There were several reasons for stopping for two days in Atlanta at the end of my whirlwind vacation, none of them all that interesting for our purposes here, other than, that I ended up staying out in one of the two “K-town”, or Koreatown, areas, and yes, Atlanta has two of them. Actually, although that’s how foodies in other parts of the nation refer to them, I’m not sure that’s how locals do – as one friend who lived for many years there said, the suburb of “Chamblee” is often referred to as “Chambodia”. And, while there are a preponderance of Korean signs on businesses in the northeast strip-mall corridor heading up towards Duluth along the Buford Highway, there are also a huge number of Chinese and Vietnamese signs. I clearly had my work cut out for me in a 2½ day stop.
Doenjang jigae at Jang Su Jang, 3645 Satellite Blvd, Duluth, GA. Started off with some tasty, classic, boiled mandu, or dumplings, followed by one of my favorite Korean soups. Doenjang is the Korean version of miso paste, a bit chunkier and a bit funkier. Jigae basically means soup or stew. So, call it the Korean miso soup – nothing really like Japanese miso soup. But, deliciously… funky… really is the best word for it, and in this version, packed with fresh clams, zucchini, mushrooms, and a bit of tofu. Rice on the side to add to the soup if you like. I did. Oh, and at the end of the meal they bring you a small probiotic drink to promote proper digestion.
Pig’s Trotters & Spicy Sea Snail Salad at Jok Ga A Dong Chim, 3751 Satellite Blvd #600, Duluth, GA. If you’re going to go for it, go all in. This place specializes in jogbal, or pig’s trotters, slow cooked until they’re melting tender, then chilled and sliced. I actually didn’t realize they were chilled and that the dishes are all cold dishes, but so be it. I was forewarned by a very cute waiter that everything they make is for a minimum of two people… because who would go out for a platter of pig’s trotters by themselves? He’d never met me before. Two full trotters, and a mound of spicy slices of conch, onions, and peppers, all in a classic chojang sauce, or a mix of Korean chili paste, gochujang, vinegar, honey, soy, and sesame. Cold somen noodles to mix with the salad, and or eat on their own. In addition, let’s see, lettuce leaves for making wraps, a small lettuce salad just to eat and cut the richness, preserved sesame leaves, pickled onion plumes, anchovy sauce with dried anchovies in it, and on the right, a trio of kimchis – garlic chive, celery, and cabbage. I made it through most of the trotters and about a third of the salad (actually, I just left most of the noodles and picked out all the conch).
Spicy Baby Octopuses from Sun & Moon Cafe, 3555 Gwinnett Pl Dr NW # 101, Duluth, GA. I love octopus when it’s cooked right, and everything I read about this place led me to believe that it’s “the spot” for good octopus dishes. They have four different ones – three of individual size, and one which actually sounded a little more interesting, a grilled (at the table) selection of octopus and pork loin, But the strongest recommendations came for the two spicy stir-fries, either baby or full size. I went with the tender little babies, cooked much the same as the sea snail salad above, just piping hot instead of chilled. Interestingly, not served with white rice, but with a mix of brown rice and black beans. Yum all around. Clearly not a place that gets a lot of non-Koreans, they kept coming over to make sure I was alright, from using chopsticks, to the spice level (optional from mild to medium to hot, I went with medium) which they were sure I wasn’t going to like, to the makgeoli, unfiltered rice wine which they were shocked I’d ever even heard of (nothing better if you want alcohol with spicy Korean food, it’s slightly sweet and fizzy and works perfectly as a foil to the chilies).
Griddled Pimiento Cheese Sandwich at Seed Kitchen & Bar, 1311 Johnson Ferry Rd #504, Marietta, GA. I needed to break up some of the Asian eating with a little something from “the South”. This place is known for its casual modern takes on local classics. I started with their award winning (and well deserved) white grit corn fritters in a sweet chili sauce, and a foursome of deviled eggs blended with fresh salmon and a jalapeño cream. But the star was this perfectly executed grilled cheese sandwich with the local favorite of “pimiento cheese”, green tomatoes, and rashers of crunchy, crispy smoked bacon, all on housemade semolina bread. The cream of chicken soup on the side was delicious too, but the sandwich stole the show.
And, speaking of sandwiches, a two day breakfast binge (breakfast of champions!) of banh mi from a quartet of Vietnamese places that on one list after another managed to make it into the top five for this sandwich. It’s one of my favorite sandwiches of all time – the real classic being a mix of roast pork, head cheese, liver pate, cucumbers, daikon, carrots, and herbs. From there, people add or subtract ingredients, and each of these spots had at least a dozen options – some truly for breakfast, with scrambled or fried eggs, some with different meats, vegetables, and their own twists. I only ate about half of each of these, so over two days, a full sandwich each. Starting from the top….
The “Special Combo”, a.k.a. the banh mi dac biet at Lee’s Bakery, 4005 Buford Hwy NE, Atlanta, GA. This one started things off as it was recommended by my friend Steven, of Sunday brunch and Roving Ravenous Horde fame. It was his favorite when living in Atlanta. This place opens early, 8 am, and stays open through the day until 8 pm. It’s set up very much like a coffee shop, and offers a range of dishes, but their banh mi are apparently the stars, and at 9 in the morning, there must have been a dozen folk who wandered in and out to buy them – they have a buy 5 get 1 free special, and a whole lot of local workers were taking advantage of that one. Most of the clientele were “western”, at least while I was there. This version had all the classic stuff, plus a couple of long slices of chilies, and a mix of herbs on it. They also offer an array of sauces to top it with, the only place that really had more than one or two (sriracha, hoisin, fish sauce, two different housemade chili sauces, soy sauce, and sesame oil). For me, of these four, it came in second place.
