Something even food cannot fix

I realize that this is a forum for food, but my recent week long trip to Myanmar (better known to many of you as Burma) opened my eyes and my heart to a sad reality. I have visited many countries in the world, and some are what we call " developing" but I have never been to a country gripped by a military dictatorship like Myanmar. Upon my arriva,l my biggest fears were beng robbed, being held up at gunpoint, or even being caught doing something the government didn't approve of and ending up imprisoned. What I found was the complete opposite. I found a land of the most humble, gracious, and generous people I could have imagined. The country is seemingly cut off from most the world because of sanctions meant to constrain the harsh government. I must admit, I have marched on Capital Hill in Washington urging my congressmen and senators to vote in favor of economic sanctions against equally grueling regimes in the Middle East, and never once thought of the horrendous impact those sanctions have against the poorest and most vulnerable members of that society. Myanmar showed me the effects. Yangon, their previous capital city, is a city of 5 million people. The buildings are crumbling, the taxis are from decades ago, and there are no American (or European for that matter) products in sight beyond the occasional grossly inflated Coca Cola bottles imported into Myanmar from Thailand and Cambodia. What they call sidewalks are a sad excuse for a broken ankle waiting to happen. Uneven square slabs of concrete are placed on the dirt which mildly protect the pedestrians from the mud and filthy sewage water flowing beneath. Tourists can be spotted wandering the markets and streets, but they are few and far between in comparison to Myanmar's neighbors Thailand or even Cambodia. When westerners walk down the streets and alleyways, they are greated with huge smiles and curious questions of where they come from. Amongst the few toursists in the city, even fewer are American. When the locals hear we come from the USA they inquire about our dark skinned president who makes them so proud bc he looks like them. Beyond Obama's dark skin, they know little about our country or our politics beyond the fact that we are a Democracy, something they long for.
A common occurrence in Myanmar is hushed conversations when they are sure they are in a safe area about their "situation". Upon several occasions we had our Burmese guides or taxi drivers look around, scoot close to us, and in near whispers discuss the harsh government who rules over them with an iron fist. "We are in a bad situation here, but I think soon it will change" was a phrase we heard several times. Their hope of change, true democracy, and human rights is inspiring. I wonder how long they have been telling themselves "soon it will change" and I wonder if they actually believe it will change.
Myanmar is home to some of the most fascinatingand breathtaking historical sights I have ever laid eyes upon. I believe some of their sights can easily rival the pyramids and the great wall of China. However, I had never heard of any of these incredible sights prior to my trip here, which I think is similar of many Americans. I debated, and still question, whether visiting Myanmar was a good idea. The majority of the hotels and airlines in Myanmar are government run, and even those that are independently owned and operated likely have to share a percentage of their income with the government. During our time in Myanmar, we tried our hardest to avoid all government owned venues, opting to give our patronage to the locals who need it the most.
Education in Myanmar is not compulsory, and oftentimes families cannot afford to pay for their children's education. We learned that one year of university in Myanmar is around 250 euros a year, a fortune to most. Without proper schooling, the Burmese remain in the exact position their governemnt wants-simple, uneducated, and unable to better themselves and their situations. Many of the Burmese live as they did hundreds of years ago, in shacks without electricity or clean water, relying on the river as their lifeline. As an American, I cannot fathom what it is like to not have clean drinking water, or even a cold shower. For the people in Myanmar, something as simple as a shower as we know it is a foreign concept.
It was after seeing the controversial comedy troupe called "The Mustache Brothers" that my yearning to raise awareness of the situation in Burma was born. The three mustache brothers are no longer able to perform to locals after one of them, Par Par Lay, was arrested for simply talking aout the government in an "unfavorable" way. He spent hard time in a Burmese prison for many years on more than one account. They hardly speak English, but their entire family now performs songs and dances to tourists every night of the week. When we saw them in the basement of their small home, there were no more than ten of us from all over the western world, yearning to get a glimpse into the controversiality of their act. We received nothing more than a viewing of a year's old DVD of an American celebrity PSA campaign attempting to raise awareness of Burma's political situation, and some singing and dancing. We had never once seen any of the pieces from the PSA in America. I was unaware of the Burmese military's use of human shields to protect themselves from mines in the fields, and I was unaware of the Burmese government's policy of raping women.
At the end of the day, the people in Myanmar are simply trying to survive. They smile, and they eat deliciously simple curries and foods cooked on the streets. They work to learn English so that they can read books and communicate with the western tourists, and they fear that being caught speaking negatively about their government, and possible change, will ruin their simple lives by landing them in prison. They have so far to develop, but due to the sanctions and the harsh government which spends roughly 40 percent of the country's budget on the military, developing appears to be nearly impossible. It seems to be a vicious cycle, and I hope that some time in my life I will see it change.

