Roasted/Glazed corn-on-cob, Night Market, Taipei

My veggie sampler plate - A little bit of everything

I have a confession: I like to sneak peek at the food other people order and eat in restaurants. I have a hard time not rudely pointing at the food (especially when it looks good and I want the same thing), interrupting their meal to ask what they are eating, or tackling the server when he/she brings out a delectable, sizzling, steaming array of dishes…for another table. What was THAT dish?

And if you offer, I will take you up on a taste!

If you happen to be one of my victims, I apologize in advance.  My parents really did teach me manners. But they also bequeathed a love and passion for all sorts of wonderful food!

What’s on YOUR plate?? 

Hosting new SFA friends, Chinatown

Korean tofu hotpot-sizzling yum!

F

Natalie & Eddie Hernandez, Taqueria del Sol

Multigrain waffles at Waffle House? – Waffle House is a longtime family favorite and often the first stop on the way home from the airport. My mom loves their pork chops and for years, it was the only spot for my favorite–grits! So, when I saw the multigrain waffle poster, I was giddy! No more carrying wheat germ and embarrassing my family, right? I ordered one, to the astonishment of my server. Unfortunately, my joy was short-lived and they stopped selling it. I can see the market data now: “a single order from an enthusiastic short Asian woman in Smyrna.” Guess that didn’t carry enough ROI to launch it up there with the topped, covered, smothered hash browns.

Did you know–fried pork skins, a snack that we used to eat on fishing trips to Lake Allatoona, has fewer fat grams than some crackers? Try them dipped in Thai sweet chili sauce for a flavor overload.

BYOWG – I carry my own wheat germ in a little pouch in my purse and sprinkle it on WFF (white flour food) as needed. At which point my eating companions move to the next table like they don’t know me…

The Varsity –an Atlanta tradition since 1928, home of the chili cheese dog, fried pies and the Frosted Orange—had a sign that read “we use 100% vegetable oil with no transfats” and “whole wheat bread available on request.” Great, make mine a double order!

Noodles are traditionally served on birthdays because they symbolize long life (chang shou). So don’t break your noodles when you boil them! My favorite is my mom’s Chinese Chili Spaghetti (featured at the Dunwoody Chili Cookoff).

In celebration of long life noodle birthdays,  here are my favorite noodle highlights:

• Fresh ramen noodle soup at Umaido Japanese noodle shop (Korean-owned) in Suwanee and Yakitori Grill in Smyrna (great photos and helpful review by FoodieBuddha)
• Noodle fun with the kids at my Chinese Hotpot party with friends and going overboard with 5 different kinds of noodles.  Everyone was so full, they couldn’t finish the noodles, served as part the hotpot closing ceremony.
• Eating at a new Korean noodle house in Duluth with a non-English-speaking server and haplessly trying to figure out which noodles were cold, hot, dry or wet (soupy), with meat or no meat.  I learned that Korean “buckwheat noodles” are not the same as soba/Japanese buckwheat noodles. Meanwhile, I see my dad “washing” his kimchi in a glass of water to take off the hot chili edge. I laugh at him, but then adopt the practice myself.  The food was good!
• The Oodles of Noodles overview of our Asian Market Tours– 3 whole aisles of noodles!
• Watching the Noodle Master make homemade noodles by hand–no pasta machine –at Man Chun Hong (thanks to Atlanta Ethnic Foods Examiner) in Seoul Plaza on Buford Highway. Even as I’m watching him, it still amazes me how the lump of dough is transformed into long, skinny threads of noodles, in a matter of seconds!
• Seeing a three year-old baby slurp up our Chinese Chili Spaghetti and clamoring for more and more. The kid had good taste (or was starving), perhaps both!
• Serving noodles made from tofu at our Cook’s Warehouse class, a first for everyone!
• Learning that a 4,000 year-old bowl of noodles (millet) was discovered in northwestern China in 2006

Celebrate your birthdays (or any day) with noodles and slurp and twirl your way to long life!

