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/