Shish Kabob, Marietta GA

Shish Kabob

962 Roswell Street, Marietta GA

770-499-7399

(photo from Creative Loafing. I was too mad at Betty to remember to take my own)

I'm about ready to throw my GPS (affectionately named Betty) out the window. She has failed me yet again, trumped by serendipity. As I was driving around Marrieta, searching for Middle Eastern restaurants using keywords such as "gyro" and "falafel" because Betty blatantly LIED to me by insisting that there were none in the area, I stumbled upon this restaurant.

Betty, Betty, Betty. What will I do with you? Is Iran not in the Middle East? Such a kidder you are. Always ready with suggestions such as "Wendy's" or "Shoney's" but you keep the restaurants with actual flavor hidden, all for yourself.

Shish Kabob featured an appetizing buffet of Persian cuisine such as absolutely delicious grilled chicken, yellow rice, chopped cucumber salad, roasted vegetables, and some delicious exotic tasting pudding that I couldn't quite figure out what was in it (something like coconut, mango flavor, and rose water maybe?). Plus, the restaurant had another one of Dineometer Deb's hallmarks of adventure dining: crappy exterior that belies the quality inside.

I can't give it a Dine-o-meter rating yet because I've only been there once, which is really just an excuse to go back.

For Sale:

One heavily used GPS named Betty.

Works but not very well.

Great sense of humor, likes to kid.

Several dents due to being slammed into the dashboard on multiple occasions.

Will let go for cheap. Very, very, cheap.

Pho #1 Atlanta Georgia and Pho 1 Houston Texas

Pho #1
4051 Buford Hwy NE
Atlanta, GA 30345

One of my favorite places in Atlanta to get Vietnamese vermicelli dishes. The meats have a smokey grilled flavor that really ads to the dish. The vermicelli bowl at a Vietnamese restaurant typically comes with rice noodles, herbs, peanuts, shredded carrots, and lettuce. A very healthy option that would be a great introduction to Vietnamese cuisine if you have never tried it.

Pho 1
11148 Westheimer Rd
Houston, TX 77042
(713) 917-0351

This is probably my favorite little Vietnamese restaurant in Houston. They don't overdo the fishy flavor in the dishes and if they use any fish sauce at all, the flavor is barley detectable. All dishes are great but I especially recommend giving the do-it-yourself fresh spring rolls a try. The grilled meats, noodles, vegetables, herbs, and wrappers are brought to your table and you can add ingredients to your liking. It takes practice to roll the rice paper wrappers but even if you mess up, they still taste great.

Dine-o-meter rating: 84 % for Atlanta and 86% for Houston.

Buford Highway Farmer's Market

Israeli persimmons, longans from Asia, Korean cucumber, flowering chives, long beans, and way too many red Thai chilies (what was I thinking! )


Some of the bounty of international produce purchased on a recent trip to the Buford Farmer's Market just outside of Atlanta. This is probably my favorite area farmer's market because of the huge range of countries represented.

Interestingly, not all of this produce was imported. The Korean cucumbers, for example, were grown right here in the US.

The farmer's market provides an opportunity to experiment with new flavors or to reconnect with your former favorites. What may be an odd looking hairy fruit to me, is a fond childhood memory for someone else. The market is frequented by many of Atlanta's international residents as well as the culinarily curious.

Hey if anyone needs any Thai chilies, let me know!

Tibetan Cuisine

Drepung Loseling Monastery in Atlanta Georgia

This past Saturday was the grand opening of the Drepung Loseling Monastery in Atlanta. The monastery is the North American seat of the Tibetan and Indian monasteries, and started humbly in the 1990's with meetings at members' houses, and then at a small space in a strip mall. So to finally have an official building is quite an accomplishment and a long time coming.

The grand opening featured the excellent house band, a tour of the facility, a display of Tibetan dolls, and Tibetan calligraphy. Some of us bravely participated in traditional Tibetan folk dance, which made the monks watching laugh because we were all quite inept.


Monastery house band performing at the festival









Lunch was cooked by the monks and consisted of rice, cucumber, hot sauce, tea, and dumplings called momos.



Shabhakleb, a Tibetan dumpling made from beef, onion, celery, and flour. This was also called a momo.

Bhakleb, a vegetarian Tibetan dumpling made from potato, mushroom, and cheese.

Tibetan Sorig, which is a medicinal tea.

Meditation cushions used as seats for those wanting to watch the band

The dining tent was decorated with colorful Tibetan designs

Tibetan Dolls

The Loseling Dolls and Traditional Costumes of the Tibetan World
Visual Arts Gallery, Emory University - 700 Peavine Creek Drive, Atlanta, GA 30322

This week Emory University in Atlanta has a collection of Tibetan dolls on display that were created by the master dollmakers of Drepung Loseling Monastery. They depict scenes of life in Tibet and various regional costumes, and are part of the ongoing attempt to keep the culture of Tibet alive. Of course, they are much more interesting in person than as captured on my poor quality camera phone.

The exhibit runs through Saturday the 25th and is part of Tibet week at Emory.