An ode to Austin, Texas

There is no place better than Austin, Texas. That's, in my opinion, a fact. Last weekend I returned home to Austin for my friend Christina's wedding. I've been traveling back and forth between Dallas and Austin a lot for the wedding planning, but it was during this trip that I really saw the "renaissance" that seems to have taken place in Austin over the last 3 years. Austin has always been "weird", but Carl and I spent a pretty significant amount of time in South and East Austin over this trip and I was truly envious of my friends who still get to live in Austin. Yes, Austin is "weird" but it's real. At the bars and restaurants throughout Austin there were signs for the local city council election runoff coming up. People were aware of the local politics as well as the local events going on every week and weekend in Austin. There are the "hipsters" that gather throughout southeast Austin at new bars that seem to be opening up everyday East of 6th street, as well as down home Texas cowboys that frequent the historic places like the Broken Spoke. The food scene in Austin is also "weird". One of the biggest trends to take root in Austin over the last 3 years is the emergence of the trailer eateries. Throughout all of Austin there are several clusters of trailers parked in high traffic areas that serve cuisine ranging from Korean tacos to Thai and Vietnamese, to gourmet desserts, to the famous Hill Country BBQ.

Carl and I had a hard time figuring out which food truck to try, and after finding a few of our first choices closed, we ended up at a trailer located behind the famous Sno Beach snowcone stand called A Touch of Fire. This trailer is run by a wonderful Vietnamese woman and her husband who were very excited to discuss Southeast Asia with Carl and me. She cooks all of her dishes to order. Carl and I were the first patrons of the morning so the dishes that contained rice or noodles may have taken longer as she rice and noodles weren't ready. We ordered spring rolls and a Vietnamese Banh Mi (Vietnamese sandwich). The sandwich was on a perfectly chewy French Roll that was definitely large enough to split. The sauce on the sandwich must have been a mix between mayonnaise and a Sriracha style hot sauce that complimented the delicately fried shrimp perfectly. After a few bites, our mouths were as hot as the scorching temperature that afternoon. There's nothing wrong with a little facial perspiration while eating Vietnamese food though! The delicious mixture of shrimp, spicy mayo, lettuce, and the other accountrements got Carl and I excited for our upcoming trip to Southeast Asia where food trucks and street food are commonplace. If the Vietnamese Banh Mis are anything like the sandwich we had at A Touch of Fire, I may have trouble fitting into my clothes when we return!

Barbeque for Breakfast

This past weekend, Carl and I went to Austin. As per tradition, every time we go to Austin we must try at least one barbeque joint somewhere in the Hill Country or Central Texas. On this trip, we decided our barbeque of choice was going to be from Snow's barbeque in Lexington, Texas. In 2008, Texas Monthly selected Snow's barbeque as "The Best Barbeque in Texas". For those of you non-Texans, winning this award is equivalent to winning the Triple Crown or Miss America. In case you didn't catch the importance, winning that title by Texas Monthly is a big freakin' deal! Snow's barbeque is only opened on Saturday's, and barbeque crazies like us flock from all over Texas to try this stuff, so they typically run out of meat before noon!

Snow's Barbeque has been a topic between Carl and my father for some time now, but the idea of voluntarily waking up at 7:00 am on a Saturday morning to eat a meat feast always made me wince. My father cajoled Carl into it by sending him article after article from Texas Monthly to the New York Times all about Snow's, and that's how my Saturday morning fate was sealed!

The three of us woke up at 7:00am and hit the road by 7:45 to make the hour-long drive to Lexington, Texas. As we turned onto Main Street in Lexington, my expectations where shattered. I had imagined a large market like Kreutz or Smitty's in Lockhart with a DisneyWorld sized parking lot and a line curling around the door. Boy was I wrong. Snow's is quite literally a shack, and Lexington is a town that didn't even appear to have stoplights. At most, Snow's can probably hold up to 30 patrons. Luckily, since skyrocketing to barbeque fame they have built a fabulous outdoors area with several picnic tables overlooking the smoker so barbeque aficionados can blissfully view the barbeque as it is being prepared.

