Grouchy's Deli

It is no secret how fond I am of a good sandwich (everyone has heard me rave about Gandolfo's), so it should be no surprise that I found another deli that I like. 
Grouchy's is another place in Norcross that we happened upon and is worth your consideration. It was clean and spacious inside and the girl at the counter was very nice and patient. We got the Chicken Melt sandwich (chicken salad on bread, covered with Muenster and toasted) and the Chicken Cutlet Parm (chicken cutlet, marinara and melty cheese on some crusty bread) with some sides of pasta salad and fruit salad and a couple pickle spears. Yum yum yum! The marinara on the Parm was nicely seasoned and the chicken was oh-so-moist! The chicken salad was creamy and delightful! The pasta salad was well-made and the fruit salad was fresh, as were the pickles! 
I'm going again--so should you!

 
 

Dog Days Chicago Hot Dogs

I have a special place in my heart for hot dogs--it's located near the entrance at my stomach. 

When you don't have a Costco membership, getting a good hot dog can be hard, so I'm always on the lookout for a hot dog joint (FYI: I've never seen one in Utah). I was driving around with my realtor the other day and happened to spot one and bonus--it was actually really close to where I'm living! As soon as Dave got home from work, I forced him (yeah, that was hard) to go try it with me. 
Dog Days is in Norcross and they have quite a large menu, mostly consisting of different hot dogs (obviously), but they also have burgers, Italian sausages, fish and chicken baskets, sandwiches, salads and desserts. Inside, it has an eclectic-geek feel with a sweet Chewbacca head on one side and some framed Star Wars posters on the other, with a bunch of Chicago memorabilia filling in everywhere else. Dave ordered the 1/4 pound Georgia Dog, which is covered in sweet coleslaw, barbecue sauce, and grilled onions (moist and delish!). I ordered the 1/4 pound Chipotle Ranch Dog, which is overflowing with bacon, lettuce, tomatoes, and chipotle ranch (packed and perfect!). Foodgasm! Heavens, I loved those hot dogs! I've never had such a fantastic hot dog and I kinda want to eat there everyday...which might not be a good idea...

These pictures are from our second visit and boy, were they good!
 

The Pico

 The 141

Mr. Taco

Who loves Mexican food--me!! I'm pretty sure it's my favorite kind of food. Ever since moving to Georgia, though, I've been having a hard time finding any that I really like (I miss you Rancheritos and El Habañero). One night, after being disappointed by Peachtree Diner, I spotted some glowing lights and they spoke to me--they said, "Get your butt over to Mr. Taco!" Well, it took me 24 hours, but I listened, and boy was I glad! 
Dave ordered some sort of burrito that was quite tasty, but I ordered the Torta Cubana. *slips in drool puddle* It was sooo good! I feel the need to have another one right now! Oh..I guess I should tell you more about the establishment. The restaurant was small and clean and colorful. The staff were nice. The prices were very reasonable. Now, get over there and eat a torta!

Baba's Gyro and Kabab

I found another gyro joint! 
We were in Norcross and tried to go to another restaurant, but couldn't tell if it was really open or not, so we went up to the door to check--it was open, but closed in 25 minutes. What to do? Well, the easiest thing was going somewhere close by, so we looked around. What's that? Is that a gyro place?? We love gyros! Let's go!
Baba's Gyro and Kabab is a cute little restaurant which actually feels quite roomy inside. It's very clean and the staff is really friendly. The menu is what surprised me, though--there's more than just Greek! There were Persian, Italian, and Greek dishes plus salads, flatbreads, various wraps, and lots of delicious sounding things. Dave and I decided we had to get one thing we'd never had and a gyro. He ordered Cherry Polo, which is a Persian dish with cherries (duh), pistachios, almonds, carrots and chicken on top of saffron rice. I ordered the Chipotle Gyro (I can't resist anything chipotle or possibly spicy). 
Verdict: fantastic! The gyro meat was really moist and the chipotle sauce was creamy and tasty, though not spicy..which works out for most people. The Cherry Polo was tasty and interesting. I'm not usually a fan of sweet/fruity things being in stuff that's savory (Hawaiian pizza=nasty), but this was lovely! The chicken was moist and the saffron rice was a perfect vehicle for all of the ingredients. I look forward to our next visit!

