Ding How II

Dim sum is certainly one of the most fun ways to eat a meal. There is an element of excitement and participation that is not experienced with most other meals. The carts are rushed around the restaurant and the oddest assortment of dishes are offered for your sampling. Because each dish is so small and cheap, a multitude of dishes can be sampled and shared for a miserly sum. Finally, dim sum is a treat for adventurous eaters.

On Saturdays and Sundays from 11:00 to 2:00, Ding How II offers dim sum. They also offer a "regular" Chinese menu at other times and during the dim sum times. I have eaten off of their regular menu and it is good, but not that different from any other competent Chinese restaurant you may venture into. The jewel of Ding How II is the dim sum.

The space is dark and a little worn and disheveled. However, it is also clean and comfortable.

Among the many dishes we sampled were the following.  First, we tried crispy shrimp dumplings which had an almost airy, fried pastry crust.

Pork dumplings (buns) on the left, and shrimp dumplings on the right

We also had big pork dumplings with a faintly sweet bread exterior which was reminiscent of doughnut dough and a salty pork interior. The pork dumplings excellently exploit that delicious flavor combination of sweet and salty.

Next, we tried vegetables and mushrooms wrapped in a tofu skin wrapper with a black bean sauce. It tasted similar to a soggy eggroll, but in the best possible way. The mushrooms lent an subtle, earthy taste, similar to the taste of shitake mushrooms.

Vegetables and mushrooms in tofu skin wrapper with black bean sauce

One of the weaker items we sampled was a cold pork dumpling.  It was a round, steamed, cold dumpling with pork stuffing. While I would only describe it as mediocre, it was still better than the dumplings found in your grocery store's freezer section.

One of the weirdest items on the menu is the chicken feet. They are served coated with a sweet sauce. While I enjoy chicken feet, they are truly a challenge to eat gracefully. If you are an adventurous eater, I highly recommend trying them. While difficult to eat, the reward is tender meat accompanied by the tasty sweet sauce.

Chicken feet

We also tried curried squid. This was probably the weakest of all of the dishes as the squid was rather tough.

Curried squid

Finally, they serve both a large beef tripe dish and small beef tripe dish. I am a huge fan of tripe. The texture, chewiness, and mild flavor are all pleasing to my palate. The tripe was served in a sauce with sweet black beans.

Overall, I highly recommend Ding How II for dim sum for the delicious dishes, the adventure to be had, and the excitement of sampling among a multitude of choices.

Beware, the crowds, especially on Sundays, can be outrageous. Get there early to beat the crowds and to ensure they don't run out of any dishes.

Ding How II
4800 Whitesburg Dr., Ste. 10
Huntsville, AL 35802
256-880-8883

Anaheim Chili

This is a meal I wish I could get back.  It was so bad that it ruined the rest of my Sunday. I couldn't find a way to be happy after suffering through the culinary punishment meted out by Anaheim Chili. In short, avoid this place like the plague.

I will start with the good --- what little of it there was --- and ease into the bad.The black bean chili was acceptable.  However, I found it to be a little watery, but that may be a personal preference. It was slightly spicy, meaty, and had a nice flavor.  For an extra charge, it came accompanied with a hunk of habanero cornbread. The cornbread was moist, slightly sweet, and had a tiny kick. 

Thus ends anything good I could possibly have to say about Anaheim Chili. Go there if you want some chili. But let's be honest here, who goes out to eat in order to get chili? Chili is the stuff I make five gallons of at home to eat off of for a week when I am running out of money. It just isn't exciting enough to be the mainstay of your restaurant. I know there are chili lovers out there, and I like chili too, but it is not a dish of sufficient substance to be the only good thing you serve on your menu.

I ordered an Anaheim pepper cheeseburger as my main course.  First, the restaurant had a whopping eight people in it, yet we waited over thirty minutes between when we finished our chili and when they brought out my burger and my wife's chicken sandwich.  At first I thought that the restaurant is just new and they are working out the kinks, but as time dragged on the wait became ridiculous.

Second, the burger that finally came out was the worst burger I have ever bitten into. It was dry beyond belief, utterly devoid of taste, and generally boring. Despite being very hungry, I didn't finish it. That's how terrible it was. My wife's chicken sandwich wasn't any better.

In conclusion, avoid Anaheim Chili.

Anaheim Chili
2030 Cecil Ashburn Drive, Ste. 102
Huntsville, AL 35802
256-489-5531

Big Bob Gibson's Barbecue

I was skeptical at first. What kind of a barbecue restaurant has its own mini-documentary on its website? But my skepticism was misplaced. Big Bob's is no pretender; it is genuinely good barbecue. The restaurant even has the Memphis in May trophies to prove it, having won for barbecue and sauces several times.

