Indigo Coastal Shanty - Brunswick GA

You can find Indigo Coastal Shanty at 1402 Reynolds St., Brunswick, GA 31520 - this is a small restaurant with a big deck and plenty of flavors. It's also the one of the best restaurants in Brunswick and the surrounding areas (like nearby St Simons, Sea and Jekyll Islands).

Emerging like a phoenix from the ashes of the popular Cargo Restaurant in downtown Brunswick, chef Kate B. and crew opened this down-sized establishment to thrill locals and visitors with world coastal cuisine. More than a Caribbean restaurant, Indigo Coastal Shanty fuses Asian, Indian, Creole, African and other exotic flavors into a melange of taste sensations at very affordable prices. This small restaurant powers a spice-filled one-two punch of great fresh ingredients with beautiful preparation and presentation, something you rarely see in remote destinations, yet tucked away in this little corner of Georgia.

For full disclosure, I have a bit of a connection with Indigo Coastal Shanty and the chef, Kate B, having originally worked with her at Indigo, her mom Alex' place in Atlanta (Indigo Coastal Grill on N Highland Dr). This was the last restaurant where I worked as a chef before hanging up that hat and taking up software development.

What I love about Indigo Coastal Shanty is that there are many very familiar items on the menu, only subtly different enough that the offer something more, a true improvement and interpretation of what we had at Indigo in Atlanta. The original restaurant is missed to this day by locals, but can be re-experienced down in Brunswick for those both Jones-ing for the original and looking for new vistas. I joined several other previous Indigo employees at a bit of a small reunion that centered around the visit to the Shanty. Besides plenty of rest and relaxation at the local beaches, we all enjoyed our visit at the restaurant and a sampling of what it had to offer.

Curried Mussels - these are pot-cooked mussels in vino and curry for an exotic aroma and flavor - delicious

Crispy Fried Plantains with Avocado Puree - this is an old standby from the Indigo days and a great starter.


Jerk Chicken with black-beans and rice, slaw and pineapple salsa - another very popular Indigo dish and one of my favorites from back-in-the-day. Often copied by other restaurants but always lacking in that certain something - this is the real deal at the Shanty!

Charleston Sauté... Shrimp  with ham, tomatoes, peppers and fried okra served over cheesy grits (the original dish we called the Low Country Saute - this is definitely an improvement!)

Pineapple Upside Down Cake - delicious mix of sweet and sour tangyness!

Cajeta Brownie - not one can resist the power of cajeta!

My other recommendations are any of the Southern favorites like the Fried Green Tomatoes. Also, check out the fantastic deck for a nice dining experience under the perfect blue skies! In all, a fabulous evening with great food, good friends and fantastic memories!

-- John

(shorter version of the review also posted to Yelp)

Hollman and Finch Public House - Peachtree Battle - Sixth Stop of Eat the Peachtree Restaurant Crawl

Hollman and Finch Public House is the sixth of nine stops as part of "Eat the Peachtree 2014" - I called it the "Peachtree Road Crawl" in my Twitter and Facebook posts as the event was going on. Locate all the posts along with an intro if you search my blog with ETP2014. We walked from restaurant to restaurant in search of the best flavors in Atlanta, while enjoying the same sights as you would while running the Peachtree Rd Race. From Peachtree Battle we continued up the hill towards Mid-Town to Hollman and Finch.

(a shorter version of this review also posted to Yelp)
Hollman and Finch Public House has become something of an Atlanta institution, it's located at 2277 Peachtree Road (I'm not sure if it's considered Buckhead or if it's Mid-Town, but Peachtree Battle is probably more accurate). I don't know how many times I've heard about the hamburger offered here and how it's the best in town. I really, really wanted to sample one, only to find out that they have this peculiar custom of only serving a limited quantity (24 double patties) a night, right at 10:00 PM. Once they're gone, they're gone. Apparently fans start assembling around 9:00 PM to make sure they get one - I'm not sure if I'm that dedicated but maybe someday.

The interior is really interesting, with exposed glass walls to the exterior showcasing the bar. Inside there's a narrow hallway to wood booths. We elected to sit at open tables at the bar. Everyone else purchased signature drinks (mostly bourbon), but as you will note based on my reviews, I'm more of a beer-guzzling kind of guy. I chose the Lagunas IPA as one that I hadn't yet tried and was quite satisfied with it.

