Hankook Taqueria

I'm well known for my deep love of Asian food. For some reason Asian flavors have always resonated with me more than most other cuisine types. The last time I was back in Atlanta, I was told about a little Korean Taco Place in a really unlikely location that was absolutely to die for. Life changing, it was called. Unforgettable. Perfect. That was some big talk there, and I was extremely skeptical. In the interest of research I figured I would try it.

It's not much to look at inside. There is a counter, and there are seats. It's in an almost shack-like building. They don't serve alcohol (though you can bring your own). My skepticism continued. Then I noticed that it had a fair few awards on the back wall. Fair enough, my interest was aroused.
I ordered Korean Tacos, one fish, one beef. My dining companion ordered the Bibim-bop. Total cost of the meal: $12.

The food arrived in a nice and speedy fashion. I was sad that I hadn't thought to go ahead and pick up a few bottles of beer, as it seemed acceptable to bring your own. Definitely something to bear in mind for next time.

The beef (bul gogi) taco was absolutely divine. The beef was perfectly seasoned and really tender. Korean barbecue really is one of the best tastes. I adored every bite.

The fish taco wasn't bad. The fish had a really nice crispy coating. The hoi sin tartar sauce though left a bit to be desired for me. I couldn't really find the hoi sin part of it. I think if I could have had a do-over, I would have gone for two of the beef tacos instead.

My companions Bibim-bop was absolutely perfect and divine. Everything was well prepared, the egg was perfect, the special sauce was tasty and delicious. It was a great plate.

This restaurant is definitely a find. The food is excellent and you can't beat the price. The location is odd, but it's actually worth the trip for the food. Definitely a great little out of the way place to try if you have a chance.

Home Sweet Green Juicy Atlanta Home

 

After I got done with work at 11:30pm on Sunday I hitched a ride to the airport, curled up in a corner, and napped and watched TV until it was time to get on a plane at 6am. After five and a half hours, I made it to Atlanta, Georgia and was greeted by my amazing Stunt Guy. We had 67 hours before I had to head back to the Circus. 

Georgia in early June is one of the most beautiful places you can be. The air is heavy with the smell of flowers and grass and trees. Everything is lush and beautiful. The occasional cloud bursts of rain keep it glistening but not too wet. The humidity is about perfect, and everything feels so wonderfully alive. But on to the food!

When I go to Atlanta, there are several places that I end up eating each time and I managed to hit a couple of the regulars on this trip. The Brickstore Pub is in Decatur. It's a favorite local spot because they have an enormous beer selection, with lots of great craft beers. It's frequently busy but the pub itself is really lovely inside. It's got local art on the walls, and a good buzz of happy people. If you're torn between beers there, they will happily let you taste a few to pick which you are after.

I devoured their Country Chicken Pate with Smoked Peach Preserves. The crackers were thick and homemade and the perfect complement to the pate, which was pale and light and almost mousselike. It packed a great wallop of flavor, and the pairing of the peach preserves was perfect and so.... Southern. I had to order more crackers of course, but it was awesome.

Beer-wise, it was Founders Cerise for me. It was a light cherry beer with a good amount of tartness, it wasn't overly sweet like a lambic. I loved it, and sadly you can't get it on this coast, but if you are East of the Mississippi you should be good.

I know the picture is awful, but my Stunt Guy had the Shepherd's Daughter Pie which was described as "ground lamb, beef & pork, barley wine ketchup, fennel & fresh herbs, scalloped potatoes, gruyere sauce, mesclun greens with lemon vinaigrette". I'm sorry to say that it completely missed the mark. The flavor of the lamb was there, but everything else was just kind of... meh. The sauce was quite bland and the potatoes were almost non-existent. It wasn't really a heart dish. Our dining companions adored their pretzels though, and I have to say the house made mustard dipping sauce for them is really great. I've found that the food in the Brickstore can be a touch hit or miss. I remember loving their pierogies too. But if you are there, definitely try the pate.

As should well be, our liquor bill outweighed our food bill. I adore that.

 Partly because our waitress missed the pretzels on the check. We paid for them anyway and left her a moral dilemma note. I wonder what she chose to do?

After I crashed horribly hard, having been awake for 48 hours with less than four hours of sleep, it was time to hit up my absolute favorite place to eat breakfast. We go here every time I come home or I get very cranky. It's The Flying Biscuit Cafe. They have the best and most delicious biscuits anywhere, and the rest of their food is also pretty top notch. We started out with a Blue Moonmosa, basically a mimosa made of beer.

I had the Egg-Stravaganza which combines everything I love, their perfect scrambled eggs, their Creamy Dreamy Grits, and a giant and delicious Flying Biscuit and the French Toast.

The French Toast at the Flying Biscuit is worth the trip alone. It's made on giant fluffy wheat bread, but the kicker are the sauces. They top it with a stunning raspberry coulis and a honey creme anglaise. It is absolutely delicious and I love it more than I can express.

