The Counter

If there's one thing you'll learn about me from reading this blog, it's that I am a sushi and cheeseburger fanatic.  I am always looking for new sushi or burger joints I can frequent.  I first heard about The Counter last week while listening to one of the local sports talk stations (they have some sort of promotional tie-in going on right now).  Since it's not far from my residence, I decided to swing by this weekend to check it out.

I'd contemplated just grabbing an order to go, but decided to dine in so that I could watch a bit of the Falcons/Pats game.  The Counter is a chain with roots in SoCal, and the decor reflects that with palm trees, beach scene photos and skateboards lining the walls.  I'd read a few complaints on Urbanspoon regarding the service (or lack thereof).  I must have come on a good day, because I found the service to be acceptable.

The server presents you with a menu sheet and pen so that you can mark off your selections.  As I try to do whenever I visit a restaurant for the first time, I had my gameplan in place before I arrived.  A "custom built" 1/3 lb beef burger, cooked medium, with grilled onions, tomatoes, Tillamook cheddar, sharp provolone, honey-cured bacon and avocado.  For my "sauce", I chose Creamy Buttermilk Ranch.  I chose the "Fifty-Fifty"' side order of fries and onion strings.  You can also go fries/sweet fries or sweet fries/onion strings for a little bit extra.

The fries and crispy onion strings were nicely seasoned and tasty.  They are presented with both creamy buttermilk ranch and barbecue dipping sauces.  I found the fries/barbecue sauce combo to be surprisingly good (it's not what I'd normally choose to dip my fries in).  The onion strings had a nice light coating and weren't greasy-just the way I like them.  The portion is quite substantial-more than enough for two people to share but too much for this hopeless foodie to be able to finish in one sitting. Not long after, my custom built burger arrived-sans the honey cured bacon I requested.  A minor mistake that was easily (and quickly) corrected.

I had intended to attack this like one normally attacks a burger, but this thing was massive.  In order to avoid making a mess all over myself, I had no choice but to knife and fork it.  On a future trip, I'll probably opt for a Burger In A Bowl (burger served on a bed of either a lettuce blend or mixed baby greens).  My burger was perfectly cooked, juicy, and well seasoned.  I would probably pass on the grilled onions next time, but the honey cured bacon was fantastic.  I'd planned to order an Apple Pie shake to go, but I was so full that I decided to pass.  I'd consumed more than enough calories on this trip.

On the whole, I was pleased with the food as well as the service.  The prices are a little steep though-a couple could easily spend $30 plus for a meal (even with splitting an order of Fifty-Fifty fries/onion strings, something I would suggest that you do).  I think you'd get a better value (and a burger that's just as good, if not better) at The Vortex, for example.  That said, it's still not a bad option for a tasty burger on the Northside in my opinion.  I will definitely be back to experiment with another "custom built" burger combination, and next time I will have that Apple Pie shake to go.

The Counter

850 Mansell Road

Roswell, GA  30076

(678) 461-9661

(678) 461-9662 Fax

http://www.thecounterburger.com/

Arigato Sushi & More To Go

The past week has been a bit of a "homecoming" for me.  After a temporary stay in the Brookhaven area, I moved back to Duluth (which has been my home for over eight years) this week.  It's my first weekend at my new place, and I couldn't wait to make a return visit to one of my favorite neighborhood sushi spots, Arigato Sushi & More To Go.   I have yet to have a negative experience with this place.  The sushi & sashimi is always fresh and very tasty.  Arigato also has a wide variety of specialty rolls, some with cutesy names like Dances With Salmon (spicy crab, fresh salmon, avocado and tobiko with spicy mayo on top) or Rock & Roll (tempura shrimp, cucumber, avocado, crab stick with masago & spicy mayo on top).  On this visit, I'm going for the rolls.  I decide to pass on my usual Spider Roll (so far I haven't found a better Spider Roll than what I've had here) and go with the Lion Roll and their signature Duluth Roll.