Keep in mind, it wasn't even 9:00am by the time we arrived at Snow's, but their barbeque operation was in full force. We stood in a short line and after about 3 minutes we were up. Sticking to our normal routine, we ordered brisket, sausage, and ribs. I knew as I watched the meat master carving us the moist brisket that this place was going to be above and beyond what our stomachs were expecting. As she carved the brisket, juices were flowing all over the counter. The morning was unusually brisk, so we decided to eat at one of the 6 picnic tables inside. Each of us more eager than the next, we all grabbed for the brisket immediately, and then silence ensued. It is not often that I agree with all the hype surrounding certain foods, but all the hype about Snow's isn't enough hype! Their brisket is perfection. The juices from the brisket are a smoky cocktail that burst in your mouth and make you dismiss every piece of brisket that came before. This is one of those barbeque places that offers sauce on the table, but doesn't actually intend for their meat to be eaten with sauce. This meat didn't need anything extra, because Snow's figured out the perfect equation for smoking their brisket to absolute perfection. The bar has been set very high, and this is the brisket that I will now use as comparison for the rest of my life in determining whether or not I'm consuming decent brisket.

Now onto the sausage. For me, sausage is hit or miss. I sometimes think that for some places sausage is an afterthought, but not as Snow's. They serve a jalapeno sausage (which is common in Central Texas). This sausage hit all the right flavors. It was spicy, but not overwhelmingly spicy. The texture was not crumbly like some sausages I've tasted, and upon biting into the sausage, juices bursting with flavor exploded. The owner of Snow's confirmed to us that they do not make their sausage on site, but that it is a special recipe that they've been tweaking for quite some time, so it is unique to Snow's.

Now onto the mediocre part: the ribs. I tend to favor ribs over brisket, but I've learned that ribs are tough to perfect. Personally, I'm a sauce kind of gal and if the barbeque sauce is great and the ribs are cooked in the sauce, I'm usually a fan (hence my love for the Salt Lick). Since Snow's is one of those "no sauce needed" type places, their ribs have a whiter appearance as opposed to the deeper red appearance of ribs cooked with sauce. The ribs were slightly plastic in appearance which is usually a red flag for me. When I bit into the ribs, they were tough and didn't fall off the bone. I chose to skip the ribs and focus my calories on the succulent brisket and spicy sausage! However, don't let my unflattering review of the ribs deter your from trekking out to Snow's. Their brisket and sausage are by far the best I have ever tried in the great state of Texas!

I would be lying if I said the ambiance and the people didn't positively sway my experience at Snow's। The people at Snow's were friendly, and treated us like old friends. The woman who served us our meat insisted that we try the pork, and before we even had a chance to say "yes" or "no" she had already cut us a big slab of pork and encouraged us to eat it with our hands. This, of course, did not go onto our bill. We chatted with the owner, and made friends from Houston and College Station. On the walls, they have pictures of people ranging from Major Applewhite of the Texas Longhorns to Andy Samberg from Saturday Night Live which made me feel like I was eating somewhere truly special. If you ever find yourself in Texas with several hours to kill, making the drive out to Lexington, Texas to eat Snow's is not a bad choice. Just remember to rise and shine early because if you get there too late, they'll be out of meat and you'll be out of luck!

Snow's isn't completely devoid of all kitchy touristy items, but aside from this side the place is entirely authentic!

A view of Snow's from the outside

Carl and the judge sampling some of Texas' finest


I am clearly one happy eater!

The lone picture of the untouched meal. Staving off our eagerness to dig in was tough, but we knew we'd want this picture afterward!

Getting my fabbie foodie hands dirty

Thanks to a freak icestorm that Dallas had a few weeks ago, Carl and I got creative in the kitchen! I love experimenting in the kitchen, but not all of my experiments turn into fabbie foodie success stories. As any professional chef, or skilled cook will tell you- "practice makes perfect".

One of my favorite Food Network shows is "Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives". I love that the host, Guy Fieri, uses his platform to display some of the most creative eateries in America! On one of his shows, Guy stopped at a quaint little restaurant in Philadelphia called "Honey Sit N Eat". I've tried on one occassion to eat there in Philly, but the wait was too long to stomach on an emtpy stomach, so I was thrilled to see what this restaurant had to offer, albeit through the television.

