Two new restaurants have opened their doors in Atlanta last week: Chuy’s, a Mexican Restaurant, and Smashburger opened its Kennesaw location. With locations in the Southeast and as far west as Texas, Chuy’s finally made it too Atlanta last week. Actually, it is rather close to the Dunwoody area. The thirty-year old chain offers goofy decor and while no two are exactly alike, they all boast an Elivs Shrine.

Skip the guacamole in favor of the special house made cheese dip (pictured at the top). Called, Queso Compuesto, it comes with seasoned ground sirloin and pico de gallo. Chicken dominates most of the menu, and the house special dish is the Chicka-Chicka Boom-Boom. What makes these chicken enchiladas special is the Boom Boom sauce that covers it. Beware – it isn’t for those that don’t like hot and spicy.

If you like seafood, go for the Baja tacos. With your choice of fish or shrimp, these are very flavorful, although they were a bit on the salty side. We chose the fried shrimp and these jumbo shrimp were delicious. We also sampled a steak burrito that was bursting with flavor too. While all in our group agreed it was tasty we had had the same sentiment – it’s no Uncle Julio’s.

Smashburger already has several other locations in Atlanta (Buckhead, Alpharetta and Johns Creek) and opened its latest in Kennesaw off of Barrett Parkway. The chain is a quick service or fast casual restaurant. Patrons order at the counter and the food is brought to their table.

Smashburger offers fresh ground beef burgers or chicken burgers. Guests can choose from Smashburger combos or create their own. Prices start at around $4.99 for a small burger and go up to $6.99 for the large. Sides range from $2-3.

I got the large smash, which is a large burger. I would have preferred them to make it a double patty vs. one large patty which hangs over the bun. I also thought the burger was rather dry. The ingredients – lettuce, tomato, and jalapenos all tasted very fresh. For sides, the veggie fries (beans and asparagus) were quite tasty, albeit very salty. And although I usually favor sweet potato fries over regular fries, I liked the regular better because I thought it went well with the rosemary and olive oil drizzle on top. They also offer a special burger that compliments each city. For Atlanta they offer a peach topped burger, of course!

Disclosure: The meals provided for these reviews were complimentary.

With the slogan “We Know Tacos,” Perla Taqueria opened up their taqueria, the beginning of the year, in the Piedmont Heights neighborhood. Taking over a former Mrs. Winners establishment, the new diggs are still very reminiscent of a the fast food joint, down to the unchanged red roof. Stepping inside Perla, there’s bright colors splashed on the walls and the soup can lighting fixtures are a cute touch.

Nothing on the menu is over five dollars. In fact, most tacos, are around two. Customers order and pay at the counter. Then find a seat and place your table number so it is visible to staff and you’ll get your food shortly. Mine came out lightning fast, but I did choose to visit at an off time of day.

The menu is like that of a taqueria in that they offer the Al Pastor (pork), Chorizo (Mexican sausage) and Lenguna (Beef tongue). There are burritos, quesadillas and a smattering of other Mexican sides available. I’d like to return to give the house made Talmale and the Chicken and Corn Pozole a try. On this visit, I stuck to tacos, ordering the shrimp, fried chicken and Barbacoa tacos.

I loved that the corn tortillas are house made and while I don’t usually care for corn tortillas, I thought these were rather tasty. While I enjoyed the tacos, I did think the sauces added to them were quite overpowering. See the fried chicken one above right? Way too much sauce. I do like the fact that they are open late nights and have a drive through. It is a nice addition to the neighborhood – hope they make it.

