Trippin' with the RealTimShady

Mr. Plow and I live in a glorious unincorporated (for now) area of DeKalb County that's not quite Chamblee and not quite Tucker. Those two cities are, however,  quite literally connected by Chamblee-Tucker Road. Over the past year, we've discovered three superior dining spots along the CTR corridor, each with an Asian flair and all providing tasty, memorable food. Ponko Chicken 2896 Chamblee-Tucker Road Atlanta, GA 30341 Let me admit this right up front: we are ADDICTED to Ponko Chicken. It's been love and cravings since the very first bite. Ponko Chicken uses the tagline "where eats meets west," a play on the combination of Japanese flavors and techniques with the decidedly American concepts of chicken fingers and fries. The result of this mash-up is stupefyingly delicious. In fact, it's so delicious that I'm confident these chicken fingers - crunchy on the outside, tender on the inside, and topped with a drizzle of a suggestion-of-soy/touch-of-t...

A few weeks ago, I tried to drum up some viewers for several lesser-known cooking series - Vivian Howard's A Chef's Life  (PBS) , Frank Pinello's The Pizza Show  (Viceland) , and Nadiya Hussain's The Big Family Cooking Showdown  (Netflix) . Shortly after posting, I realized that I had forgotten one of our favorites - Pati Jinich of Pati's Mexican Table ! (Mr. Plow and I, we watch a lot of food-related television.) So...here's quick introduction to Pati, if you don't already know her, and a couple of additional suggestions if you're looking for something new and entertaining to watch. Pati's Mexican Table  - PBS and Amazon Prime   I discovered Pati's Mexican Table  completely by accident one Saturday afternoon when I was scrolling through the guide looking for something to watch. "Mexican" and "Table" stood out, so I clicked over. Pati was making Mac-n-Cheese Mexicano and I was instantly hooked. Pati Jinich is a fasci...

With the car packed and full of gas, Mr. Plow and I (sporting fresh haircuts) set off last Saturday on a whirlwind road trip that saw us travel through six states and the District of Columbia in order to dine at destination restaurants and visit with our far-flung friends. Here's a day-by-day review for those of you who might be headed to these locations in the near future! Day #1 - Atlanta, GA to Kinston, NC Driving from Georgia to North Carolina seems easy, right? After all, the two states are adjacent to each other. In fact, if you were to head due north from our house, you'd get to the North Carolina state line in about two hours. But to get to Kinston? In Eastern North Carolina? That's a weary, day-long journey involving I-20, I-95, and more than a few country roads. We broke the monotony of interstate driving with a pre-Masters stop in Augusta for lunch at Chicken Salad Chick . (Dear Chicken Salad Chick, please bring one of your restaurants to either the Tuck...