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

I'd like to give a quick shout-out to Mister Donut in Asia. Although based in Boston, Mister Donut has a huge presence in many parts of Asia. This shop was located in a fancy shopping center. Their donuts and coffee are both outstanding. In this small shop, patrons help themselves with the aid of tongs and trays. In larger shops, patrons who dine in can eat on nice china in a room that is noticeably more upscale than the U. S. donut experience. I haven't noticed those necklace-like donuts before; they must be molded somehow.

A meeting to hear about Chao Tung University's startup accelerator started with this welcome and delicious selection of fruit. Taiwan's climate makes it a cornucopia of fruit. Back at Tsinghua University, our workshop started with these snacks. I didn't have a chance to try the crackers, but the cookie was filled with red bean paste.

A trip to Taiwan found me back with old friends and in familiar locations. A quarter century ago, my friend Steve Lin organized the High-Level Synthesis Workshop at the Forte Hotel. My breakfast at this old haunt was a comforting reminder of past visits to Taiwan. This station is yet another example of Asian obsession with breakfast salad. At least they don't put "salad" on their burgers like those crazy Europeans do. A well-appointed bread station. The protein station. Rice and porridge station. On my second day, I found that rice with peanuts made a great combination. Taiwan's hot, humid climate makes it a big peanut producer. Miso soup made a very comforting and nourishing breakfast item. The small pancakes were served as a sandwich with red bean paste in the middle. A made-to-order fried egg. The headline shows that our country isn't the only one with interesting politics. Some steamed buns. The reddish one was filled with bean paste wh...

Today is Sublime Donut's eighth birthday. Happy birthday, everyone! Sublime makes some of the best donuts in the country. It's good to see them flourish.

A staff lunch gave me the opportunity to revisit Gordon Biersch. Some beer gardens serve mediocre food; I have found Biersch's food to be consistently enjoyable. We started with a crab and artichoke dip that everyone agreed was delicious. It had a creamy texture from which the crab flavor emerged nicely. I must say that the artichoke was a subtle taste but it gives a good texture component. Our main dishes ranged over much of the menu. Pam and I both ordered sausages with great flavor. Kristen's fish and chips was huge . We had to finish with chocolate so we ordered a brownie. The texture tended toward the fudgy side but was somewhere between fudgy and cakey. It had nice drizzles of chocolate and carmel; the chocolate was warm on the plate and frozen on the ice cream.

A recent article in Epicurious on Trenton tomato pie brought back old memories and inspired me to make a pizza. Trenton tomato pie has several characteristics: very thin, crispy crust; cheese on the bottom; crushed tomatoes. It comes from the Chambersburg district of Trenton, a.k.a. the Burg. Chambersburg was for many years the home of Roebling Steel, the company that built the Brooklyn Bridge. Roebling Steel closed many years ago but the Italian neighborhood that grew up around it still lives on. The neighborhood is now known for its many wonderful Italian restaurants and bakeries; food lovers up and down the Eastern Seaboard know about the Burg. The neighborhood has a very specific geography---you can see as you drive down the street when you have entered the Burg. The Trenton tomato pie is similarly specific to its locale. As I recall, not all restaurants in the Burg make the tomato pie, instead offering a traditional New York style crispy-crust. And a trip of just a few mil...

My visits to New Lan Zhou Noodle have become more frequent as of late. The Taiwanese food court in Chamblee is a good place for a simple, wholesome, inexpensive meal. Lately, I've consistently gone to Lan Zhou for their delicious stretched noodles. I didn't have a chance to take a photo of the cook stretching the noodles; perhaps another blog. This is duck noodle soup, with delicious bits of bony duck that I chewed down carefully. The noodles have a wonderful, chewy texture that you can't find in other types of pasta. I order my soup spicy; it comes out with flakes of pepper that excite the tongue and open up the nostrils but don't endanger any lives.