Fado's Irish Pub - 273 Buckhead Ave, Atlanta, GA

Saturday night some friends and I gathered at Fado's Irish Pub. I personally have not been to Fado's since it moved to the new location in 2008. The new location is larger than the before (3-levels), however it seemed much darker than the old locale. Upon arrival, the waitress greeted my husband and me to get our drink orders. She pointed out all the beer options and made a point to let me know they have a full bar. With that said my drink request...caramel apple martini. So why if they have a FULL bar, is the waitress standing there looking silly and saying...'that's a little high-end for us, but I'll see what they can do'...Really?! This is high-end...whatever. She returns about 5 minutes later with my martini and it was quite good (much to my surprise per our waitress' comment). The waitress comes by several times to the table to ensure we are all good and if we require anymore drinks. What I didn't like was the fact that I had to ask her if we (my husband and I) could place our food order. Maybe it's me, but if you see there have been other people that have joined a table after you have taken the orders of others, you might want to ask the 'newbies' if they too would like to place an order...just saying, you know customer service and all.

The food is still great...love their Shepard’s pie...yummy! The Chips and Marie Rose were really good too. Everyone genuinely seemed to enjoy their food and we definitely enjoyed each other's company. Fado's is an environment that fosters revelry...great place for group get-togethers. That is until some DFACS worthy parent decides to bring their hungry, cranky baby to the pub at 9pm. Yes you read that right...BABY! Were we upset that the baby was crying and cranky...hell naw...he should have been crying and cranky, it was freaking 9pm at night! I mean as a mother myself, I understand you need to eat too.  However, you mean to tell me you couldn't have found a Chili's, TGI Fridays, O'Charley's (or any other family friendly restaurant) anywhere in or around the Buckhead area.  Or better yet, get a damn babysitter or stay your ass home...just saying.  But the piece d'resistance...Mom decided to breast feed!!! I just don't understand folks, but I digress.

If you are looking for an authentic Irish Pub, with good food, variety of draft/bottled beers, full bar (for the non-beer enthusiasts), and a very fun atmosphere (you'll have to provide your own friends), take a ride to Buckhead and give Fado's a try. It's a great place for large groups.  Weather permitting; make sure to take advantage of the rooftop deck.

Madras Chettinaad - 4305 State Bridge Rd, Alpharetta, GA 30022

Working in suburbia, one is usually condemned to chain restaurant enclaves providing their limited version of culinary delights to the often times unknowing.  However, there are times when you can venture upon a gem in a land of stones...and that gem would be named Madras Chettinaad.

Now, let me preface this blog-post by saying first off, I love Indian food, but let's be honest...you can't just run up into ANY and EVERY Indian restaurant like it's your neighborhood Burger King (due to cultural differences regarding hygiene, for those of you that might be wondering what I'm alluding to).  Thereby, I tend to seek the advise of many before I tend to take the adventurous road to Bombay.  Quite a number of people from my job have eaten at Madras Chettinaad and have spoken very highly with regards to the food.  So when I was invited to lunch with some colleagues, I felt at ease to take the plunge last Tuesday. 

As I enter the restaurant, the decor seems pleasing enough...clean, decorated relatively nice, no odoriferous assaults on the senses...great start.  The host greeted us and led us to our table.  The place was not at all packed...only 4 other tables were occupied.  Should this be cause for alarm, I mean it is lunch time (11:20am).  The host welcomes us to proceed to the buffet and he doesn't have to ask twice.  As I walk towards the buffet, I am really surprised by the size of the spread.  When I'm in the mood for Indian fare, I usually trek to Bombay Grill on Savoy Rd in Chamblee...good food but selections no where near as extensive.  Now the mind begins to race...where do I begin...so many choices!  Okay, so let's read the labels, as they are displayed on the glass buffet cover to figure out what I want to eat.  Hmmm, mushroom rice, Naan, Chicken Tikka Masala, Goat Vindaloo, Dal, Saag Paneer...OMG, are my eyes deceiving me?...is it really so?...Yes, it is...Chicken Biriyani!!!!! This has got to be to good to be true.  I proceed back to the table...my mouth watering.  Everything looks so good, and smells even better, so I better not be disappointed because I'm hungry as hell.  I have to try the Naan with the Goat Vindaloo first...yummy.  Mushroom rice and Dal, lovely.  Now on to the main event for me...Chicken Biriyani...damn, it's DELISH!!!!  Hot (pepper hot) and spicy, very nicely seasoned.  Why is this dish so endearing to me?  Many of you may know that I'm of West Indian decent and Biriyani is like our version of Palau ( a childhood favorite of mine...always reminds me of home...St. Vincent that is).  So to find someplace that does it right, and doesn't try to water it down for the masses is much appreciated.  Unfortunately, I ate so much on my first plate I was unable to even attempt a second.  I know, I know...this defeats the purpose of going to a buffet, but whatever. 

So if you're in Alpharetta and in the mood for some Indian food, stop by Madras Chettinaad...but I offer this word of caution for the lunchtime dinners, per my very good friend...get there early (prior to 12:30pm).  Apparently during her visit, the line was going out the door and most of the buffet was finished :(

Tuk Tuk Thai Food Loft - 1745 Peachtree Rd, Atlanta, GA 30309

So, realizing that I've learned my way around the metro Atlanta area via visiting different eateries, and as such, I'm often asked for restaurant recommendations, I've been inspired to create a blog for foodies.

