ATLGuide
The Best Things We Ate This Month
In the month of Mardi Gras, we discovered a few fantastic po’boys that we plan to put on our regular rotation. We also slurped a pho we’ll never pho-get and fell in love with a focaccia.
We forget passwords at an embarrassingly high rate. And good luck asking us to remember our neighbor’s son’s name. But if you need us to meticulously recall the most memorable bites we’ve had recently, we can recite the details like a savant. In fact, the following dishes were so damn good that, for a split second, they made us forget about everything else going on in our lives.
February 2023
Oyster Po'Boy
The po’boys at Just Loaf’in will make you rethink everything you know about food stops at gas station shopping centers. The small Mardi Gras-colored eatery off the Boulevard exit on I-20 is now our new favorite place to grab a bite before hitting rush hour. And their amazing oyster po’boy makes any horrific commute more enjoyable. The tender, fried oysters would normally be a touch too salty on their own, but paired with a tangy remoulade and soft french bread, we barely came up for breaths between bites.
Focaccia Ripiena
You’ve had focaccia before. But we’d be willing to bet you haven’t tasted the Italian bread quite like how InterContinental Buckhead’s standout restaurant Americano does it. A circular brown loaf, the size of a bread-and-butter plate, this focaccia has a distinguishing green pesto spread on top. Once you cut a slice and bite into it, the stracchino cheese and herbs dance so brilliantly together it'll remind you of the best pizza pocket you ever had. But if there is a downside to devouring the whole thing, it’s that your main course may be an afterthought.
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Debris Po'Boy
It’s messy! That’s the warning label for the Debris Po’Boy on the menu at the Po'Boy Shop in Decatur. And they aren’t lying. Most of the mess comes from the brown gravy that oozes out the sides of the sandwich everytime you pick it up. But the gravy doesn't overshadow the tender, slow-roasted beef nor the bread with a slightly crusty exterior and incredibly soft interior that makes the perfect vessel to carry the contents. Along with a little bit of horseradish sauce, which provides a spicy kick to accentuate the beef, everything works together like a finely-tuned brass band. Bypass napkins here and just lick your fingers because wasting any precious drip is unforgivable.
Eye of Round Beef Pho
We’re still working on forgiving We Suki Suki in EAV for only being open for lunch three days a week. But our anger subsides every time we get a taste of their Eye of Round Beef Pho. Their broth marinates for a full 24 hours, so it’s a blast of flavor with every slurp. The beef is served medium rare, and the thin rice noodles are cooked to perfection. It has the same ingredients as every other pho in town (cilantro, Thai basil, bean sprouts, and green onions), but somehow they magically combine to form the perfect mix. We can’t actually pinpoint what makes it so damn good, but the constant line out the door means we aren’t the only ones who are obsessed.
photo credit: Mhandy Gerard
La Semilla
Crunchwrap
Look, we all hit Taco Bell once in a while to snag a Crunchwrap when options are few. But we’d rather just go to La Semilla, which has perfectly recreated the iconic fast food staple with one catch—no meat. Even with their solely plant-based menu, this Crunchwrap tastes better than the real deal. And this dish contains the perfect amount of seitan beef, sour cream, nacho cheese, and lettuce in every bite (yes, we’re directing shade toward the Bell). Now all they need is a drive thru.
January 2023
Coconut Tres Leches
By George in downtown’s The Candler Hotel feels like an out-of-era experience because the restaurant sits in a regal turn-of-the-century building that looks out toward the path of the Marta trolley car (which none of us have gotten used to). And we’d like to say dessert at By George feels like old elegance, too—this fluffy dessert is already among the best of them. But soaked in the sweetness of tres leches, this cake feels more like a spoonful of spongy coconut cream. If the Greek gods ever had the opportunity to re-appropriate a dessert that should actually have the name of ambrosia, we're pretty sure this would be their pick.
Lomo Saltado
The Lomo Saltado at Tio Lucho’s in Virginia Highland is one of their most popular dishes for good reason. Perfectly cooked tender sirloin steak with beefy brown sauce, steak fries, smashed heirloom tomatoes, and hunks of onions sit in a large bowl mingling with salty juices and flavors—along with a side bowl of rice, of course. When steak is served with french fries and rice, we’ll gladly take it and excuse it as carb-loading for a big marathon (yes, we mean a movie marathon). If we happen to have on our pants with the elastic waistband, we will contemplate ordering seconds.
Big Earl
There are a lot of great burgers in the A, like the legendary H&F or General Muir’s double-smash cheeseburger, but we have to call attention to a burger that has unfairly slipped under the radar. Reminiscent of the Big Mac, this burger is massive with two quarter-pound patties and three sesame seed buns, caramelized onions, and American cheese spilling out the sides. It’s easily an eight-napkin meal because you can’t dig into it without cheese and Thousand Island sauce dripping down your chin. This giant, messy burger makes The Earl dive bar a must-stop in EAV.
Wood-Fired Roasted Cauliflower
We understand if you don’t like cauliflower. It can be bland, it has a peculiar odor, and sometimes it’s just too much roughage. As a matter of fact, the last time we semi-willingly ate cauliflower, it was flown on an airplane spoon with accompanying motor sounds. But the cauliflower appetizer at Palo Santo in West Midtown might just change your mind. Peek into the kitchen, and you’ll see cauliflower stalks hanging above an open flame, roasting to perfection. Miso caramel drizzled on top gives the crunchy stalk a sweet taste, and the fresh, creamy jalapeno sauce is perfect for dunking the roasted florets. It might be time to call moms to apologize for ever dissing (or spitting out) this white veggie.
Sizzling Salmon
With couples and corporate types frequenting this Buckhead restaurant, conversation fills the dining room. That is, until the waiter brings your Sizzling Salmon to the table. Thanks to a crackling that’s part Chili’s fajita and part campfire, a silence will fall. This fairly simple dish—a decent cut of salmon tossed with peppers and pineapples over a bubbling hot sauce served on a cast iron skillet—masters the complex art of being sweet but not offensively so. The dish will be so damn good you’ll throw civility to the wind and dump your fluffy rice onto the plate.