One of the dishes they highlighted was the "Chicken Chili Frito Pie" which looked so delicious. Due to the freak icestorm that left the entire city of Dallas paralyzed, we had plenty of time on our hands to think about our less than stocked pantry. After enough time passed, a very determined Carl figured we could rewind the segment enough times to figure out how to create our own version of this "Chicken Chili Frito Pie". After initial skepticism from this fabbie foodie, I finally gave in and helped Carl figure out how we could concoct a homemade version of the dish. After all, the only place we could feesibly get to was the neighborhood market two blocks away from our apartment, and one does have to eat to stay warm!

Here is the simple adapted recipe Carl and I came up with. If you ever have half an hour to 45 minutes to spare preparing an easy meal, this one is definitely worth it. Our twist on the meal is a healthy (believe it or not) fiesta of flavors guaranteed to satisfy your "frito pie" and/or "chili" craving!

You'll Need:
2 chicken breasts (boneless)
1/2 Red Bell Pepper (diced)
1/2 Green Bell Pepper (diced)
1/2 can white beans (Caneloni , Great Northern, or Navy beans work well)
1/2 can Kidney Beans
1/2 white or yellow onion chopped
1/2 can corn kernels
6 oz can tomato paste
8 oz can crushed tomatoes
1 can pickled jalapenos
1 package shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 of a poblano pepper (finely sliced in 1/8 or an inch strips, and then chopped)
1 can sweet peppers
1 tablespoon cumin
1 tablespoon red chili powder
1 teaspoon brown sugar
1 bag fritos (corn chips)
1 box chicken stock
2 tablespoons ketchup

Directions:
In a large pot boil your chicken breasts for up to 20 minutes, or until chicken is cooked all the way through. Once chicken is ready, use two forks to shred both chicken breasts.

In a skillet heated to medium heat, add shredded chicken, 3 teaspoons tomato paste, 1/2 cup crushed tomatoes, 1/2 cup chicken stock, and sliced and shredded poblano pepper (can be substituted for guajillo pepper if readily available). Mix together until the poblano peppers begin to appear to "disintegrate".

In a seperate skillet on medium-high heat add the diced red peppers, green peppers, chopped onion. Allow to cook down for about 3 minutes before adding all the beans and corn. Add about a quarter of a cup of the sweet peppers (chopped), and a quarter of a cup of the pickled jalapenos chopped (if you prefer your dish spicier, adjust accordingly). Dump in the cumin, red chili powder and brown sugar. Allow for flavors to meld together for 5 to 7 minutes. Add contents of the skillet containg the shredded chicken (which should be a red color). Allow for chicken to cook with the beans and vegetables for approximately 5 minutes.

In a seperate baking sheet place several handfuls of fritos (enough to line the bottom of your baking sheet. If you're dieting, you may prefer to add less Fritos, or eliminate the Fritos altogether). Pour your chili from the skillet on top of the Fritos. Liberally sprinkle cheese on top of the chicken chili frito pie and place into the oven at 350 degrees for 3 minutes (or long enough for the cheese to fully melt on top). Remove from the oven and ENJOY! Here are some pictures of our homemade version of Chicken Chili Frito Pie.

