Wisteria

WWGD... wait for over an hour at Pura Vida or 20 minzie at Wisteria? Aaah, yeah Gastro... that's a no brainer!!! It was a prudent choice because I was craving some good southern fwied chicken anyways.

This neighborhood restaurant is often over looked because new restos are sprouting up everywhere like a Chia Pet. Unlike some of my ex-girlfriends, this place consistently puts out... puts out tasty grub. What else could it be?! You rowdy people are so dirty!

Crab Bisque - Chunky pieces of crab and velvety smooth with the calvados creme fraiche. Put away your CVS card, no treatment needed after getting these crabs.

Kobe Beef Carpaccio - A happy cow makes for a happy appetizer! Chick-fil-A ain't got nuthin' on this. Eat Mor Meat!

Seared Sea Scallops w/ Pork Belly - Surf n Turf... enuff said. The bourbon molasses reduction was too sweet and overwhelmed the main focus just a bit. Lighten up on the reduction and let the natural flavors of the pork do it's job and it's all good!

North Atlantic Skate Wing - I'd skate over thin ice for a taste of this meaty and tasty wing anytime. The Ice Road Twuckers never had it this good. Classic lemon brown butter sauce, asparagus and stone-ground corn grits were pillowy good.

Iron Skillet Fwied Chicken - Crispy, moist and tender...only an seasoned iron skillet can deliver. Bacon braised collard greens with roasted sweet corn pudding was pure southern home cooking. James Brown just called... he wants his soul back and a doggie bag.

Molly Dooker Blue Eyed Boy Shiraz - This genuine product of Sarah & Sparky Marquis was the perfect pairing for this tasty meal.

Jason Hill is not the little engine that thinks he can survive in the world of corporate restos anymore... with his tasty grub and packed house, I know he can.

Choo Choo.

471 N Highland Ave NE
Atlanta, GA 30307
(404) 525-3363

www.wisteria-atlanta.com

ToreOre Chicken & Joy

Show me how you do that trick
The one that makes me scream, I said
The one that makes me full, I said
And threw my hands around that chicken leg
Show me how you do it
And I promise you I promise that
I'll fly away with you
I'll fly away with you ...only with a family size box of fwied yard bird!

Spinning on that dizzy edge of the counter
I licked my lips and finger tips
And dreamed of all the different ways I had
To eat my crispy bird
Why are you so far away? I said
Why won't you ever know that I'm in love with you
That I'm in love with you...

Strange as poultry
Dancing in the deepest fryers
Twisting in the 0g Trans Fat
You're just like a dream

Chicken wings licked me into shape
I must haven't eaten for days
And moving lips to taste the wing
I opened up my eyes
And found myself alone alone
Alone above an empty plate
That stole the only piece I had
And downed it deep inside of me

You
Crisp and juicy
You
Good and plenty
You
Just like heaven

10820 Abbotts Bridge Rd
Duluth, GA 30097

(770) 476-1205
www.toreore.com

Love Letter Pizza & Chicken

I have struck GOLD with the Clampetts here yonder...not black gold but golden fried chicken, Korean style! Here's the best part...Not once but twice in this Super H Mart strip mall with 2 Korean chix places.

I was giddy as a school girl passing love letters in class and almost peed my pants when I saw this place. I ran in and ordered b/c I know it takes about 15 minzies to cook. Strolled in H Mart and saw the other fwied chix place called ToreOre...but that's another review I'll be singing shortly.

The bird box is full of legs, wings and thighs chopped into manageable pieces. The crust is super crispy and thin, meat is juicy and flavorful and almost greaseless...only if I could find a nice girl like this I would be set. "Og Trans Fat" chix..yum-mo. Regular is my choice but you can do Sweet & Mild/Hot or Buffalo style. I say stick with the basics. This stuff is amazing and pooky addictive.

The pizza is Korean style by way of California...Potato 'Za and Bulgoki 'Za. WTF?! This thing can be going back to Cali, Cali, Cali...Do I wanna eat this? I don't think so...

Skip the pseudo 'Za and gnaw on a crispy juicy ghetto pigeon instead.

The company's original name is Cheogajip Chicken but here in the U.S.A. is known as Love Letter.

BURP!

10820 Abbotts Bridge Rd
Ste 350
Duluth, GA 30097

(770) 813-8882

Busy Bee Cafe

C. Thomas Howell doesn't need to take Bronzing Pills if he wanted Soul... all he had to do was grub at the Busy Bee.

Mary Mac's and Glady Knight & the Pimps ain't got nuthin' on Busy Bee... this chow is tastee. You have to get there early or else the wait is unreal. If there is a line...go next door and get a fade from Calvin Palmer at the Barbershop.

The jewel of the menu is of course the Fried Chicken. Mebbe one of the best I have ever eaten. Super crispy, thin batter, juicy yet not greezy, seasoned nicely... just OMG. The Collards are excellent. The Mac was good but needed that crispy semi-burnt crust. Cheese grease factor was low which is good. The corn bread is decent, they just break apart like sawdust when you bite into it...but it's not a bad thing though.

The rest of the menu is just plain good...some dishes better than others but still homemade with love and attention. The "Joe Lewis" Ham Hock is a shank to be reckon with. The Daily Specials are quite special as well... served with sweet tea. The tea is so sweet, if you put a string in it... you'll get rock candy in 5 minzies.

