Posted by Foodie Buddha
on August 12, 2010

It’s 3 o’clock in the afternoon and beads of sweat drip down my forehead. I find myself standing in the parking lot of the Druid Hills Whole Foods and my eyes are locked in across the street. Anyone with good sense would know that the personal shower was due to the hellish-like temperatures of an Atlanta summer. In most any other case, they’d be right. However, there is an exception to every rule and this was just one of those situations.
In this instance, I was feeling the pressure. Smack dab across the street from that WF is the long standing Pita Palace. Though anything but palatial, the Palace has withstood nearly 7-years of economic turmoil and remained one of the more popular places for ATLiens to grab them some shwarma (aka gyros).
Being the good foodie that I am, I knew I was obligated to cross the street for another one of my “not so” first impressions. Questionable personal safety combined with Whole Foods sushi in the belly made me apprehensive. Not only did I need to make it across Lavista alive, I need to find someway to cram more food into my stomach. With Fünke at my side, the two of us darted across the Lavista on our way to take on Israel’s take on street food!
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Posted by Foodie Buddha
on February 15, 2010

The love affair with Frank Ma South has come and gone in this city. Late in 2008 when Frank Ma moved in with the gang at Chopsticks in the Emory area, all hell broke loose. Most everyone got all giddy at the idea of a seemingly authentic Chinese restaurant located somewhere other than BuHi. I was never all up in that … shocking I know. At the time, I recapped my thoughts on “THAT SITE” during my pre-blog days.
Suddenly, like a fart in the wind, Frank up and vanished. In his wake, chef’s have come and gone and the crowds have thinned. However, the menu remains basically the same. I’ve been diving in and out of there intermittently since Frank’s departure with the latest visit being yesterday for the Chinese New Year. While the restaurant still satisfies my urging for non-nationalized Chinese grub, it’s still unable to compete with our cities top dogs.
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Posted by Foodie Buddha
on October 12, 2009
Tucked away in the sprawling Toco Hills Shopping Center, the Bagel Palace Deli & Bakery has been around for at least a couple of decades. Somewhere in between Emory University and Druid Hills, the Toco Hills neighborhood is home to Atlanta’s most concentrated Jewish population. It seems appropriate that one of the more widely known delicatessens is here.
At any given time, especially on the weekends, there is bound to be a bit of a crowd meandering around this two-tiered eatery. Lined with a handful baking cases and a number of free-standing tables, the Bagel Palace has everything in place for a successful meal. Despite that fact, and despite the benevolent adoration from those around these parts, Bagel Palace is a bit of a mixed bag. Against the Atlanta backdrop, this is about as good as you’ll find in the deli-bakery hybrid so popular in The Big Apple. Still, it doesn’t mean that it gets a total pass.
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