Asheville Restaurant Round-Up

I have just returned from a fabulous trip to Asheville, North Carolina.  My husband and I went for our 5th wedding anniversary, and couldn't have picked a better spot for food lovers like us to celebrate it! Asheville was packed with amazing restaurants; it was nearly impossible to pick which restaurants to dine at during our short stay.  Restaurants that I skipped that I will for sure check out for next time include:  Early Girl Eatery, Tupelo Honey, Biscuit Head, Zambras, Salsas, and Sunny Point Cafe.  We stayed at a great B&B during our vacation (Carolina B&B), so that eliminated the need to go out for breakfast.  This wasn't a problem though, because the owners of the B&B created some of the best meals we had on the trip.  Overall, we ate very, very well on our trip! 

White Tiger Gourmet

I have been meaning to write a review for White Tiger Gourmet for a year now.  Every time I start, I give up, because I feel like I'm not going to do it justice.  Our whole family loves White Tiger.  Some kids start chanting for McDonalds when they get in the car; my picky eater chants "White Tiger, White Tiger!" over and over.  Sometimes my husband and I join in the chant, and find ourselves taking an unscheduled trip there.

5&10

It's very rare to have the experience of being served a truly perfect meal.  I can count on one hand how often I have enjoyed an absolutely flawless restaurant experience, from the service to the drinks to the food.

Last weekend, the 5&10 provided me with my first perfect meal in Athens.

I Love Athens Georgia

50 Things I Love About Athens

I have lived in Athens, Georgia for eight years now, making it the longest I have lived anywhere in my entire life.  Usually after a few years of residence, I start itching for a change of scenery.  However, against all odds, I have found myself feeling happily settled here in Athens.  Perhaps I shouldn't have been so surprised, considering there are so many wonderful and unique aspects of this great town.  After reflecting on these qualities, I feel compelled to share some of the reasons I love Athens so much.   

The Branded Butcher

When news of the Branded Butcher's arrival in Athens hit my husband's ears, he was pretty darn excited. A restaurant specializing in charcuterie?  My meat loving spouse thought he died and woke up in the Atlanta food scene.  Due to his enthusiasm, I agreed to the Branded Butcher as the restaurant to celebrate our fourth wedding anniversary.  We could not have chosen a better restaurant, because the Branded Butcher was absolutely the most fun dining experience we have ever had in in Athens.  Because we have only eaten there once, I'm hesitant to out right say it, but I have a sneaking suspicion that the Branded Butcher might be the best fine dining restaurant that Athens has to offer.  

Charleston Restaurant Round-Up

My husband and I recently returned from a wonderful anniversary trip to Charleston, South Carolina. While the sights were beautiful, and the history charming, what really stood out for us was the food.  Charleston is seriously a foodie mecca. The only other vacation where we ate so well was in Grand Cayman for our wedding and honeymoon.

But let's focus back on Charleston: we ate at so many great restaurants that I just don't have the time to do them all justice with a full review.  Instead, I'm going to do a restaurant round-up, and hit the highlights.

Peppino's

June 29, 2014 Update:  I wrote this review over a year ago, and a few months after it was published, I noticed that Peppino's pizza's quality had deteriorated.  I held out hoping that I was catching them on a bad day, but it has now been more than a year of nothing but disappointing pizzas.  They have traded out their creamy, thick cheese for a much cheaper, stringier and drier version.  The toppings are incredibly sparse.  Everything I loved about Peppino's pizza is pretty much gone.  So it is with a heavy heart that I have to renounce my positive review.  If you are looking for a good slice of pizza, I now recommend Little Italy's pizza in downtown Athens (ironically owned by the same folks as Peppinos--hopefully their ingredients don't begin to suffer too).

Hand's down, the best pizza in Athens is Peppino's.  Located on the corner of Whitehall Road and Milledge, it is a hidden gem on the Eastside.  I am pretty picky about my pizza, and until I stumbled upon Peppino's, I had found Athen's pizza scene a little wanting.  

Em's Kitchen

Driving down Hawthorne Avenue, you'll see a small blue  sign for Em's Kitchen on the side of road. Sharing a building with Hawthorne Drugs, you may have written it off as one of those frozen burger type of soda fountains that pharmacies often have on their premises for their hungry customers.  Yet you won't find a counter of greasy burgers at Em's Kitchen.  Instead you'll find made-from-scratch pimento cheese sandwiches, pound cake like your grandma used to make, and, starting a few weeks ago, one of the most best brunches in Athens.  

