Atlanta etc.: Marilyn Wolf's Food Blog and Restaurant Blog

Cuba Mia is located in the mall at the corner of Buford Highway and Clairmont. It is a cute little place with nice people and very enjoyable food. The organization is casual: order at the counter, sit down and wait. I caught a glimpse of these two items, which were separate orders: an empanada and a Cuban sandwich. That Cuban is huge... I ordered the mojo pork plate. The pork was very porky in flavor and moist in texture, a pleasure to eat. I'm not sure what exactly was in the sauce but I liked it. The black beans were hearty and tasty. The yellow rice was good and amazingly orange. I finished up with a Cuban coffee with milk. It seems to have been made in an espresso machine. It had a nice coffee taste but wasn't overly strong. It made a pleasant sip as I enjoyed the evening.

Coco Cabana is a restaurant and entertainment venue in Northlake. As you can see, they have a large dance floor; I arrived too early to see the action. They also serve a full menu of meals. I thoroughly enjoyed mine. I was able to sample from two meals, including this mofongo. That's a plate of rice and beans in the back. Up front is the mofomo: chunks of pork, plantains, and chicharrones. I ate the pork chunks with gusto. The plantains were hearty. The chiccarones were tasty and gave a nice texture complement. I also was able to sample this pork with onions. Once again, the pork was tasty. The rice and beans were quite good and a somewhat different presentation than I'm used to, with more emphasis on the rice. I really enjoyed the potatoes and onions, a very hearty complement.

The Wednesday food vendor show is back for spring semester. Today I tried the new Cuban food tent. I'm not sure of their name but their food is quite good. Here is my plantains with rice and bean. The cook drizzled a little hot sauce and added some onions on top. Everything was delicious. The plantains were crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. The rice and beans were very flavorful; I assume they were cooked with a broth. The person in front of me ordered the pork which looked very tempting. But my next visit will probably concentrate on the tamales. You don't find fresh, handmade tamales every day.

Papi's, a midtown favorite, is a recent addition to ATL. It is located near the center of Terminal T, close enough to the escalators that you could stop by for a good meal on your way to another terminal. My pork dinner was excellent. The pork very moist and full of roasted flavor. A possible pitfall of pulled pork is that it often dries out, but that wasn't the case here. The beans had a surprisingly mild but satisfying flavor; you can see the full bay leaf on the edge of the cup. The fried plantains went under a name that I didn't recognize and they were outstanding. I don't know what they do to get that particular carmelization but those brown bits were a perfect complement to the plantain flesh.

I just had a very enjoyable lunch at Little Cuba. It's in that other part of Chamblee, the part where foodies never go, on the other side of I-85. That's probably why I didn't really notice this restaurant for quite some time. I started off with tostones (mashed and fried plantains). Plantains need some sort of sauce to lubricate the starch. These came with a totally unexpected sauce made of lemon. To my surprise, it was a great complement to the plantains. My pork was delicious. The pork cubes were fried just enough to give them great carmelization and texture. Inside the meat was juicy and flavorful. The rice and beans were very hearty. I hadn't bargained on the plantain chips; I just sampled them but they made a good complement to the pork.

Zahra and I decided to visit La Boduegita Del Medio for our lunch meeting. It's very low key on the outside but inside it is spacious and airy. The atmosphere is upscale casual and the service is very gracious. I started with the empanadas, which are an appetizer. They were perfect. The crust's consistency was perfect; the pork filling was moist but not goopy; the sauce perfectly complemented both. I finished off the meal with a salad that included goat cheese encrusted with plantains. I'm still trying to figure out exactly how they did it but it tasted great. The plantains were dried and/or fried and the texture of the crust with just a little sweetness complemented the texture and taste of the cheese.

Mojito's is on the square in old Norcross.  It's a a very quaint location that they have turned into a very hip atmosphere.  The place was buzzing with people.  Stephanie and Bob joined me to try out a few dishes. The menu has two very strong themes: plaintains and frying.  Even better, they fry plantains.  I really think they should call the place Plantains R Us.  So, of course, I tried the fried plantain pancakes along with some empanadas.  I was curious to see how they fried the pancakes.  They seem to have first grilled the pancakes and then fried them.  They were like small versions of my banana pancakes, with slices of plantains in the middle, but fried.  Quite frankly, they were a little tough and I don't think that I would order that one again.  The empanadas were very good.  The crust was excellent, not too surprising given their penchant for frying.  The fillings were quite good and the hot sauce was certifiabl...

I just had lunch at Havana, which I guess was at another location but is now at the new shopping center next to the Alda supermarket on Buford Highway. It's a casual place where you order at the counter. It was jam packed for lunch. I had the Cuban sandwich special with rice and beans. The sandwich was good, although not killer; things probably move a little fast at lunch to have all the flavors blend. The rice and beans were tasty and a good balance. So far, I'd classify this as a great lunch spot: good, fast, and not expensive.