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

Grant and Marie introduced me to Aji in Chattanooga. It's a family run restaurant and the service was appropriately warm and welcoming, even on a day when they were very busy. And the food was delightful. I had these vegetarian tamales. The masa was a little lighter and fluffier than I am used to, which I really enjoyed. The spinach and cheese filling was very flavorful. Debbie showed me her chicken dish, which she said was excellent.

Monell's in Germantown has been a favorite stop for me for 20 years. Little did I know that the Monell's empire has grown to three locations. One of them is next to the airport in this beautiful mansion. And they all serve breakfast in their trademark family style. The interior is beautiful; this must have been an amazing house in an earlier mansion. The first floor is filled with giant tables. It only took a minute to be seated even on a busy Saturday morning. The first round of service kicks off the festivities with bread: sweet rolls and biscuits. Of course, a big bowl of gravy goes around the table, too, and it was tasty. A few minutes later, the dishes start to come fast: their signature fried chicken, sausage, bacon, corn pudding, cheese grits. I lost track at some point. Everything was outstanding. I don't normally eat fried chicken for breakfast but I really enjoyed it. As for drinks, they serve both coffee and sweet tea. The sweet tea was outstandi...

My other blog contains a new post that I hope you will read. The post, which you can find here , works through the arithmetic of flipping elections---how many votes need to be nullified to produce a different winner? This entry is non-political and contains only simple arithmetic. I hope that you will take a few minutes to read my discussion of this topic.

Shandies is in historic downtown Paducah, just a block from the Ohio River. Paducah was for many years an important river port and it shows in its magnificent buildings. Shandies' location has rich brick work and beautiful high ceilings. And the food is quite good, too. My salad was excellent. It contained a variety of non-iceberg lettuces as well as cherry tomatoes and zucchini. My half-pound burger was thick and perfectly cooked to a juicy finish. Debbie said that the lemon flavoring on her asparagus was wonderful. She really enjoyed the fried catfish, too.

I've written before about Jethro's, home of the Adam Emmenecker Challenge . This visit was made special by the presence of Henry and his fiancée Molly. Onion rings are a good place to start any Jethro's visit. They are big, bold, crunchy, and full of flavor. I ordered the brisket plate. It included chopped and sliced brisket plus burnt ends. The brisket was flavorful and very moist. I tried two sauces, classic Jethro's and hot, and I enjoyed both. The burnt ends were very good, although I must say that I find Praise The Lard's hard to beat. We tried two desserts: chocolate cake and apple dumpling. The apple treat turned out to be the biggest fried pie I've ever seen. It was very good, but I think that most people preferred the moist and rich cake.

I posted an entry on LT Organic after my last visit two years ago. I am posting again because this place is seriously underhyped. The term farm-to-table does not do it justice---your table is in the middle of the farm. The dining room's picture window looks out over this peaceful scene. Every aspect of this family-run enterprise contributes to inner peace: the beautiful place, the delicious and easy-to-digest food, the gracious service. Here is the menu for the evening: some chicken, wonderful vegetables, and wonderful spices and flavors from both India and South America. Here is my palte. The chicken is underneath the sautéed spinach and coconut, with rice below that. One of the reasons this place is so peaceful is that everything is perfectly cooked. The meat and vegetables are soft enough to be very easy on your system yet still retain texture and flavor. You can work your way around the plate and find an amazing variety of tastes. I couldn't resist dessert and ...

I finally made it to George the Chili King and I'm really glad I did. It sits at the edge of the Merle Hay neighborhood, low-key but ever present. It is an honest-to-goodness drive-in, complete with "turn on lights for car service" sign. Because I was in a bit of a rush, I went in to order my food and brought it back to the car. I just needed a small snack so I ordered a cup of chili. This is classic thin chili, the type made to go with hot dogs and burgers. It has the perfect cumin flavor that this type of chili calls for. And when they pulled out a bag and carefully loaded it with oyster crackers, I knew they cared about their chili. This is great food made by nice people. My next visit will be to eat a coney dog loaded with that wonderful chili.

Oh, dear reader, I must report grave and serious events. These events occurred at the Red Lobster in West Des Moines, Iowa. The nature of these was unfortunate to experience and sad to remember. Beware, dear reader! Now that the homage to Lemony Snicket is over, let me explain why I was in Red Lobster. We had limited choices in the neighborhood and Mom likes seafood. Red Lobster was actually an important force to introduce seafood to Americans who knew only fish sticks. Mom has fond memories. I ordered the blackened salmon. (Perhaps you think blackening is an insult to good fish. All I can say is that I enjoy blackened fish every once in awhile.) The server asked if I wanted the small or large portion and I replied large. The other meals came in good order. My dish, however, had a small piece of salmon and a heap of shrimp with sauce. Our server explained that this was a New Orleans style. I reminded her that I had ordered the large piece of salmon. She asked me if I wa...

