Buford Highway: Queens in Atlanta

I know Jen was upset to leave New York, but she, Matt, and Avery have made themselves a beautiful life in Atlanta.  They told me one thing that eased the transition was seeing how close they were to Buford Highway.  Buford Highway is a sketchy area, but one that's worth visiting if you want authentic ethnic cuisine.  Matt and Jen are adventurous eaters and often ventured all over the city (usually in Queens) to find the most legit food so this felt like home to them.  It is a loooong strip of restaurants (mostly Chinese, Vietnamese, and Mexican) so we ended up eating both lunch and dinner there on Sunday.

Our first meal was dim sum at Oriental Pearl.  It was just as good as the New York Chinatown restaurants, and nearly as busy.  For supper, we went to El Rey Del Taco for Mexican that went beyond the chicken/beef options.  We tried to get in as many different meats as possible (one taco each of tongue, cheek, and steak, a pork burrito, a chorizo quesadilla, and a mixed grill dish that had three meats including [most notably] bacon - that last one was pure hangover food in the best way possible.)  The food was greasy and delicious and came with an amazing green sauce that we poured over everything.

Atlanta has emerged as a premier dining city with all sorts of nouveau cuisine.  While it's nice that there is no shortage of unique restaurants for date night, girls night, or a birthday, I highly recommend you trek to Buford Highway when you're in the mood for something cheap and different.

Starting Avery out on chopsticks early