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

A walk through Lincoln's Brickyard district brought me to Licorice International. How could I not check out a store with that name? Licorice International certainly delivers what it promises: licorice and licorice-adjacent candies from around the world. The owner was very good about giving me and everyone else samples of the various candies. I ended up with classic black licorice from Australia (who knew?) and licorice caramels from the Netherlands. Both were excellent.

After putting in time at the whiteboard, Justin and I moved our discussion to Blue Sushi. It is located in the Brickyard section of Lincoln and its decor is appropriately hip. The service was extremely attentive and very helpful. It turns out that you can't just ask for tea---you have to select your variety and wait for the pot to arrive. The result was very mellow and comforting. I went with my standard, boring choices: tuna and salmon. Both were very fresh with excellent taste and texture. Light and satisfying.

Al Amin is near the intersection of Buford Highway and I-285. It includes both a restaurant and a grocery store. It has been on my list to visit for quite some time and I’m glad I did. The restaurant serves both meat and vegetarian dishes. My vegetable korma, stocked with mushrooms, potatoes, and other vegetables was creamy and satisfying. My garlic naan was excellent: tender, warm, and garlicky. The grocery store stocks a variety of Indian items with a middle Eastern twist (think dates). It is small but carries a good selection. I left with a quart of Indian yogurt, always a treat.

I have loads of apples so I decided to try the tarte tatin, something I have made once before a few years ago. It gives a different spin on apples than does the traditional apple pie: baked upside down with a carmel topping. The technique used to make it is breathtaking if not a little dangerous. I present here my third effort this fall. The results are still not perfect but getting things even to this point requried some experimentation. Here are the apples. I peeled two before I remembered that not only did I not need to but that the peels added both flavor and color. The apples need to be firm and not give out too much water when heated---the apples on my first batch were a little too wet. Coating them with sugar and letting them sit also helps draw out some water. Room temperature butter is spread over the bottom of the pan, then coated with a thick layer of sugar. The sugar will form the carmelized top. Layers of apples are spread over the pan. The bottom layer will end...

Mama's Fish House is widely considered to be the best restaurant on Maui. I greatly enjoyed my meal there. I stopped by on my way to the airport and the staff did an excellent job of getting me fed and ready to go. I started off with a bowl of onion soup. A petite loaf of very soft, pillowy bread followed. I ordered the mahi mahi as my entree. It was encrusted with macadamia nuts and stuffed with lobster. The crust was very light given that it was made with nuts. The fish was clearly caught the same day---that bright, clean taste signals really fresh fish. I topped things off with this piece of coconut cake. Everything about it was light: the coconut topping was light, the filling was light, the cake was light and airy.

Hawaii seems like a natural place to enjoy comfort food in a relaxing atmosphere. That requires getting at least a little away from obvious tourist spots. The Comfort Zone is in a strip mall near the Royal Lahaina Hotel, just far enough away to make an enjoyable walk. The atmosphere is comfortable and filled with local art. The staff was very gracious and helpful. I really enjoyed my fish tacos. The fish was lightly breaded and fried, very fresh and not at all heavy. I tried all of the toppings and sauces and enjoyed each; no one jumped out as a clear winner. The tortillas were fresh and tasty. This was a very enjoyable meal, not too heavy, not too pricey.

The Big Island is well-known for its Kona coffee but Maui grows coffee as well. Maui Coffee Company grows a range of artisanal beans that they also serve brewed at their company store. My main mission was to buy beans to take back with me. But they surprised me with a tasting of several of their beans. All were delicious and quite distinct. One doesn't often get the chance to taste beans side-by-side. I ended up with two bags. One is their standard roast made of several blends. The other is known as peaberry because the beans are singletons; the bag contains several varieties of these singletons.