Pella is aobut 45 minutes southeast of Des Moines. It is a cute town with a strong Dutch heritage as you can see from this monument to flowers in the town square. It is also the home of Pella windows. The Dutch are the carb kings---chocolate, baked goods, pancakes, they do it all. I sampled the wares of a local bakery and chocolate shop while I was in town. The bakery bills itself as "the other bakery on the square" having been there for only 120 years; the chocolate shop is new. This is a Dutch letter, something that I hadn't noticed before but is common in Iowa. It has a flaky pastry and is filled with almond paste. This one had a nice, strong almond flavor and was very enjoyable. I waited until evening to try these dark chocolate caramels. They were sweet and creamy and nicely chocolate.

My sister recommended Strudl Haus for its great breakfast pastries. It turns out to be a full service restaurant for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The décor and atmosphere are what you would expect in an elegant European restaurant. They hearken back to a day in which eating out was an occasional special event, not a thrice-daily habit. The chef seems to be Austrian, although I could be wrong. They certainly do have a tantalizing array of pastries. I suspect that they serve breakfast in part because they are busy making pastries and breads for the rest of the day. My coffee was served on this elegant tray. Here are a selection of pastries that I was able to try: apple, vanilla, and apple strudel. The flaky crust was superb. The filling on the strudel was very apple-y, not overly sweet. But the pastries were only a starter. For my main dish, I ordered an omelet with sausage. It came with this delicious roll and spreads. It also came with a glass of apple juice. Th...

My brother-in-law suggested that I try this frozen custard stand. He couldn't remember their name but their ice cream left a strong impression. The stand is simple and classic, with tables outside, a walkup window, and a drive-thru window. It's a great place to spend a summer afternoon. And my lemon custard was superb. You don't find this flavor every day so I always jump at the chance to have some. The custard was rich and creamy. The lemon flavor was smooth. I can see why my brother-in-law drives across town for this treat.

West Des Moines has a well-preserved downtown, filled with cute little shops. I stopped by Nan's Nummies for a treat and a rest. As you can see, they stock a wide variety of treats, all in an old-fashioned décor. I went for this kettle corn, coated with just a taste of sugar. The popcorn was very fresh and flavorful. A nice treat for a summer afternoon.

Perkins is a long-running Midwestern chain restaurant. THeir original name, Perkins Cake 'n Steak, suggests their emphasis on breakfast. I ordered a frittata, which came with a healthy dose of vegetables. Since it was Pie Society Monday, I also received a free slice of pie. Here is my cherry pie, which was the perfect way to wrap up breakfast.

Mt. Pleasant is in southeast Iowa. It is an hour from the Interstate and best known for its thresher museum. But it has at least three Chinese restaurants and a Chinese grocery store. Who knew? All I know is that I enjoyed and appreciated my meal there. The décor included a large Chinese mural and an impressive Chinese sword. Here is my hot and sour soup. As you can see, it was served on the official Chinese zodiac placemat, fresh from the printing press beneath Cheyenne Mountain that supplies all Chinese restaurants. And here are my mixed vegetables; I ate the egg roll before I took this photo. The vegetables were fresh and hearty. This was a lunch special, which the restaurant offers seven days a week, so the meal was a good value. Thank you!

Kolache Factory is a chain of Polish bakeries. I visited one housed in a repurposed Dunkin Donuts, and Kolache Factory continues the emphasis on breakfast pastries. But they serve both savory and sweet kolaches, making for a nice variety. These are savory kolaches with eggs and cheese. I didn't have a chance to try them but I got a good report. I concentrated on this apricot colache. The bread is eggy and fairly rich but not overpowering. The apricot filling was dense and fruity. The kolache was a sweet, handy treat for the car. I can see the attraction of these little treats.

A trip to St. Louis gave me a chance to catch up with my former student Jason Fritts. He is well-known for his work in multimedia computing so this is a joint blog post with my embedded computing blog. ALl you nerds out there can follow this link . Red Pepper is a salad and pizza place with emphasis on custom. I was too hungry after the day's drive to take a photo of my salad, but it was tasty. I went with a simple Caesar salad but they can put together just about anything. The pizzas are individually sized and pretty good. This is my veggie pizza with a nice crust and very fresh vegetables.

I bake a loaf of bread each week. I occasionally go wild and crazy with something different but I usually bake either 100% whole wheat or anadama. Anadama, like most recipes, has variants, but it combines corn meal, some other grain, plus white flour. It also uses molasses to sweeten the bread. I use King Arthur Flour's recipe but many other recipes are available. The cornmeal is prepped by soaking it in hot water for a few minutes. Here they are along with the molasses, butter, and salt. After the cornmeal has had a chance to soften, everything else goes in. I modified King Arthur's recipe by using rye flour instead of white whole wheat. Here is the loaf ready to go into the oven. Here it is hot out of the oven. And here is the heel, ready to eat. I love cornmeal in just about anything and I love how molasses and cornmeal play together here. The rye gives a nice touch of complexity. The result is great on its own or as the basis for a superb French toast.