Hey Allison -- is the snooty Mexican restaurant y'all went to Zocalo? I remember the desserts having incredibly pretentious names. I miss Zocalo very badly.

-- Anonymous, August 01, 2001

Answers

AHHHHHHHHH!!!! It was! It was! I couldn't remember the name.

It was delicious, but I laughed at the desserts.

-- Anonymous, August 01, 2001

Zocalo, a.k.a. the only place where I've enjoyed a stuffed chile.

I've got a recommendation for y'all: Nuevo Laredo Cantina. It's this tiny little place way the hell out in Cobb County somewhere, but it's yummy Mexican. (The chicken soup in particular rocks.) I know my old magazine has it listed in the restaurant listings.

-- Anonymous, August 01, 2001

And I know Nuevo Laredo is also highly recommended by T. You can't get better than that.

-- Anonymous, August 01, 2001

There's one right here on Chattahoochee. T took me there a few weeks ago for lunch (and in a very funny story, she had to go a few hours later for dinner with some other friends). The MOC and I tried to go last night, as a matter of fact, but it was covered up with people. I was so in need of a chimichanga, I could not be consoled.

-- Anonymous, August 01, 2001

I have this strange attraction to snooty restaurants in general. Usually, I get upset if any part of my plate can be seen through the food, which explains my love of Bennigan's and Chinese seafood buffets. Every now and then, however, I get this desire to go to a place where the plate is 2 feet wide and you need opera glasses to see the food that is in the center of it. And it helps it some odd- colored sauce has been "drizzled" over the food in a neat pattern.

It's my only pretension.

-- Anonymous, August 01, 2001

Chris, you must love Doc Chey's then. I swear there have been recorded drownings in Doc Chey's portions.

-- Anonymous, August 01, 2001

We haven't been yet, WG, but we will. I cannot wait. I went there once a few years ago on a visit and have been fantasizing about their peanut oil ever since.

-- Anonymous, August 01, 2001

Huh?! Wha?! Why has no one told me about this place?!

I swear there is a conspiracy to keep me from fulfulling my gastronomic destiny. I lived in San Antonio for SEVEN YEARS and nobody told me about Little Hips, a great burger joint in downtown SA that serves cheeseburgers that have a diamter of 8 inches. That's diameter, not circumference. I was able to get to it the last night in SA.

Life is so unfair.

-- Anonymous, August 01, 2001

I have told you about it, Memento Man. Doc Chey's Noodle House. I have told you. Lord.

Y'all, really, if you ever get to San Antonio, you must not fail to go to Little Hipp's. Eight inch burgers, peeps. With 16 slices of cheese. The cut them like a pizza to make them easier to eat.

-- Anonymous, August 01, 2001

There's one on 10th Street -- actually I don't think it's far from Zocalo -- and one on North Decatur Road just off of the Emory campus. And I think there's at least one more.

Oh, and y'all know of the wonder that is the apple pancake at the Original Pancake House, right?

-- Anonymous, August 01, 2001

WG, I don't know if they've taken in all that is Cheshire Bridge Road. And damn, there is a lot to take in. Y'all need to go to the Collonade, though - it's all little old Ladies and gay men.

Al, as soon as I read that entry (this morning - I'm playing catch- up) I knew that you had been to either Zocalo or Oh, Maria!, their sister restaurant. I tell you what, though, they may be snooty, but their mole sauce? DAY-UM! Back in the day when I was at Agnes Scott, they had dollar taco night every Monday. Sweet mole memories...

-- Anonymous, August 02, 2001

Have not been to Oh Maria! yet: back when it first opened, our food critic went and gave it the required glowing review, and one of my co- workers went and gave it a less-than-glowing review.

I took my little brother to R. Thomas when I was home in July. He'd never been.

-- Anonymous, August 02, 2001

I heard some less-than-stellar reviews, too, but I think they've made several changes, including lowering the prices. It's one of my new favorite restaurants. Good god, the lobster enchiladas. I wanna go to Oh Maria!!

-- Anonymous, August 02, 2001

Okay, T, I'll make a date. Will you be in town Labor Day weekend?

-- Anonymous, August 02, 2001

T, nice to have you back!

I believe Zocalo still has $1 taco night, at least that's what the little plastic table advertisement said.

-- Anonymous, August 02, 2001

I took my little brother to R. Thomas when I was home in July. He'd never been.

We live right next door, yo.

-- Anonymous, August 02, 2001

Oh My God! R. Thomas is, like, 2 feet from our apartment. It is the most amazing strip of food in Atlanta. Late night meal at R. Thomas, then over to Huey's for some beignets, then onto Wendy's for a frosty and then home, and all of this is less than 300 feet of walking.

I'm in love with Atlanta, people.

-- Anonymous, August 02, 2001

Dude, you forgot the Chick-Fil-A.

-- Anonymous, August 02, 2001

Is that seafood place with the funny name in between R. Thomas and Huey's any good?

-- Anonymous, August 02, 2001

Everyone says it is, but we haven't tried it. I think we're about to go to Doc Chey's if I can't talk Chris into Nueva Laredo.

-- Anonymous, August 02, 2001

WG - do you mean Shipfeifer? They have good falafel. We used to go there for lunch when I worked at the Garden.

I think I'll be here for Labor Day - we're going to DC sometime in early September, but I'm not sure exactly when.

Ooooooh, Maria. So good.

-- Anonymous, August 02, 2001

I have found a Taco Cabana. If you are not familiar with the 'Bana, it is a psuedo-fast food mexican restuarant. They are on every corner in San Antonio, and are so good.

We saw it as we were leaving Fat Matt's. I would have pulled in immediately if I wasn't so full on oh-so-good ribs.

There WILL be a trip made there this weekend.

-- Anonymous, August 03, 2001

Breakfast tacos... the mind reels.

-- Anonymous, August 03, 2001

Lest we forget the $.99 margaritas...

The Taco Cabana (the only one in the region, I think) is a beacon in the night for all displaced Texans.

-- Anonymous, August 03, 2001

Fat Matt's! Fat Matt's! Oh, I'm going to cry.

-- Anonymous, August 03, 2001

I lived in San Antonio in the mid 80s and in addition to fond memories of "Little Hips" I recall going to some small backyard barbeque shack I think was called "The Miller Sisters" it was a 15' x 10' Cinderblock "Pillbox" that had the barbeque run the length of it and was literally FULL of smoke as they barbequed right there with no ventillation except the opening of the door as a customer came or left. It was run by 2 (maybe more) older black women that were rather large (I guess they ate a lot of their own barbeque) who were sisters. Any longtime SA residents remeber this. While I am waxing nostalgic, is "Los Padrinos" still around? "Always a band, never a cover"?

-- Anonymous, August 11, 2002