Pouch Trough

The pouch is a like dumping ground for all types of culinary garbage... It's like the Staten Island of slop. I have been on a eating frenzy that is why I haven't been posting much lately... My fat greasy fingers keep slipping off the keyboard. My muffin top is like a rubber raft with a stuck release valve. I have been so bloated for the last 3 weeks but I keep ingesting more and more trash. Does the pouch have no shame? No, that motherfucker never have and never will... Deal with it, I have to everyday. But it also has no shame in telling it's one reader the truth on good eats and shitty eats. Let's see how many bouts of IBS I will encounter on this food pilgrimage...

Hop's Chicken.

I have given this place more than enough chances to get it right... The pressure fryer fried cheekan here has been disappointing since they opened. Time and time again they have failed the pouch's standard... From the individual pieces to the cheekan biscuit to the hot cheekan, they were all so boring until recently one late night... A friend who has never had it wanted to give it a shot. I told him to just get a couple of pieces to try before you order too much and regret it. So, we decided to get a couple of wings to sample and then he orders six instead because he was still hungry from the pasta dinner he had down the hall. I told him you ordered too many but I was pleasantly surprised after taking the lid off that bucket. The wings were large, hot and ultra crispy... WTF is going on here? Am I at the right place? These wings were really good.. Maybe it was the time of night. There was almost no one left in the entire hall and no one at Hop's. Was this the secret to Hop's? Go there really late and only order the wings.


Popeye's Spice Packed Wings.

I have tried their wings on many occasions... All were acceptable but none were as crave-worthy as their regular spicy chicken. And this time it wasn't any different than the other times. The spice packed factor wasn't as packed as other things found in midtown... You can hardly feel the tingle on the tongue. The spicy pepper ranch sauce squirted on my chin when I opened it but it did have a little bit more of a kick when you lick it off the knobby drummette. The breading was a bit too thick for the wings... It's great on the regular chicken, though. I'm just ok with these but there's no fucking way this had a blend of spices and peppers from six different countries... It tasted more like from one country called Sysco. I'm just happy that the Boulevard location has reopened...  At least, I can get my pouch packed again in midtown.


 Pan American Bakery.

Best fucking Cuban in ATL, period... And for only $5. Anyone charging more than $5 for a Cuban is a fraud.

And don't forget all their other baked goodies on the cheap. So damn G U U D.


Best BBQ.

Dim Sum. The frenzy from the hype of 2015 has slowed down which is good for the pouch. They still got what it takes to be the number one spot for dim sum in this town... Don't forget their other dishes and the BBQ fucking rocks.


ATL Pho.

Banh Mi, grilled BBQ pork. This place was called Pho Delight back in the days, now it's under new ownership. I liked Pho Delight but will the new owners do it justice for this Viet-joint in upstate GA... Let's start with the classic pork sando. The BBQ pork was really good, sweet, nice caramlized char on the edges and tender. The bread was toasted just right for that spot on crunch when you bite down on it. The do chua (pickled daikon and carrots) were more Chinese style than Vietnamese. Overall, this was a very decent banh mi that I would get again.

Bun Bo Hue, Meatball Pho. Doesn't look half bad, huh? The broth was piping hot which was awesome. You want super hot temp broth when it comes out because you're gonna dump that entire bowl of garnish in it anyways and you want to make sure that shit gets wilted down without the broth getting cold. 

Meatball. The broth was very decent tasting, not as complex and rich as I want it to be but totally acceptable... Not that this simple noodle soup should be complicated. The meatballs were pretty good too even though they were store bought. The rice noodles were spot on and had that perfect tooth it, not over cooked found at so many other places that the crackers all go to.

Bun Bo Hue. Previously, Pho Delight's version was pretty good but it wasn't spicy at all... So, I was interested to see what have they done differently to this dish if anything. Not much, pretty much the same but it was less spicy. The broth was hot and tasty, the chunks of blood and other offal goodies were generous and the noodles were spot on as with the other bowl. This bowl is hard to find as is anywhere but I am still on the hunt for the perfect bowl of BBH in this one horse town. I would get this again if it was really really cold out... And add a ton of chili oil, Sriracha and Sambal Oelek to it.


 Tokyo Grill.

Yakisoba Veggie. I have avoided this little shack long enough, it was time to see what the fuck it was about it since I see people eating there all the time. When I see yakisoba on the menu at places like this... It's usually a shot in the dark. Even after spraying and praying a full 30 round mag in the dark, I hit nothing like this dish. It was fucking awful. I don't even know if this was instant ramen or not... It was so overcooked and greasy. And every fucking dish on the menu had onions and zucchini in it. They should rename it to "Yakkysobad".. I purged it all out.

Bourbon Chicken. Jesus fucking Christ, look at this specimen. I knew I was in trouble when I lifted this lid off this road carcass. Yes, it was dark chicken thigh meat but at least clean it better so the tendons and cartilage aren't still attached to each piece like a goddamn paper doll chain. Just strings and strings of meat pieces held together by ligaments. There was no bourbon in this chicken, just fucking soy sauce and fake soy sauce at that. It looked like they had a sale on zucchini because every fucking dish had that shit in it for filler. The fried rice was disgusting.. Clumpy, lumpy, dumpy and dried out. Once again, they used that fake soy sauce to make the fried rice... It wasn't even wok fried, it was days old renuked steamed rice with fake soy sauce mixed together. It was like low grade dog food. No wonder why dogs eat their own shit... I would too after this.


Wing Stop.

Habanero, Hawaiian, Cajun, Plain. The first time I ever came to this place, it was pretty damn good. I couldn't believe it. Maybe it was because they were new and operating by the book... Give them a few months and they will find ways to short cut their way to doing the least amount of work as possible for $15/hour. These weren't the wings I had before, it was like a whole new (or old) dump. The wings were smaller and dried out... All of them. And the sauces were even worse. I don't want to even think about them pouring remaining old sauce into a new sauce bucket the just opened up.. But you know the fuck they do. It just contaminates the entire new bucket. These were all fucking awful. I know for certain now to never go there again... I almost puked when I saw the stains and clumps of shit all over the workers' uniforms that they haven't washed since the first day. This place is off my list forever.

 If y'all think this post was a lot to digest wait until you see the wave of unfinished reviews I still have in the chamber... Don't worry, they will be all squeezed out one after another like in the same order of Taco Bell's tacos when you eat it shitfaced late at night. I know y'all can't wait to read about the pouch's next culinary adventure while you're on the shitter.

Splash.