"Comin to ya on a dusty road
Good lovin I got a truck load
And when you get it you got something
So don't worry cause I'm coming

I'm a Soul Man..."

810 Martin Luther King Jr Dr
Atlanta, GA 30314

(404) 525-9212

www.thebusybeecafe.com/

Popeyes Chicken & Biscuits

I don't eat much fast food these days. They are so tiresome and pedestrian. I feel bamboozled every time after the fact. When you're hungry, you think it will taste good but in the end... you just feel like a bloated sack of potatoes that makes you want to hurl voluntarily. But there is one fast food joint that I love and adore even though the service at most locations are a crapshoot. Popeyes and Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen churns out some really tasty fried yardbirds and more. It's no secret that I love fried chicken and had many different types from all over. Korean fried chicken is one of my favorite types because it's super crispy, almost grease-less and chopped up into manageable pieces.

Since the only intown Popeyes location is anchored in a "diversed" area, only the locals and diehard fans attempt to enter. On the corner of Boulevard and Ponce, it has seen it's share throughout the years... robberies, theft, shootings, stabbings, muggings, brawls, urination, defecation, rival conflicts with the late Church's across the street and the most recent a fire. This is my Popeyes... and I love it.


It has been repaired to it's low rent status and open for business once again. No need to feel endangered or suffer bodily harm anymore since they've employed the services of an off duty cop. Woohoo! Ok, let's get to the quick and dirty... the grub. Dark meat is usually my favorite because it's more flavorful than the white meat. But you don't have to twist my arm to eat either one. Flavoring, there's only one way to eat them fwied birdz... spicy! I mean the mild is ok but I end up dousing it in hot sauce which is ok too! The crust is the best part, it's crispy and not very greasy. When you bite into it, there's not much grease that squirts out unlike Church's. I guess some like the grease factor running down their arms but not me... I'm lubed enough. The meat is moist and tender and it really is hard for me to eat less than 5 pieces in one sitting. It's just a good tasting piece of ghetto pigeon.

The side items are a gamble at each location... not all of them have the same thing. WTF? I love the green beans but only a handful of stores makes them now. The cajun rice and red beans & rice are the classic tasty standbys. The mac & cheese, cole slaw and corn on the cob are ok. Some people love their biscuits, I, on the other hand am neutral on this filler. When it's hot and soft, it's good but let it sit for a few minutes... forgettaboutit! Tougher than cow muffins! Most of the sides are just for conversation, but the chicken is the real star here.


Their LA Kitchen stores... what can I say except that it has everything under one roof! Bonus that it's near my office in Norcross. This is called casual fast food where you order and sit down and the food is brought out to you. Is this working? Ah, looks like it from the crowd everyday. The menu is expanded with Po'Boys, Jambalaya, Gumbo, Shrimp entrees, Ribs, more sides, and desserts such as N'awlins Bread Pudding and Cinnamon Apple Pies. Don't expect to find authentic Nawlins dishes but just a glimpse of the flavors of the Bayou.




Stick with the chicken and sides at either concept, they're your best bets. Consistent and tasty to the last crumb. Popeyes, they really do good bayou!

Burp!

683 Boulevard NE
Atlanta, GA 30308
(404) 875-7070
http://www.popeyes.com/

4th & Swift

It's no surprise that I love fried chicken... but I also love all things foul or food for that matter. Whether it's fried, steamed, poached, baked, braised, roasted, grilled or sauteed... I will eat chicken which ever way it's put in front of me.


4th & Swift just opened recently and the reviews have been pretty positive for chef Jay Swift's beautiful minimally designed restaurant. After a couple of weeks, I couldn't resist it anymore. I grabbed my foxy foodie gal pal and had to see what the fuss was all about. First obstacle to our meal was finding the entrance! We walked around the entire building and came back to step one. The front door was so unassuming that we thought it was a side exit. Duh?! We did comment later on that they should place a podium with a menu out front as a clear sign of the entrance. Jay even chuckled though the kitchen window when he saw us walk around outside. Ok, obstacle cleared... let's get to those chicken lips!!!

After sampling a few appetizers, the main dish of the night came. Oven roasted Amish Chicken with warm bread salad and maple vinegar jus. I got to admit, those Amish chickens are way tastier than those city chickens. Maybe it's because they don't drive... they walk everywhere, I guess it builds nice muscles and meaty flavor. The skin had a nice crisp to it but the meat remained tender and juicy. It was a beautiful piece of chicken that was cooked perfectly. The warm bread salad was more of a side note than a compliment to the dish. The big cubes of croutons got soggy pretty quickly from the jus. The maple vinegar flavor gave the chicken a nice note of sweetness but the chicken could stand on it's own. When I think of chicken dishes, they should always be simple and classic with a side of haricot vert and a starch such as buttery mashed potatoes or creamy mac & cheese. It's comfort food... it doesn't need to be introduced to too many complex flavors.

Other dishes of the night were the sweet corn soup with fried oysters, heirloom tomatoes, lasagna of braised lamb shoulder, three little pigs of loin, belly and handmade sausage with mac & cheese. For being opened only a couple weeks on my first visit, the kitchen was humming along pretty well. The dishes were well prepared, good execution and flavors were well balanced. There were more hits than misses here. I can only imagine how good it will be in a couple months.

621 North Ave NE
Atlanta, GA 30308
(678) 904-0160

www.4thandswift.com