Taqueria del Sol – Mexico in Atlanta? No, BETTER!

Long time no blog.  Been traveling.  Beaches, sunshine, fried shrimp, plump oysters on the half shell.

But (yawn), you don’t want to hear about my vacation.  You’ve already browsed stacks of Facebook photos.  Same silly, squinty grins. Same wind blown hair and and salty tans.

Let’s move past grinning on the beach and get to very serious Mexican style food.   So, you noticed the sly injection of ‘style’ in the last sentence?  No mystery.  Succulent dishes at the Taqueria del Sol in Atlanta, Georgia go far beyond the expected.  Just in the mood for a quick Mexicanish snack?  Fine, go through the drive through at Ring-a-ding Bell.  But, if you’re serious about the unexpectedly wonderful cuisine that exploits the grand horizons of South-of-the-Border kitchens, head to Taqueria del Sol, or ANY restaurant where Eddie Hernandez dons his apron and lights the fires.  No need to wear a suit, or take out a loan.  This stupendous food is very affordable and the service is casual.

More than likely, Eddie doesn’t remember my various trips to his Azteca Grill in Jonesboro (no longer his), but I remember him and I take pains to follow wherever his culinary travels take him.  Can’t get to one of the two Taquerias in Atlanta?  Try the one in Athens or Decatur Georgia, or Nashville Tennessee.

A tiny vignette concerning Eddie and what makes him special.  I have a couple of friends, actually a married couple, who’ve been Eddie Hernandez groupies for years. One night at the Azteca Grill, Eddie dropped by their table, as he often did, and recommended the turnip greens.  Really?  Turnip greens?  Yep.

How did that happen? They asked.  “A friend brought me a bunch of turnip greens.  I didn’t know much about these greens, but the friend brought me a lot of them, so I figured I’d better learn.”  Learn he did.  They’re still hauntingly delicious and on the menu at Taqueria del Sol.

Eddie has the kind of magical mind that turns a common southern staple into something so fragrant and flavorful you find yourself dreaming about it and waking up in the middle of the night.  What did he do that was so different?  Turnip greens need to have the fool cooked out of them.  Eddie did that, and my guess is, he added chicken broth, onion, garlic, cilantro, and enough jalpeños to tease, without startling.  But, even with those ingredients, make no mistake, the star of the show is still the bowl full of  luscious turnip greens.  Even if you try making them at home, they’re not going to taste the same because, as I said, Eddie has magic.

Enchiladas swimming in the best enchilada sauce I've ever tasted

Soft taco featuring smoked pork.

Three salsas for chips and food!

Eddie’s magic transforms everything.  My go-to tests for Mexican food are enchiladas and chili relleños.  Why?  Because you can tell with one taste if this restaurant is worth the money.  Is the enchilada sauce homemade?  Does cheese flow out of the chilis, and have they been dipped in a light enough batter to make them crispy on the edges, without a heavy flavor of cooking oil?

At the Taqueria del Sol, the enchilada red sauce is far and away the most delicious I have ever tasted. Made and flavored right in Eddie’s kitchen.  No shortcuts and every forkful a delight. And, yes, I have been to Mexico City, Arizona, Texas, New Mexico, and California.  The relleños?  The green chili flavor pops through the mild cheese and lightly fried batter.  You have no idea how many times I’ve been disappointed at pseudo-Mexican joints, but like your first girlfriend’s kiss, Taqueria del Sol’s are relleños that make you salivate, then lock away in your box of culinary memories.

The restaurant's fabulous crab cake sandwich.

But, standard fare is not the half of what this restaurant’s out-of-the-box approach offers.  The day we visited, the specials included a crab cake sandwich, a chicken fried steak with roasted jalapeño gravy, and a taco with Latino marinated pork and Chino kimchee!

Even the folks in Maryland would marvel at the crab cake sandwich. 

Everything on the menu is fine and richly flavored cuisine at bargain prices.  Just to give you a hint, the crab cake sandwich was $9.99 and the previously mentioned turnip greens are $2.49.

Margaritas as they should be: Tequila, lime, and only a hint of sugar.

How about drinks?  Margaritas as they should be mixed!  No syrupy goop.  You wanted to sparkle brightly at the first taste of tequila, right? You like the bite of lemons and limes.

But, maybe a Margarita (Daisy in English) is not on your mind.  Maybe you need a shot or two to lighten your burdens and sooth your savage soul.  At Taqueria del Sol, more than fifty tequilas and mezcals stand at attention, waiting to follow your orders.  Need a chilled brew?  Oh, yeah, all your Mexican brewed favorites, plus many more native species and even more bottles from around the globe.

Shrimp and Corn Chowder

Anything else?  Of course.  Don’t you dare leave without at least a cup of the Shrimp Corn Chowder and a dish of the Jalapeño Cole Slaw.

Think this restaurant is a secret?  Here’s a hint.  People are lined up for a city block when it opens for dinner, and even with the restaurant bulging to capacity, there’s still a line.  Taqueria del Sol is THAT kind of special and Eddie is THAT kind of chef.

