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

Pure Taqueria has several locations; I tried the Alpharetta site.  The Virginia Highlands site is in an old  gas station. This one, I suspect, isn't but is still very cute.  It was hopping on Friday night.  The mood is upscale casual, starting with the valet parking. I started with a little salsa.  It looked innocuous enough, sort of a rough puree.  So I swigged a shot and got a very hot surprise.  These people definitely know how to do hot---the salsa verde with my tacos was also very hot.  The afterburn was very pleasant. I went for the grilled mahi mahi tacos.  The fish had a distinct but not overwhelming sense of the grill---just a touch of char without hiding the fish flavor---and was tender and juicy.  It also came with avocado, some grilled vegetables, and the aforementioned salsa verde.  The tortillas hadn't been made locally but they were pretty good.

The Taco Stand is about a mile from North Point Mall in Alpharetta.  It seems to be an outpost of an Athens establishment.  (That shows you how little I know about Athens and that other university.)  Despite the modest name, this is a very comfortable, full service restaurant with a large bar area as well.  I was there for lunch but I suspect it is very kid friendly in the evenings. They have a full service menu, which was a big selling point for me.  I had a pork taco and a wedge salad. The pork taco was Southern style with cole slaw, etc. The wedge salad was great, in no small part because of the generous helping of bacon mixed in with the bleu cheese dressing.  I am a sucker for fresh tortillas and these were very soft and tasty. The service was wondefully attentive and relaxing.

Leslie came through again with Holy Taco. It's near the corner of Glenwood Avenue and Flat Shoals Avenue. I have no idea what this neighborhood is called but it seems very hip in an unspoiled way. The atmosphere is casual but nice. You order from a waiter rather than standing in line as at Taqueria Del Sol. The menu is small plates, which is a natural for tacos, but they have several items that don't fit the standard Mexican food categories. Christine and David joined us, which allowed us to try a wider variety. Leslie and Christine model the guacamole, which is always a good way to start off a Mexican meal. The chips were very handmade and were made of two layers. They were very fresh but beware, they are greasy. David models his chile relleno. I didn't sample it but he said it was quite good. David and Christine also ordered this non-typical Mexican item, which is a has cheese, Mexical-style sausage, anchovy, capers, and cilantro on a bread base. Here are a pair...