 

The Lion Roll (tempura shrimp/cream cheese inside, topped with eel, avocado and eel sauce) is so good!

This is one of my faves from Arigato, the Duluth Roll.  How can you go wrong with a deep fried roll of smoked salmon, cream cheese and crab-dipped in their spicy mayo sauce?  Oh my.  I believe this is the first roll I ever ordered from Arigato and I've been a fan ever since.  The portion is quite substantial (12 pieces) but oh so delicious!

If I have one negative, it's that they don't serve my beloved uni.  Other than that, Arigato is my place to go for quick, delicious "take out" sushi. Great food, friendly service, and you will always be greeted with a smile.

Arigato Sushi & More To Go

3294 Peachtree Industrial Blvd #1004

Duluth, GA 30096

(located in the French Quarter shops along with J. Christopher's)

(678)957-3007

A Visit To Super H Mart (I'm just gonna run in here for one thing and I'll be right out...)

So yesterday I paid a visit to the Duluth Super H Mart with the sole intention of picking up a pound of tilapia fillets for my dear grandmother.  I usually end up with a few extra items in my cart that aren't on my shopping list.  Would this visit be any different?

These Asian pears look nice.  I picked up a couple on a previous visit to the Johns Creek location and they were so crisp and sweet!  These would be fantastic in a salad.  I'll pick up some next time, but for now I'm moving on...

Oh, the food court!  Well, a quick stroll to the sushi section wouldn't hurt...

All right, all right, I caved.  I just had to pick up some sashimi.  It was callin' me, it really was.  OK, really moving on this time...

My Great-Aunt's Cream Cheese Pound Cake (well, sort of)

In my family, my great-aunt Margaret is the queen of cakes.  Whenever we travel to Florida to visit, we are always begging her to bake us a cake (or two).  I don't know how she does it, but she just has a knack for baking the most delicious cakes you'll ever eat.

Here's the cream cheese pound cake recipe that my grandmother managed to grab from Aunt Margaret on a recent visit.   It's not her personal creation, but it's a recipe that she swears by and has used for years.  I present it here, just as it was submitted by a Mrs. Ralph A. Patrick many years ago.   It's a little different from my own cream cheese pound cake recipe (this one calls for margarine, I normally use butter), but it's very good.  I was munching on some today-I only wish I'd had strawberries to go with it!

Cream Cheese Pound Cake

3 sticks margarine
1 8 ounce pkg cream cheese
3 cups sugar
dash salt
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
6 large eggs
3 cups sifted cake flour

Cream margarine, cream cheese and sugar until light and fluffy.  Add dash of salt and vanilla and beat well.  Add eggs-one at a time-and beat well after each addition.  Stir in the sifted cake flour.  Spoon mixture into a ten-inch tube pan.  Bake at 325° for 1 1/2 hours.  Allow cake to cool in pan for 10 minutes before inverting on a wire rack.

Foodie TV: Anthony Bourdain visits Sardinia on No Reservations tonight @ 10

Must see TV for the hopeless foodie: another new episode of No Reservations airs tonight at 10 ET/PT on Travel Channel.  This week Anthony Bourdain visits Sardinia-here's a preview (from TravelChannelTV):

Congratulations to Anthony and the No Reservations crew for their well deserved Emmy award win!

Quick Bites

Here are a few spots to grab a quick bite in and around Atlanta:

 

Al Pastor burrito from Taqueria El Rey Del Taco

 

Taqueria El Rey Del Taco (Chamblee/Doraville)

5288 Buford Hwy NE 

(770)986-0032

Tacos are OK (have had better elsewhere), but the Al Pastor burrito was delish!  Good food, reasonable prices, and open 24 hours.

Elwood's Pizza (Brookhaven)

3883 Peachtree Rd NE

(404)816-9730

While I think Fellini's is better, this place still serves up a pretty decent NY style slice (in my opinion). Try a regular slice with The Works.  