Since the burgers weren't available, we elected to order two of their other signature dishes:

Sapelo Island Clams (we ordered two pots) - these fantastic local clams come from the waters around Savannah and Brunswick and at Hollman and Finch, they're boiled in a creamy stock with rye whisky, bacon and jalapeño. Served with toasted wedges to absorb all that flavor - I believe this was my favorite item sampled during our restaurant crawl - simple delicious. I could eat two pots of these easily by myself.

Veal Brains - now you won't often find me ordering organ meats although I've had plenty in my lifetime. Brains are actually one of the purest of the bunch with a light, delicate flavor (almost non-existent, which is usually why I pass on them). At Hollman and Finch, the brains are lightly breaded and pan-fried, served with a dark ghee, capers and vinegar. They are quite delicious (or at least what they're cooked in provides the right mix of fat and acid to satisfy anyone) - served with toasted bread wedges to sop up all those savory juices.

As a tease, there are H&F "Hamburger" shirts for sale behind the bar - bastards! I'll make sure to visit again and sample more of the fine fare at Hollman and Finch Public House - the foods really harken back to a time when you visited pubs for your nightly meal with the family.

I thought the service was quite good - now with 9 people it's tough managing a small crowd on bar tables. We even got more bread for the clam pots!

Finishing up here was difficult (getting full by this time) but as good troopers do, we continued on towards Mid-Town. Location seven will be one of my favorites, Watershed...

-- John

Chef Rob's Caribbean Cafe - Catering

(Shorter version posted to Yelp)
First a bit of setup on this - you all know I love food and trying new restaurants and experiences. What you might not know is that I also scout restaurants as potential catering options for my work. Every Friday on a weekly basis, we bring food in and feed the office of about 60 people (this varies a bit as we often have guests from our Boston office or elsewhere). We combine this weekly group-munch with a Lunch-and-Learn program where either someone on the office or a guest speaker provides a presentation. This is a great way to disseminate information (for instance, from HR or Recruiting), to provide classes on inter-work related efforts, or to just promote general life-experience information that may be of benefit to the group. It also brings the office together into more of a familial situation by exposing everyone to a family-style meal (this comes from the Korean part of my heritage more than anything else - you Koreans will know what I mean).

We wanted to bring in some Caribbean or Jamaican style food and turned to the local Chef Rob's Caribbean Café in Sandy Springs. As usual, we order a bit more than the 60 head-count implies as we try to sample a few things on the menu. Chef Rob's has a separate catering menu that is quite reasonably priced.

This is what we ordered:

• Jerk Chicken and Shrip Fettuccine Pasta
• Curried Goat
• Blackened Tilapia Stir Fry
• Salmon (Pan Seared)
• Braised Beef Oxtails
• Brown Stew Chicken
• Curried Chicken
• Rice and Peas
• Jasmine Rice
• Fried Sweet Plantains
• Stir Fried Vegetables
• Caribbean Cole Slaw
• Cocktail Patties (Beef)
• Cocktail Patties (Chicken)
• Roti
• White Chocolate Bread Pudding
• Drinks

I sampled everything but only took photos of those items I actually used to plate-up:

Cocktail Patties

Cocktail Patties (Beef and Chicken)
These were your basic empanadas and they were quite good - strong flavors and a high filling to shell ratio

Jerk Chicken and Shrimp Fettuccine Pasta
The cream sauce was a bit heavy on this dish (it doesn't seem to be a dish that travels well).

Curried Goat
I do love me some curry, and most Caribbean restaurants know how to achieve these flavors right - this was no exception. I could eat that every day.

Braised Beef Oxtails
This dish was very rich and live with flavor. I usually don't order oxtails as they can be a bit over-powering, but I would order these again.

Brown Stew Chicken
This chicken dish was good but I could have used more spice.

Curried Chicken
As with the Curried Goat, I can eat this every day!

Rice and Peas
Has anyone figured out why this is called Rice and Peas instead of Rice and Beans?

Fried Sweet Plantains
Your basic maduros.

