American Roadhouse
Months ago, I stopped in for lunch at American Roadhouse with a friend. With choices like the Deli Burger- Homemade corned beef, pastrami, muenster & 1000 island on a 10 oz. burger, Grilled Salmon with Pineapple Chutney, and over 15 types of omelettes, the choices are endless. I sampled the corned beef sandwich, which was chock full of meat – even I could only eat half, and the squash casserole that accompanied it was filling and tasty. My friend ordered the special of the day, crab cake sandwich with macaroni and cheese and she was equally pleased with her selection.

842 N Highland Ave NE
Atlanta, GA 30306
Website

The Cuban Diner
I’ve been to the Cuban Diner in Marietta a handful of times now. I can’t seem to order anything but the Cuban sandwich as it is just so tasty and a great lunch special at $6 for a half sandwich and two sides. The fish pictured below right, is another lunch special. I’m not crazy about Tilapia, but it is cooked just right and is perfectly seasoned. Another good lunch option.

1484 Roswell Road
Marietta, GA 30062
Website

Umezono Japanese
Lunch is a great option here. Combo lunch includes Miso Soup, Salad with yummy ginger dressing and lots of sushi, dumpling, udon choices and more. My favorite is the Pork Katsu (not pictured), a fried pork cutlet. Delicious and so filling. All of this for less than eight bucks!

2086 Cobb Pkwy SE
Smyrna, GA 30080

Fado Irish Pub’s Boxty
A Boxty is basically a crepe stuffed with some sort of meat. And Fado makes excellent ones. I’ve sampled the corned beef and cabbage stuffed Boxty as well as the Trinity Steak Boxty with onions, mushrooms and a whiskey-garlic sauce. Both overflowing with meat and flavor. Definitely not your average pub food.

(Photo credit: Fado Irish Pub)

273 Buckhead Ave NE
Atlanta, GA 30305
Website

McCray’s Tavern Buffalo Chicken Panini
McCray’s Tavern has locations in Cobb and Gwinnett. I used my Scoutmob in the West Village location and opted for a Buffalo Chicken Panini. This sandwich is packed overstuffed with crispy, spicy, Buffalo tenders. The melted provolone and bacon inside just add to the delicious gluttony. And if that isn’t enough, it comes with a side of blue cheese dipping sauce. So who cares if the fries taste like crap? I was starving when I sat down and was about to pop by the time I finished just half of the panini. Definitely made for sharing, but you can get a half sandwich and side for two bucks less.

4500 West Village Place
Smyrna, GA 30080
Website

US Cafe
A couple months ago, when I picked my brother up from the airport he said he was starving and wanted to stop for a quick bite. We could have gone anywhere, and he chose US Cafe. I’d never been there before, and it wasn’t all that appealing from the outside. He looked at me like I was crazy when I’d said I’d never eaten there before. He insisted we try a sampling of their best goodies in his opinion- burger, fries and wings. The burger, although rather thin packed a ton of flavor. The fries were nice and crispy – definitely could rival the fries at Five Guys. And the wings were so tasty on their own, I didn’t even feel the need or desire to use the ranch dipping sauce.

Sorry for the horrible picture which was taken with my phone’s camera.

4499 S Cobb Dr SE
Smyrna, GA 30080
Website

Purchase ANY size drink and receive a FREE Taco al Carbon
or ANY item from our Loco Value Menu!

VALID 4/15/10 – 4/18/10 ONLY

Atlanta Locations:

Smryna
2521 SE Cobb Parkway
Smyrna, GA 30080
Phone: 770-612-3184 Fax: 714-599-5997

Roswell
891 Holcomb Bridge Road
Roswell, GA 30076
Phone: 770-552-2996 Fax: 714-599-5787

Lithia Springs
885 Thornton Rd.
Lithia Springs, GA 30122
Phone: 678-398-1515 Fax: 714-599-5786

Atlanta
3979 Buford Highway
Atlanta, GA 30345
Phone: 404-320-3355 Fax: 714-599-5998

Aspens Steakhouse in Marietta, is offering some great deals. If you haven’t been there lately you may want to check them out. These deals are good until August 31. It looks like deals are good only at the Aspens East Cobb Location, not West Cobb.

Early Bird Specials:
Discounted menu entrees as low as $11. Available before 6 any day of the week and all evening long on Sundays and Mondays.

Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays:
$5 small plates

Tuesday:
50 cent oysters in the bar area

2942 Shallowford Road
Marietta, GA 30066
Phone: (678) 236-1400
Aspens

Presto Colombian Bakery

Tucked away in a strip mall near Sidelines, you would never know the Colombian Bakery had such delicious meals. Glen turned me on to the Colombian Bakery after his co-worker took him there. While the restaurant is geared towards a Spanish speaking crowd (menus are in Spanish with English descriptions in parantheses), the staff really does do their best to accommodate non-Spanish speaking customers.

I’ve now been to the Colombian Bakery a handful of times. After ordering off the regular menu and the lunch special of the day, your better value is the lunch special. I love it when they have the whole fried fish (head, tail and everything). It is real deal at $6.99.

Colombian Bakery Empanadas

My most recent visit was with a group of 4. To begin we had the beef empanadas. Delivered quickly to our table, these crispy snacks were perfect in size, whetting our appetites but not leaving us too completely full to enjoy the feast that was to come. And the cilantro sauce that comes with it ads a pleasant degree of spiciness. If you can handle a little heat, don’t miss out on this.

While there was somewhat of a language barrier in the beginning, I think I’ve learned enough about ordering here that I can get by. Just know that the specials come with a choice of soup and either potatoes or maduros (sweet plantains).

Colombian Bakery Fish Soup

On my visit the soup was either chicken or fish soup. Fish soup = fish, shrimp and squid. Even though I was going to have fish for my meal, I still ordered the fish soup. And while I enjoyed it immensely, it would be nice if salad was an option as soup isn’t always my first choice on a hot day.

Colombian Bakery Whole Fried Fish

I’ve now had the whole fried fish twice and highly recommend it, although you’ll have to work for your food. By work, I mean separating the meant from the bones. As you can see form the picture above, you really do get the entire fish. head to tail complete with eyeball, which I ate swallowed on my most recent visit. While it seems like a huge portion of food, once you really start cutting into it you’ll see it isn’t nearly as much “meat” as it appears. Start in the back, dig in with your fork and go to work.

Colombian Bakery Chicken

The other daily special was chicken. I almost never order chicken when I go out to eat as it usually seems rather boring, but I did have a taste of the chicken at Presto and it was tender and juicy. Surprisingly it wasn’t spicy as I had suspected it might be.

If you want to get a true sampling of Colombian food order the Bandeja Paisa. At $11.50, it is well worth its price. The huge plate consists of a chorizo link, grilled beef, fried pork skin, fried sweet plantains, one corn cake, red beans and rice, an avocado half and a fried egg. Whew! Got all that?

Another one of my favorites is the Arroz Con Camarones (Shrimp and Rice). The huge portion of rice has lots of carrots and peas and has a rich tomato, onion and garlic flavor. And they don’t skimp on the shrimp. There are about 10 – 12 medium sized shrimp included. Definitely enough for 2 to share.

Extras: They have unique fruit drinks worth trying. Think Mango, Papaya and other tropical flavors. I assume they come in concentrate as they are offered mixed with your choice of water or milk. My favorite is the Guayaba, sweet but not too sweet, very refreshing on a hot summer day.

1392 B. Roswell Road
Marietta, GA 30062
770 973 2196
Website