Spondivits (East Point/ATL Airport)

1219 Virginia Ave

(404) 767-1569

I love this place.  The seafood is always fresh (I'm a big fan of the peel-n-eat shrimp), and they serve up one of the better bowls of New England Clam Chowder I've had.  Perfect spot for a quick bite before heading out of town.  They also have a location north of the city in Cumming.

 

 

Like My Biscuits?

Here's the recipe for the infamous biscuits that you see in my profile picture.  Well, they're really not all that infamous (or famous, for that matter).  Anyway, here it goes:

Foodie TV: Man v. Food visits Hawaii & Top Chef Las Vegas tonight @10 ET/PT

I don't know why the tv scheduling gods must put two of my favorite shows in the same Wednesday night time slot.  Thankfully Bravo re-airs Top Chef Las Vegas immediately following the first 10 o'clock airing, allowing me to watch Man v Food (and the awesome Adam Richman) on Travel Channel first!

This week finds our boy in Hawaii taking on a stack of ginormous, manhole-sized blueberry pancakes.  This is going to be a tough one-he's really going to have to fight "the itis" when those pancakes settle in his stomach like a ton of bricks. Go Adam! (hopeless foodie tries to throw up the MVF hand sign thing Adam does...fails miserably)

Meanwhile, Top Chef  Las Vegas continues tonight as the cheftestants try their best to impress Joël Robichon, Daniel Boulud, Top Chef Masters finalist Hubert Keller, Laurent Tourondel and Jean Joho.  I'll be rooting for my ATL boys (Kevin, Eli and Hector)!  Who will pack their knives and go?  Probably not a Voltaggio brother. Yeah, I know I went out on a limb with that one.

From Bravo TV-Last week's eliminated cheftestant Preeti shares her thoughts on life in the house:

Waikikie Hawaiian BBQ

The first time I tried Hawaiian BBQ was at a little spot in a Los Angeles strip mall a couple of years ago.  I enjoyed it quite a bit, so when I recently learned that there was a Hawaiian-style BBQ restaurant here in the ATL (and not far from home at that), I was excited about giving it a try.

Waikikie Hawaiian BBQ is nestled in its little spot on Briarcliff Road, not far from the Emory University campus.  The decor and vibe is about what you'd expect in a Hawaiian BBQ joint: bright colors, surfboards on the wall, videos of hula dancers or surf scenes playing on one of the TVs.  As I walked up to the entrance I was greeted with "Bruddah Iz" Kamakawiwo'ole's signature rendition of Over The Rainbow.

Foodie TV: Chopped Champions begins tonight at 10 PM

I'm so looking forward to this!  Chopped (one of my foodie tv faves and one of the very few shows I watch on Food Network these days) begins a limited four-part Champions series tonight at 10 PM ET/PT.  Previous winners return to see who will keep their undefeated record intact and become the ultimate Chopped Champ.  What ridiculous combo of ingredients will find their way into the baskets this week?  In this clip, the chefs must work their magic with blackberries, kiwi, wonton wrappers and gummy bears in the dessert challenge.

Change of (BBQ) Plans...

I had planned to visit a few BBQ spots this week leading up to the 1st Annual Atlanta BBQ Festival this weekend.  However, it looks like that's not going to happen.  I will be hitting one more spot (which will be featured on this blog tomorrow), however I did want to give a free plug to the other restaurants that I'd planned to visit (and hope to visit in the not too distant future).  Each of these restaurants offer a 10% discount to Atlanta Bar-B-Q club members.  An annual membership is only $25!  For more information or to purchase a membership, please visit the Atlanta Bar-B-Q Club's website at http://www.atlbbqclub.com  The 1st annual Atlanta BBQ Festival will be held this Saturday, September 12th from 10-6 PM in the Green Lot at Turner Field.  For more details, please visit their site at http://www.atlantabbqfestival.com.