Stir Fried Vegetables
Tasty, but nothing really special. It does fill a small space on a heaping plate though (and may make you feel better about all the food "Eat your vegetables" as mom would say).

White Chocolate Bread Pudding
This massive bread pudding was tasty but a bit too sweet for me.

In general I liked the food we ordered, however I could have used one additional level of spice (especially heat) - I've had much better but then again, I've had much, much worse. The obvious item that was missing was just your commonly found jerk chicken - I tend to use that as a measuring stick when visiting Caribbean restaurants - I'm not quite sure why we didn't order any.  It was delivered on time and setup wasn't any more onerous than usual. We'll be ordering from Chef Rob's again.

 -- John

Little Szechuan Chinese Cuisine - Doraville

(Shorter version of this review also posted to Yelp)
I actually have a previous review of the old location for Little Szechuan that is a bit less flattering. The former location hosted a long history of great, then not-so-great food as that part of Buford Hwy experienced up/down swings. The quality took a bit of a hit as Chef Kong adjusted to a different clientele, trying his best to make a living yet struggling to maintain the original quality - ultimately moving locations to the current Sun Tan Center shopping mall. The new location makes it much more accessible to "townies" so I hope that this move improves things for this venerable restaurant.

Little Szechuan long had the reputation of attracting local restaurant owners and chefs, who desired a more authentic Szechuan menu (remember at near 20 years there wasn't the plethora of Asian restaurants, particularly good ones, along the BufHi corridor) - I frequented the previous location for close to 20 years and it was long my favorite. Sure there are some Americanized items on the menu and to some this would disqualify the food as not-worthy - but if you do you're missing out on some great tasting Chinese food.

Recently I attended a UYE (Unofficial Yelp Event) hosted by my old Yelp friend, Daniel B (hey man, thanks for hosting!) with about 20 other Yelpers on three-four tables. Since there were so many attending, we were able to sample a huge variety of Chinese dishes - some old favorites, and some I hadn't tried. In general everything was terrific, a great mix of classic flavors, Szechuan heat/peppers and well-cooked meats and vegetables. Even with the large group, the servers did a good job keeping up with the demands of over-picky foodies. I think everyone had a good time and I heard many good comments.

I was basically floored by the interior of the new location - my expectation was something brand new - instead it was as if the old location was basically moved with everything rearranged for a new space. It will appear quite familiar to most who have visited the original location. The exterior of the shopping center is a bit shabby but don't let that stop you.

Here's a rundown of what was ordered at our table:

Eggplant w/Spicy Garlic Sauce - one of my favorite vegetarian dishes, the eggplant has great, slightly sweet flavor with garlic and a delicate consistency. I fondly call them slugs as that's what they look like, but this dish is well worth it - the steaming hot eggplant across a bed of white rice - delectable!

House Special To Fu w/Black Bean Sauce - this tofu dish has bits of yummy pork in a savory black bean sauce. The Tofu is delicate and floats across both your rice and your palate, both savory and earthy - this was easily one of our favorite dishes.

Stir Fried String Beans - this is one of my favorite dishes, period, and a great introduction to this style of cooking. It's funny now, but Little Szechuan used to be the only Chinese restaurant in Atlanta that served this dish - it's now become a common item. Ask for it without meat if you're a vegetarian - it's not quite as good but still delicious.

I be by now you're thinking "wow, what's with all the vegetables?" - the next dish was the Basil Chicken - this is not something I would normally order - mostly as when I think of that dish I think Thai food - this is most definitely not Thai but still worth ordering, especially if you like basil. The effect is strong and the sauce thicker than what you would find in Thai - still quite good.

Filet of Sol in Chili Sauce - I've never had this dish previously (although I've tried it at other restaurants) - it's quite good here. This is lightly sautéed fish in hot, soupy chili oil sauce tossed with peppers and cabbage, with cilantro as a garnish - not too hot but definitely spicy.

Fresh Bamboo Shoots - this is something you should ask for (I don't think it's on the menu) - fresh bamboo has quite a different flavor from the canned stuff - it's quite aromatic and unlike what you would think. This is a huge plate of deliciousness that you don't commonly find elsewhere.

Another of my favorites that we didn't try, is the General Tso's Chicken - breaded bits of fried chicken in a spicy sauce, served with steamed broccoli - I like to suggest this one to my friends - they all have really loved it!

