Mandarin Palace - Northlake Tower Festival - Tucker Georgia

You can find Mandarin Palace at 4073 Lavista Rd, Tucker, GA 30084 in the Northlake Tower Festival shopping center. This is the semi-circle of buildings that seem to enclose the antenna in the middle of the lot and features other restaurants like Coco-Cabana, Maddio's and Jason's Deli. Parking is in the lot all around the buildings - there are some crazy turns around the antenna's enclosure that sort of makes a roundabout (though traffic flows both clockwise and counter-clockwise so be careful). Mandarin Palace is located where the awning extends to a point - it's easier to see at night as the red signage lies on either side of the extension.

Mandarin Palace is a classic example of a typical Americanized Chinese restaurant - I affectionately call these "swag" Chinese. These are the mostly Cantonese restaurants that popped up all over the US derived from those flavors brought by early Chinese immigrants only using ingredients more common to the Americas, spiced down quite a bit and adjusted to the US palate. The interior is very typical of this type of restaurant with "low oriental style" that you'll find very familiar. I especially like the wall-length carving which is becoming scarce as these mom-and-pop Chinese restaurants are replaced by the likes of Panda Express.

The menu at Mandarin Palace is all over the place as you might come to expect from this type of restaurant - the show a bit of everything. Also, just about any combination you might think of is also available - for instance substituting the light sauce for the brown or vice-versa. That's one of the nice things about restaurants that aren't chains, the items on the menu (with the exception of some previously prepared items like soups and egg-rolls) are made-to-order. We stopped by because we were in the area and it had been a few years so why not? The bright red sign was like a siren's call.

We were seated in a mostly empty restaurant - it was about 8:30 PM mid-week so for this area (Northlake part of Tucker) getting a bit late for dinner. While there we were the only table, however there was a constant-flow of take-out visitors and right when we were finishing up a family of 6 walked in and were seated. I think this was less due to the restaurant and more due to the area suffering a bit. Hopefully the new owners of Northlake Mall will turn it around. For drinks we went with something basic - a Tsingtao, which is a staple of most Chinese restaurants. It's about as far from a microbrew as you can get but does offer up a bit of palate-cleansing, neutral carbonation that works well with the thick, flavorful sauces. They do offer up a chilled mug which is really how it should be drunk.

 I don't remember exactly what we ordered - I think it was a Hunan Chicken and a Chicken with Vegetables extra spicy. Both had sliced chicken wok sauteed with some veggies and brown sauce. The veg was slightly different and my spicy dish had some additional chunks of dried red pepper. Neither was really very spicy and fairly neutral in flavor. The meal was preceded by hot-and-sour soup and an egg roll. Neither of these were bad, but neither were very good either - just very basic, slightly-above-mall-food Chinese.

In general the food at Mandarin Palace is basic and nothing that you would want to make a special trip to obtain. I do think it's better than the newly opened Panda Express down the street and I think it's cheaper and more customize-able which may be important to you. The owner/manager didn't say much but seemed to appreciate our business and it was a quiet meal - no fuss, no muss. I rate it right in the middle 2.5/5 stars but will round up to 3.

-- John

(also posted to Yelp)
 

Purnima Bangladeshi Cuisine - Buford Hwy - Chamblee Georgia

You can find Purnima Bangladeshi Cuisine at 4646 Buford Highway, Chamblee, GA 30341 due east of Peachtree Dekalb Airport in a small strip-mall along Buford Hwy that also features Pho 24. Parking is in the lot out front but be forewarned that at busy times it's very limited - the parking lot can also be difficult to navigate out of if there isn't any parking available.

I was quite excited to try Purnima after viewing some of the raving reviews from some of my friends on Yelp. The first time I was meeting my wife there and she did not get a good impression - I'm not exactly sure what happened but I think she didn't feel very welcome there - combine that with the folding tables under the tablecloths and she became uneasy feeling the place was a bit sketchy, so we went elsewhere.  Maybe it was a cultural reaction? I don't know. Still wanting to try it I came by myself for a late lunch one weekend when she was out of town.

The exterior facade has "Purnima Bangladeshi Restaurant" on a back-lit sign with a glass front - the place is fairly small but there are a few chairs right outside the door in case there's a wait for seating. The interior is painted a dark red with banquets and tables covered in dark red tablecloths. There's a mix of Ikea lighting and traditional chandeliers (probably from the previous tenant) as well as some southeastern-Asian accents, with a small flat-panel TV on the back wall.