Clocked!

During the Winter Break, my husband and I took advantage of the temporary decrease in student population, and ventured downtown for dinner.  We decided on Clocked, a small diner with funky decor and adventurous burgers.

Etienne

A few weeks ago, my husband and I ventured to Downtown Athens for a date night.  It was much busier (and colder!) than we anticipated, due to a show at the Classic Center.  After trying to get a table at a few different restaurants, and not even being acknowledged by the hostesses, I felt my annoyance growing.  When I'm hungry, I have very little patience, unfortunately.

Last Resort Grill

My favorite restaurant in Athens for a sit-down meal is Last Resort Grill.  The food is great, the prices are reasonable, and their menu reflects the Athens' food culture.  It is my recommended restaurant for out-of-town visitors to get a feel for Athens' adventurous take on southern cuisine.

Mama's Boy

Mama's Boy, although less than a decade old, has become an Athens institution.  Along with Last Resort, it is the answer to the question, "Where should we take out-of-town-folks that shows off Athens' cuisine?".  The restaurant's slogan is Southern Fun Dining and that couldn't be more true. With items like Chocolate Cake for Breakfast, the food really is both fun and delicious (and Southern!).

Farm 255

Farm 255 has consistently been one of our favorite Athens restaurants for a few years now.  With its farm-to-table set-up, and its rotating adventurous menu, it is almost always a great eating experience.  So when my husband and I were trying to decide on a restaurant for our first date night in over four months, we felt pretty confident in choosing Farm 255.  After all, our last time eating there was easily one of our Top 10 best meals...ever.  

Thai Spoon

When I first started thinking about writing a blog, I wanted it to focus on one thing: restaurant reviews. My husband and I are major foodies. We love to go out to restaurants and critique everything we eat.  For us, dinner is not the activity preceding the date; it is the main event.  However, having a baby has changed all that. So dining out has become dining in for us.

Taqueria del Sol

Taqueria del Sol has been one of our favorite restaurants in Athens since it opened in 2009.  There are several Taqueria del Sol's in the Atlanta-area, and I had frequented the Decatur one in the past, so I was really excited when I heard one was opening up in Athens. The first year of its operation was truly its golden year; the tacos were consistently delicious and the specials were adventurous and delicious.  From 2009-2010, we probably ate there at least once a week.  However, as the years passed, I feel like the restaurant's quality has decreased slightly. The specials are now often monotonous and boring. The seafood plate is almost always a tilapia dish with a side of rice; whereas a few years ago they had fun dishes like pork belly or shrimp topped with hollandaise.  Furthermore, I can no longer say that their tacos are consistently great.  A few years ago, you never got a bad taco. Now, every other visit, I get a taco with dry meat, not enough sauce, or an overly fishy tasting tilapia. Consistency is a huge problem in Athens culinary scene. I recently thought about all the restaurants in Athens, and realized that there was only one restaurant where I have consistently gotten a great meal--Last Resort.  So Taqueria del Sol is not alone in this problem.

The National

We have eaten at The National several times since we moved to Athens, and it has always been both fantastic and disappointing.  Our first visit was for our anniversary dinner about four years ago.  Back then we were poor recent graduates, so shelling out a lot of money for food was a pretty big deal.  My husband ate a perfectly cooked pork shoulder.  I, however, was served a well done lamb chop.  Well done!  To me that was unforgivable, and I boycotted the restaurant for several years.  I agreed to give the restaurant another chance last summer, and was served what was probably the best fish I've ever had in Athens.  My whole meal was amazing; everything that a restaurant in this price point should be.  My husband, however, was served an under-cooked piece of steak; he ordered it medium-rare, and got a steak with a very cold center.  Since it didn't happen to me this time, no boycott was necessary.  My husband has always had a soft spot for The National; he frequently goes to the restaurant for business lunches, orders the smoked salmon, and apparently it is delicious.  He raves about it constantly.  

Heirloom Cafe

A restaurant new on our radar is the Heirloom Cafe.  Located in the heart of Boulevard, it utilizes as many as ingredients as possible from local farms; a mission I not only respect, but one that I wish more restaurants would strive for.  The restaurant itself is cheerfully decorated, with a large outside patio, and bright indoor seating as well.  The staff have always been friendly and present; a rarity in Athens.  The menu not only adequately describes the food, it also tells you which farms your ingredients come from.