choy salad, wild rice salad ect. The hot side has various vegetables (the YDFM is an "International" market and emphasis is on diverse ethnic style dishes), a couple bean dishes, a few rice and pasta dishes as well as meat and fish. I love the goat and lamb dishes, and the grass fed beef dishes (all beef dishes are grass fed beef). They also have Samosas and soup at an extra charge (evertyhing else is charged by weight). What's so great about the YDFM cafeteria is that you can get a wide variety of healthy food (especially vegetables) at once. This is key when you've been on the road eating McDonald's for a week.
The cafeteria closes at 8 pm but they usually stop refreshing the food well before that. I wouldn't go after 7pm. Also remember it is cash only!
YDFM Website
Sushi Avenue
308 W PONCE DE LEON AVE,DECATUR,GA,30030
(404) 378-8448
This is Decatur's neighborhood sushi bar. It's good, clean and moderately priced. Nothing crazy here, but they do all the usual stuff well. If you like sushi, you may not be wowed, but you will not be disappointed.
Levi's
308 W.Ponce de Leon Ave. Suite I Decatur, GA 30030
404.378.8881
Closed Monday. Open Weekdays and Saturday 11:30am - "close" Sunday opens at 4pm
Levi's is a few doors down from Sushi Avenue. It's a fun, casual fish house. I go there occasionally for oysters. The fish dishes are good and come with a side of sweet plantains (maduros).
Levi's Website
Mediterranean Grill
2126 N Decatur Rd Decatur, GA 30033
404 320-0101 Fax 404 320-9425
Monday - Saturday 11:00am - 9:30pm Sunday Noon - 8:30pm
Your basic Turkish/Middle Eastern/Greek shop. No lamb in the kufta, it's all beef (a negative point as far as I'm concerned). All the usual suspects are here and done well: falafel, gyros, kabobs. If you can get there in the middle of the day the "buisness lunch" combo is a great deal.
Mediterranean Grill's Website
Viet Chateau
254 W Ponce De Leon Ave Decatur, GA 30030-3269
404 373-0100
At the corner of the same street with Sushi ave and Levi's is Viet Chateau, a somewhat fancy but still inexpensive Vietnamese restaurant. The waitstaff is friendly and the food is tasty. I can't really remember specific dishes I've gotten there beyond pho, but it's all been good. They have some interesting smoothies, and though I've had durian I haven't yet been able to bring myself to get a durian smoothie.
Pyng Ho
1357 Clairmont Rd Decatur, GA 30033-5311
(404) 634-4477
I like Chinese food, but I'm no expert like some of the other contributors to this blog. But this is my favorite Atlanta Chinese restaurant. I tend to order the same things a lot in ethnic food restaurants and judge them on the basis of their proficiency in these dishes. For Chinese restaurants it is Hot and Sour Soup, the entree is really an afterthought. Pyng Ho makes a great Hot + Sour. They also happen to have an enormous menu full of interesting looking things, but I haven't tried too many of them.
Southern Sweets
186 Rio Circle, Decatur, Georgia
404-373-8752
11Am - 5pm
Southern Sweets is primarily a catering operation, specializing in cakes and pies. But they have a few seats and tables and serve sandwiches and salads foor a few hours a day. The sweet tea is good, as should be expected of any place called "Southern Sweets" and I love the salmon salad. Everything tastes good but some of the sandwiches are poorly engineered (the bread doesn't hold together with the filling). Southern Sweets is located in a kind of drab area just across from Your Dekalb Farmer's Market.