I used to date someone named Huy, so Huy’s Sandwiches, 6100 Live Oak Pkwy, Norcross, GA, was a definite must. I went with the same combo (I did that at each place, to keep it fair), the dac biet. This place opens up at 9 am, and when I arrived at ten minutes to the hour, there were a half dozen Vietnamese folk waiting for it to open. There was a woman inside making sandwiches, and, it turned out, one of the folk waiting, was her partner, an older gentleman who was literally just waiting for 9 am on the dot, when he opened the door and then went behind the register. She’s got the sandwiches pretty much lined up and ready to go, and they were wrapping them and handing them out as fast as could be. That’s a good thing, because within the next 5 minutes, a solid two dozen more people came in and got in line. I was the only non-Vietnamese person in the place. This sandwich, which came in third for me, was a little out of balance – too heavy on the headcheese, which was also really thickly sliced, and not enough of either the roast pork or the pate. They also had no sauces except a bottle of sriracha on the counter.
The next one down, from Banh Mi Cafe, 3512 Satellite Blvd NW, Duluth, GA, was my favorite, hands down. And, quiet as could be for the same hour of the morning – with only one other person coming in while I was there, and he’d pre-ordered and was just picking up a sextet of sandwiches (apparently that buy 5, get 1 thing is ubiquitous) for the construction crew down the block. They make the sandwiches to order, rather than having a bunch pre-made – then again, that could be a function of location and not having a line up at opening time. Generous amounts of all three meats, and easily the best flavors, particularly the liver pate. Big plus for slathering the baguette with butter and toasting it first. Also generous on the vegetables and herbs, and, they had sriracha, hoisin, and fish sauces available. But seriously, this was probably the best banh mi I’ve ever had, anywhere.
Last, and, yeah, least… coming in fourth place, was the version from Khanh Vietnamese Pho & Sandwich, located in the Park View Shopping Center at 2550 Pleasant Hill Rd #408, Duluth, GA. Here, too, I spent some time wandering the anchor store, the Super H Mart, which was just so beautifully packed with fresh produce, meats, and fish, and other ingredients, I wanted to cry. Back to the sandwich, I really, really wanted to like it, because the guy behind the counter was so nice about everything, actually engaging me in conversation, rather than it being just a “whadayawant” and then paying attention to the Vietnamese customers setup. He even went out of his way to make it “super special” after he found out what I was doing (which might have been an unfair advantage, but turned out to be an unfair disadvantage, because he put too much of some things on it and the taste was totally out of balance). Even, however, had he not, I just didn’t like the quality, from the baguette, to the meats (which were sliced super thin, like sandwich lunchmeats), to the texture – that liver pate was like a soupy mess slopped on the bread – the whole thing was sloppily put together, you can even see that in the photo. I plain didn’t like much of anything about this one, and can’t imagine how it regularly makes it into the top five on local lists.
And, finishing off with another “modern Southern”, an early dinner grabbed before my flight out to BA at Miller Union, 999 Brady Ave NW, Atlanta, GA. They have an appetizer on the menu, a poached egg in celery cream, that they’ve been written up for, won awards for, and that virtually everyone who’s heard of the place says, “you have to have this”. I have to say, I don’t get it. It was a poached egg in a vaguely celery and bay leaf flavored thickened cream, with some toast on the side. The egg wasn’t even poached well, and the whole dish lacked in any sort of seasoning. Far, far, far better, the pretty much perfectly cooked duck breast, sliced over a cornmeal “hoe cake”, and a mound of fresh oyster mushrooms (my waiter said maitakes, but the menu says otherwise, and so do I), corn, scallions, and blueberries. Amazing flavors, textures, and me a very happy camper. Finished off with a dessert – not my usual forte, but hey, my last meal in Atlanta. A chocolate oatmeal pie. I didn’t quite know what to make of it. A great, thin, crisp tart shell, filled with lightly set chocolate, a creamy chocolate sauce… all good. But the oatmeal that was set into the chocolate custard had apparently been put in there raw, and so was only slightly cooked along with the chocolate, and I can’t say I’m a fan of nearly raw oatmeal. But damn, that duck.
Did I only go for food? No. I managed a quartet of “cultural things”. I couldn’t go to Legoland (they won’t allow adults in without a child accompanying), and had no interest in the Coca Cola World tour. But, I had a delightful tour at the Archibald Smith Plantation House, and fascinating wanders through the David J. Sencer CDC Museum – yes, the CDC, the Centers for Disease Control, has a museum that you can visit, albeit with a bit of security logistics to handle since it’s literally located on the site of the CDC labs and offices; the Robert C. Williams Paper Museum, where I learned about the history of paper and paper-making from early human history to modern day; and, the William Breman Jewish Heritage Museum, which doubles as the local holocaust museum, and also had exhibits on Harry Houdini, and the history of the local Atlanta Jewish community. All far more my speed than sampling fizzy brown HFCS water.
Back home!