Even without any sauce, the barbecue is good. It has a complex taste with a delicate smokiness, and is very tender, although a touch dry. As soon as you touch the meat with your fork you can tell that it was carefully slow-cooked for hours.

Their barbecued chicken converted a non-believer. I am usually not a fan of barbecued chicken, and would much prefer barbecue (i.e., pork barbecue). Big Bob's barbecued chicken is an exception to my rule. The meat is juicy, tender, and flavorful. It is the farthest thing from the dry, tasteless result that is typical of chicken. While the meat is tender, the skin is crispy and perfectly spiced.

Two sauces are provided for the meats: a red and a white sauce. The red sauce is tomato based and is sweet, but not overly sweet, with rich tomato and caramelized sugar flavors. It is excellent over the barbecue. The white sauce is best described as a mayonnaise-vinegar barbecue sauce. It has a mayonnaise base with a strong vinegar component, a strong black pepper taste, and a dash of spices. It is runny like a regular barbecue sauce rather than being thick like other mayonnaise based sauces (i.e., remoulade, etc.). While decent on the barbecue, the white sauce shines on the barbecued chicken. The crispy skin, the tender, juicy meat, and the creaminess and vinegar pop from the white sauce all sing in harmony to your tastebuds.

The meat at Big Bob's is hard to beat, however, I am a firm believer in the importance of sides to a barbecue establishment. For me, the sides are almost as important as the meat. Apparently Big Bob's does not share this philosophy, and the variety and quality of the sides leave much to be desired. Over the history of the establishment, sides have been overlooked. Until the 1950s, the only sides were coleslaw and potato chips. In the 1950s potato salad was added as an option. After several more decades, baked beans were added.

Perhaps North Alabama coleslaw is something you are raised to like. I am not a fan. It is devoid of mayonnaise, and consists solely of minced cabbage and vinegar. The potato salad is creamy, thick, and highly recommended. The baked beans are decent, but they have a slightly odd aftertaste of perhaps bellpeppers.

Finally, don't forget about dessert at Big Bob's. Among their choices of homemade pies, they serve an amazing lemon meringue pie. All of the pies are made early each morning by a team of pie-making ladies. I'm not sure what they put in their pies to make them so good, but they rank right up there with the best.

I recommend a trip to Big Bob Gibson's. It was not the best barbecue I have ever had, but it was quite good. Operating since 1925, they have to be doing something right to be cooking the same food for satisfied customers for nearly 100 years. The place serves delicious food, oozes barbecue history, and the staff is friendly and attentive. However, be aware that the restaurant receives mixed reviews. While I was quite pleased with my visit, some were sorely disappointed (see http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/168/968121/restaurant/Huntsville/Big-Bob-Gibson-Bar-B-Q-Decatur and http://3rddegreebbq.blogspot.com/2009/09/big-bob-gibson-bar-b-q-310-1715-6th-ave.html) and others left elated (see http://restaurantblog.spoonsaga.com/2010/04/08/bib-bob-gibsons-bbq--decatur-al.aspx?ref=rss).

For more information on the history of the restaurant, including the aforementioned video, check out the restaurant's website at www.bigbobgibson.com.

Big Bob Gibson's
2520 Danville Road SW OR 1715 6th Avenue SE
Decatur, AL
256-350-6969
www.bigbobgibson.com

Mud Creek Fish Camp

Cruising up Highway 72 and then down county roads lined with mobile homes, overgrown yards, and a one-room church, I finally found Mud Creek Fish Camp. Based on the name (although judging by the waitresses' shirts, it also goes by Mud Creek Barbecue), I expected a shack with a screen door needing oil in the hinges, warped floorboards worn from use, exposed lightbulbs, and a delicious smell emanating from the premises. Sadly, while quaint and inviting, what I found had no such character.

