Agave Restaurant

Agave is a tight, cramped, yet hip place located in Cabbagetown. Inside, it looks like a date spot. It is a Tex-Mex place, and it's probably one of the more expensive Tex-Mex place I've been to.

Like every other Tex-Mex place, they brought out the chips and salsa.The salsa tasted pretty good. The flavored mixed well and had a nice spice to it. The chips didn't seem special. But the salsa made the whole thing enjoyable.

I ordered the ceviche martini as my appetizer. It had good flavor. But it was full of vegetables and not much seafood. It had about 2 pieces of shrimp and 4 small pieces of tuna. I felt gypped. I was expecting some protein, not a salad with tiny pieces of fish and shrimp.

Ceviche: where's the beef? Errr.. fish?

For my entree, I ordered the Slow Cooked Short Ribs. They seemed to have cooked the ribs perfectly. The meat broke apart easily and felt tender. But I needed more sauce. The sauce had a sweet taste and gave the ribs good flavor. However, I felt only 1/4 of the short ribs were covered in sauce. Therefore, majority of the ribs tasted dry and flavorless. It is a tough balance because you don't want too much sauce and overpower everything. At the same time, it needs enough sauce so it'll flavor the ribs. I think my dish needed a bit more sauce.

It's strange because the menu said it was braised in the sauce. But it tasted like it wasn't braised in any sauce because of its dryness and lack of flavor.

The mashed potatoes that the ribs sat on top of tasted good though. I liked the corn chunks inside it. The asparagus tasted fine as well.  

Braised Short Ribs: needs more sauce

I also tried their  fire roasted tomato and serrano stone ground grits as a side. I liked it. It had good texture and flavor. It didn't look too appetizing though. But how can you plate liquidy, orangey slop?

The serrano stone grits look like puke but tastes good.

I went on a Friday night, and the place looked hopping. So it took forever for anything to happen. The servers and busboys seemed on point by refilling our glasses and removing our dirty dishes. But if you needed anything else, good luck finding the server. It took forever for them to give us our checks. 

Mango Margarita. 

This place feels overpriced to me. I guess you're paying for the ambience and the food. The food had few problems, but it had potential. I enjoyed my time here and wouldn't mind coming back and trying out their other entrees. Mr. Kitty gives this place 3.5 paws up.

Agave Restaurant
242 Boulevard SE
Atlanta, GA 30312
(404) 588-0006
www.agaverestaurant.com

A Wild Pho Place Appears Deep inside Marietta: Pho Hoang Long

If you want pho, you need to go to Duluth, Buford Hwy, or even Riverdale. Okay, I'm just kidding about Riverdale. But this is probably the only pho place that I know of located West of I-75. Since it's the only pho place I know of in Marietta, it's the best pho place you can get in Marietta.

Standard plate of pho garnishes: mung bean sprouts, lime, pepper, basil, and culantro.

The Pho itself.

So with no pho competition within 20 miles from there, they would slacking off? Nah, they're fine. Their pho doesn't taste too bad. They are generous with their garnishes, meats, offal, and sodium. Their broth isn't the best I've tasted, but it has a good beef flavor. It does taste a bit salty though.

They have other standard Vietnamese dishes such as Com and Bun. They taste decent as well. I do think their spring rolls look sloppily made, but they still taste fine to me. However, I do think they are inconsistant sometimes. But I've been satisfied the times I've went.

If you're in Marietta, feel too lazy to drive to Buford Hwy, and want to eat Pho, Pho Hoang Long is a good alternative to satisfy your cravings. Mr. Kitty gives this place 3.5 paws up.

Pho Hoang Long

337 Pat Mell Rd SE

Marietta, GA 30060

(770) 319-6535

Chicken Sausage Hotdogs At Delia's Chicken Sausage Stand

Just like the name implies, this is just a stand. Inside of the stand is a standing room where you can order. There are some tables outside to enjoy your meal. But in this 5 billion degree Atlanta heat, it's difficult to eat outside. But Mr. Kitty runs around outside anyway so I can tough it out. 

Delia's Chicken Sausage Stand is your standard hot-dog stand with a gimmick. All of their sausages are chicken, like their name suggests. Their dogs' names also seem suggestive: The Hot Mess, The Three Way, The Naked Slider, etc. Being in the EAV, they have to try to be cool, unique, and hip. Heck, even their Website looks decent and Web 2.0-ish for a restaurant Website. 

One thing I like about the hotdogs is their size. They look big. The sausages aren't some tiny chicken sausages. They are a good size. 

They also come on Holeman & Finch's hoagie roll. I think Holeman & Finch makes pretty decent bread, especially their hamburger buns, so it provided a nice taste compared to your normal hotdog buns. I like their buns almost more than their sausages. 

Even though they have a hotdog named The Hot Mess, nearly all of them seem messy. They pile on the toppings and you can't eat them without getting the toppings all over your clothes, mouth, hair, eyes, etc.

The Three Way

The Hot Mess

The Naked Slider seems like the the only exception. I like it because it looks simple. They also provide different condiments so you can dress your dog up yourself.

The Naked Slider

The Three Way Again. I guess I like Three Ways.