Stunt Guy went for the Hollywood Omelette, which was also pretty yummy and, of course, a biscuit.

The biscuits really are spectacular. They come with cranberry apple butter. I've tried to replicate them before at home, but they never come out. I don't know what they do, but you really need to go there to try out the real thing.

After our wonderful late breakfast,  it was off to the North Georgia Mountains, which is completely stunning all the time, but particularly this time of year when everything is green and gorgeous. We stayed in a little perfect cabin, and this was our view. We relaxed, we read, we went for a walk and watched the sun set over that lake. We ate dinner, which we had brought with us.

Ru Sans Sushi, home of the most perfect Miso Soup and some fairly decent yummy sushi. It's not horribly overpriced at all, and we decided that it would be perfect to take with us, since we wouldn't have to do any cooking in the cabin and we weren't sure of our supplies. We had a Spider Roll, Rainbow Roll and a Punk Rock and Roll. All were really good, but the miso soup was, of course, excellent.

The next day we hiked up Amicalola Falls, which is a really beautiful waterfall and state park up in the mountains. It's a mile hike, including a whole lot of stairs. The waterfall was really stunning.

Here's a little action video with a cameo from Stunt Guy. 

Once we hit the top it was time for a beer with a view. Then back to the city for a quick dinner and a movie.

Dinner at Taco Mac. John loves this place. He's been coming to one of it's several Atlanta locations for years. I have too, but for drinks, never the food. I have to say, I find the food here incredibly sub-par. No matter what I order, and I've tried tons of different things, I think the food is really bad. These were Fish Tacos with South western rice. The rice was dry and had been sitting out a while. The tacos had no flavor. Just unimpressive. I had a yummy Left Hand Milk Stout though. If you're going there, I'd stick to the beer list.

The next morning it was off to the airport, with a quick breakfast at Highland Bakery. I love Highland Bakery too. They make all their own bread in house and it really is spectacular. Their Sweet Potato Pancakes are to die for. If you're already them, you'll need to share because they are so rich and delicious. They have great Shrimp and Grits, and I love their cheese bagels. I often order the breakfast sandwich and then forget that I'm not keen on it. They don't tend to season the eggs and that doesn't work for me. I need to try better to remember to just order a bagel with some scrambled eggs on the side. 

Oh but their cinnamon rolls.... heaven. Light and fluffy with the most delicious cream cheese frosting you can imagine. We split a small one because, well, we would have eaten a large and then they would have had to roll me on to the plane. If you go here, regardless of what else you order, you really must order a cinnamon roll.

And then it was back to reality. Back to the desert and the circus. It was a completely whirlwind trip and I didn't have an opportunity to see most of my friends because the time there was so short, but I'm so glad I went. I needed a taste of home. I'm saying goodbye to my Stunt Guy for another 23 days, then I get him for two weeks. So it's back to the kitchen with me. New recipes are coming soon, and I've got so many ideas!

You Can Take the Girl Out of Georgia...

I wish so very very much that I had a recipe for you today. I would give anything to tell you that I've pulled off an astonishing feat and managed to perfectly recreate that which eludes me. But no. No such luck. I've got absolutey nothing.

I've been out of Atlanta for eight months now and I miss Southern food desperately. It's one of those strange things... you don't realize what you have until you've left. I miss yummy Fluffy Grits, I miss Apple Butter. Heck, I even miss friend Okra. Who on earth misses Okra? But the real kicker, the thing that I'm really pining for, is a light fluffy crisp chewy sugary tangy savory crumbly melty biscuit. A Flying Biscuit to be the most precise.

The Flying Biscuit Cafe is an institution in Atlanta. It's famous for it's biscuits, but they also make dreamy scrambled eggs, awesome lunch items, a baked brie that is out of this world, and some of the best french toast in the world. Many a time, I would swing by on my way home from a morning of work and pick up biscuits for the boy and I. Once, after he was suffering in the middle of a particularly wild bachelor party for a weekend, I picked up a dozen biscuits for him and the other guys to lighten the hangovers and prep them for another day of debauchery.

There are recipes all over the internet for Flying Biscuits, even some sanctioned by Flying Biscuit themselves. But honestly, I have to tell you, they are a sham. You can try all you like but there must be something they just aren't telling you because they are never as good. They never rise as high. They never have that perfectly smooth top that has a little crisp to it. So I'm on the verge of giving up I think. I can't recreate them. I wish so very very much that I could. I wish I could share them with you today.

I gave it another good shot, I really did. I made a nice set of biscuits and they looked quite good going into the oven, but really they were a sham. They were badly dressed impostors with fake mustaches and the wrong perfume. I swear I tried.

Since I can't make them, and you probably can't either (and dear god if you can please tell me how!), the next time you are in Atlanta you should take a detour and, even if you can't stop in for brunch, at least get yourself a Flying Biscuit. Then you'll understand and you'll know what I'm talking about. And then you can be as frustrated as I am!