Read more about Taqueria del Sol here:  menu, hours, locations:  http://www.taqueriadelsol.com/index.html

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The Floating Bridge Inn

Do you like Brit pubs as much as I do?  Wait a sec…’like’ is too tame a word…crave!  The murmur of voices.  Glistening pint glasses of dark amber.  A row of hand pumps that tells you this is the place for traditional ale.  None of that fizzy stuff for a true pub lover such as you and I.  Did I speak too quickly?  What?  You’ve never been inside a Brit pub???  Good god, man!  Are you old enough to drink?  Have you completely missed the sublime pleasure of relaxing in a pub, pint in hand, and your troubles floating away like the evening mist?

You may have been listening to all those old saws about Brit beer being warm, flat, et-freaking-cetera.  Ah, so that’s the problem.  Probably think the food is bad, too.

Wander with me inside a riverside pub in Dartmouth, Devon, England.  The Floating Bridge Inn.  What’s in a name?  In this case, the name tells you the pub is parked nearly on the riverbank, right beside the Dartmouth-Kingswear Floating Dock, a vehicular cable ferry that crosses the River Dart.  Cars roll on and off all day. 

Let’s go inside the big white pub, which dates to the 19th Century, or on a sunny day we can sit outside and soak up some vitamin D-3.

The bar area has a lighter touch than most, with a nautical air.  They serve DoomBar, a local brew and one of my favorite Brit beers. But in this case, I didn’t come to The Floating Bridge for the beer.  Shocking, I know.  But, their kitchen shines like a star in the hungry night.  And if you don’t fancy a pint with your lunch or supper, they offer a superb wine selection.

Now to settle a few scores.  Brit beer is not served warm.  They keep the barrels in the cellar and hand pump it to your glass, meaning it’s usually about 50-60ºF.  The beer is top fermented in the keg, meaning there’s only natural fermentation and traditional ale is not fizzy.  Lots of flavor, much of which would be lost if the beer were to be served icy. Learn all the details at:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beer_in_England

I often say English beer is a different beverage from American/German style, bottom fermented beer.  It’s almost like comparing tea and coffee. 

Now that we’ve got that settled, let’s let our eyes wander the menu and see what’s for supper.  Matter of fact, let’s make your mouth water:  Belly Pork with mushrooms, in a brandy cream.  Mushroom, walnut, and goat cheese tart on mixed leaves.  Plowman’s with English cheddar.

Pork Belly doesn’t sound appetizing?  Boy, are you wrong!  This is the most tender pork you’ve ever eaten, with a thin layer of crisped fat riding on top.  The sauce is out of this world and the dish comes with creamy potatoes.

Pork Belly

Never tasted anything to compare with the goat cheese tart!  Succulent flavors melded to lip-smacking goodness. The combination is so perfect that you find yourself mumbling about goat cheese and the soft, dark sauce that permeates the whole dish.

And the plowman’s platter:  Traditionally served at midday, but equally grand in the evening. Lots of subtleties on the tongue. Still, it has a texture similar to what you’re used to.  The flavor will make you tell yourself, “Just one more bite,” right after you’ve already told yourself, “Just one more bite.”  Note the dark, pickle relish, with its combination of sweet and tart.  Goes well with the cheese.

Notice that the English cheddar is not a bright yellow?  That’s because the Brits don’t add coloring to their naturally aged cheddar.  Has a mellow, more rounded, less industrial flavor than it’s U.S. cousin. 

No need to stop here.  Might as well have dessert.  Try the crusty bread pudding with a scoop of the famous Devon clotted cream.  Or perhaps some apple crumble, with vanilla cream sauce.  Either way, you can’t go wrong and either way, you’re going to need a long, postprandial perambulation.   Been waiting a long time to use those words, meaning an after supper walk!

Apple Crumble with Vanilla Cream

Bread Pudding and Clotted Cream

And, what a walk it will be in the fading sunlight, along the waterfront, with boats of every description floating on their idle reflections in the River Dart.

Visit The Floating Bridge Inn once and you’ll come back, for excellent beer in the bright sunshine, or a tidy supper in the lull of the evening.

Pigging-Out in Rothenburg ob der Tauber

Rothenburg is old, but there are some fabulous restaurants in the old, stone buildings.

The Dining Room of the Friedel Hotel Garni

The Farmers' Market is small, but interesting.

Buying Schnee Balls, the local pastry.

Inside a Metzgerei.  The hanging smoked sausages are real!

Pork Knuckle and Potato Dumplings.

Steak with Pfifferlinge

Rothenburg is a fine town for strolling ancient streets, tripping down small, hidden alleys, visiting museums that celebrate the town’s medieval past, and breathing the air of history.  But, that’s not all there is to this quaintest of medieval towns.  There’s beer and wine, restaurants galore, outdoors cafes, and sweets that’ll make your tongue quiver like a well hit number one driver.  On Saturdays, there’s a morning farmer’s market, bursting with colors, fragrances, and freshness that will make you yearn for your kitchen.

