Soul Vegetarian, Atlanta

Run by some members of a community called the Black Israelites, the Soul Vegetarian restaurant offers a unique experience in dining out. We went to their West Side branch on a Saturday afternoon after a visit to the Georgia Farmer's Market in Forest Park.

I walked in to the restaurant, not knowing what to expect. It seemed unusually quiet for a Saturday afternoon. There seemed to more employees than customers-just one in fact, and he was typing away on his laptop. Surreal as lap toppers are usually coffee shop fixtures, and not to be found in quirky, hole in the wall restaurants on the other side of town.

I was drawn to the several newspaper clippings decorating the walls of the main floor-all of them elucidating the history of black Israelities and their leader, Ben Carter.

We decided to the give the place a try.

The lunch buffet plate seemed a tad out of our price point at around 12$, so we decided to order individual items from the bar. Macaroni and cheese, veggie pizza and onion rings.

The mac n' cheese had no cheese or any other dairy product in it, so the fact that it turned out remarkably similar to the quintessential southern staple of unctuous creamy goodness that is mac n' cheese is a testimony to the chef's skill at innovating with vegan products. The veggie pizza was just as good and even had hints of turmeric in it.

And the onion rings? What can one say about those greasy, crisy onion rings except that were crispy, greasy and hog heaven!


P.S: Pictures from my blackberry pearl.

Asam House, Buford Highway

Great flavorful, spicy food, large portions, dour decor, but exemplary service.
Tofu stuffed with veggies. Tried it for the first time; seems like a nifty dish to have on the menu.The noodle soup (with mushrooms and tofu) was excellent, on par with my all-time fav at Doc Chey's.

Chaat you say?

If you've exhausted all your chaat possibilities in the ATL and cannot for the life of you imagine doling out this much for bhelpuri or ragda, may I suggest the chaat at Rajbhog? I've had their bhelpuri, dahi papdi, samosa channa, and then some. Very tasty, right amount of condiments and large portions too.

Rosa Mexicano, Atlanta

Went to Rosa for the first time yesterday. The guacamole prepared at the table side was great. But the good food ended there. Also, the guacamole was a bit overpriced at 12$. For the entrees we had peppers stuffed with goat cheese, mushrooms and spinach, and two soft tortillas stuffed with spinach and mushrooms. Both dishes were served in a bed of mexican tomato sauce. What really got to me was not that the food was mediocre (which it definitely was) but that we were paying a heck of a lot of money for it. The entrees were about 15$ each.

The spinach in both the dishes was too dense and under cooked. The stuffed peppers were too hot and not adequately compensated for by the flavors of the stuffing. The tomato sauce was the only redeeming factor. I pretty much dunked every morsel in the sauce.

The pomegranate margaritas were good, but really, when one goes to restaurants such as this one, you expect good food, not great cocktails.

Many of the smaller , less fancy mexican restaurants in Atlanta serve far better food, and more importantly purse friendly food.

Its possible that their meat based dishes are better, but then again an upscale restaurant cannot throw in vegetarian dishes into their menu purely as an after thought.

I would have considered going back there, if the prices were reasonable.