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Last night, I rolled out of the house ‘bout 8pm hell bent on a mission.  You see, Buford Highway is canvassed with Korean restaurants.  It’s a cuisine I love and covered in the past and a culinary adventure reviewed extensively by stalwarts like Eat, Drink, Man (linky), Take Thou Food (linky), and Chow Down Atlanta (linky).  My mission: find a place untouched by our collective obsession.  That’s no small task but as luck would have it … the food gods smiled on me.

Stationed in one of the dime a dozen strip centers in Chamblee is a brand new Korean restaurant.  It’s so new that they don’t even have menus and even the name seems to be debatable.  The sign outside might tell you the name, but I don’t know cuz I can’t read the damn thing.  For now, I’ve assigned it the title of Korea Soup House.  It’s located at 7130 Buford Highway, denoted by a 24-hour sign, and sits next to Mirak, a Korean joint discussed by the aforementioned Gene Lee, aka EDM.  Let’s put it like this … despite casual digs and no menus, I felt like I had fleeced them when I saw the $25.00 pre-tip bill they handed me.

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What The Pho (actually spelled phở and pronounced fuh as in fuck – hey someone’s gotta say it!) is one of suburban Atlanta’s long standing Vietnamese restaurants.  It’s been in the Duluth/Gwinnett area for a handful of years and has seen its share of foodistas slip quietly through its very casual digs.  Though I’ve dusted my share of pho bowls, it’s been some time since my last visit and hence we have a faux first impression.

Joined in arm by one sleek beauty, we set off from the inner city one Tuesday evening destined for this Pleasant Hill mainstay.  It’s just a few steps east of Buford Highway, sitting north side and next to the destination worthy Café Todahmgol.  Given the area’s propensity for mysterious signs that might as well say “Go Pho-ck Yourself” in some other language, you might want to tote a GPS with you if you’re navigationally challenged.  Somehow, even though I’ve been in the area a million times … I managed to take a wrong turn!

Detours aside, I finally manage to convince Laura that when I pulled into the strip center, I meant to.  We walked in ready to Narfle the Garthok and chit chat our night away. [This is where you ask yourself … What the Pho is he talking about?]

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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.

While I have no problem hopping in the car for a 45-minute drive to check out a restaurant, I can assure you that nothing about my recent trip to the Coo Coo’s Nest in Cumming was redeemable.  The massive, two-story complex reads like many in this category.  The interior is marked by high ceilings, open rooms, and a polished finish.  It’s extremely clean, and doesn’t seem like a bad place to catch a game.

That’s where the joy in this bubbly establishment seems to run out.  I only had a chance to sample a few things, so it’s possible something on the menu is palatable; but I doubt I’ll ever be back to find out.  The menu reads like that of any basic chain restaurant, and the food tastes even worse.

The baked potato soup showed up and you could immediately tell it was simply squeezed out of a bag.  Still, it was passable.  The chicken salad sandwich was not.  It seems as if they took some shredded chicken, added in an ounce of mayonnaise, and then dropped in about 3 quarts of sugar.  Overbearingly sweet, I was done in two bites.  I had a similar action to the deeply fried steak fries as I did the the tater soup.

As for service … well … it didn’t help that they were short staffed, leading to one of the most drawn out meals I have ever bared witness to.  Though I was in no rush due to the topic at hand with my lunch buddies, it’s pretty sad that it took them 90-minutes to deliver two soups, three entrées, and a check.  I’m sure things are better when the staff is all there, simply because it has to be.  I didn’t care to point out to our waiter that there were at least four hostesses on duty who should have been able to help stop the bleeding.

I know that food isn’t the most important thing, but come on … there is a limit.  Though I’m distinctly unfamiliar with the surrounding area inside of a two-mile radius, I would hope there is a better alternative in the close proximity.  If there isn’t, I’d keep driving until I found something else.  I’d rather eat out of a dumpster than put anything from Coo Coo’s back in my mouth.  Hey, at least they got a facebook page

Coo Coo’s Nest Restaurant Address & Information

1290 Freedom Parkway, Cumming, GA, 30041 // 678.456.8932 // Coo Coo’s Nest website // Coo Coo’s Nest menu // Coo Coo’s Nest facebook