Asian Pearl Buffet - Druid Hills - Emory - Atlanta Georgia

You can find Asian Pearl Buffet Hibachi Grill at 4166 Buford Hwy NE, Atlanta, GA 30345 in the Plaza Fiesta shopping center - I believe it's the same space that used to be occupied by a popular dim sum restaurant with a similar name. I'm not quite sure when things changed but it's been Asian Pearl for a few years. Parking is out front and there's typically plenty of open spaces, unless there's a carnival in town (which for some reason carnivals seem to setup here a lot).

I attended a short evening meal with John F from my BufHy Crawler group - on this night it was just he and I - I guess the others didn't find the place too appetizing. The most remarkable thing about this place is the buffet itself - it's modeled from a fairly large fishing boat. If nothing else stick your head in this place and checkout the boat - it's quite impressive. The food, not so much.

I hesitate to not recommend a restaurant and unfortunately this is one of those rare occasions. The food was tepid and dry when it should have been hot and juicy. The hot and sour soup had plenty going on but wasn't much in flavor, authentic or otherwise. The sushi I tried was really marginal and I watched the "chef" make the rolls so it wasn't like the stuff had been sitting around.  John settled on a grilled fish and a few crawdads which I think he said were okay other than being a bit cold (but surprisingly not stale) - he did like the raw oysters but they were slow to refill. I tired an assortment of items and for once left still hungry - hard to do at a buffet. 

The people here were rather indifferent (which is typical at buffets is this part of Buford Highway) - this seems to be another buffet that caters to local Latinos - not much communication going on. It was fairly busy so someone likes it. 

(also posted to Yelp)

Urban Cookhouse - Sandy Springs Georgia

You can find Urban Cookhouse at 4600 Roswell Rd Ste G-100, Sandy Springs, GA 30342- this is the newish shopping center achored by Sprouts Market. Parking is out front and down several side streets - this place gets swamped, particularly on the weekends so you may have to walk a bit but generally there's plenty of parking on this end of the shopping center.

Urban Cookhouse is a fast casual restaurant that features farm-to-table ingredients in an earthy, American style. You'll find all your favorites here and several opportunities for sandwiches, salads and lightweight pastas. I've eaten here on several occasions and all of them have been okay-to-good, with hot food a bit tepid rather than hot. My first experience was with a group of friends and I was underwhelmed - my second was a bit better so I'll give this 3/5 stars.

I think the service here is good overall with fairly fast food delivery. I thought the portions slightly on the smallish side. Most of the meats are cooked on a Big Green Egg so there's a smokiness to them that was quite good - the chicken is not though (not sure why?). The second time I tried a salad and liked it quite a bit. Overall this would not be a bad choice if you were in the area - however with Tupelo Honey and Cheeky Taqueria within walking distance I'm not sure why you would bother, unless you were dying for macaroni and cheese?

(also posted to Yelp)

Taqueria Los Rayos -

You can find Taqueria Los Rayos at 3473 Clairmont Rd, Atlanta, GA 30319 where Clairmont crosses Buford Highway just south of the Deering crossing. This is a free-standing building that used to have some fast-food joint like a DQ or Del Taco and it still has the same basic footprint - parking is all along the edges and there's an unattached covered patio in part of the parking lot so you can eat outside. There's a remnant of a drive-through which appears to still be in operation.

I've eaten here before, coincidentally on both occasions it was with my usual Buford Highway Restaurant Crawler group - this second time was much better than the first (the first time there was a rather unpleasant sewer backup going on and the smell was hard to get past). You order at the counter at Taqueria Los Rayos and then pick up the food as it comes up. On this Wednesday evening there was on person at the counter and one in back - otherwise it was empty. As with other local area Latino joints, this place caters to the many who live in the nearby apartments and can easily walk by.

The food here is fairly authentic - very typical of what you might find in Mexico City or elsewhere in central Mexico. The tacos are double wrapped in corn tortillas and have a hefty serving. I had this meat plate - don't remember what it's called on the menu but it had beef, pork and bacon with sides. Good but a bit much for a single serving. Make sure you order a Mexican Coke with your meal - a bit of a given - you can thank me later.

Service here is quite good if sparse - I think everyone enjoyed their food. The carne asada I tired was good if a bit dry. Note that there aren't really any vegetarian options - this is more of a taco dive.

(also posted to Yelp)