Lunch Specials: Tempo Doeloe

On this edition of lunch specials, I'm in the Atlanta area.  The northeast to be exact.

In a 6 mile stretch of Buford Highway in the town of Doraville, you can eat your way through the whole world.  There are lots of ethnic restaurants and shops in the area, including Korean, Chinese, and Mexican among others.  However, I found something that I did not expect to find at all: Indonesian.  

Like many restaurants around here, this hole in the wall is tucked away in one of the many strip malls that dot the whole landscape.  There are a handful of tables, a TV showing Indonesian programming of some sort, and a small small kitchen in the back.

One of the things that brought me here was their lunch combo for $6.94 including tax. You get a lunch box with rice and 3 dishes from their small buffet.  For me, I got beef rendang, sayur lodeh (vegetable curry with coconut milk), and fish.  I also got fermented chili paste or sambal on the side.  

Each dish requires lots of ingredients to make and thus have very unique flavors.  Coconut milk, lemongrass, galangal, chilies, ginger, and a variety of vegetables are combined to create these complex dishes.  Sounds very similar Thai food but the here the overall taste is not as clean.  This isn't necessarily a bad thing. 

For me, this was a stepping stone into Indonesian food.  You can't ask for anything better than a decent amount of great food at a cheap price.

5090 Buford Highway Suite 103
Doraville, GA 30340

Holeman and Finch Public House

Atlanta is the major city of the Deep South.  So all things Southern exist here, including the food.  But being a cosmopolitan city that attracts transplants across the country and the world, that Southern cooking has been taken to the next level.  Enter the New Southern cooking, which is reflected by Holeman and Finch Public House.

This place is part of chef Linton Hopkins' twin restaurants in the Buckhead neighboorhood.  Next door is Restaurant Eugene, which specializes in fine dining.  Holeman and Finch is more egalitarian. The crowd here is younger and trendier. Okay, there are a bunch of hipsters here.  But that's reflective of the surrounding neighborhood. 

The menu changes daily based on what is seasonally available.  There are two menus here: the regular menu and parts menu.  The food here is simple and uses primarily local ingredients.  There's also a drinks menu but I'm not much of a drinker, so it won't count in my book.

Parts means organ meat and some "exotic" bits.  Yes there are brains and testicles. But that was just for the night I dined there.  This is not a gimmick.  The cooking methods used here make the offal more palatable.  And these parts tend to taste much better the muscle or meat of the animal.

So here's what I had that night.

Deviled Eggs

This may not sound exciting, but like me I'm sure you would scarf down this stuff all day long at your next house party. These are done three ways: country ham, jalapeño, and bread and butter pickle.  The jalapeño was my favorite and strangely, it isn't spicy.  It was about the essence of the heat that could be tasted.  The pickle flavored one is made from housemate pickles from the chef's personal recipe.

Poached Duck Egg

This is an exquisite version of breakfast food.  A poached duck egg sits atop bacon, a squash and kale johnnycake, boiled peanuts, and sorghum syrup.  This has to be the best dish of my meal.  The sourness of the syrup with the savory johnnycake and the salty bacon is just perfect. The boiled peanuts? I have no idea what they're doing here.  It's probably a Georgia thing but I think the dish would be better without them.  But I could be wrong.

Veal Brains

A tiny sliver of brain is served with black butter, capers, and for some reason, bread.  The brain itself was more intense than I thought.  It has a creamy texture and a gamey and milky taste that is countered by the capers and butter that it's sautéed in.  This my first time having brains and this one good preparation.  I just wish that they served more than a tiny slice.  I would also prefer less bread.  But the bread is good, nevertheless.

Sidenote: there is no such thing as "black butter".  Beirre noir is just butter that is cooked over low heat until it turns dark brown and topped with something acidic.  In this case, there is apple cider vinegar.

Lamb Testicles

The testicles are cooked like veal scallopini.  The testicles were mellow and the taste was not as pronounced as the brains.  It is served with string squash, eggplants, and pea shoots in a creamy sauce.  Overall, it's a very mellow dish.  Even though I really hate eggplants, the ones they served here were not bad.  

Surry Ham

More meat to end the meal.  This ham is from Edwards in Surry, VA.  So it's not really local but oh does it taste good.  This is their premium Surryano Ham, the American version of the Spanish Jamón Iberico.  The pigs are purebred Berkshire pigs that are heritage raised.  There is a nuttiness in the flavor that comes from the peanut feed the pigs have. 