The menu is four pages and features many of the same items that you would find in an Indian restaurant with a few standouts. There are additional meat options that you're more likely to see in a Pakistani restaurant, along with dishes more Nepalese. If all this sounds like "Indian" - think of this as an Indian restaurant that also serves meat - Bangladesh is mostly Muslim so culturally they don't carry the restrictions on beef. I've had some experience eating Bangladeshi food at the nearby and venerable Panahar to the south at Northeast Plaza.

I notice that Purnima is the Indo-Nepalese word for "Full Moon" so add that to your cultural reference. I decided that for my first visit I would try one of my favorite dishes, the chicken Vindaloo - this is a dish traditionally made by marinating meet (chicken, lamb or goat) in palm vinegar, sugar, ginger, red chilies and fresh spices overnight. The vinegar gives it a bit of twang, ups the impact of the chilies and breaks down the connective tissues int he meat, making it more tender. I've found the dish is made differently everywhere you go so I'm always looking for a good version - it's sort of my measuring stick. The dish came with an order of rice and I asked if they made chili or bullet naan - this is one of those things that you don't often see on the menu and if you like spicy food you're definitely missing out. It's basically break baked with green chilies and quite spicy.

The food came to the table in just a few minutes and the smells were divine. The Vindaloo was quite good, probably in my top 10 - I did ask for it "hot" and it delivered. Nicely piquant with quite strong southern (Indian) flavors. The naan, which seems typical of the Nepalese and Bangladeshi restaurants I've visited, was thin in the center and spongy/bready towards the edges. It's a bit different experience from your typical Indian naan - this one was full of chopped green chilies and wonderful. Overall the food was quite good and I would recommend Purnima to anyone wanting to experience "Indian-like" (in a good way) food.

For the service, I felt that everyone was a bit distracted and that I was ignored a bit - I guess I expect that some because I was by myself. It did make me think of my wife's earlier experience - the owner/manager spent the whole time on the phone, interrupting himself to take my order with the phone cupped in one hand. A bit weird - but still due to the food I still rate this 4/5 stars.

-- John

(also posted to Yelp)

 

Community Q BBQ - Clairmont Road - Atlanta Georgia

You can find Community Q BBQ at 1361 Clairmont Rd, Decatur, GA 30033 in the no-man's land between Emory and Decatur in a shopping center across the way from the Veteran's Hospital. Nearby is the venerable Athen's Pizza and the empty shell of Bojanic. Parking is a mixed bag - in general you park in the lot out front, but this center is very busy - at times I've pulled in then decided to go elsewhere as the lot is not only full, but difficult to manage.

I've eaten at Community Q BBQ a number of times - I've tried to eat there even more, but have turned away when they've run out of items (they post what's out on the door). This BBQ joint is incredibly popular so except long lines during prime times. The interior is more of what I call a traditional BBQ joint - nothing pretentious and lots to remind you that you're hear to eat delicious smoky pork. I notice there's a lot of students and local families which is always a good sign - no douchey hipsters in this crowd.

The menu is posted on the wall as you order at the counter - while these days that's called "fast casual" I think that most BBQ restaurants have managed ordering in this fashion for as long as I can remember. Maybe they invented that technique - who knows? It's indeed effective. I ordered the 1/4 slab with 1 meat (pulled pork) and 2 sides (collards and Brunswick stew - basically my go-to). You grab a cup and fill up at a table while you wait for your name to be called. The place was busy so I sidled up to one of the long-row tables towards the back-left, sharing the space with a few couples. My companion was this carved wooden pig - not the prettiest date I've ever had but not the worst either.

The food took a while to get to me - about 10 minutes or so, but was worth the wait. The crusty 1/4 slab was layered on top of the pulled pork with a piece of white bread as a "hat" - underneath was red-and-white checkered paper between the food and a tray. I've waxed on my opinions on BBQ before but as a reminder, I think there are two extremes: Heavy smoke with lots of rind (traditional southern style); and light smoke but juicy meats (more of a Memphis or Missouri style). The BBQ here was a bit center of the two with the emphasis on the smokiness, which is difficult to master. The too-smoky style tends to cover up the taste of the meat. The juicy style has very little smokiness. At Community Q you get juicy meat with a nice bit of smokiness where you can taste the meat but still get the feel of the smoke and rind - superbly done! This is definitely in my top 10 for Atlanta.

The sides were above average - the collards were soupy but not slimy at all - basically cooked like I make them at home. The Brunswick had great smoky flavor but seemed a bit heavy on the corn (at least for me) and maybe a bit more acidic than I like. I'll order it again as it's good enough to grow on me. Overall the food here is excellent.