Southern Sweets' website
YDFM Cafeteria
Cafeteria is inside farmer's market at
3000 E. Ponce De Leon Avenue Decatur, GA 30030
404.377.6400
11a-8p
Your Dekalb Farmer's Market is on balance probably my favorite place to eat. It is a giant airplane hangar of a farmer's market with all kinds of great fresh food and highly recommended for locals looking for groceries, but this blog is for travelers, and they also have a good cafeteria. I go there a lot simply to eat even when I'm not shopping. It has a hot bar and a cold bar. The cold bar is salad and prepared salads, like lentil salad, bok choy salad, wild rice salad ect. The hot side has various vegetables (the YDFM is an "International" market and emphasis is on diverse ethnic style dishes), a couple bean dishes, a few rice and pasta dishes as well as meat and fish. I love the goat and lamb dishes, and the grass fed beef dishes (all beef dishes are grass fed beef). They also have Samosas and soup at an extra charge (evertyhing else is charged by weight). What's so great about the YDFM cafeteria is that you can get a wide variety of healthy food (especially vegetables) at once. This is key when you've been on the road eating McDonald's for a week.
The cafeteria closes at 8 pm but they usually stop refreshing the food well before that. I wouldn't go after 7pm. Also remember it is cash only!
YDFM Website
Sushi Avenue
308 W PONCE DE LEON AVE,DECATUR,GA,30030
(404) 378-8448
This is Decatur's neighborhood sushi bar. It's good, clean and moderately priced. Nothing crazy here, but they do all the usual stuff well. If you like sushi, you may not be wowed, but you will not be disappointed.
Levi's
308 W.Ponce de Leon Ave. Suite I Decatur, GA 30030
404.378.8881
Closed Monday. Open Weekdays and Saturday 11:30am - "close" Sunday opens at 4pm
Levi's is a few doors down from Sushi Avenue. It's a fun, casual fish house. I go there occasionally for oysters. The fish dishes are good and come with a side of sweet plantains (maduros).
Levi's Website
Mediterranean Grill
2126 N Decatur Rd Decatur, GA 30033
404 320-0101 Fax 404 320-9425
Monday - Saturday 11:00am - 9:30pm Sunday Noon - 8:30pm
Your basic Turkish/Middle Eastern/Greek shop. No lamb in the kufta, it's all beef (a negative point as far as I'm concerned). All the usual suspects are here and done well: falafel, gyros, kabobs. If you can get there in the middle of the day the "buisness lunch" combo is a great deal.
Mediterranean Grill's Website
Viet Chateau
254 W Ponce De Leon Ave Decatur, GA 30030-3269
404 373-0100
At the corner of the same street with Sushi ave and Levi's is Viet Chateau, a somewhat fancy but still inexpensive Vietnamese restaurant. The waitstaff is friendly and the food is tasty. I can't really remember specific dishes I've gotten there beyond pho, but it's all been good. They have some interesting smoothies, and though I've had durian I haven't yet been able to bring myself to get a durian smoothie.
Tuesday, September 12, 2006
Columbia, SC
| Harper's Restaurant |
| |
Columbia, South Carolina 29205-1645
Huge portions, good service, decent prices and the best apple pie in the Southeast. Try the Fontina Chicken. It's not the only game in town, but the best non-chain restaurant. The early-mid 00s SE bureau used to hit this place frequently with great anticipation..
Harper's Website
Richmond, VA
Sam Miller's
1210 E Cary St Richmond, VA 23219
(804) 644-5465
Whenever we asked Richmonders were to go for good restaurants, they sent us to the Shockhoe Bottom district. That's where you'll find Sam Miller's. It's a sort of upscale seafood restaurant. Oysters were $1.50 each (expensive if you like a lot of oysters). They have Yeungling, an American lager and my favorite beer, on tap. I was mildly disappointed with my fish entree, not that it was bad, but it didn't live up to the per diem busting price.
http://www.sammillers.com/
Richbrau
1214 E Cary St Richmond, VA 23219
(804) 644.3018 FAX: (804) 783.2106
2 doors down from Sam Miller's is Richbrau, a brewery restaurant. We ate late so only a limited menu ofbarfoodd was available. But my Fish n Chipssandwichh was pretty good, as were the home brews. I had a vanilla stout, which I was kind of worried about (but I wanted a stout), but the vanilla was hardly noticeable, it worked. They have pool tables and a wicked strong handdrier in the bathroom (don't miss it). I hear they have dancing on weekends.
