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Writing about Café Todahmgol in Duluth is an exercise in frustration … I just get hungry.  Perhaps that is why I’ve never spent the time to relay my thoughts on this tucked away Korean restaurant way up yonder.  You see, as you begin to reach the Northeast border of Atlanta, most often identified by Interstate 285 and Spaghetti Junction, Korean restaurants become as common place as even the most inundating of fast food chains.

Though these spots are everywhere, it seems as if most “ethnic food” passionistas continually identify just a handful of restaurant when discussing Atlanta’s best Korean Barbecue.  Restaurants like Han Il Kwan, Hae Woon Dae, Honey Pig, Iron Age, and Myung Ga Won repeatedly get a nod.  Cho Sun Ok, Sun and Moon Café, and Star Daepo also get mentioned.  That’s frankly just the tip of the iceberg.  I’ve been to all of those places, some several times over, and yet I’m constantly disappointed that Café T, one of Atlanta’s best Korean restaurants of any discipline, is buried beneath a heap of the less worthy. 

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So I’m stuffing my face full of New York when I am suddenly put on notice.  One of my good friends in culinary consumption just so happens to be roaming the very same streets and in roughly the same neighborhood.  Yup … Eat, Drink, Man was in town too.

Out came the droid, soon followed by the ratatat of key mashing and some subsequent phone chatter.  Words haphazardly flew about until we came to an agreement.  We would meet on the morrow in an attempt to best each other on the battle field (Pearl Oyster Bar).  I am Jack’s beating heart.

Something odd happens when I sit down in a restaurant that is epically famous but not very old (as is the case with Pearl Oyster Bar).  One might expect me to have some sort of intense emotional rush or at least a moment to myself.  Truth be told, in both of my trips to Pearl, I’ve found the place so approachable that it almost slips into the annals of my mind not long after I leave.  In other words, Pearl is just so comfortable that you can easily forget you are in one of the holiest of holies and it’s against this setting that I, dare I saw we, consumed one of the best lobster rolls you’ll find anywhere.

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Sorry folks, I’ve been absolutely swamped with work and such.  Alas, my blogging has been essentially non-existent.  However, I promise to get back on the hobby horse momentarily.  While you were sleeping, I’ve been out and about and taken a couple of trips to Hugh Acheson’s Empire State South.  While y’all wait on that … check out Cliff’s notes!  Now on to the sad but true.

Wan Lai (4897 Buford Hwy) is apparently the latest BuHi Chinese hot spot to go tits up.  Infused by EatDrinkMan [If you don’t follow him – you are dead to me] and confirmed by DrZachary thru their own website, this place is gone to the Dead Pool.  Take it upon Spark Plug to have the goods as well … her photo is the one above.  

Let’s all mourn for a restaurant that most every foodie in the city hit up more than once.  I’m sure there’s more to the story, but I’m not privy to any of it.  If you don’t know what I’m talking about, might I suggest that ignorance is bliss.  If you have a hankering to find out more about that chicken, check out my first impression.

Chinese Soup Dumplings (xiaolongbao and tang bao) courtesy misoponia

In Atlanta, and many other cities across the states, the popularity of Asian cuisine seems to be growing.  In years past, it was essentially relegated to take-out status whereby hurried families grabbed their nearest American-influenced Chinese food (see: Mongolian Beef, General Tso’s Chicken, etc…).  Nowadays, we just can’t seem to get enough of the stuff.  Thanks in part to the education doled out by blogs like Take Thou Food (website), Chow Down Atlanta (web), and Eat, Drink Man (web), foodies from all walks of life can’t seem to get enough of that far off cuisine that drapes Buford Highway.

Though the methods used to both execute and consume Chinese food are as varied as the people themselves, I see many a people anxiously dive into dumpling buckets in a fashion that might not be ideal for the task at hand.  This habitual flocking of forks and hands leads me to ask and answer two questions: What are soup dumplings? and How do you eat them?

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During some of my intermittent and haphazard internet perusing, I stumbled upon really neat videos by Frank Ma and Eddie Hernandez, two well-known Atlanta chefs.  Ma, who’s followed like a hawk by Atlanta’s Chinese gastronomes, recently sat down to talk about his arrival in the dirty South and the burgeoning food center that runs the length of Buford Highway.  Though Ma has “officially” retired as a restaurateur since his short at Frank Ma South, his word still carries a great deal of weight.   Check out this audio slide show:

Meanwhile, Taqueria Del Sol’s executive chef Eddie Hernandez also showed up … his video after the jump!

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And so should you …

Yes, Eat, Drink, Man just decided to drop some Korean goodness on those of us less fortunate.  Check out his post (pictured above) and revel in the awesomeness that is Korean food.  Since we can’t all hop on that plane … perhaps we can get just a little bit closer by visiting one of Atlanta’s many Korean restaurants.  Might I suggest Café Todahmgol in Gwinnett, where Chow Down has been going for awhile.  Yes, she’s shared this little joy with me as well as with Eat It, and the aforementioned Eat, Drink, Man.