Gyro-Gyro

Since Moving to the east coast, I've noticed a severe shortage of Greek restaurants. In Utah, there's Mad Greek, Greek Souvlaki, The Other Place, Yanni's, The Med, Apollo Burger/Crown Burger/Astro Burger, and the list goes on. So far, I've seen four and tried two. I might just be in an almost-greekless part of Georgia, but it's still quite sad. Therefore, Dave and I went in search of one of our favorite types of food. Uncle Joe suggested a little place in Dunwoody he'd been to a few times and off we went, hoping that it would be at least as good as Mad Greek on a bad day. 
Gyro-Gyro is awesome! They have a large menu with something for everybody (by everybody, I mean vegetarian to omnivore to kid to...less kid). The restaurant is always clean and the tables are well spaced so you don't feel like you're sharing your food with the strangers next to you. The staff is very friendly and they have a loyalty program/punch card (something I always like.) The food is delicious! Our favorite things are the Spanakopita Wrap, the Athenian Wrap, and the Eggplant Fries. Most people ask about the Eggplant Fries, but don't get them because they're afraid of vegetables or something, but are really missing out because they are, by far, the best thing on the menu! They're crispy on the outside and melt away once you bite into them and they have really good spices all over them. I'm salivating just thinking about them. The only negative-ish thing I have to say about this place is that the gyro meat is a little dry, though still tasty. Now, get your butt over to 5000 Winters Chapel Rd, Suite 6 & 7 in Dunwoody and eat!

 

Not Just Banana Bread

Who doesn't love banana bread? Well, if you're one of the millionth of a percentile who doesn't, you can stop reading and go back to your sad life. For the rest of us, let's get back to discussing a truly lovely thing: banana bread. From what I've learned from my family, there are only two kinds of banana bread: with nuts and without. I'm here to open up some new possibilities in both realms. 
I started off by calling my sister-in-law, Emily, for her recipe for basic banana bread. I'd seen her two and four year olds devour hers day after day until it was gone and sampled it myself. 
Then, I added my need to funk things up by figuring out what I could use instead of boring old lemon juice.
Lastly, I took the batter from its' traditional large loaf pan to mini loaf pans because they're just so cute! Now, who's ready for a delectable treat?

Banana Bread

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• pinch of salt
• 1 egg
• 1 cup banana, mashed
• 1/4-1/2 cup grapefruit, diced (or 1 tsp lemon juice)
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup oil
• 1/4-2/3 cup pecans, chopped (optional)

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350. Grease one regular loaf pan or 7-8 mini loaf pans and dust with cinnamon and sugar.
• In small bowl, mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Set aside.
• In large bowl, mix eggs, bananas, grapefruit, sugar, oil and pecans. Add flour mixture and mix very well.
• Pour batter into prepared loaf pan and sprinkle top with cinnamon and sugar.
• Bake 15-30 minutes for mini loaves and 50 minutes for regular loaf.

Tips:

• use any other fruit in place of grapefruit.
• use whatever nuts you prefer instead of pecans.
• if you really don't want to, you don't have to sprinkle the pan and top of loaves with cinnamon and sugar. 
• use some sort of chocolate chips instead of nuts

With Grapefruit

With Mango

 With Orange

Belly's Pizza

I'll get right to it--the reason I wanted to eat at Belly's Pizza on 550 West Crossville Road in Roswell, GA was my little brother's nickname is Belly. So here we go.

There are a lot of things to choose from on the menu, from Nachotaliano and Gluten Free Pizzas to Strombolis and Subs to Pasta and Wings. Dave chose the "Buffalo Chicken Calzone, stuffed with mozzarella, crumbled feta and grilled chicken tossed in signature hot sauce and a side ranch for $11.95." I chose the "Jerk Chicken Cuban, filled with grilled jerk chicken, sliced ham, melted provolone, fresh cilantro, habañero and serrano peppers topped with lettuce, onion, tomato, sour cream and fresh lime juice for $7.50." 

The sub was actually really good. It wasn't spicy like I was expecting, but still good. I've had slightly better bread, but this wasn't actually bad. The calzone could've been good, but I was literally choking on the cheese. I like cheese more than the average person, but not when it's clogging my air-and-food-ways. It was also a little bland because they were relying on so much cheese to make up for lack of seasoning. The crust was good, though. I wish there was a bigger selection of sodas. Most restaurants increase their selection of alcohol, but being a non-drinker, I'm usually disappointed in the very small selections of soda. The restaurant was clean, though. It had an open feeling bordering on empty, but we went at a weird time, so we were really the only ones there.

Verdict: I'll try it again, though I might not get another calzone. I really do want to try a pizza and the Nachotaliano.