http://www.richbrau.com/menus.shtml
River City Diner
7 North 17th St. Richmond, VA
(804) 644.9418 FAX: (804) 644.6211
This is a good breakfast spot across the street from the farmer's market (they have 3 locations). The decor is nice, faux exposed brick and flat screen monitors. The omelets are large, the grits competent and the apples fried. They also have specialty sodas, including the elusive chocolate cherry coke (upon request).
http://www.rivercitydiner.com/
1210 E Cary St Richmond, VA 23219
(804) 644-5465
Whenever we asked Richmonders were to go for good restaurants, they sent us to the Shockhoe Bottom district. That's where you'll find Sam Miller's. It's a sort of upscale seafood restaurant. Oysters were $1.50 each (expensive if you like a lot of oysters). They have Yeungling, an American lager and my favorite beer, on tap. I was mildly disappointed with my fish entree, not that it was bad, but it didn't live up to the per diem busting price.
http://www.sammillers.com/
Richbrau
1214 E Cary St Richmond, VA 23219
(804) 644.3018 FAX: (804) 783.2106
2 doors down from Sam Miller's is Richbrau, a brewery restaurant. We ate late so only a limited menu ofbarfoodd was available. But my Fish n Chipssandwichh was pretty good, as were the home brews. I had a vanilla stout, which I was kind of worried about (but I wanted a stout), but the vanilla was hardly noticeable, it worked. They have pool tables and a wicked strong handdrier in the bathroom (don't miss it). I hear they have dancing on weekends.
http://www.richbrau.com/menus.shtml
River City Diner
7 North 17th St. Richmond, VA
(804) 644.9418 FAX: (804) 644.6211
This is a good breakfast spot across the street from the farmer's market (they have 3 locations). The decor is nice, faux exposed brick and flat screen monitors. The omelets are large, the grits competent and the apples fried. They also have specialty sodas, including the elusive chocolate cherry coke (upon request).
http://www.rivercitydiner.com/
Boulder, CO
Restaurant Runners
Boulder's Restaurant Courier Service
(303)443-5015
When working long hours on location in Boulder you can have hot food delivered for any of over thirty restaurants for a minimal fee plus the regular price of the food. Normal delivery time is between 30 to 45 minutes. Hours are (lunch)11am to 2 pm monday through friday and (dinner) every night from 5pm to 10 pm. Menus and ordering information can be obtained on line at their web site or in a printed handout available at most major hotels.
www.restaurant-runners.com
The Kitchen Cafe
1039 Pearl St. Boulder CO 80302
(303) 544 5973
Open 7 days
Breakfast- 8am to 11am
Lunch- 11:30am to 2pm
Late Lunch- 2pm to 5pm
Dinner- 5:30 to close
Saturday and Sunday
Brunch- 9am to 2pm
Dinner- 5:30pm to close
An upscale restaurant with an organtic accent that will appeal to foodies. Lunch, Brunch and Wine Lounge menus change seasonally while the Dinner menu changes nightly. The wine cellar claims over 4,500 bottles of wine. The Kitchen Cafe tries to use fresh, locally obtained, in season ingredients in all its meals. The Zagat survey listed it in "Americas Top Restaurants - 2006" guide book. The also have a special "Community Table" offered on monday night at 7pm with family style dining. I had lunch and ordered the Slow-cooked Pork Sandwich with Salsa Verde ($10.50) and Tomato Soup ($6). The pork was moist and the sauce complimented the sandwich. Salads are made with locally grown greens and house-made dressings. Flatbreads are a specialty cooked in a woodfired oven. CNN personel had a late night meal in the upstairs lounge and seemed to universally like the food.
www.thekitchencafe.com
