athens foodcart festival (athens, ga)

I attended the Athens Foodcart Festival some weekends ago with one of my best friends after hearing about it from my Athens sources. Gorgeous Saturday weather, perfect for a outdoor event.

We only got to try one thing -- the media noches from Yolis Streetfood -- as the line for every single truck except for the gelato and empanada had a 30 minute wait -- minimum. 

Here's the thing about street food in Georgia -- it does not work well. Why? Several different reasons:

1. We are a car centric, driving city. You have to find parking (good luck if it's in downtown Atlanta) and wait in the sun, rain, wind, smog, whatever else and stand there waiting for your food. Then comes the dilemma of where do you sit down to eat it? Do you stand there to eat it?
2. The food output is slow. Ideally, food should be ready to simple to make and if not, most of the legwork done so it can be produced in a fast, convenient manner for the patrons. When it takes 30 minutes to get 2 subpar tacos, the value of waiting on a food truck diminishes significantly.
3. The food isn't better than anything you could find at a sit down restaurant. If I'm going to go out of my way for street food, I want it to be good or memorable to the point I feel like I made a good investment (time and money). Our current trucks do neither. While hipsters may argue otherwise, would you rather eat subpar tacos/cuban sandwiches/fish & chips/burgers outside in the Georgia sun or eat the same subpar foods inside in an air conditioned environment away from the scorching sun if you had the choice?

Back on topic: the media noches was pretty good considering it took 50 minutes to get it out. The roasted pork was juicy and succulent and they didn't go over on the mustard like Subway which is always deserving of an upvote. I wish we could've gotten the sandwich right after it came off the press though as the cheese had hardened up again while cooling. 

As for the sides, the black beans were very good -- savory, and seasoned just right. The coleslaw with raspberry vinaigrette was surprisingly good (I may be just going crazy). The plantain was greasy, bland and tasteless. And that yellow rice was the worst rice I have ever tasted in my 23 years of life. I could feel every single rice eating human being on Earth cry with me inside as I tasted the dry, bland, mound of whatever that was. We mixed the rice into the black beans which made it better but by itself it was the worst rice I have ever tasted.

Overall, it was a pretty fun afternoon and I'm glad we got to check the festival out. I found it odd that although this was called the Athens Foodcart Festival, that the only Athens foodcart was from LaFonda's Hotdogs. Hopefully next year they'll have more local stuff at the venue!

green goddess (new orleans, la)

The last meal I had before leaving New Orleans was lunch at Green Goddess. A small, whimsical restaurant reminiscent of something I'd find in Athens, GA. As you may be able to infer from the picture below, this place has an extensive drink menu and connoisseurs of alcoholic beverages will most certainly have a fun time trying out the different beverages Green Goddess has to offer.

I went with the Pork Belly and Red Eye Gravy -- a delightful combination of brunch foods. The thick slices of pork belly are braised first and then pan fried leading to a quite tender and crispy exterior. The pork belly is sweet, kinda like candied bacon, but better thanks to the Cambodian spicing from the braise. The local egg was cooked to a gooey, yolk perfection, as requested (over-medium), and the greens are so tasty with tons of savory, pork flavor. I really enjoyed the creamy, truffle grits as well although the truffle flavor can get lost amongst all the different flavors in the dish. After trying out each individual component, I mixed the egg yolk with the grits and pieces of pork. With the egg whites, greens and remaining pork, I put them in between the toasted french bread to create a makeshift sandwich. This is definitely a dish you can have a lot of fun with.

There's a lot of outside seating as well and although the weather sucked when I was there, hard, Green Goddess would be a fun place to come hang out with friends or family any time of the day.

acme oyster house (new orleans, la)

I've always wanted to check out Acme after hearing great things from fellow Atlanta bloggers on Twitter and seeing it so much on TV. The downside to any restaurant shown so much on TV? The lines are absolutely ridiculous. Even with the rain and soul chilling temperatures outside, the line for Acme wrapped around the block.

The Canadian in me won't allow me to pass up poutine of any nature, good or bad, when I see it on the menu. Acme's version of this Canadian favorite is called "Boo Fries" on the menu and it's french fries, doused with roast beef gravy and cheddar cheese. While the chewy, gooey presence of the fresh cheese curds are heavily missed in the Boo Fries, the salty and savory roast beef gravy over the fries makes this a tasty appetizer. Of course, I am biased towards all poutine fries so this may be a hit or miss to some.

No trip Acme is complete without ordering some type of oyster. We got the chargrilled oysters after seeing them cook on the grill walking in. The briny oysters with a touch of smokiness and melted cheese over them smell fantastic and this version makes oysters palatable to even those scared of our shelled friends. Even after cooking, the oysters remain tender and succulent.

I got the Fried Peace Maker Po-Boy as my main -- fried oysters and shrimp "dressed" with Tobasco infused mayo. It wasn't my favorite thing at Acme but it was ok. The oysters smelled really fishy even after being in the deep fryer and I really didn't get any kick from the Tobasco. I actually added in more hot sauce to the Po-Boy which cured most of this sandwich's ills. Someone at our table got the Acme Special Po-Boy which looked and smelled really good. If I ever visit Acme again, I want to try that instead.

My friend got the New Orleans Medley which consists of gumbo, jambalaya, red beans and rice, and a grilled smoked sausage. The jambalaya was okay -- it was pretty dry and needed bolder flavors to stand up to the rest of the dish. The grilled sausage was simply what it sounds like -- a grilled sausage. It's salty, savory, and yummy. The seafood gumbo was pretty good. Stew-like thickness with a deep and bold flavor. The best thing on the plate though by far were the red beans. The red beans were just so savory, thick but resembled a creamy consistency and were seasoned to perfection.

Acme has a fun, communal atmosphere and we had fun eating at Acme. I think if you're looking for strictly awesome food, you can definitely find better food elsewhere. However, if you're looking for good food with a fun atmosphere to hang with your crew, Acme is definitely worth a visit. Make sure you get there early or prepare to wait in line for awhile!