I also recommend the hot-and-sour soup (you get a choice of that or the egg-drop) - you're also generally served a plate of lightly pickled veggies (jicama with peppers, sweetened or spicy bean sprouts) - these are banchan style so they certainly appeal to my Korean palate. During lunch you also get a veggie egg-roll.

For pricing, the dinner menu is more expensive than the lunch - all of this food should be eaten in a large group (at least 4 dishes), family style.

In any case, I hope you will give Little Szechuan a try - it's a bit nostalgic for me at this point, but oh-so-good!

-- John

Kiosco A Taste of Columbia - Marietta GA

(Shorter version posted on Yelp)
It's really unbelievable how good the food is at Kiosco - I had the opportunity to feast here with a group of Yelp Elites. Since I live on the opposite side of the Northern arc of I285, Kiosco is well outside of my usual grazing zone - I'm so glad I had the chance the sample the fine fare here. I had heard of this small Columbian restaurant through some friends but up until now had only sampled an empanada - the real thing, freshly cooked it made my previous encounter pale in comparison. You really need to be on site to enjoy these delicious morsels hot, especially with the habanero sauce.

Kiosco can be found on 48 Powder Springs St - it's a one-way so I parked on a side street - the event I went to was set for 6:00 PM and it took me a good 45 minutes to make it on time from the Perimeter Mall area. I think that if you don't use a map app it's a bit hard to find (especially for me, being so far from my usual terrain as already mentioned). The restaurant is very unassuming with a couple of sidewalk tables under a green awning, a large banquet table (and I recommend you come in a big group to sample all the goodies), some smaller tables and a bar to service the great sangria.

Being a Yelp sponsored event allowed us to sample many, many more items than you would normally see in a regular visit. Here's a rundown along with my thoughts on each:

We started with one of two different sangrias - mango and red. I really enjoyed the red as a good, familiar sangria but man, was the mango sangria fantastic! I had several glasses and was feeling pretty good by the time things started to wind down (or is it wine down?).

Then came some of the best chicken and beef empanadas I've ever had with a smoking habanero sauce! These were hot and delicious - try them first as-is, then with a bit of the habanero sauce - I like to pour a bit inside for the best effect.

Next came courses of beef broth mushroom lentil soup and a yummy cold carrot, onion, pepper and garbanzo bean salad. I believe you normally choose one of the two as a starter to most meals - if you come as a pair, each should order one and try-the-other's to get the full effect.

Then out came a freaking huge pile of chorizo, mini empanadas, chicharrons, maduros, patacones, yucca, chicken and beef (Picada para dos)! This was one of my favorite meals and really intended to be split between two people - plenty of food here for those with big appetites and the food balance is very good - just enough starch, meat, fat and acid to be very satisfying, especially with the sauces.

I couldn't believe how good the huge plate of paella (with shrimp, bay scallop, muscles, clams and calamari rings) was (another dish intended for two) - no rubber seafood here and the aroma was out-of-this-world. Based on this dish alone I'll be coming back.

We also received another plate of grilled steak, chorizo, chicharrone, maduros, avocado and a side of rice and pinto beans (Bandeja Paisa) - think of this as the meat-lovers platter with enough to satisfy the most picky Adkins dieter.

Next was one of my favorites, the Medio Pollo al Horno (half roasted chicken with a delicious raspberry sauce) and a plate of mixed veggies! All I can say is "Wow." - this dish makes Pollo Tropical's chicken the equivalent of a box of chicken McNuggets. A bit of the raspberry coulis and you're in heaven and the skin is just perfectly rendered to a delicious crispiness that most restaurants can't seem to find.

As you can see I tried everything - I really had a hard time finishing - everything was so good!

We ended the evening sampling four desserts: a really delicious Tres Leches, one of the best flans (Flan de Café) I've had in Atlanta, a coconut custard fetish (Postre de Coco) and a homemade carrot cake (Torta de Zanahoria) - man it really sucks when the desserts are this good - I could feel the pounds ballooning out on my mid-drift but Oh So Good!

By the time we finished I was so full, but completely sated. This has become one of my new favorite restaurants and I can't wait to go back to sample more!

-- John