Atlanta Eats One Year Anniversary

Friday marked two important milestones. It marked the first full year of the Atlanta Eats blog, and it marked Baby Steakhead’s two-week birthday. If this doesn't call for a nice dinner out, I don't know what does! We want to get the baby used to being out at an early age, but this doesn’t mean going to suburban chain restaurants. What it does mean, though, is to go early and to be flexible. So with baby and diaper bag in hand, we headed out into the Atlanta traffic at 5:30 on a Friday afternoon to celebrate.

We decided on Little Bangkok on Cheshire Bridge Rd. as this has been a favorite of ours since we first started dating. We love this place primarily because it is one of the only Thai places in town that serves Papaya Salad (you may not see it on the menu, but they do have it almost every night). If you’re a fan of spicy food, this is a ‘can’t-miss’ very authentic dish. We asked for it ‘Thai Hot’, and it set your mouth on fire. Sensing the pain we were in, the waiter informed us that he actually only prepared it to “1 Star” level, as opposed to the 3-Star Thai Hot we asked for, because he didn’t think we could handle it. I don’t know if I should be insulted or grateful. What happened to the cast iron stomach of my youth? I must be getting soft in my old age.

We love the appetizers at this place. I would also recommend the Larb and the Basil rolls. For the most part, we usually go with a curry for a main course. We had tried the masaman, green and red curries, and you can’t go wrong with any of them. And for the record, Baby Steakhead did well in her first venture out.

With our great luck on Friday night, we decided to test our luck again on Saturday. This time it was lunch, and a new place that I have heard great things about- Muss & Turner’s in Smynings. And again, no problems with the little one. M&T’s is located in the John Wieland Homes Ivy Walk development off of Atlanta Rd- one of the best looking retail/residential communities in the metro area. I guess you would describe it as a gourmet sandwich place, but they also have a bar featuring many local micro brews and wine tastings. And this place is a WINNER!! The roast beef is bar none, the BEST roast beef I have had in this city. Lady Steakhead had the hot Romanian Drip, a thick, hot roast beef au jus sandwich. I went with the Basic Beef- a cold roast beef sandwich. In each case, the meat was high-quality cooked rare to medium rare, and melted in your mouth. Served with a dill pickle, and ordering a bottle of Cream Soda, I briefly thought I was back in NYC. Why couldn’t there be a place like this in Sandy Springs??? I guess I’ll be making the 15-minute drive often on the weekends.

So it was great getting back out into the scene this weekend. And with the youngster taking to the lifestyle just fine, Steakhead is looking forward to some more great dining in the weeks ahead. Weekend Grade: A+.