These are a few of my favorite..

.....SOUPS

Well now that the temperatures have dipped and there’s a welcome chill in the air, what better comfort food than a bowl of warm soup.

This past Saturday I had Gumbo, and for the first time, I really enjoyed it. This was from the one and only Atlanta Bread Company. So that’s what prompted this list; a list of my top five favorite soups and where I find them.

5) Cream of Mushroom – Campbell’s
“Campbell’s chicken soup, possibility.” Well more than a possibility Campbell’s soup out of a can has been a necessity for me; these past few years. My favorite is the cream of mushroom soup. One can and you’re done.

4) Tomato Basil Soup – Boneheads
While Boneheads maybe know for its PiriPiri chicken, I like it for its rich tomato basil soup; clear and with more than just a hint of basil. Actually more than me, this is an all-time favorite of SK’s and he was the one to introduce me to it. I haven’t looked back ever since.

3) Chicken Enchilada Soup – Atlanta Bread Company
The ubiquitous ABC; they dish out some pretty good and very filling chicken enchilada soup. I think the best part of the soup is the warm roll of bread that accompanies it!

2) Hot and Sour Soup – Chin Chin
Now I’m talking about the Chin Chin Chinese restaurant 2 miles from my home but hot and sour soup in general has always, always been one of my favorites.

1) Shrimp Bisque – Sweet Tomatoes
The shrimp bisque at Sweet Tomatoes is to die for, and I mean that literally. I love shrimp and no one makes this soup as good as Sweet Tomatoes. I add the little bacon bits on top and always go back for a second helping.

This winter I spend most of my time in India and may not have a soup-binge. Maybe I’ll come up with a Top 5 list of Indian soups… you never know.

The Food List

I stumbled upon this very interesting tag at one of my favorite blogger's corner: GGPEDIA. Now this is a food blog, so I'm really hoping I score well!

The Rules:

1) Copy this food list into your blog or journal, including these instructions.
2) Bold in RED all the items you’ve eaten.
3) Cross out any items that you would never consider eating.
4) Optional extra: Post a comment at http://www.verygoodtaste.co.uk/ linking to your results


The comments in parenthesis are mine, the words in White have been previously looked up by GG for the definition.

Here goes....
THE LIST

1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros (Thanks to SK and his love for Mexican food)
4. Steak Tartare
5. Crocodile (Yes, fried crocodile at Pappadeaux, was interesting, for want of a better word)
6. Black pudding - X
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba Ghanoush (At Gilbert’s Café, was delicious)
11. Calamari (Hell yeah!, fried calamari)
12. Pho
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo Gobi (Uhh, which Indian hasn’t?)
15. Hot dog from a street cart (Yes, the most memorable one being in NYC)
16. Epoisses
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes (Plum wine, I think though can't remember where)
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream (The best ever is the one at Naturals)
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras
24. Rice and beans (I admit to this at the risk of sounding like a Mexican)
25. Brawn, or head cheese
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters (I’m a sea-foodie if you haven’t realized as yet)
29. Baklava (Greece’s best gift to mankind)
30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi Peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl (I’m sure the two count separately too)
33. Salted Lassi (prefer it sweet though)
34. Sauerkraut (comci comca, as G jn. would say)
35. Root beer float
36. Cognac with a fat cigar
37. Clotted cream tea
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O (made it myself too!)
39. Gumbo (I’m salivating, a true Georgian huh)
40. Oxtail
41. Curried Goat
42. Whole insects
43. Phaal
44. Goat’s milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more
46. Fugu
47. Chicken Tikka Masala
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
50. Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine
60. Carob chips
61. S’mores
62. Sweetbreads
63. Kaolin
64. Currywurst
65. Durian
66. Frogs’ legs (once, Dad made me try it, I swear)
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake (Funnel cake at a 4th of July event)
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain (tried making it once, soaked up too much oil)
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette - X
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini (half a point for just caviar)
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost
75. Roadkill - X
76. Baijiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail - escargot
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky (Thanks to T, who introduced me to the little Japanese grocery store on Buford Hwy)
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant.
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare
87. Goulash
88. Flowers X (reminds me of the marigold eating guy in Monsoon Wedding)
89. Horse - X
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam - X
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake – X

TOTAL: 40/100

I solemnly swear to score at least 90 one day. The remaining 10, well I’m a conservative Virgo for a reason.

Here & There

I've had a blog sabbatical, it may seem like. That's not because of a lack of things to write about, in fact, I think I've been eating way too much and have gotten lazy! This post is a random assortment of the different tastes, stores and places of the last three weeks.

Gelato -
I discovered freshly made Gelato at Harry's Farmer's Market last week. They apparently have a little Gelato and smoothie corner - I tried two flavors; mango and banana-strawberry, just perfect for a hot week-day afternoon.

Falafel -
Al-Medina at Norcross is huge an Asian Grocery store. They are known all over Atlanta for their fresh goat meat and in fact distribute to many of the local retailers. What I discovered on Saturday, was that they sell Falafel's and an assortment of other delicious looking food as well. The spicy chicken Falafel; reminiscent of New York, was really very good and oh so filling!

Coffee -
I discovered a quaint little cafe at the GSU campus two weeks ago. After almost three years of patronizing various different campus vending machines, and eating more pop tarts and honey buns than I can ever imagine, I find the cosiest little coffee shop, nestled in the basement of the main library. It's called Saxby's.

Chinese -
I've rediscovered the joys of eating greasy Chinese Food at the mall. After swearing off that food for the longest time, I succumbed and ate at Panda Express twice in the last three weeks. When you've window-shopped yourself to death, the only thing that can compensate for a bad shopping day is a nice oily meal at Panda Express! Heaven.

Wings - and not much more!

I love chicken wings. The flavor really doesn't matter; hot, lemon, teriyaki, orange, barbecue or cajun, I enjoy them all. There aren't many low-carb pleasures that are as fulfilling as a plate full of spicy wings, celery sticks, blue cheese (yeah it has the Atkins' blessing) and a tall glass of sweet tea. This post has my top 3 pick of places that have the yummiest wings in town.

1) Taqueria - This is a little Mexican restaurant in Alpharetta that we literally stumbled upon on one really hungry afternoon. They have about twenty different types of wings and even make their own blue cheese. The wings are so good you almost have to roll your sleeves up and eat with two hands! It's no wonder we keep going back.

2) North Peking - My girlfriends swear by the wings at North Peking. They make a flavor of chicken wings that I've never seen or eaten anywhere before - Mexican Hot Wings. The wings are slightly breaded and dressed with jalapeno peppers and onions. If you ever want to try Mexican wings at a Chinese restaurant in an American neighborhood, you know where to go!

3) Publix Deli - Yes, the deli at your neighborhood Publix proudly dishes up some very lip-smacking wings. My favorite kind are the Mardi Gras wings. A handy hint; don't go after 8:pm - they're usually all sold out but if you go a little before (during closing time) you'll definitely have an extra wing or two thrown in!

Until I find a few more good places, I shall contend with these.