1958 Piedmont rd NE
Atlanta, GA 30324
Perla Taqueria Website

Buckhead – Tin Lizzy’s
They are really going all out this year for their first Cinco de Mayo bash. They’ll have multiple bars, lots of festive music and free chips and salsa. And of course they have one of the best patios for margarita sipping!
3639 Piedmont Road
Atlanta, GA 30305
404-846-6000

Downtown
No Mas!
Located in the heart of historic Castleberry Hill in downtown Atlanta, No Mas! is an award winning 350 seat Mexican Restaurant.
180 Walker St. SW
Atlanta GA 30313
404-574-5678

Virginia Highlands
Pozole
Pozole is sponsoring the Annual Virginia Highlands Cinco de Mayo Celebration & Block Party. Party is 5 pm to 11 pm. There is a $5 cover. There will be beer and margarita specials and live music. For more information, click the link below.
1044 Greenwood Ave (at N Highland Avenue)
Atlanta, GA 30306
678-973-4779
Website

The Original El Taco<
They are opening at 3pm to get the festivities started. Wonderful chips and salsa and margaritas in a beautiful atmosphere. Great place to party for Cinco de Mayo!

Westside
Nuevo Laredo
I have to mention Nuevo Laredo as it is a staple as far as Atlanta Mexican restaurants go, but I can’t imagine how crazy busy this place is going to be on Cinco de Mayo when it was packed on a random Tuesday when I visited.
1495 Chattahoochee Ave
Atlanta, GA 30318

Taqueria del Sol
Lots of delicious menu items like salsa trio starter (verde, asada and fresca), the shrimp corn chowder, the Memphis taco (smoked pork, jalapeño cole slaw, tequila BBQ sauce), the fish taco (poblano tartar sauce and pickled jalapeños).
1200-B Howell Mill Road
Atlanta, GA
(404) 352-5811

Northeast
Pure Taqueria
103 Roswell St
Alpharetta, GA 30004
678-240-0023

Decatur
Raging Burrito
Raging Burrito has a great patio. So, seems to be perfect if you’ll be in Decatur for Cinco de Mayo.
141 Sycamore St
Decatur, GA 30030
(404) 377-3311

Sandy Springs
Teela Taqueria
They are part of the Sandy Springs Block Party. There will be live music and food and drink specials.
City Walk at Sandy Springs
227 Sandy Springs Place
Suite 506
Sandy Springs, GA 30328

Perimeter
LaBotana
Cheap, cheap cheap. I get the impression that this place is kind of a hole in the wall, but with decent food and drinks. Maybe it won’t be totally packed on Cinco de Mayo.
2071 Savoy Dr
Atlanta, GA 30341
770-986-9996

Northwest
Las Palmas
Las Palmas is close to my house, so needless to say, I frequent it a lot. Their frozen margaritas are fantastic. I never order less than a pitcher (not by myself, course). So, if you are in the Kennesaw area on Cinco de Mayo and don’t want to deal with the hassle of Barrett Parkway, drive up to Las Palmas. It’s in the LA Fitness shopping center.
4200 Wade Green Rd NW
Kennesaw, GA 30144
770-795-0919

I’ve been to Tara Humata a couple times with my hiking buddies. There is a trail not too far from Tara Humata in Roswell, and we are all too happy to indulge in some margaritas and cheese dip after a long hike, undoubtedly undoing all the hard work we’d just accomplished. I’ve also eaten lunch there a couple times and was pleased with my choices.

With a birthday on the horizon, my friend selected Tara Humata for our group dining. She had about 18 people coming, so she had to make sure she chose a place that took reservations and that could accommodate a group our size. The previous year she had chosen a popular Mexican restaurant in the Perimeter area, and although it has a huge seating capacity, they refused to take reservations. So, we ended up waiting around about an hour for a table.

Arriving at Tara Humata on a Friday evening, the festive colors, decor and beautiful lighting fixtures welcomed us. The folks at Tar Humata had our table setup when we arrived, ready to serve us. Well, all tables with the exception of the foursome that wanted to linger over their drinks despite several in our group standing waiting for the table to become available. Servers promptly brought out chips and salsa, replacing empty bowls and filling drink orders quickly.