I wanted to like Mud Creek. I like the name, the restaurant was comfortable, it was unique in its off-the-beaten-path location, and it offered the promise of barbecue and perfectly fried catfish. But restaurants are places to eat food, and overall the food wasn't good.  The barbecue was fairly good with a strong smoky flavor and tender, although a little dry. The barbecue was served with spicy, sweet baked beans and yellow coleslaw. Yellow cole slaw is made with mustard and a little Tabasco mixed in with the very finely chopped coleslaw common in North Alabama. The yellow coleslaw was new to me, and while I enjoyed trying something new and it tasted fine, I didn't leave wondering about when I will next have some yellow coleslaw.

barbecue plate

catfish plate

Aside from the barbecue, baked beans, and fries, everything else we ordered was uninspired. The fried catfish, which the menu billed as their specialty, was bland and not crispy. The catfish needed some spice in the batter and a sauce on the side. Both the barbecue and the catfish came with a potato side and we chose fries. The fries were not homemade, were droopy rather than crispy, and were mushy on the inside. The apple pie we ordered for dessert was not homemade and wasn't properly baked because the crust was mushy.

The prices are too high for the quality of food served. A large barbecue plate runs $7.50 and a  large catfish plate with five pieces of catfish runs $10.

The service was mediocre. Our waitress mostly ignored us, but other waitresses appeared to be very busy taking care of their customers.

Mud Creek Fish Camp has potential, but doesn't live up to it. I went looking for quality country flavors, and I didn't find them.

Mud Creek Fish Camp
804 County Road 213
Hollywood, AL 35752
256-259-2493

Viet Huong

In the middle of a boring strip mall sits Huntsville's Vietnamese secret. Delicious food is served at very reasonable prices by gracious servers. I have yet to figure out how a little slice of Vietnam came to rest off the tasteless thoroughfare of University Avenue, but there it sits.

While other items on the menu are good, in what often feels like the ethnic food desert of North Alabama, upon arriving at the culinary oasis of Viet Huong, it would be a shame to order anything other than the pho.

As recounted here, I have slurped my way through many pho establishments, and, while I would not yet claim to be even proficient in the complexities of pho, I can say that the pho at Viet Huong compares favorably to others. The broth is tasty, a variety of proteins are offered --- the authentic and my favorite pho dac biet contains rare steak, flank, tendon, tripe, and Vietnamese meatballs --- and each table is stocked with all of the accoutrements you might want to spice up your pho. That being said, the pho here could be mediocre and it would still be worth your while simply because it is the only pho around.

A large bowl of pho is more than the average person would consume at one meal and costs a whopping $6. The spring rolls are good and two cost $3.

the fillings in a partially eaten spring roll

The restaurant's interior is nothing special, and perhaps even a little shabby, but it is comfortable and clean. The servers are attentive and friendly, and the food comes out fast.

Viet Huong
930 Old Monrovia Rd NW Ste 1
Huntsville, AL 35806
256-890-0104

Garam Korean

Looking for something a little unusual, my wife and I ventured out to Garam Korean. The dining experience was fun, but the restaurant does have several flaws.

The majority of the fun comes from the assortment of small dishes served with your meal.

kimchee

Among the dishes were: a mild kimchee, sweet pickled radishes, spicy cucumbers, sweet marinated or pickled potatoes and carrots, and a mayonnaise and noodle salad which reminded me of shrimp salad. There was also a dish of sweet, dried, tiny shrimp. The shrimp were very unusual. While I found the shrimp interesting, I would not recommend them to all. They had a funky taste that was oddly reminiscient of canned oysters.

We started out with a seafood and scallion pancake. The pancake was recommended by internet reviewers. The pancake was like a cross between a seafood omelet and okonomiyaki. (Okonomiyaki is a Japanese dish of a fried mixture of batter and cabbage covered in various toppings and sauce. Okonomiyaki is absolutely delicious. For more, see here.) The pancake was decent, but not amazing. It was oniony with a strong egg taste and seafood bits dispersed throughout. I did not keep an exact tally on the different seafood inside, but I do remember shrimp and squid tentacles. The pancake seemed a little undercooked and doughy.

For my entree, I ordered bibimbap. Bibimbap is a quintessential Korean dish. Rice is served in a hot stone bowl and covered with meats, vegetables, and a fried egg. The ingredients are mixed together by the diner. Garam Korean's bibimbap falls into the category that so many of my reviews seem to utilize: good but not amazing. It was tasty, but I will not be rushing back to Garam Korean. If I do make it back, I will probably try something else. I did like how the hot stone made some of the rice crispy which added a nice texture contrast. The dish seemed to be a little light on the toppings of beef, bean sprouts, greens, and egg. The yolk of the fried egg on top broke and made a nice addition to the sauce. The dish is served with a spicy red sauce similar to sriracha.

My wife ordered a chicken dish which was decent but unremarkable. It was essentially chicken and vegetables tossed in a sweet sauce and served with rice.