I thought the service a bit slow, but it was a busy night and I was by myself so I didn't complain. Under other circumstances I may not have waited for it. My meal came up to $17.50 plus tax, tip and drink which may be a bit pricey for many but isn't too bad for intown. Overall I give Community Q BBQ 4/5 stars.

-- John

(also posted to Yelp)
 

Himalayan Spice - Clairmont Road - Atlanta Georgia

You can find Himalayan Spice at 2773 Clairmont Road, Atlanta, GA 30329 very near the Clairmont Rd Exit from I85. It's about in the middle of the Williamsburg Village shopping center that features several restaurants like the very good Desta Ethiopian. Parking is in the lots out front and to the sides. Himalayan Spice is a bit difficult to see until your in the parking lot except at night, where the red neon facade is blazing and can be seen from the street.

I've now visited Himalayan Spice a couple of times, both during the lunch buffet - I came here on recommendation by several friends including neighbors (as their favorite "Indian") - I'm also somewhat familiar with Nepalese food. If you aren't then it will taste the most like Indian food to you, especially Indian food from the north and east of that country. In general I've found the flavors to be slightly sweeter and a bit saucier, but still containing many of the same elements - turmeric, ginger, cumin, coriander, cardamon, and chili with a smattering of other spices. If you like Indian food you will like the flavors of Nepal. The naans seem a bit spongier along the edges (more like Bangladeshi style) and you'll find some unusual items like momos (steamed dumplings) and pasta dishes you don't typically see at Indian restaurants.

The interior of Himalayan Spice introduces you to that region, first through stone-work in the foyer then via the interior decoration. For lunch there's a row of steam and chilling tables along one side and a counter where you are greeted and will take your check at the end. Himalayan Spice also will offer up a discount if you "like" them on Facebook - I love those types of easy promotions.

Both times I've visited the buffet consisted of what I think of as a "regular" assortment of meat (chicken and goat) and vegetarian dishes. The curries seemed overly saucy to me but they were still rich in "creaminess" but in general the spice level was very neutral, I'm guessing to make the food more palatable to most Americans. I've eaten at three different Nepalese restaurants now and Himalayan Spice ranks as the least spicy. Himalayas on Peachtree Industrial was slightly more spicy but really more Indian I think than Himalayan; while Kathmandu in Clarkston seemed the most spicy and perhaps the most authentic? I'm not sure if I have enough context but Kathmandu tasted the best of the three as the flavors were more distinctive (it is a smaller buffet though so less options).

With everything above being said, I feel like the restaurant is good in a kind of average way. I wouldn't say no to meeting friends here as the service was quite good (but I did come during the buffet) but in general if I was looking for Indian or Indian-like food there are better options nearby. I hope to eat here for dinner at some point as I'd like to try more of the Nepalese options and also see if the spice levels are pumped up.

-- John

(also posted to Yelp)

Willy's Mexicana Grill - Chastain Rd - Kennesaw Georgia

You can find this location of Willy's Mexicana Grill at 600 Chastain Road NW, Kennesaw, GA 30144 - this is the stretch of Chastain that stretches between I75 and I675 just north of Town Center Mall and host of several restaurants and of course a Starbucks. Parking is in the lots out front and to the sides but be warned that it's a high traffic area and a bit difficult to navigate around the divided roads - I'm not sure what the developers were thinking when they provided these buildings for restaurants - actually I doubt if they took much time to think through the traffic at all, after experiencing this area a few times myself.

This Willy's is one of their "new concept" done in a high design, industrial-modern style - quite beautiful inside as these types of restaurants go - love the stainless hood that rolls up from the food prep areas to the high ceilings. Those of you who know me also know that I'm a big fan of Willy's - it's become a staple for me to visit the location at the Publix near the Concourse which has provided me with fantastic food for over 10 years. I was quite excited to try this new Willy's and thrilled to see the interior.

We went through the line much like I have at previous locations - the staff was good about asking the right questions and building my burrito and everything looked and went quite well. At the sauce station I noticed a new selection - Roasted Tomato Fiery Hot Salsa and of course I had to try it. The food was good and consistent but wow - that new salsa is a total failure - it basically tasted like burnt mush - ugh. I don't know what Willy's was thinking introducing this one. Stick with the habanero, chipotle or tomatillo.

In any case, other than the disgusting new salsa, the food was consistent, the restaurant spotless and the interior amazing. I've now visited a few times and the experience every time has been a good one. Still sucks trying to get out of the lot though.

-- John

(also posted to Yelp)