Well, looks like PCM is well on it's way to becoming a destination food hall... Wait, did I say that out loud? I meant it has a long way to becoming a destination food hall... But it's on the right track. I do like the places in the mega space but it's far from world class even though the Chelsea Market people are behind it. The food joints are modern and presented very nicely but from what I have sampled so far, I'm not rushing back for them on a weekly basis. So, I was interested to try Jia but after going through the picture menu and way overpriced dishes, it just didn't put me in the mood for any Sichuan grub. I will hit them up eventually but not today... Walked next door to the taco joint by the Charleston celeb chef.
Sean Brock was walking around but he looked so lonely because no one was going up to him and kissing his ass... Bless his heart. It's prolly because no one in this food hall even knows who the fuck he is. I have eaten at all his restos in Charleston and they are pretty good. Charleston is a great food town, could even be better than Atlanta. Opening a second location for his taco shack with a tad smaller menu could prove to be either a winner or loser... But knowing this town's palate for all things Mexican't... It will prolly lean more on the winner side. Let's go eat some Mexi-gash...
Minero Michelada. I like micheladas but not as much as the Grizz. You gotta have Clamato in there... Didn't notice any, it was just semi cloudy. Nor was there salt on the rim. This was a pretty lackluster almost amateurish michelada... Not enough of everything that goes in there and no garnish. Not surprising given the bartenders acted like they were indentured servants trying to pay off a debt... I'm like, dude, passage from Charleston to Atlanta is like only $20 on the Megabus.
Horchata. It was chalky but had decent flavor to it... Like the rice was not ground up enough in the beginning or not pureed and strained well enough after soaking. A little more almond and cinnamon wouldn't hurt. Maybe they will get this perfected in the future.
Pork Carnitas, Al Pastor. The house made tortillas are pretty good. The meat fillers were pretty decent portions but there's just too many other stuff on top to kill the taste of the main attraction. You can't even fold these fucking things... Where's the fork and knife? They weren't bad but weren't great either for the price. The dripping grease factor was similar to Taco Bell... No bueno.
Grilled Steak, Fried Catfish, Charcoal Chicken, Green Chorizo. I basically got every single taco he had on the menu... And nothing was adventurous that one would find at a Mexi taqueria. These four were a total mess. Look at all that shit on top. Who the fuck can tell what you're eating let alone tasting. Nothing on this plate was memorable the next day. I still remember the lengua, cabeza, tripa and chile relleno tacos I had at a taqueria inside a Mexi mercado last year, it was fucking unreal and cheap as fuck, too. A friend who owns a great little resto intown told me the other night the burrito he had here was awesome... Maybe I'll try that next time, but he is a gringo, though.
Charcoal Grilled Chicken Wings, doused with Valentina. Came in a cute little paper bag with a window. Server wanted to do the dousing, I told her no thanks since I didn't want just that cheap Valentina sauce in there. Luckily, they had the green chile habanero sauce which is one of my favorite premade hot sauces.
I doused them with a shitload of Green Hot Sauce (almost used the whole jar) and a little of the Valentina for that cheap smokey flavor. They were pretty decent sized wings and had a nice char but they were just ok. Some parts of the meat were dry, tough and chewy... Which made wonder if a few batches were cooked off and held in warm box. I would not get these again.
Churros. Stuffed inside the same paper bag as the wings which makes more sense since they're a cute little dessert treat.
They look like big cheese curly puffs. They were crunchy and light on the outside but the inside was wet, gooey and under-cooked, I don't know if they wanted it like that so it's not so dry or the cook just didn't fry it long enough. They were kinda light on the color. They weren't too bad besides the gooey batter inside. The thick chocolate sauce was rich and tasty.
This gringorized taco joint has it's place in the PCM food hall but the food (minus the tortillas) was just ok which will be totally fine with this crowd. I'm not rushing back here any time soon... Not until I have tried everything else in the food hall. Hector's Super Pan should be a hit since he doesn't dumb down anything for anyone. And Guy's Ton Ton ramen joint should do pretty well but I have my doubts on the quality of the broth with that much volume in this food hall. What's sad is that I didn't even think twice about going back to Hop's Chicken... Imagine that, the pouch didn't even want fried cheekan. They still need to work on that order window (1 order taker/cashier person is fucking stupid) because that line is just unwarranted... Unless they wanted that image of being ultra busy like some night club. As for Minero, even a celeb chef can only do so much with a Mexi menu that caters towards the gen pop... But we all know that they will kill it with this herd. If you look down from the second floor, it looks like a giant slaughter house. Stay tuned for the look on the pricey lobster roll at Dub's Fish Shack/Camp... Squirt.
675 Ponce De Leon Ave.
Atlanta, GA 30308
http://mineroatlanta.com/
2 comments:
Be thankful you didn't eat at Jia. The food isn't as good as Chong Qing Hot Pot for 2x the price. I know it's an ITP hipster food court and all, but even the service was worse than I've ever had at any place on Buford Highway. The simple act of someone ordering a few dishes to go took 4 people and 10 minutes to even put in the order.
As an ITP hipster, please don't lump us in with PCM. It's a yuppie food court. PCM wants to be Midtown Lenox with apartments on top.
Can someone please take the yuppies back to Buckhead?
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