Garam Korean appears to be a family run restaurant. One woman serves as the only server. The service can be very slow at times. If you go to Garam Korean, go because you want an experience, not because you want a quick dinner. On the other hand, the family run aspect is a nice quality as well. The owners chat with friends and regulars in the restaurant and eat their meals at the front table. The restaurant plays cheesy Korean pop music which is mostly just humorous.

Garam Korean left me with a mostly neutral impression. The food was decent, but other than its "ethnic" quality, not all that special. The service was a little slow but friendly and helpful. The multitude of little dishes served with the meal were entertaining and a nice rainbow of flavors. I am happy to know that there is a Korean restaurant and Huntsville and I hope it does well, but I won't be rushing back.

Garam Korean
256-519-2374
600 Jordan Lane NW
Huntsville, AL 35816

Taqueria El Cazador

Taqueria El Cazador is a taqueria tucked into an old bus. It is similar to the taco truck concept except one better. You can actually go into the bus and take a seat at the chairs and counter along the sides. The kitchen is tucked into the back third of the bus. You can also eat outside under the picnic table.

While I wouldn't yet claim to be a taco authority, I have worked my way through several very good taquerias on Atlanta's holy Buford Highway. Taqueria El Cazador ranks right up there with the best of them. These tacos are good and cheap.

Sticking to my usual theme of ordering the most unusual meats on the menu, I ordered three tacos: tripa (tripe which is cow stomach), lengua (cow tongue), and cabeza (beef cheek). Through experience I have learned that these unusual proteins are actually some of the most flavorful and tender parts of a cow. Also, the fact that these meats are on the menu is an excellent sign as they are very authentic Mexican. In addition to the three I ordered, they also serve al pastor and barbacoa tacos and possibly others I don't remember.

All three tacos were excellent. The tripe was crispy and a little chewy. The tongue was super tender and the best of the three. The beef cheek was also very tender but with more of a meaty flavor than the tongue and a standard, stringy meat consistency. I would recommend any and all of Taqueria El Cazador's tacos. They have a four tacos for five dollars deal which is pretty hard to beat.

We all had an orange Jarritos to wash down our food. If you have yet to try a Jarritos, don't delay. I never drink soft drinks, but I love a Jarritos every now and then. They are less sweet than American drinks. A cold Jarritos on a hot day with flavorful tacos is a great way to pass the time.

My wife ordered two chicken sopes. Sopes are a Mexican dish which originated in the Sinaloa region but has now spread to all of Mexico. Sopes consist of a fried masa (cornmeal paste used to make tortillas) bottom with meat, sauce, and toppings stacked over it. It is sort of like the tortilla at the bottom serves as the plate but you also eat your plate. They are very good. For more on sopes see my previous post on Rincon Latino. El Cazador's sope was good and worth ordering.

Finally, my mother-in-law had a quesadilla. The quesadilla was okay, but it was nothing special like the tacos and sopes. The carrots and peppers in the picture are a pickled vegetable side served with each dish.

Overall, Taqueria El Cazador is a bus worth visiting soon. The food is ridiculously cheap and very good.

Taqueria El Cazador
256-881-5400
10099 Memorial Pkwy S
Huntsville, AL 35803

Bistro Niko

I am usually a little wary of Buckhead Life restaurants. They are all good, but they often come across as pretentious, unauthentic, and trying too hard. Sort of like Vegas. Sort of like Buckhead generally. I have eaten at, and enjoyed, Bluepointe, Atlanta Fish Market, and Buckhead Diner, but I was never blown away. Bistro Niko raised the bar.

Bistro Niko, as the name should give away, is Buckhead Life Group's upscale French restaurant in Buckhead. The restaurant did have a cheesy mural of Paris with all of the typical landmarks one could possibly fit in. Otherwise the space was warm and welcoming, although a little loud. But to get to the heart of the matter, the food had its ups and downs but was all above par, and our service was excellent.

We started off with an order of gruyere cheese puffs. They were good, but not amazing. Imagine a small ball of lighter than air pastry with a warm, sharp gruyere center.

I then ordered the grand charcuterie platter as my appetizer.

I thought the platter was an appetizer for one, but it was intended for the whole table. Fortunately, there were three of us and I received some help. I think my arteries would have shut down had I consumed all of this delicious, fatty goodness by myself. At $14 for the massive platter, this is an excellent deal. The platter consisted of two types of salami, prosciutto, a "faux gras terrine", a rillette, and an almond country pate. All were excellent. Salami and prosciutto are Italian, not French, but I guess I will let that slide. The meats were served with toast points, a tasty whole grain mustard, and cornichons. The terrine was excellent. It was like rich, meaty, air and was deeply satisfying. Rillete is meat, usually and in this case pork, cooked in fat until it can be shredded. It is then cooled surrounded by fat to form a meaty paste. The rillette tasted like the richest, fattiest, most melt in your mouth barbecue you could ever imagine. The country pate with almonds, the salumi, and the prosciutto were also delicious.