My Quest to try every cheesesteak in Philly

I have a love hate relationship with the city of Philadelphia. I love the Philadelphia Phillies. I hate the blistering cold. I love the grittiness of the city. I hate the cold. I love that Philadelphia is a sense of pride to every person who comes from the city (including my boyfriend Carl who could out-Philly almost anyone when it comes to his hometown). Did I mention I hate the cold? If there's one thing about Philly that I love, it's Philly Cheesesteaks! I know what you're thinking: "how does she keep such a fabulous figure when she loves to eat things like Philly cheesesteaks and pizza". Ok, I jest! However, I do enjoy a good Philly cheesesteak, and on my second trip to Philadelphia I was determined to try two of the famous institutions of Philadelphia Cheesesteaks- Pat's and Geno's. If you've ever watched the Food Network or the Travel Channel, then you're most likely familiar with Pat's and Geno's. Pat's is one of the oldest Cheesesteak restaurants in the city, but Geno's makes sure that Pat's won't outshine their restaurant- literally. The two restaurants are located across the street from one another. Pat's is an otherwise unassuming cheesesteak joint built for the blue collar working class cheesesteak aficionados. Across the street you have the can't-be-missed production that is Geno's. Geno's boasts hundreds, if not thousands, of watts of bright neon lights proudly displaying the "Geno's" lightshow that you could probably see from outer space. If you pick out any Philly native and ask if they prefer Pat's or Geno's you'll definitely get a difinitive answer. Pat's and Geno's are like the Capulets and Montagues of Old Verona. It's a town divided amongst cheesesteaks! As you can imagine, I was eager to find out what the friendly rivalry was all about. After a flight headache., Carl and I arrived in Philadelphia around 1:00am (about 4 hours later than we'd originally hoped). When his sister and brother-in-law picked us up, they insisted upon fulfilling my cheesesteak craving and took us directly to Pat's and Geno's. I was surprised that on a Tuesday morning at 1:00am we were not the only folks hanging out in the near freezing temps to try out a cheesesteak. We divided and conquered, separating into two and ordering one cheesesteak from each place. Candidly, I was a little nervous that the Geno's staff would kick us out of their benches after learning that we had a sandwich from their rival neighbor Pat's, but I find it hard to believe that we were the first to do so! Each sandwich was delicious. Upon first bite, I thought that Geno's was by far the superior steak. Upon further eating, the meat on the steak from Geno's started to taste funny. It didn't taste fresh, almost like it had a freezer burn to it. None of my other cheesesteak companions tasted the "freezer burn" taste, but once I caught onto it, I couldn't let it go. Both steaks had fresh Italian rolls that quite literally seemed to melt in my mouth. After both steaks were devoured, I had to pick Pat's because their meat tasted of a higher quality. Unlike those proud Philadelphia natives who grew up on either Pat's or Geno's I don't know if I could stand steadfast behind the Pat's cheesesteak. Who knows, next time I may return to try a steak from both and I might just pick Geno's. To me, it's all about what I'm feeling that day. To Philadelphians it's about pride!

The Pizza Experience

I believe that food can be an experience. It's not always just about the taste or the ingredients, but sometimes the ambiance and the people alongside the food are the recipes that create the entire experience. Having pizza at Dirafa was one of those experiences! I've visited Manhattan several times, but I've never spent real time in Brooklyn which is where Difara is located. Not only is Difara located in Brooklyn, but it's deep in the heart of an orthodox Jewish neighborhood sandwiched between Judaica shops and stores with signs entirely in Hebrew. As we approached the tiny pizza shop with a big reputation, I was genuinely relieved when it was open the day after Thanksgiving without a line. Friends of mine who reside in New York have told me that DiFara is notorious for being closed at random as well as the long lines outside of the shop. We stood behind two or three people who ordered pizza before us. Upon spying an available table amongst the very few tables, I quite literally cut off another patron in a race to the open table while Carl stood in the short line to order our pizza. He and I have a process about ordering pizza at new places. We always order the traditional cheese pizza, because we feel that a basic cheese pizza gives us the best insight into what a pizza joint can really do. If they can mess up a cheese pizza, I don't want to know what else could go wrong!
Imagine a 12 by 15 space with approximately 5 tables totalling about 15 seats and you've got Difara's. Scoring a table to ourselves (with two chairs) was pretty lucky! As I previously mentioned, there were only a very few people ahead of us in line. However, it took over half an hour before our pizza was ready. The reason for the long wait is that there is one man who makes every single pizza. His name is Dimenico De Marco and he's probably pushing 85. He takes pride in every pizza he makes. There are three people working in the entire pizza store- his grandaughter who takes the orders, his helper who appears to keep things orderly, and the pizza craftsman himself who personally clips the fresh basil and pours a touch of olive oil on every handmade pizza he creates. It's him who makes the pizza from DiFara a truly incredible and unique experience. It is very rare that one receives the kind of personal craftsmanship that goes into making a single pizza like at DiFara. At any normal restaurant, there are several people that go into every dish that is ordered, but here at DiFara you can watch Domenico make every single pizza. The idea of a second DiFara location opening up in Brooklyn ( or anywhere for that matter) is impossible because the master pizza maker clearly does not want to jeopardize his pizza, and for good reason. This pizza is perfection. The second this pizza hits your lips, everything else fades away. The only thing left is the semi salty taste of the cheese mixed with the sweet, fresh tomato sauce. The fresh basil dispersed on top of the pizza is the proverbial "icing on the cake" that completes the pie. The foundation with which the pizza is built, otherwise known as the crust, is perfectly crunchy and only moderately blackened. Watching the master pizza maker put each pizza into the fire oven is like watching Michelangelo paint the Sistene chapel. It's simple: no one else could do it as well. The entire pizza costs $28 which seems like highway robbery to anyone who thinks Dominos or Pizza Hut is a good pie, but this place is lightyears ahead of your run of the mill chain pizza store. Every pizza is a handcrafted piece of art that awakens the tastebuds and challenges every other pizza in the Big Apple (or the world for that matter). If you ever find yourself within a 100 mile radius of Brooklyn, New York I highly suggest making the trek to DiFara pizza. Oh, and while you're there pick up a menorah for me!

