Atlanta Trip - Fado's and Taqueria Del Sol

Fado’s

This Irish bar was recommended to me and I met a friend there for dinner. It is in the Buckhead area. Buckhead, while still having very wealthy neighborhoods, has recently been in decline. There is construction everywhere at the moment while they try to reclaim it’s former trendiness. My assessment, wait three years and see. Not worth having to maneuver through the construction cones.

Now on to Fado’s. I like my Irish pubs authentic. Small, dark with surly bar tenders who will scoff at you if you ask for an American beer over a dark thick ale or whiskey. Fado’s is not so. I was leery when I was required to valet in from of a very elaborately decorated building…not my idea of an Irish pub. My expectations were brought back up when I found it very nicely decorated and bottles of Bushmills on tapped awaiting a pour.

The menu has a variation from classic Irish Shepherd’s Pie to new spins on traditional classics like a fish and chips salad. I opted to try one of the boxty’s which was noted to be a house specialty. I didn’t really read the description further than that I knew that this was going to include chicken and shrimp…sounded tasty but far from Irish. Given the looks of this place, it seemed the correct route to take. So with an open mind, I was served what looked like an over sized enchilada with a plate of cream sauce and some julienned vegetables. It was intimidating to look at but with my first bite, I knew I was hooked. It was a very thin and very flavorful potato pancake wrapped around grilled chicken and shrimp. There was a spice to the cream sauce that gave the dish a great kick. Much to my waistline’s chagrin, I ate about three-quarters of this monster. I had to actually tell myself to stop. The boxty’s are a hit in my book.

I topped off the meal with an Irish coffee, my version that is…skip the cream and the bailey’s, just give me coffee and whiskey. It was the perfect ending to an indulgent meal and my trip to this trendy take on an Irish pub.

Taqueria Del Sol

I had seen a show on the Food Network about Bon Appetit best restaurant picks for different American classics. They had five categories including hamburgers, pizza, steak, BBQ and tacos. Living in Texas has taught me a thing or two about tacos so when a taco runner up was in Atlanta, I had to see if it lived up to Texas standards.

Taqueria Del Sol has three locations around Atlanta. It is known for putting fresh twists on Mexican favorites. Del Sol’s small menu has your choice of either tacos or enchiladas for the main dish with a spattering of starters.

I pulled up the Taqueria Del Sol’s Cheshire Bridge location at around 12:30. I was extremely happy to see a line outside. Lines signify food that is worth the wait so maybe this taqueria was going to give my Texas favorites a run for their money. The laid back eatery has white walls with bright “Sols” painted on them and abstract shaped lamps hung from the ceilings. It gives a very clean and beachy feel that put me in the mood for a margarita.

I started off with tortilla chips and guacamole. In my book, good guacamole = good Mexican. I was surprised to find how fresh and creamy the avocados were in this version…was I back in TX? Oh, no, I was not. There was no spice to this bland concoction but since I am an avocado fanatic, I could over look. The guac, great if you like avocado’s, but it is not authentic. The tortilla chips on the other hand were excellent. Salted perfectly and still slightly warm. I couldn’t get enough.

Being in the South, I thought I’d try the fried chicken taco. When I think of southern fried chicken, I think grease, flavor, thick breading. This was not. It was panko breaded chicken tenders with very little flavor. Definitely not flavorful enough to bring excitement the blah toppings of lettuce, tomato and mayo. The only thing that differentiated this taco from a bland chicken sandwich was the flour tortilla. I was not at all impressed.

My expectations were low when I decided move to the fish taco. The fish was fried as well but this time in a crunchy cornmeal breading. And it had some flavor packed in the form of what I conjured up to be a jalapeno tarter sauce and then topped with pickled jalapenos. Again, not as spicy as I would have liked, but this taco held my attention and I had to finish it.

All of this only cost me $8.00 and I was full. My take on Taqueria Del Sol is for the price it’s a fresh lunch that’s pretty fast, but for real taco’s, Del Sol does not hit the mark. Sorry Bon Appetit, but this foodie has to disagree with your pick for tacos. Voy a Texas para los tacos!!