Since I got to the restaurant really late, as in after 10pm, I missed one of the things that they are apparently known for: burgers.  They only serve 24 of them as that is how much griddle space they have.  People order these 2 hours in advance apparently.  The reasons that the burgers are so special according to some are:

1. the bun, which is from the chef's own bakery, is toasted on the grill

2. the patty, which is made from a blend of chuck and brisket

3. the pickles, mustard, and ketchup are made in house

In my opinion, it doesn't sound like something to lose your collective shit about.  It's a burger not the lottery jackpot.  The toasted bun sounds good and all, but I personally don't like ketchup or pickles, especially on a burger.  But that's just my opinion.  I'm sure this burger is better than any you can find in town.  They seem to really focus on each aspect of the burger, not just the patty.  That's a plus in my book.  When I get to town, I'll probably try it then.  They also serve this on the regular Sunday brunch menu.  So yeah, there's always next time.  And considering how exciting the menu is, there will be.

This is small restaurant with bar seating and tightly packed dining area. Since they don't take reservations, either come early or late.

2277 Peachtree Road NW 

Atlanta, GA 30309

Hunan Delight

When it comes to Chinese restaurants, I'm a bit of a stickler.  I tend to look for restaurants or places that serve the real stuff, not some Panda Express or PF Chang's crap.  So I usually know that only restaurants in areas where there is a large Chinese population.  Usually, this means major cities or their immediate suburbs in some cases.  So you will never see me eating in some joint in Billings, Montana or Vermillion, South Dakota.

But what about Olney?  It's sort of in the Washington, DC metro area.  But this suburb is far from being the foodie paradise that I would prefer, with the usual chains like Chipotle and Five Guys among others.

As a first impression, this may be the last place I would want to blog about.  There are no Chinese characters on the outside.  Each table is served a plate of crispy wonton strips as an appetizer.  All tell tale signs of a typical takeout joint serving Americanized food.  But this thought was somewhat far from the truth.

I found out about this place from my parents, who were there on their way back from a trip.  They too had low expectations for the place.  But when they saw a group of Koreans order a Peking Duck, they instantly changed their minds and ordered one for themselves.  Koreans apparently frequent this place quite a bit.  But if that is the case, then why is there no Korean restaurant in the area?

That's for another time.  But for now, here are the dishes that are not listed on the menu and highly recommended by yours truly.

Peking Duck

This is probably the house specialty.  My first time dining here was the first time I had this dish in 3 years and first in 8 years in Maryland.  It's more than a simple roast duck.  It is first blanched in boiling water, then hung to dry for up to 24 hours.  It is then rubbed with the maltose glaze that gives the duck its brown color before it goes into the oven.  It's accompanied with scallions, pancakes, and sweet bean sauce.  On certain days, the head chef would prepare and serve the duck table side.  To eat it, you fill the pancake with sauce, scallions, and duck and then roll it up like a burrito.

When it comes to Peking Duck, it's all about the crispy skin.  Most places would serve mostly the skin and a little bit of meat.  Here, they serve the entire duck except for the wings.  Traditionally, most people would ask for the carcass to take home after carving.  My mom makes a killer gourd or winter melon soup with the carcass.

Rockfish with Chili Paste

Surprise, surprise.  A 3 pound rockfish from the Chesapeake is deep fried whole and topped with chili paste.  There is also a mild version where the fish is topped with a sauce of pickled vegetables.  Either way, they are both really good.  The fish itself is fresh and

Soft Shell Crab with Salt and Pepper

Another great surprise here.  The soft shell crabs are lightly fried and seasoned with salt and pepper.  It is garnished with chilies, scallions, and garlic.  A great combination of flavors in here.

At end of the meal, there was a dessert of rainbow sherbet.  I found this rather hilarious the first time I came here, but I guess white people wouldn't like the taste of tapioca soup with taro or red beans.

I'm actually glad I found this place.  This kind of place is one of the reasons why I started this blog: to look for the more nondescript places that serve unique and exciting foods.  If there is one thing I wish the restaurant could do is to add some authentic Chinese vegetables.  And since they have a large Korean clientele, I recommend that they serve pickled vegetable salad in place of the wonton strips for appetizer.  I believe the Korean name for that is kimchi.

18220 Village Center Dr
Olney, MD 20832