A Visit to the Ol' South

I consider myself lucky because I get the chance to travel to new and old places quite often. From a "blog" perspective, I enjoy that this allows me to keep my blog somewhat universal and not just Dallas-centric. From a personal perspective, it gives me the chance to explore new cities. My latest trip took me to Atlanta, Georgia for the first time. I wasn't there just for food and I didn't have any specific restaurants that I wanted to try so badly that I needed to start a countdown (in case you didn't catch the reference I have 3o days left until DiFara's Pizza). However, I was delighted to find that Atlanta has a fantastic culinary scene.

Unlike when I travel with Carl, the cause for this trip was not to eat. Rather, this trip was for a group of college girlfriends scattered across the country to get together and catch up. In typical fashion, during one of our meals we started talking about the next meal. My friend Barrie, who is temporarily located in Atlanta, assured us there were about seven different reservations around Atlanta for us because she couldn't quite pick a restaurant. Luckily, our native Atlantan friend Lila made the restaurant suggestion of the trip! Lila suggested that we try a restaurant called JCT- which is a trendy twist on southern style home cooking. After a brief iphone version of the menu, all 5 of us did the impossible- we decided unanimously to make a reservation at JCT for that evening. Boy am I glad we did!

JCT is located in an adorable shopping center next to a train junction, hence the name "JCT". The interior of the restaurant was hip and full of well-dressed patrons who all looked ready for a night on the town.

JCT is known for their truffle fries and their fried chicken which is served until they run out. Immediately upon sitting down, we asked the waitress if any fried chicken was still available. She ran to the kitchen and promptly told us there were three servings left, which meant if we wanted those servings of fried chicken we had to make game time decisions and place our orders immediately.

First out were the truffle fries and a goat cheese dish. Surprisingly, I'm a fabbie foodie who cannot stomach the strong flavor of goat cheese so I didn't participate in that appetizer. From what I heard, it did not disappoint. However, I must admit that the truffle fries were simply incredible. There was enough truffle oil on the fries to give them the full "truffle" taste without being too overwhelming. The fries were topped with freshly grated parmesan which seemed to permeate through the entire pile of fries and complimented the truffle taste perfectly. For my main dish, I had a piece of trout wrapped in bacon and served atop four potato dumplings. I tasted the dumplings before the fish and knew immediately that I didn't order wrong! The potato dumplings quite literally melted in my mouth. My reaction to the delicious dumplings must have been rather animated! Before I even tasted the trout, I had to divvy up one of the dumplings amongst the table. When I finally tasted the bacon wrapped trout I was not disappointed. I never would have known, but bacon and trout are a match made in heaven! Granted, I love bacon, but it wasn't the signature flavor of the dish. The natural flavor of the fresh fish shone through the bacon nicely. Regardless of the fact that I did force several of my friends to taste my dish, I had absolutely no problem cleaning my plate!

I also tasted several of the other dishes around the table. I was sandwiched between two friends who ordered the fried chicken which came with homemade style macaroni and cheese. The skin of the chicken was incredibly crispy and surprisingly not greasy at all. I have to admit that I was a bit undewhelmed by the macaroni and cheese which was incredibly creamy, but not very cheesy. My friend Barrie, who claims that shrimp and grits are her absolute favorite dish, ate every bite of hers and proclaimed how delicious it was. Coming from a girl who has indeed had her fair share of the dish, a compliment such as that is confirmation of how excellent the meal was!

Every one of us left the restaurant comfortably full and happy. I'm sure being surrounded by my best friends who I don't get to see everyday helped make the meal enjoyable, but JCT was definitely one of the best meals I have had in a long time. It gave me, a native Texan, a true taste of the traditional cooking of the deep south with a trendy twist! The next time you're in Atlanta, be sure to make time between visiting the aquarium and the World of Coke to make a reservation at JCT.