Fusion Fun: Black Sesame Biscuits

Arriving early to teach a class downtown, I went to the Flying Biscuit for a dinner snack. It was in-between meal times and the servers enthusiastically announced “$3 Mimosas!” Not a big drinker, I declined but excitedly noticed it was “Biscuit Happy Hour” on the daily special board. Excited about the prospect of a free or perhaps “all you can eat” biscuits, I asked my server about the daily special. He flew by and repeated “$3 Mimosas!” I asked again and this time pointed to the poster, “What is the Biscuit Happy Hour?” He repeated in the same cheery tone as he flew back the other way, “$3 Mimosas!” A bit flustered and confused, I reiterated, “But it says BISCUIT Happy Hour.” Then, it dawned on me that they were all about the “happy hour mimosas” and this Raccoon Foodie was all about the biscuit! Ha! I had a good chuckle at myself as I munched on my whole wheat biscuit and Love Bean Cakes.

Bento Cafe is a colorful slice of Taipei in Norcross, 5495 Jimmy Carter Blvd. not far from 285/85 interchange. Sometimes I drive out to Bento just for the beverages. Few other places make fresh bubble tea anymore (mostly powders). I also recall that Bento is run/owned by a young female artist/designer. Good to support her efforts at entrepreneurship.

For more on Bento Cafe and what to order, see Creative Loafing review

When I was a kid in Smyrna, eating out meant being treated to the Fat Boy’s fried chicken (and a fried peach pie), Ponderosa Steakhouse (with A-1 Steak sauce) or later, the fancy Piccadilly’s Cafeteria kid’s plate (and to-die-for pecan cream pie). Today, few places seem to be billed as a “restaurant” anymore but rather a pub, gastro-pub, cafe, book cafe, diner, marketplace, eatery or grill that is Tex-Mex, Pan-Asian, Fusion, Vegetarian, Dim Sum, New World or Tapas serving artisan bread, gourmet grits, microbrewed beer, organic chips, hand-cut fries, multi-grain biscuits, imported cheese, heirloom turkey or heritage grains. As a former school lunch kid and fan of airplane food (gone with the good old days), I’m feeling quite unsophisticated!

Don’t get me wrong: I enjoy (and jump at the opportunity) of eating most of these genres and gastro-delicacies and am a supporter of Slow Food International and Georgia Organics. Being a Ponderosa girl, I am more often amused by the creative marketing and happily impressed by the complexity or simplicity of flavors of my meal. Admittedly, there have been times when I’ve ordered a dish that had a description as long as this paragraph and as tantalizing as a Danielle Steele love scene but was left disappointed and hungry. Is this a spa or a brewpub? Granted, small is beautiful, food is art and overeating is an American tradition, but satiate my appetite and give me leftovers (how hard could it be at five feet tall)!

Then there is price. When did a side of grits cost five dollars and fried chicken, twenty? Is it a golden chicken? Being the good green shepherd, I also looked into reserving a non-traditional “heritage bird” for my mom at Thanksgiving. The smallest size would have cost nearly $100. Yikes. As a home-style cook and CSA shareholder, I know how much time and effort it takes to grow and cook a good meal with quality ingredients, especially local, fresh and organic. I also realize that in a restaurant, we’re often paying for the ambience, service, etc.

Maybe it’s a cultural Asian thing. When I was in Bangkok, I discovered that our beloved Pad Thai was actually peasant food costing fifty cents from a street cart (and not on the menu at nice restaurants). No wonder the server looked at me like I had just ordered a hot dog! The same was true for many favorite dim sum and authentic Asian treats. In New York City, my friend and I broke the bank in a “Korean vegetarian shrine.” In Atlanta, the gourmet trend is heading East with several upscale Asian restaurants. I’m saving up for them.

Fortunately for the budget-conscious, on Buford Highway, you can still get a table-full of authentic, cooked-to-order dishes for twenty dollars, including tea, appetizer and dessert! Maybe that explains my love-hate relationship with gourmet food.  A change in our food and agricultural policies so that the price of organic or locally-produced products are more digestible and accessible. Maybe as the distance between the farm, table and family members has grown, we are comforted by (and seeking?) meals and gatherings that remind us and ground us with a connection to family, culture and community.