While I like to visit exotic establishments, I get that not all my peeps enjoy such food. Mexican by itself tends to be a crowd-pleaser, but Tara Humata’s menu is even better for having something for everyone to enjoy. They have an abundance of seafood or meat choices. My friend’s husband who doesn’t eat Mexican, mopped up his hamburgesa, bland eaters enjoyed chicken tacos, and foodies like me reveled in the mole enchiladas.

More than that though, we appreciated the fantastic service. Since some had to stand for a while, before the last table was put into place, we were treated to some complimentary cheese dip and guacamole. The several servers that were waiting on our table were friendly, helpful and personable. Remember, with such a large party, a twenty percent tip is automatically added to the bill. So, they could have been gruff and still got the tip but their demeanor was jovial and made us feel even more welcome. They even had a band, belting out some great tunes.

There are two problems I find when dining out with large groups. One is that the food doesn’t make it out at at the same time. So one end of the table’s food is getting cold while the other end waits for their entrees. Not the case at Tara Humata. The servers did an excellent job of getting the food out almost all simultaneously.

The other problem I have with large group dining is that restaurants get annoyed when you ask for separate checks or simply say they won’t do it. It is so frustrating when you’ve just enjoyed a meal with friends, to sit there and go through one monumentous check while everyone figures out how much they owe (yes, Eclipse di Luna, I’m talking to you). Again, we didn’t even have to give this a second thought at Tara Humata. Some couples or individuals had to leave early and their check was brought out with a minutes of asking for it. The servers were able to keep individuals accounted for separately, so it wasn’t a big deal at all to separate checks at the end of the evening.

Tara Humata has locations in Roswell and Alpharetta. The birthday girl enjoyed a stress-free Birthday evening with her pals. Isn’t that how all Birthday dinners should be? If you are planning a group outing in the Alpharetta, Roswell, East Cobb, or Woodstock area, Tara Humata is an excellent choice, especially if you like hassle free dining and spot on service.

12050 Etris Road, Suite 100
Roswell, GA 30075
770 998 5590
Website

I’d been eager to visit Inc Street Food. The food truck movement is hot right now and while things are slow to progress here in Atlanta with food trucks, Inc Street Food decided to take the concept of street food and move it indoors.

For months I had anticipated going and the opportunity came along on a Friday afternoon late last fall, after a particularly strenuous hike with my besties, Kim and Tim. I hadn’t been to the Roswell square in so long, I had missed the openings of a bunch of cute restaurants all lining one of the small streets near the square. And all are complete with outdoor patios to boot.

We three were sweaty and hot from hiking and chose the indoor seating with it’s cool air over the lovely patio. Inc Street Food is small and narrow but makes the best of it’s seating. Stepping inside Inc, the first room has close seats against the wall which face the bar. But it’s a bit more roomy in the back where we chose to sit.

Margaritas looked good but I didn’t want anything but H20 as I felt quite dehydrated. Still determined to go back on another day for one of their margaritas. Looking at their menu, many of the appetizers are just about as much as tacos – $8 – $9. We started with Yucca and Cactus fries – unusual, nicely salted and tasty.

I chose the chicken tostada. Kim got veggie burritos and Tim got chicken sandwich. When ordering, I could tell there was so much more to explore on the menu – like veal cheek tacos, ahi tuna tacos and much more. Their website has been down for months otherwise I’d tell you to check it out.

The chicken sandwich was a rather large portion and tasted pretty good. They definitely jazzed up what could be a boring dish, and the potatoes served beside it were tasty and filling as well. My chicken tostada had the appearance of being small, but it ended up being a pretty filling dish. Filling – yes, but not really a standout in the taste department in any way. Kim felt the same about her veggie burritos.

I was expecting bold and unusual flavors and I certainly got them. Certainly wasn’t like a visit to Willy’s. But at the same time, it wasn’t anything that intrigued me enough to go back. I could take it or leave it.

948 Canton Street
Roswell, GA 30075
770 998 3114
Website