Eat, Drink Man does Korean

It’s been a super busy day, so sorry for the lack of posts. However, I wanted to point out some required reading to all you passionate foodies.   To welcome in the new year, Atlanta Magazine’s Christiane Lauterbach (of Knife and Fork fame) wrote a little piece on Korean food. The source of her information (and perhaps her inspiration), was none other than Gene Lee, who we all know as Eat, Drink Man.

The article, which was published on new years day, is full of good tips.  Even if you fancy yourself an expert, it’s worth the read.  Meanwhile, I strongly suggest you hit up the source.  Mr. EDM was kind enough to share his thoughts on the topic, and include some pretty fancy picturas.  I’ve taken the liberty of “borrowing” one for this post.  Alright, time to go get my football on.

Let’s keep this short but sweet.  Atlanta is full of foodies, full of bloggers, and full of foodies who blog. (I’m looking at you ChowDownAtlanta.com, EatBufordHighway.wordpress.com, EatDrinkMan.blogspot.com, EatItAtlanta.com, TheQuickandDirtyDirty.com, SavoryExposure.com)  The list goes on from there (this is where you take a look at my blogroll about halfway down the page), but those are just a few.

Not surprisingly, more than a handful of local restaurateurs and chefs also put their thoughts down on digital paper.  I have a long list of those that I follow, but here are just a few that grease my monkey (in alphabetical order):

Marla Adams : Babette’s Cafe : http://www.chefmarla.typepad.com/
Adams, who may be the most sporadic of the bloggers listed here, only posts once every handful of weeks.  The blog seems to double as both a inside into some of the goings on at her operation and as a place for her to express herself.  The posts are often deeply personal and it’s always interesting to read someone who puts their plate on a platter (so to speak).

Taka Moriuchi :Taka Sushi : http://sushiandpassion.blogspot.com/
Moriuchi, who has been a fixture in the Atlanta sushi scene since his day’s at Soto, now runs his own joint on Pharr Road in Buckhead, aptly named Taka.  His postings used to be somewhat sporadic, but he’s really picked up the pace since March.  Though there are intermittent stray posts, the majority of them focus on sushi and his restaurant.  He is even kind enough to share a few recipes with us … like this one for okra tempura.

Todd Richards : Lush Life Group : http://cheftoddrichards.blogspot.com/
Richards, who has several establishments around town (Rolling Bones BBQ and One Flew South), drops in about once every couple of weeks.  His posts range from the deeply personal to the deeply off topic.  While it may not always be NSFW, it’s always entertaining and enlightening.

There are a whole bunch of them out there folks, but that list is a good place to start.  Buddha … OUT!

While I found myself out of town much of August, I didn’t make it too far west of the mighty Mississippi.  On the other hand, several Atlanta foodies followed Hardy’s lead and made a beeline for the Left Coast.

It started with EatItAtlanta, where joined Viking Hardy at the 2009 Wine Bloggers Conference.  Luckily, he was kind enough to give us a potpourri post covering the food (previously mentioned here).  A few weeks later, the jet setter decided to go camping outside Seattle.  Forever the dedicated blogger, Eat It made sure to capture some of the scene-age and advise us as to how a foodie gets a proper meal while in the great outdoors.

Shortly thereafter, Eat, Drink, Man decided to continue the torture with a trip of his own to Washington state.  Joined by June Shin (twitter), of June Shin Designs, the duo holed up in some of Seattle’s best eateries.  While many people tell me how much they love good food photography, I have a more love-hate relationship with the activity.  Much of the hate is now directed at Eat, Drink, Man … as his pictures are fantastic and I’m left wondering why I didn’t go visit my peeps in Seattle.

While the trip culminated with a day of sea creatures, EDM hit up the famed Pike’s Place Market, dined at Maximilien, and skipped on over to Whidbey Island.

The pictures from the trip are plentiful and painfully appealing to even the most casual glance … if you’re a glutton for punishment, take a gander at the full set of 112 pics!

And with that, I begrudgingly sign-off.

Bulgolgi has long been a staple of my diet.  Ever since college, when I made weekly visits to the Korean spot just across the street from my pad, I’ve had a soft spot for Korean food.  I was actually introduced to Bulgolgi over at a friends house and ever since then, I’ve been trying every version I can get my hands on.

Luckily, Eat Drink Man has thrown his hat into the ring.  He just posted an excellent recipe for Bulgolgi over on his blog.  In addition, he took the time to give you some details about the dish as well as some insider tips on what to do when preparing this meaty goodness.  When you are done perusing that recipe, check out his Flickr feed as he takes excellent pictures

(photo via Flickr courtesy of LarimdaMe)