Go to Georgia Organics to find a local farmstand or market near you! They also have a great “Eating Seasonally” growing chart to show what vegetables are fresh and in season each month…

I enjoy the atmosphere and I’m usually there with good friends, family or even business colleagues so for me, it’s not just about the food.

A few of my favorites:

* Hot green latte (very chic)

* Green tea buns and cakes

* Almond and coconut cookie crisps (can’t eat just one)

* Fresh fruit smoothies (mango, kiwi or mixed with peach)

* Sweet Potato Pastry (can’t remember exact name but very good!)

* Sticky Rice Red Bean Buns

On Buford Highway, just outside I-285, next to big Tower Liquor store. Enjoy!

Like fashion trends, if you wait long enough, the “look” will be in style again. After years of ribbing, especially from family members, my BYO habits are in-style, hopefully to stay, and they would make my frugal Chinese grandma proud!

As kids, we used to laugh at my non-English speaking grandma when she tore her thin Kleenex tissues into quarters and stuffed them into the little silk pocket of her Chinese vest, despite my father’s reassurances that if she ran out, we’d buy her another box.  On my first trip to Beijing in 1988, I recall having to bring our own bowls and plates when buying food from the street vendors.  Unfortunately, everything had turned to styrofoam disposables when I went back in 1994.

Most of us are familiar with tearing open the individually wrapped, disposable chopsticks at Asian restaurants. As someone who hates to waste food and loves leftovers, I don’t like having to use disposable take-home containers. (I kept a couple of Tupperware in my trunk but kept forgetting to carry them into the restaurant.) Like remembering the shopping bags, it takes a change of habit and advance thinking. I’ve also started a transition to glass containers. (Tip: I collected a dozen large glass pickle/olive jars, perfect for storing flours, rice, etc.  free from a deli.)

I’m excited by the increased public awareness, new organizations like GreenPlate and more choices of reusable, portable eatware and energy efficient cookware on the market. Now, we can spread the BYO Movement and I won’t be the only hipster whipping out my cool BYO-Chopsticks!

I’m testing out a few different types of portable chopsticks and cutlery and will share my feedback. Stay tuned…

Amazing Portable, Uplugged Eco-Cooking Pot

Love my Tuff Mug!

Check back for more posts on my favorite eco-friendly products!

For more on favorite eco-friendly eating and cookware, see my Favorites and Recommendations in the side bar

I saw a billboard advertising Wendy’s Asian Sweet & Spicy Wings. Checkers sells teriyaki wings. Pizza Hut has 30 flavors of wings with zing. When my dad transitioned from running full-service, full-menu Chinese restaurants to developing a new fast-food business model and creating Atlanta’s original “honey-braised wings” in the 1980’s, wings were cheap and often discarded. He experimented and sold several versions over the years. The first ones were marinated, fried wings sold in Cumberland Mall in 1976. Then came others with different sauces, stir-fried with peppers and onions, lightly-breaded and finally, honey-braised–all pre-dating the ascendance of orange-colored buffalo wings and sports bars.

I remember smelling like a big chicken wing after working all day in the restaurant. I hand-carried braised wings on the airplane during visits from college, and had everyone on the airplane sniffing and licking their lips in my direction. My mom referred to the old Chinese proverb, “Buddha jumped over the fence” when I craved braised wings as a vegetarian and how I would “jump the fence” to the meat side. I am eternally grateful to my father and his entrepreneurial instincts—the success of these restaurants helped me pay for college.

There’s a lot more competition these days and the economy has been hard on the family business. The eggrolls are still made fresh by hand, served with sweet tea, of course, and I still crave the original honey braised wings. It’s a little place with a steam table and clean booths.  Don’t expect gourmet. But if you have a craving for Asian chicken (sesame, orange, General Tso’s), fried rice (only place I will eat), traditional-style eggrolls (thicker skin) and good quality Chinese fast-food (not an oxymoron) at recession prices, check out China Cafeteria.

Two original China Cafeteria locations remain, 2910 Rainbow Drive, Decatur, across from S.Dekalb Mall and  4231 Snapfinger Woods Dr across from Wesley Chapel Home Depot. Beware of imitators with the same or similar name but lower quality ingredients! Only these two locations are under our management. Check out the website!