Their Big Sausage Salad is great for the low carb dieters. It's just their sausage covered in vegetables. It comes with no bun. I think it's a great idea, but there's no way I will not eat a H&F hoagie roll if they offer it. But any way you cut it, it's just a salad with a chicken sausage.

The Big Sausage Salad

For dessert, they offer Cake Shakes. They just dump a whole cupcake into a milkeshake mix. It results in a delicious shake but with a grainy texture. But if you're not lactose intolerant and not on a diet, it's worth a try.

Speaking of lactose intolerance, they don't have public bathrooms. So you better empty your bladder before you come here—or don't get the cake shake if you're lactose intolerant.

Overall, I liked it. But I prefer the beefy sausages better than chicken. It just tastes beefier and better, you know? But I would not mind coming back here again. Mr. Kitty gives it 3.5 paws up.

Delia's Chicken Sausage Stand
489 Moreland Ave
Atlanta, GA 30316
(404) 474-9651
www.thesausagestand.com

Mediterranean Bakery & Sandwich

Do you guys want something healthy and cheap? Try coming to Mediterranean Bakery and Sandwich. Inside, it doesn't even look like a restaurant. It looks more like a store, with a restaurant attached to it. 

It's a one stop shop. You can shop for some delicious looking Middle Eastern baked goods at the bakery, get some Lebanese groceries, or eat lunch/dinner at their restaurant. Afterwards, you can smoke some hookah. 

One of my favorites here is not any of the dishes, it's the garlic spread. I love garlic, and the spread definitely had a strong, garlicy taste. Some people found it too strong; I found it to be perfect. If you love garlic, spread this stuff everywhere. 

The food is your standard Mediterranean affair. Although I think this is one of the better ones in Atlanta. They offer two versions of each dish: plate and sandwich. The sandwich is just a wrap. I would get the plate and make the "sandwich" myself with the pita they give you. Oh and of course, you need to smear some of that lovely garlic spread everywhere. 

Beef Shawarma plate

Peek a boo

Mediterranean Bakery and Sandwich has great healthy—or healthy looking—food for a decent price. I'm not a huge fan of Mediterranean food, but I still liked it. Mr. Kitty gives it 3.5 paws up.

Mediterranean Bakery and Sandwhich

3362 Chamblee Tucker Rd

Chamblee, GA 30341

(770) 220-0706

www.mediterranean-bakery.com

Eating Cantonese Cooked Meals at Canton Cooks

Canton Cooks has been in Atlanta forever. It is one of my favorite Chinese restaurants in Atlanta. Just like the name implies, it specializes in Cantonese cuisine. 

My other favorite Chinese restaurant, Peter Cheng's, is much different. Peter Cheng's is Sichuan food, where they use a ton of chili, peppers, garlic, Sichuan peppercorn, and other stuff to burn a hole in your stomach. 

Cantonese cuisine, which Canton Cooks specializes in, doesn't overwhelm with strong flavors. The flavors try to be in harmony. Also, Cantonese cuisine has great seafood, but like good Chinese people, they cook pretty much anything that moves. 

One of my favorite soups, and Canton Cooks has several great soups, is the Crab Meat and Fish Maw Soup. If you don't like seafood, I suggest you not order it. It has a strong seafood taste. But I love seafood, and I think this soup taste delicious. To me, it should be renamed Crack Meat and Crack Maw Soup because of its addicting nature to me.

Crab Meat and Fish Maw Soup

The soup is great by itself, but you can add a splash of red vinegar to it to give it an additional depth of flavor. Overall, I find this soup very comforting. I try to get this when I go to any Cantonese restaurant.

Crab Meat and Fish Maw Soup with Red Vinegar 

Their Wor Sue Duck is great. It's like eating crispy fried chicken, but with duck instead of chicken. And who doesn't like fried chicken? Or fried anything for that matter. The best part: it's boneless. Sometimes I find it a hassle to eat duck with bone in it, not Wor Sue Duck. You can just shovel the meat in without worrying about biting into a bone.

Wor Sue Duck AKA Boneless Cantonese Fried Duck with Vegetables. 

Their steamed fish options are good too. I love fish, and I feel Canton Cooks cooks fishes well. They use fresh fish straight from the tank. But you can't mess up steamed fish for me. As long as it's fresh and cooked, I'll eat it anyway since I love fish.

Steamed Sole

There are other dishes I enjoy at Canton Cooks that are not pictured. There is Salt and Pepper Squid, which is a favorite among many people. It's probably one of their most popular dishes. It's just fried squid in salt and pepper, and it tastes good.

There's also Peking Spareribs, which my wife calls meat lollipops. It's very sugary pork. And of course, most carnivores love pork. The sweet glaze adds to the flavor.

Finally I would like to write about their service. Unlike Peter Cheng's, Canton Cooks does service right. They are friendly, attentive, and on point. They refill at the right time, they remove finished plates fast, and always available.

I also love how Canton Cooks is open until 2 AM. They have always saved me when I get late night cravings. The only bad thing about Canton Cooks is that they're closed on Wednesdays. So keep that in mind when you have cravings for some Cantonese food. Mr. Kitty gives Canton Cooks 4.5 paws up.

Canton Cooks
5984 Roswell Rd NE
Atlanta, GA 30328
(404) 250-0515