I had a few leftover tilapia filets in my freezer and was looking for a way to use them in a non-boring way (as I mentioned on my parmesean-crusted tilapia post, I typically find tilapia pretty bland). This lovely recipe from Cooked from the Heart for pastry-wrapped tilapia came to the rescue. Excuse my messy wrapping, I didn’t have as much puff pastry on hand as I thought

Pastry Wrapped Tilapia

Tilapia has grown in popularity as of late because it has virtually no fat or cals and is cheap and sustainable. Aside from some butter used to sauté onions, which could easily be replaced with olive oil, this recipe doesn’t add much to the low-fat nature of the fish (except for the puff pastry of course…). Poaching the fish keeps it moist and the simple filling is tasty and hearty.

Recipe after the jump:
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I was back in Charlotte last weekend and Mario and I got a chance to meet up with some of my high school buddies that are new to the area. I’ve been debating on whether or not to do some name-dropping in this post, but I think I’m gonna go ahead and drop away One of my besties just moved to Charlotte to be with her longtime boyfriend and my old friend, recently acquired Bobcats player Tyrus Thomas. They requested a soul/Southern food spot, and after some debate, Mario and I decided to meet them at Boudreaux’s Louisiana Kitchen in NoDa. Obviously Boudreaux’s is not the name of this post, and that’s because I didn’t feel motivated to write a full post after our disappointing meal. The crawfish and spinach dip appetizer was the highlight. I had an oyster po’boy that was unseasoned and borderline gross. There was one interesting point on the menu–their selection of hurricanes. We couldn’t decide whether it was in poor taste or kind of funny/clever that they named their different hurricane concoctions after actual hurricanes. The Hurricane Katrina was made up of spirits from locations that followed the course of the hurricane. Hmm…

Anyway, toward the end of the meal, my friends asked if we had heard of Amelie’s French Bakery, also in the NoDa area. When we said no, they both insited we go right away. Tyrus, usually a pretty goofy guy, got extremely serious when he started to describe a fruit tart they serve. “Jessica. Ok they have this graham cracker crust. And then this custard that is really, really good. Then on top are these perfectly sliced strawberries and berries and stuff, gracefully arranged and topped with this apple jam….ok we have to go right now.” And so we did:

Amelie's French Bakery

I’ve been a little MIA lately because the end of the semester is always a little hectic. I have a big paper deadline looming so the blog has been neglected I’m actually scribbling this entry via the old pen and paper during a sleep-inducing class to be transcribed to the ‘net later on:

Class notes and a distraction

But I digress.

If you follow me on Twitter, you may have seen a few Friday morning tweets related to “girls’ breakfasts.” I’ve been working my way around some ATL breakfast spots with a few lovely ladies from my Ph.D. program. Many of the restaurants thus far are places I’ve visited before–West Egg, Highland Bakery, Sublime Doughnuts. However, last week I was excited to stop in ATL mainstay Ria’s Bluebird for the first time.

Ria’s is located on Memorial Dr. across from the Oakland Cemetery (one side of it anyway–that thing is huge). It basically looks like a 70s truck stop diner, with only ~5 tables and an eat-in counter inside. I can see why the weekend waits are supposedly out of this world. However, since the weather is warming up, my companions and I opted to eat on the enclosed patio, which we found a little dark, but enjoyable. We were all struggling to decide what to order, but when our waitress mentioned “Today’s Omelette”–pesto and brie–3/4 of us dropped all other considerations and ordered it. Our 4th, a vegan, went with the Southwest Tofu Scramble (spicy tofu cubes, sliced tomato, broccoli, black beans & red onions, topped with cilantro pesto):
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Quickie post…not much to say besides: the strawberry cheesecake popsicle was fab and GO GET SOME NOW!!

King of Pops @ the Irwin Street Market

Strawberry Cheesecake Pop

I stopped into the Irwin St. Market (The King of Pops’ current home base) for my fix, but owner Steven Carse also has a roving cart (currently on the corner of North Ave. and N. Highland). Check out his interview on Scoutmob for more details on the King and what sparked the idea, and follow @thekingofpops on Twitter or check the Facebook page for daily menu updates!

And get some more lowdown from FoodieBuddha!

The sweet potato soup I stole off Mario at Craftbar a few posts down was so yummy I was inspired to find a recipe and make it myself (also, I finally got myself an immersion blender and have been itching to use it).

Sweet Potato Soup

This came out sooo well! I know it’s hot now and no one really wants soup, but you must make this ASAP! The texture was fabulously smooth; if velvet could melt in your mouth, it would feel like this soup.

Recipe and tips after the jump:
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I’ve been searching for a “user-friendly” place to get my feet with with Vietnamese food because I feel like I’m missing out on so much of Atlanta’s food options. Though it’s actually in Charlotte, Vietnam Grille, was just the place I needed for an introduction. Charlotte bloggers and Yelpers were singing its praises, so Mario and I decided to check it out one gorgeous weekend in the Queen City.

Our server was super friendly and apparently recognized the slightly perplexed looks on our faces, as he asked if it was our first time eating Vietnamese and gave some suggestions. I decided to try the phở with flank steak and brisket, and Mario got the broken rice (which I believe was Cơm tấm, but correct me if I’m wrong) with chicken:

Phở

Cơm tấm

Our dishes came out literally within 5 minutes and we dug in.
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