Fox Brothers BBQ
1238 DeKalb Ave NE
Atlanta, GA  30307
(404)577-4030
http://www.foxbrosbbq.com/
Named one of the Top 10 Best BBQ restaurants in the nation by MSN.com & Gayot.com

Sam's BBQ1
4944 Lower Roswell Road
Marietta, GA  30068
(770)977-3005
http://www.lostmountainbbq.com/
Zagat rated #1 BBQ (Their Lost Mountain BBQ team has won several awards on the BBQ competition circuit)


Hambone's Southern Style BBQ
811 Virginia Avenue
Hapeville, GA  30354
(404)767-0888
http://www.hambones-bbq.com/
Click here  for a coupon to receive 10% off your purchase

Pig N Chik (Alpharetta, Chamblee, Sandy Springs)

I've made quite a few trips to the Pig N Chik location in Alpharetta and needless to say I'm a big fan of the place.  I've raved about their brisket on Twitter before.  Each time I've visited, it has been consistently tender, juicy, and perfectly seasoned.   This Saturday I made another trip to the Alpharetta location and once again I was not disappointed.  I don't know what they're doing over there, but they need to keep it going!

 

Personally, I enjoy eating the brisket as is with no sauce, but sometimes I like to dip it in a little of their mustard based barbecue sauce.  It's a combination that I love.  On this latest visit, I gave their pulled pork a try for the first time (at this particular location).  The pork was juicy, tender and with just the right amount of smoky flavor.

While I've found the BBQ at Pig N Chik's Alpharetta location to be consistently tasty, I found the food at it's Chamblee location to be consistently "meh".  Each time I've visited, I've found the brisket and the pork to be dry and bland.   Today I made my first trip to their Sandy Springs location on Roswell Road, curious to see how their BBQ would stack up versus the other locations.

There's nothing pretentious about this place.  Small but cozy, with local sports team paraphernalia adorning the walls and seemingly every inch of the space.  The service is prompt and friendly (which I've found to be the case at all of their locations).  I decided to order my old standbys-the usual beef brisket & pulled pork to go.

The brisket, while not as juicy as Pig N Chik Alpharetta's, was still quite good.  It was nicely seasoned, with a great BBQ bark and smoky flavor.

The pork was flavorful and juicy.  I tried it for the first time with their tangy, vinegar-based Carolina BBQ sauce.  It's a great combination that I wish I had tried on earlier visits.  Their sweet BBQ sauce is also tasty, but it's the Hot Carolina and Mustard sauces that I'll be requesting on future visits.

On this trip I decided to splurge with a little dessert.  The pie offerings for the day were chocolate cream and pecan-I opted for the chocolate cream.  I've got no complaints here-delicious chocolate filling and a nice, flaky crust.  I only wish they'd had banana cream (since that's my favorite), but maybe next time.

On the whole, I think I will continue to be a regular customer to Pig N Chik's Alpharetta location.  I find that their food is consistently a notch above their other locations, although Sandy Springs ain't too shabby at all.

 Alpharetta

3050-A Windward Plaza Dr

(770) 346-7705

Chamblee

5071 Peachtree Ind. Blvd

(770)451-1112

Sandy Springs

4920 Roswell Rd NE

(404) 255-6368

Five Days of Barbecue

In honor of the first annual Atlanta BBQ Festival, I will be visiting five local barbecue spots to sample the goods (and of course, blogging about it).  Truth: it's really just an excuse to eat more barbecue. All of the restaurants I'll be visiting offer 10% discounts to Atlanta Bar-B-Q Club members.  Speaking of which, check out the Atlanta Bar-B-Q Club's website at http://www.atlbbqclub.com/ for more details on how to join.  An annual membership is only $25.