I also ordered a salad course of frisee, bacon lardons, and a fried egg. I forgot to take a picture of this course. The egg yolk broke over the greens and bacon to make a delicious rich, salty, crunchy salad.

As an entree, my wife ordered beef tenderloin tips.

The beef was perfectly cooked and had an excellent flavor both from the meat and the peppercorn crust. The mushrooms and jus served with the meat were a great accompaniment.

My mother-in-law ordered a shrimp special. It essentially consisted of tempura shrimp with a funky coleslaw in the middle.

The shrimp had an Asian inspired taste. The coleslaw was unusual. It had a very earthy taste I couldn't quite figure out. After asking the waiter, we discovered that the main component of the coleslaw was celery root. Overall, this dish didn't wow me. However, my mother-in-law seemed to like it so it might just be me.

I ordered the skate wing which is served sauteed in brown butter with capers, spinach, and steamed potatoes.

I had skate wing once in a bistro in Paris. I remembered it as one of the lightest, most delicate, and most delicious fishes I have ever had. The skate here was cooked well but was saturated in brown butter. The richness from the butter was overwhelming. The dish was served with two tiny lemon wedges. I squeezed the lemon over the fish, and the bites with the lemon juice were much better. The acid from the lemon nicely cut through the richness of the butter. Overall, I was a little less than impressed with this dish. French cuisine is intimately tied to butter and richness, but the chef should know that this much butter kills all other flavors and renders the fish nearly unpalatable. The fish should be the star and the butter should only serve to accent its delicate flavors.

The highlight of the meal was the excellent service. I wish every waiter could be as good as our waiter that night. He was there when needed, answered every question, was a wealth of information, and yet managed to be there only when we needed him. Some waiters are never around and neglect the diner. Some waiters are overly zealous hovering over the table and making themselves an uninvited dinner guest. Our waiter struck a perfect balance.

Bistro Niko is expensive, although the prices are relatively appropriate for the ingredients and quality of the food. Bistro Niko also suffers from a bit of the make-believe gourmet. But overall it was a pleasant experience with decent to above par food. I would recommend it to anyone looking for French food in Atlanta served in a fine dining setting. But I wouldn't put it on a top places to eat in Atlanta list.

Bistro Niko
3344 Peachtree Rd NE
Atlanta, GA 30326
404-261-6456
www.buckheadrestaurants.com/bistro-niko/

Carver's Country Kitchen

Good food and a unique atmosphere. Carver's Country Kitchen is a unique place that serves up some tasty Southern cooking.

The atmosphere is unique because it is like eating lunch at a convenience store. You walk in, walk back to a small area open to the kitchen. They take your order and make your plate. You then carry your plate and drink to one of the tables in the middle of the room. It is very similar to a barbecue buffet but rather than being a buffet you choose a meat, two vegetables, and your choice of bread. The clientele ranges from college students, to construction workers, to well-dressed office workers. Don't be scared by the clientele or the odd location. It is all part of the experience.

The food is not the best example of Southern cooking I have ever had, but it is good. I ordered the fried chicken with collard greens, macaroni and cheese, and jalapeno cornbread.

The chicken was moist and flavorful on the interior with a crunch, greasy fried exterior. The chicken was a little greasier and heavier than the perfect fried chicken that I remember my granny making when I visited my grandparents as a child. But I can't really fault them for failing to meet the standard of my granny. The fried chicken is good and worth ordering. The macaroni and cheese was creamy and tasty. The collards were fairly good but lacking a little bit of flavor. The jalapeno cornbread was excellent, but by the time I got around to it I could barely do more than take a tiny nibble.

My friend ordered the same plate except he had the hashbrown casserole instead of the macaroni and cheese.

The jalapenos on top of his chicken are from the free offering of pickled peppers.

The plate of food is enormous. The amount of food you get for your money, plus the quality of the food, makes this a real value. I recommend going to Carver's for the experience alone, the fact that the food is rather good is a nice bonus. Be sure to bring a big appetite.

Carver's is only open for lunch from 11 to 3 on weekdays.

Carver's Country Kitchen
1118 W. Marietta Street NW
Atlanta, GA 30318
404-794-4410