Villains

Villains is a hip/casual sandwich spot and hangout in Midtown. The name refers to the sandwiches, which are named after comic book villains. The décor is metal/industrial but with one wall in the style of a subway. I wasn't impressed by the décor and theme. I guess the metal walls were supposed to suggest a villain's lair, but it just came off a little drab to me.

But my sandwich was very good. This is my veggie meatball sandwich. Falafel played the role of the meatballs here. The tomato sauce was very sweet and it was matched with some amazingly sweet fried onions. There was nothing to play the role of cheese, but the sauce and onions at least partially distracted me from that concern. The bread was very good. Service was quick, too.

Lawrenceville: Sweet Rice

I was near Gwinnett Mall and in the mood for a cup of coffee, so I tried Sweet Rice. It's an Asian style dessert restaurant, which often feature coffee as well as tea. They seem to be open pretty late, although I went during the day.

As you can see, they have a very large dessert buffet to select from. They have postings highlighting the freshness of their desserts. The buffet wasn't completely full when I was there, but it had a very good selection.

The coffee was pretty strong but not quite a Starbucks-style dark roast. I tried two desserts in addition to my coffee. One was a sticky rice bun---satisfyingly gooey. The other had a creamy blueberry-colored filling. The portions are small enough that you can sample several without overdoing it.

Eating around Georgia Tech: Burger Bytes

I hopped into Burger Bytes in the student center for a quick lunch. This space has been remodeled to be brighter and cheerier, a welcome change. The menu and service emphasize convenience---my lunch came in a bag even though I ate it in the restaurant. But that doesn't mean low quality. I was pleased with what they've done with the menu.

This is my portobello mushroom burger. It came with a big portobello cap, a healthy dose of cheese, a giant piece of roasted red pepper, and lettuce. My burger was tasty (the roasted pepper) and satisfying (cheese).

Tucker: The Local 7

I wandered into The Local 7 for dinner, not knowing quite what to expect, but I came away pleased. It features traditional burger-oriented bar fare but with some fancier touches. The people at the restaurant were there for a fun, casual evening out.

I thought about getting one of their standard burgers but I ended up ordering the custom burger with a black bean patty. The burger itself was satisfying and tasty. I tried the onion rings for my side. They were handmade and very crisp.

Tucker: Sweet Dee's Bake Shop

Sweet Dee's is in old Tucker. The shop is deceptively large. They have a lot of seating in back and a special room for parties. They make cakes but stock a lot of cupcakes, too. A sign said that Thursday was pie day---they sure know how to get my attention.

I went for the chocolate chip cookie. Not all bakery chocolate chip cookies taste like the classic recipe, but this one did. I think that respecting a classic shows good taste. The cookie was extremely fresh, with all the notes of butter, brown sugar, and chocolate that you could want.

San Carlos CA: Depot Cafe

Graham introduced me to the Depot Café. It's located in the old San Carlos train station. The walls are covered to the roof in photos of trains. The atmosphere is warm and friendly, with the feel of a place that's been around for awhile.

I didn't expect to find banana ginger pancakes at a place like this, but they were good. The portion size was big but not so big that I couldn't finish. And the medium roast coffee kept coming to fuel our conversation.

Sunnyvale CA: Dishdash

Santanu introduced me to Dishdash in old Sunnyvale. It's an extremely popular spot, even with very efficient service. Our food was excellent, making the wait for the table worthwhile.

We started with a cold appetizer platter. These six dishes offered an amazing variety in not just taste but also texture. These little plates encompassed an amazingly large band in the middle Eastern food spectrum.

My main dish was the lamb. Chunks of lamb came buried in the rice, all surrounded by an extremely flavorful and rich sauce. The lamb was succulent and tender. I had to restrain myself from gobbling it down.