Atlanta Eats Part II: New Orleans-inspired fare, Atlanta/Asian fusion, hot chicken and Asian street
Hello fellow foodies, welcome back. This week, I visited four restaurants in Atlanta (two were new to me and two I've patronized in the past). From New Orleans-inspired fare and Atlanta/Asian fusion to hot chicken and Asian street fare, here are a few Atlanta restaurants that I recommend and the one place that failed my foodie test.
Lagarde American Eatery
By Chef Jamie Adams, this casual restaurant serves up New Orleans-inspired cuisine, including some of my favorite southern comfort foods: Pimento Cheese, Cheesy Grits, and Po Boys.
This is my third time here, and so far, I've loved every dish I've been served. This time, I ordered the Wedge Salad and a half pound of shrimp. The shrimp is prepared three different ways: barbecue, plancha, and fried.
I ordered the shrimp barbecue style. But this isn't your typical barbecue shrimp, this is cooked in spicy garlic, salt, pepper and butter; the sauce is light and so incredibly tasty that you'll want to sop up every last bit of it with the toasted bread it's served with. I am definitely coming back for this dish.
The wedge salad was crisp and adequately topped with the traditional fixings.
Lagarde is consistently a palate-pleaser, and a spot I definitely recommend.
Hawkers Asian Street Fare
Hawkers has become a favorite of mine. I love the chill vibe, décor, and the food. They have great happy hour specials and the best light bites.
This time, I ordered three small plates during HH: Korean Twice Fried Wings, Rotti Canai, and Meatballs with Curry Sauce ($3 per order --what a steal!).
I am a pretty tough food critic, so when I say that something is good, it's not to be taken lightly. Ohmygoodness! These wings are really, really good. Smothered in garlic Gochujang sauce, peanuts, sesame, and cilantro, the twice fried wings are sweet, sticky, and delightfully crunchy --and the chicken is super moist. These are officially my favorite wings by a landslide.
Their Rotti Canai (Malaysian flatbread served with a side of signature curry sauce) features two pieces of flatbread that are fresh, soft, and served nice and hot, while the oily yellow curry sauce is full of flavor --turmeric, cumin, garlic...
The meatballs were quite good, too.
Seriously, I can't wait to have those wings again.
Hattie B's Hot Chicken
If you're a bonafide foodie, you've probably heard of Hattie B's Hot Chicken. I thought that you could only find this southern staple in Nashville, so I was happy to discover that they have a location right here in Atlanta. I heard that their Nashville location normally has at least an hour or more wait, and found that the wait time for a Sunday around 2 pm here in Atlanta was only a half hour (from the time I arrived to the time I was served my food).
I ordered the Hot Chicken Sandwich --a chicken breast with cole slaw, Nashville comeback sauce, and a kosher pickle- and a side of Pimento Mac & Cheese (it comes with one side).
Hattie B's has six "Heat Levels": Southern (no heat), Mild (touch of heat), Medium (warming up), Hot (feel the heat), Damn Hot! (fire starter), and Shut the Cluck Up!!! (burn notice). I am the type of girl who puts red pepper flakes on her pizza, mixes sriracha into her pho, and loads her nachos with jalapeños --I welcome the heat. However, since this was my first time here, I wasn't sure what to expect, so I played it safe and went with medium.
Yum! Their chicken is juicy and the medium definitely brings the heat --after a few bites, my mouth was on fire. (I think I'll order it mild next time.) The sandwich was very tasty. I especially loved the Pimento Mac & Cheese for it's light, creamy cheese sauce.
Come hungry, it's a very filling and satisfying meal. Next time, I will save room for dessert --they have seasonal peach cobbler and root beer floats.
Hopstix Robata Grill, Raw Bar, Brewery
This place was pretty packed when we arrived on Friday night, so I had high hopes.
I started with the Pork Belly Bao, and was sad to find that the pork belly was the blandest piece of meat I've ever tried, and I am not even sure how that was possible, but it was.
For my entrée, I ordered the Basil Crab Fried Rice. They specialize in Asian fusion and fried rice is a standard, easy dish to whip up. They can't possibly mess this up. So I thought. Again, I was disappointed. While it had a good amount of crab, sadly, it too lacked flavor so much that I had to douse it with soy sauce to make it palatable. I will not be returning here.
