Manna House | Greenfield, MA USA

Squash Jun; Squash pancake, served with a soy dipping sauce

 

Dol Bi Bim Bap; Rice toped w/ vegetables and egg served in a hot sizzling stone pot with spicy korean chili paste

 

To be honest, we were originally trying to go to another restaurant we found google, but ended up stumbling across this restaurant and decided to give it a try. Was pretty good. The Squash Jun was probably the best of the two; having a crispy outer layer surrounding the soft layer of pancake like texture with chunks of squash. Quite nice.

Manna House (information gathered 8/2012)
27 Bank Row
Greenfield, MA 01301
413.774.5955
Hours
Mon – Sat 11:30am – 9:30pm
Closed Sunday

Parking
You can find a great deal of parking on the side streets.

Please be advised, all images and content are copyrighted and may not be used without permission. Got questions? Email me: mweats <dot> info <at> gmail <dot> com

References:

Manna House http://www.koreanmannahouse.com/

Crawfish Boil | Smyrna, GA USA

 

Chef Rusty Hamlin cooking up a storm

 

Buddy Chris Buying Beer, mmm…beer….

 

Christine / Xteeener getting ready to consume lots of Crawfish

 

Weighing out Crawfish per order

 

Ohhhhh yeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa~

 

Beautiful and Delicious Crawfish

 

Between the live music, the cold Abita beer, and the 9-12 pounds of tender/juicy cajun spiced crawfish (shared between the three of us); it was such an awesome day for eating. The only thing was it was probably 95 degrees outside with high humidity; but that’s what the cold brewskies was for. Will definitely be doing that again.

Annual Crawfish Boil Festival 

Please be advised, all images and content are copyrighted and may not be used without permission. Got questions? Email me: mweats <dot> info <at> gmail <dot> com

Heirloom Market BBQ | Atlanta, GA USA

 

Expediting

 

Brunswick Stew

 

Ribs and Mac & Cheese

 

Korean sweet potatoes with black sesame seeds

 

Spicy Korean pulled pork sandwich

 

When I’m home in Georgia, there are times when I lack a good place for Malaysian cuisine. Fortunately when it comes to BBQ, there is really no such shortage; e.g. Fox Bro BBQ, Community Q, Fat Matt’s (among many others). Great for us eaters as we have so many options. This place is different from your traditional (insert BBQ region here) type BBQ since they combine influences of Texas, Tennessee, and South Korean flavors. It’s so good.

Heirloom Market BBQ (information gathered 8/2012)
2243 Akers Mill Rd.
Atlanta, GA 30339
770.612.2502
Hours
Tues-Thurs: 11am-8pm
Fri 11am-9pm
Sat 12-9pm
Sunday and Monday Closed

Parking
Very difficult. The parking lot probably has enough for only 10-13 cars at best. No alternative parking for at least 3-4 blocks. Come early or budget at least 20 minutes to hunt down a spot.

Please be advised, all images and content are copyrighted and may not be used without permission. Got questions? Email me: mweats <dot> info <at> gmail <dot> com

References:

Heirloom Market BBQ http://heirloommarketbbq.com/

Octane | Atlanta, GA USA

 

Outside Octane

 

Expertly made/poured coffee

 

Top Shelf

 

The Dark Stuff

 

Been coming here for years upon years while schooling across the street. This place has it all. A staff well skilled in their trade, the cool college hangout, and a good selection of food / drinks. Most importantly, its consistent. Was chatting with the server about coffee and I noticed that they had a new array of liquor on their top shelf. Told him I am a fan of the Old Rip Van Winkle and that’s when he recommended that I try Colonel E.H. Taylor. I really liked it. I’m just worried it will be just as hard to find as Old Rip Van Winkle…

Octane (information gathered 8/2012)
1009-B Marietta St
Atlanta, GA 30318
Hours
Mon – Thurs 7am – 11pm
Fri 7am – 12am
Sat 8am – 11pm
Sun 8am – 11pm

Parking
There is a decent amount of potential parking spots when combining both the parking lot directly connected to Octane but also the side street parking off of Marietta.

Please be advised, all images and content are copyrighted and may not be used without permission. Got questions? Email me: mweats <dot> info <at> gmail <dot> com

References:

Octane http://octanecoffee.com

Umami Burger | Los Angeles, CA USA

Manly Burger; beer-cheddar cheese, smoked-salt onion strings, bacon lardons

 

Umami burger; shiitake mushroom, caramelized onions, roasted tomato, parmesan crisp, umami ketchup

 

Having heard so much of it, Christine and I headed to the La Brea location of LA to try it out. Food was pretty good! Pretty awesome to see more and more restaurants embrace tablets as a method of ordering; but let me clarify that just because you can have your restaurant revolve around the new ordering system, doesn’t mean you should. It definitely sucked the warmth out of our visit interacting with a tablet than a human.

Umami Burger (information gathered 8/2012)
850 S La Brea Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90036
323.931.3000
Hours
Monday – Sunday 11am-10pm

Parking
You can find a great deal of parking on the side streets. Alternatively you may valet.

Please be advised, all images and content are copyrighted and may not be used without permission. Got questions? Email me: mweats <dot> info <at> gmail <dot> com

References:

Umami Burger http://www.umami.com/

 

José Andrés The Bazaar | Los Angeles, CA USA

Inside Shot at Jose Andres’ The Bazaar

 

Jicama wrapped guacamole

 

Sweet potato chips & Yogurt, tamarind, star anise

 

Cotton candy duck liver

 

Sea urchin (3 each) Avocado, steamed buns

 

Japanese taco & Grilled eel, shiso, cucumber, wasabi, chicharr

 

Ottoman carrot fritters & Apricots, pistachio sauce

 

Philly cheesesteak? & Air bread, cheddar, Wagyu beef

 

Seared Maryâ??s Farm chicken honey dates, mustard caviar, mustar

 

Braised Wagyu beef cheeks California citrus

 

Black Truffle Risotto

 

Ladies and gentlemen, this array of dishes are the very reason I enjoy shooting photos of food/wish to be a chef one day (José Andrés, please teach me!). The dishes were a wonderful example of what we can achieve in terms of flavor, texture, smell, and aesthetics. Truly amazing.

Jose Andres’ The Bazaar (information gathered 8/2012)
465 South La Cienega Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90048
310.246.5555
Hours
Mon-Wed, Sun 6 pm – 10:30 pm
Thu-Sat 6 pm – 11:30 pm

Parking
Using valet is recommended due to limited street parking.

Please be advised, all images and content are copyrighted and may not be used without permission. Got questions? Email me: mweats <dot> info <at> gmail <dot> com

References:

Jose Andres’ The Bazaar http://www.thebazaar.com