Bacchanalia: flashback

I just found out that my Bacchanalia post never... posted.

A flash back to one of the best meals of my life.

...

First, be aware of the fact that I now have a crush on a restaurant, so nothing I say from now on is completely accurate.

Second, this is what I ate:

appetizer: mussels (the best i've had in a really long time. the only mussels that have ever beaten these were at watercolor)

entree: cauliflower tortellini (yes. cauliflower. i don't even really care for cauliflower and these were delicious.)

cheese and accompaniment: camembert and field greens in sherry vinegrate (yes, I got boring here)

desert: tea sorbets (camomile, jasmine and chai. this was my least favorite, actually, but I appreciated the effort -- they were topped with spiced gelatin cubes

Absolutely fantastic. Stole some of Kari's sweetbreads; yum. Stole some of everything Kevin ate; still yum.

Bacchanalia

We're going on the 19th of December.

I think we're all pretty excited.

Even if the idea of 90 bucks is still a little daunting.

Look out for gushing from your favorite foodies come December 20th or so.

Australian Bakery

Like Jordan said, it was okay. Highlights were probably watching Jordan and Kevin try to get their drinks open, but I'm still a fan of their quiches. Yum.

Let's be aware that I've been to this CAS destination before. Next time, we're going someplace new for me so anticipate some more enthusiasm.

Sweet Cakes, however, was delicious as always.

I'm not sure if we have any readers, but just in cases: both of these places are on the Marietta Square.

Australian Bakery

It was okay.

EDIT:
I forgot about Sugar Cakes!
I had a tiny cheesecake. It was beautiful and tasty. Thumbs up for Sugar Cakes.

Taqueria Del Sol Parte Dos

Because my opinions are more important than Jordan's or Haley's (but mainly because I couldn't figure out how to add on to the bit they already posted) I'm doing a new entry on my impressions of our first outing (before that we were in the closet).

Taqueria del Sol was pretty cool. I'd never been there before, and I was sort of hesitant about tacos with fried chicken (which seemed like blasphemy to both the chicken and the taco), beef brisket (which sounds vaguely threatening), and some odd sort of chipotle lime sauce (which just wounds crazy).

Still, Haley is very enthusiastic about making me try things that I'm not good at (like talking to people). So we split the fried chicken taco, the beef brisket taco, and a cheese enchilada/burrito (I can never remember which is which).

And they were good. Especially the chicken. Which was so good that I got up and got two more, and they were delicious. I dream about them at night. I'm making myself very hungry by writing this post, and considering I have no groceries in my apartment and will have to content myself with the food in the university center, you should all be incredibly greatful.

I would definitely recommend Taqueria del Sol. ¡Muy delicioso!

Then we went to Octane Coffee. I don't particulary enjoy coffee (I'm a social drinker), so I got the mocha, and then proceded to "ruin it" in some people's opinions, by adding more sugar. It was pretty good, but I prefer frappucino's (I have obviously been completely ruined by the ever-invasive autocracy of Starbucks). Still, it was decent.

Here's the huge downside to Octane Coffee: HIPSTERS.

Lots and lots of hipsters, each one with their laptop and coffe and taking great efforts to avoid eye contact, unless it is ironic. It's unnaturally quite at Octane. Too quiet. The kind of quiet that means stormtroopers are about to start firing at you. But, if you can brave the hipster crowd (which is arguably worse than your generic Starbucks poser crowd) than you can get some pretty decent coffee (even if it needs more cream and sugar.

Stay tuned for Kari's opinions of wherever we head next!

(Also, who the hell is Lucy?)

blag- Intentions + Taqueria del Sol

Haley:

I'm a little intimidated by the fact that I'm the first post, but the fact that no one's reading this so far is doing wonders for my confidence. Maybe you've heard about what's going on here? I'm stealing from Jordan, but that's just too bad for those of you looking for originality:


"Do you like food?
How about adventures?
If you answered yes to both of these questions, the Culinary Adventure Squad might be just what you're looking for!

The plan: Once a month, we find a new restaurant and eat there.

NO REPEATS,
NO NATIONAL CHAINS,
just delicious mystery food."

Jordan goes on to promise us culinary adventures. Our first meeting was a pretty enormous success, so maybe we really have stumbling across a brilliant idea. We went to Taquiera De Sol -- my idea, bow before me -- with a smallish group of CAS members. If you were there, put up your thoughts on TDS.

If you weren't, here is the deal:

• Do not fear the line. Its long, but that's a good thing, and it moves fast.
• Beware the end of lunch. Lunch ends at 3:00 and lunch specials change. Check the website for the weekly specials.
• TRY A TACO. I think we covered all of them except the Memphis and the Veggie. Don't be afraid of the Brisket. It works. My personal favorite is the Fried Chicken, but part of that is the presence of lime jalepeno mayo.
• If you order a cheese enchilada, be prepared for a lot of cheese. Kevin was actually startled by the amount of cheese on his plate, but then he ordered his with the lemon cream sauce. Kari and I split one with red beef chili. YUM.
• Force someone in your group to order the salsa trio. I think we all had our favorites, but the point is that it was another good idea by Jordan

After lunch we went to Octane coffee, but that's a repeat. Regardless, if you haven't been may we suggest a latte? They're gorgeous. Otherwise, their specials are normally a hit. I had an iced coffee when we went for Mme Kill's birthday that made me giggle like a 12 year old girl. YUM.

Pictures to come? We'll see.

------------

Jordan:

I agree, this place was awesome.

• Tacos- I had one chicken verde (the lunch special!) and two fish tacos. The chicken verde was mighty tasty, with a lime-y tomatillo sauce, but the fish tacos were to die for. Small pieces of fried battered fish with jalapeno slices and a creamy sauce to balance out the spiciness. It had been a long time since I'd had a good taco in Georgia, let alone a good fish taco. I could eat these forever.
• Salsa- three kinds: tomatillo-y, spicy pico de gallo, and smoky chipotle. All of them were tasty, but my favorite was the pico, which was very fresh tasting. Be forewarned: the amount of chips they give you is not sufficient to finish the salsa. You're better off getting a thing of cheese dip, too-- it's quite tasty, and you get another basket of chips.
• The line- what Haley said. It's intimidating, but it moves fast (mostly), and you get your food very quickly after you finally place your order.

Octane Coffee is awesome, too, though not technically within the scope of CAS. Whatever.