This blog will provide a personal account of my experiences at various restaurants in the metro Atlanta area. For those of you looking for recommendations, I figured this would be much more fun for both you and I.

So let's begin...2 weeks ago I made reservations for Maajid & I to go to Nan (Thai) Restaurant in Midtown. We were both really excited and looking forward to this Saturday. Unfortunately, mother nature and the State of GA had different plans in mind. As a born & bred NYer, and previous resident of NJ, I like most other transplants to the ATL saw the light & brief winter conditions of the south as a huge plus. So the 3-4 inches of snow that fell and stuck to the ground this past Friday, was not only an unpleasant surprise, but quite intrusive on plans for the weekend...most notably, my dinner at Nan.

Upon awaking Saturday morning to the sound of my dog barking incessantly, I turned on the early morning news to get an update on the weather conditions. In typical ATL fashion (as I found out later on this evening), the same tune is being beckoned on all news channels...'road conditions are dangerous...secondary roads are iced over...please, everyone stay home and off the roads! Dammit, that is not a part of my agenda is my thought. I take my dog out and proceed to slide down my driveway into the cul-de-sac, as Cookie thinks it's now playtime. Twenty minutes later, I return to my warm abode and after much trepidation, I finally cave in and cancel our reservations to Nan.

Fast forward to 3:45pm...Maajid calls me on his way home from work and asks me if I'm ready for our dinner tonight...my response...we're still going, but what about the roads?! Apparently, the roads were just fine...most of the damn snow had melted. Oh hell, I wonder if I can reinstate my original reservation...quick call to Nan (because online reservations cease at 3pm, of course) to see if by chance they have any availability tonight...so what if it's Valentine's Day weekend...surely, everyone else felt the need to be home-bound too, right? Someone answers the phone, I request a reservation for tonight...hostess' response...we only have 5pm available. Dag nabit, I want Thai food. Why is this happening?!!! Tell my husband the bad news and he too sounds terribly disappointed.

This now becomes motivation...there has got to be a Thai restaurant in Atlanta that we have not been to, that has availability. I proceed to log on to OpenTable and conduct a search. I come across Tuk Tuk Thai Food Loft in Midtown (http://www.tuktukatl.com/). Let's click on this and see...I promise you I didn't get beyond the first line..."from the owners of Nan & Tamarind Seed"...I love both of these restaurants, so this is a no-brainer. I secure the reservation for 6pm, call the hubby and tell him to high-tail it home, we're a go!!!

We arrive at Tuk Tuk 10 mins. early. We past it the first time, as it is a loft and we were looking at the names of the establishments that were street-level. For those of you that know where the Viking store and Swoozie's is on Peachtree Road, it's in the same complex right above. As we make our way through the entrance we find an actual Tuk Tuk (Thai taxi) in the lobby...really cute and I so want one...any who...we take the elevator to the 3rd floor (it's the only option, so you don't have to guess) and as we get off, the hostess stand is before us. We are greeted with a Thai greeting and we advise her we have reservations for 6pm...she confirms and seats us immediately. As we walk through the dining room to our table, I can't help but admire the decor...dark, rich woods, clean lines...little white lights hanging from the ceiling that resemble starlight...very romantic, but with a true sense of casual elegance. Our waitress arrives shortly after we are seated, and she too greats us with a Thai greeting and introduces herself...Sara is her name. She asks if this is our first time dining with them and respond yes. Is it at this time she explains, they do not serve traditional Thai food. They specialize in Thai "street food", so they have a combination of small plates (tapas) and big plates.

We start off with drinks, or should I say I start off with a drink...my husband doesn't drink. Sara recommends a special Martini they've created just for Valentine's Day...strawberry vodka, fresh pomegranate and raspberry juice and whatever else they included...it was delish and went down quite smoothly I might add (which is why I had 2...teehee). We perused the menu considering all the tempting delights. We finally decided on the following: Crispy Roti w/spicy green curry dipping sauce, fried chicken drums with Thai 3 chili sauce, Calamari w/chili lime sauce, and their specials: whole deep-fried yellow-tail snapper w/Thai 3 Chili sauce & a prawn special with some type of sauce (just know it was good). Everything was really, really good. the fish was moist and delicate and fried perfectly. Many places that attempt to fry whole fish don't succeed, as it's usually dry and hard. Loved the Roti...could eat that all day long. The prawns were good, as were the chicken drums and the calamari was prepared perfectly. Since we both like our thai food 'thai hot', Sara graciously accommodated us with 4 different types of Thai pepper sauces. We topped off our wonderful meal with Gauy Thod (fried banana drizzled with honey and served with Thai coconut ice cream)...yummy...not overly sweet...provided great balance to end an awesome meal.

Hubby and I have officially added Tuk Tuk Thai Food Loft to our list of favorite restaurants in Atlanta. I often plan get togethers at various restaurants around Atlanta and this will definitely be the next locale...so all of you (and you know who you are)...be on the look-out!!!

To all my ATL fam, please make a point to patronize Tuk Tuk...you won't be disappointed!!!!