Then, there are the metzgerei (Deli) , the bakerei (bakery), the sucre bakerei (sweet bakery), and all those other lovely food shops that make you wish you had more time and a bigger stomach.  One of the traditional sweets is the schneeball, or snowball.    Sweet dough, fried in a crisp ball and coated with any number of temptations, such as chocolate, vanilla cream, coconut, and so many others.

To keep from leading you on, I’ll tell you right now I’m not going to furnish a list of specific restaurants.  Wouldn’t do justice to the wonderful array of places to eat and drink.  Same with hotels.  We stayed at one hotel and poked our noses in others.  Rothenburg is a walking town.  I’ve no doubt you’ll find exactly what you’re looking for!

We stayed at the Altebrauhaus, or Old Brewery, but alas, they no longer brew beer.  Doesn’t mean you can’t find beer and sensational Franconian wines.   Back to the Old Brewery Hotel.  For 5 Euros you can add a breakfast to your bill and it’s well worthwhile, if you enjoy buffet style.  Two things I don’t like about buffets:  the quest to try everything expands your waist and ends in failure; also,  buffets are germ magnets.   I waited patiently while a middle aged woman picked up several rolls, weighing her options, a battle against the tides of meritocracy, in a search for that one perfect roll. Hope she found it. I moved on.

The man in front of me at the cheese and ham table coughed.  Fortunately, he turned his head aside and brought his hand up to his mouth.  Unfortunately, he picked up the ham and cheese serving piece.  Toast was pretty safe.  I scorched mine thoroughly, then ran it down the smoldering hole again.  You can’t play it too safe.  The coffee was hot.  The eggs had been boiled and I got to them before the roll-lady played hot potato, or Mr. Croup christened them like a demented priest with hay fever.   Stealthily, I scanned the breakfast laboratory to spy kids idly expanding their nostrils with a nervous forefinger, or mothers giving the diapers a quick change on their way to the cereal bar.  Saw none.  Sighed in relief.

Get your shots up to date before you go to a buffet.  I stuck with toast, a boiled egg, and another cup of coffee.  Better safe than suffering.

Supper was a different matter.  My frau opt for a thick sirloin, smothered in a pfifferlinge cream sauce, with a side of potato croquets.   The steak was melt in your mouth perfection, just short of charred on the outside, nicely pink within.  I went with a house and Franconian specialty, Schweinshaxe (pork knuckle), stewed in beer, then grilled to the fall-off-the-bone stage.  It did.  And, I picked it clean.  With large weisen brews (wheat beers), the bill came to something about $60.  Not bad considering we dined in a fab and ancient restaurant in the midst of the tourist center of Germany.

Afterwards, we found a secluded café for coffee and vanilla ice cream with hot raspberry sauce.

Don’t let the $60 supper scare you.  You can go less expensive and still eat well.  For one lunch (at the Hotel Garni) we had the best weisswurst I’ve eaten.  Matter of fact, there were a pair of them, herbed perfectly and served with soft pretzels straight out of the oven, and full-grain, sweet mustard.  Cost was about $5.  The hotel itself is an old world delight.

But, let’s get back to the main menu.  Just in case you don’t know what pfifferlinge are, the name normally used in the U.S. is chanterelles.  They come in season in Germany in August to September, but I’m beginning to see them a bit earlier than usual.  If you live in the States, you can probably find them in Whole Foods.  If you do find them, give yourself a tiny taste of Rothenburg ob der Tauber.   As you slurp your soup, picture stone, 12^th Century walls, cobblestone streets, winsome frauleins, and Franconian cuisine at its best.  Try not to cough.

Pfifferlinge Soup

15 oz or 400 grams of pfifferlinge, or substitute brown mushrooms, thin sliced

1/2 large onion, finely chopped

3 Tablespoons butter

2 rounded tablespoons all-purpose flour, mixed with enough cold water to form a milky solution

1 Can Campbell’s beef consume, with one cup of cold water added

3 Tablespoons whipping cream

1/3 Créme Fraiche, or substitute sour cream

2 egg yolks

2 Tablespoons medium sherry

Salt and pepper to taste

Melt the butter in a large saucepan, or Dutch oven.  Add the chopped inions and cook over medium heat about 10 minutes or until the onions are golden.  Don't rush this. Add thinly sliced mushrooms and cook another 5-6 minutes.  Heat the consume and water and add it to the onion/mushroom mix.  Bring to a boil, then turn the heat down and cook another 10 minutes.  Add the flour-water mixture and stir until blended.  Mix the egg yolks, cream, crème fraiche and sherry, and then add it to the soup, stirring to blend.  Once you add the cream mixture, do not let the soup boil.  Scoop a ladle or two of the soup into a blender.  When blended, add it back into the soup and stir.

Serve with toasted bread.  Baguettes work well.

Pfifferlinge - Chanterelles