The festival promises lots of good barbecue, good music and family fun.  No BBQ festival would be complete without a cook-off, and the winner of the Professional competition will get to sell their delicious barbecue at an Atlanta Braves game next season plus $1500.  There will also be an amateur cook-off with a top prize of $750 up for grabs.

The Atlanta BBQ Festival will be held this Saturday, September 12th between 10 AM-6 PM in the Green Lot at Turner Field.  Admission to the festival area is free!  For more information, visit the official site at http://www.atlantabbqfestival.com

One delicious tweet...

When I saw it, I had to try it...

Bacon Ice Cream (with candied bacon garnish).  Want the recipe?  Visit My Last Bite.com for easy step-by-step instructions (plus her dish of ice cream is much prettier than mine). You won't even need to bust out the ice cream maker for this one!  While you're at it, follow @mylastbite for more delicious tweets.

Celebrating Bacon!

A couple of recipes to celebrate International Bacon Day.  Here's one I found while searching for hors d'oeuvre recipes for a New Year's Eve party I threw with friends.  These Bacon Cheese Puffs were a big hit with our guests and ridiculously easy to make-you'll find the recipe here.

Note: I would toast the pumpernickel slices a little bit before topping with the bacon/cheese mixture.  I also used Dijon mustard with this recipe.

Here's one of my "go to" brunch recipes.   This is pretty rich, but I find that using the heavy cream works best for me.  You can substitute half & half for the heavy cream but I wouldn't use milk.

 Bacon & Sweet Onion Quiche

1 pie crust for 9 inch pie or quiche pan
5 eggs
1 1/2 cups of heavy whipping cream
1 cup Gruyere cheese, shredded
1/2 cup Havarti cheese, shredded
6 slices of thick-sliced bacon, diced
1/3 cup of Vidalia (or other sweet variety) onion, finely chopped
1/4 tsp salt

Unfold pie crust and press into a 9 inch pie or quiche pan.  Blind bake the crust and set aside.

In a skillet, cook the diced bacon until crisp.  Remove bacon from pan, drain on a paper towel and set aside.  Reserve some of the bacon drippings in the skillet to use for sauteeing the onion.  Saute the onion in the bacon drippings until soft/translucent.  Set aside.

In a mixing bowl, beat eggs until frothy.  Stir in cream & salt.  Line the bottom of the prebaked pie shell with the sauteed onion/shredded cheeses/bacon, then pour the custard mixture over this.  Bake in a 350°F oven for 35-40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into center of quiche comes out clean.  Serve warm and enjoy!

The Sticky Pig Candy Project

With this Saturday being International Bacon Day, I thought it would be fitting to devote my very first blog post to this wonderful pork product. Not long ago, the fantastic food blogger my last bite (who I follow on Twitter) posted a link to a recipe for "Sticky Pig Candy Stripes" found here. As a lover of bacon and the "sweet & salty" combo, I knew I had to give this a try. Last Sunday, I carved out a little time to do just that!

I used 1/2 cup of turbinado sugar along with 1/4 tsp each of cayenne pepper and ground ginger to make the spiced sugar mixture.  You really don't need to add any more than 1/4 tsp of each spice.  This amount gives it just enough of a "kick".

The oven is preheated to 400°F, and I lined a cookie sheet with parchment paper per recipe instructions.  I decided to go with thick sliced bacon this time.  I carefully applied about a teaspoon of the spiced sugar mixture onto each bacon slice, trying to avoid spilling excess sugar onto the parchment paper.

Into the oven for about 20 minutes (or until sugar has melted and bacon is crisp).  I ended transferring the bacon to another clean sheet of parchment paper (to get rid of any excess grease) before returning it to the oven to finish cooking.

There you have it!  The finished product was sticky, salty, sweet and delicious.  The cayenne and ginger add just the right amount of bite to offset the sweetness.  I might give this a go with regular sliced bacon next time-I think it will make for a crispier finished product.  I'll just have to be extra careful watching it so that it doesn't burn.

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