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

I have a sentimental connection to Canton House. It's how I discovered Chamblee. Shortly after moving here, I drove around just to explore. When I stumbled across a big Chinese restaurant that served dim sum seven days a week, I thought I was in heaven. I've eaten there innumerable times since then. One of my favorite dishes is the chicken hot pot. The hot pot, I believe, comes from the Hakka region. As a stew, it's a great variation on traditional Chinese themes. Their steamed fish is also very good. Today, I had the roast pork Cantonese noodle soup and some dim sum. The soup definitely hit the spot, although I don't think it was quite up to Ollie's in New York.

I just figured out that Desta, the Ethiopian restaurant I reviewed over the summer, has a drive-in window! I noticed it when I went to the post office---it's tucked in the back of their building. Desta, by the way, is at the corner of Shallowford and Clairmont, near I-85. This isn't Dariy Queen---you're supposed to call in your order and pick it up. But it's very easy to call before you get on the highway and pick it up when you arrive. I ordered a vegetarian medley for lunch. As you can see, it had five different dishes; I didn't show the Ethiopian bread here. The food was very good. I only wish that I had eaten it right-to-left rather than left-to-right; I would have enjoyed the textures more that way, but live and learn.

My Columbia University friends took me to Ollie's Noodle House today, in this case the location across the street from campus. Ollie's was one of the leaders in the NYC noodle revolution that took place 10-15 years ago, when noodles moved out of Chinatown and across Manhattan. Since I'm in search of good noodle soup in Atlanta, I thought this would be an excellent comparison. I've always been an Ollie's fan and they didn't disappoint today. I had pork won ton soup: won tons, slices of pork, and thin noodles. The won tons were tasty little birthday packages and the pork was very tender. The broth was very flavorful. It really hit the spot on a rainy day. Where is a good place for Chinese noodle soup in Atlanta? There are lots of choices for Vietnamese noodles, but I really don't know where to go for Chinese noodle soup...

Meetings can be long and a refreshing dinner really hits the spot. My friend Bob Walker was interested in sushi. Since we were in midtown Manhattan, we had a lot of choices. He checked out Sushi Yasuda, which had an excellent reputation. I had a selection of sushi and a roll: salmon, tuna, roe, etc. The fish was extremely fresh; the roe still tasted of the sea. Even the rice was noticeably good. Yasuda is big for a sushi place, small for a New York restaurant. Five sushi chefs labored at the sushi bar to prepare the food, but the atmosphere was completely uncrushed.

ZenTea is one of my regular spots in Chamblee. It's a tea house that has become a second home for the neighborhood. It has a very tasteful and elegant decor; it also holds a number of activities ranging from music to meditation. You can select from a very wide variety of teas from around the world, served in your own pot. You can also get chocolates and pastries from the nearby Maison Robert, but tea is definitely the star of the show here. If you want to take a favorite tea home, you can take a tin with you or order from their Web site (http://www.ezentea.com/).

I was in Decatur and decided that I deserved a treat, so I headed for Pastries A Go Go. It's in the small strip mall in downtown Decatur. I made it in just as they were closing, but they were very nice to let me get my dessert fix. I went for the chocolate buttercream cake. (Are there two words in the English language that deserve to be next to each other more than "butter" and "cream"?) I took it home for later. The buttercream frosting was truly excellent. There was a lot of it but the sweetness wasn't overwhelming. Notice that it was nicely decorated, as well. The cake underneath was excellent. Despite the name, they also have a full lunch menu. I've eaten lunch there once or twice and was very impressed. I think I had soup and salad, although it's been awhile. Of course, the dessert at the end doesn't hurt, either...

On a recent trip to Roswell, I stumbled on Il Forno. It's on Roswell Road just south of I-285. I don't think they have a wood-fired oven, but I really enjoyed their pizza, which was prepared in a very classic style. I had the Margherita, which is tomato sauce, cheese, basil, and garlic. The first thing that struck me was the crust, which had a wonderful bready taste. It's all too easy to get the cardboard effect in pizza places, but this classified as really good bread. The sauce and cheese were excellent. I found the basil and garlic notes to be just right---very noticeable and pleasant, not too much. I ate the whole pizza, which may not have been so great for my diet but was certainly a treat.