Here’s my ~quarterly “I’m being a blogging slacker” excuse: this time, it’s paper-writing, thesis-formulating, and the beginnings of wedding planning. But I managed to take a break from all the busy work to hit up Taste of Atlanta last weekend. I actually was thinking of skipping the Taste this year, but then I won 4 VIP tickets from the lovely folks at Scoutmob, so I really had no excuse! So Mario, 2 friends and I met up on a beautiful Saturday afternoon to eat ourselves silly.

A lot of the vendors at this year’s taste were the same as last year (and were even serving the same menu options), so we were able to try a number of new things while still getting tastes of a few old standbys. One of my favorite plates from this year’s taste were the spare ribs with coleslaw from Jim ‘n Nicks Bar-B-Q, if for nothing else than the huge portion (that’s a clean bone in the back + the untouched one in the front):

Jim 'n Nicks Bar-B-Q

Jim 'n Nicks Ribs

Mmmm…tender, smoky, mouthwatering ribs. I want more SOON! A few more pictures after the jump:
Read the rest of this entry »

I wanted to share some exciting news with the person(s?) that read First Bite…I’m published (you know, aside from the self-publishing I do here)!! I’m doing a little freelancing for the just-launched AOL City’s Best so I encourage you to check out the site to see where they’re going in the coming weeks. Also, until November 30th, you can vote for places you feel are the “city’s best” in the large categories of restaurants, bars & clubs (best after-work, Irish pub, nightclub, etc.), and lifestyle (best boutique, spa, salon…). Check them out, and cast your vote!

Every time Mario and I visit Charlotte’s NoDa neighborhood (kind of a littler Little 5 Points, Atlantans), Cabo Fish Taco has a crowd milling outside and a wait time of an hour-plus. To me, this says, “must be good.” It could also be due to the fact that the place was recently featured on Food Network’s Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives (although I really don’t think that it would qualify for any of those monikers):

Cabo Fish Taco

We waited patiently for hour hour-plus wait, alleviated slightly by the opportunity to peruse the gallery crawl held in NoDa on the 1st and 3rd Friday of every month. When we were finally seated on the patio, we quickly made our choices for dinner. Mario went for the signature beer battered shrimp tacos (cheese only, yawn) and I had the BBQ Mahi Tacos (Grilled mango BBQ Mahi-Mahi tacos stuffed with Cabo slaw, tomato, avocado, mixed cheeses & finished with cilantro white sauce):

Read the rest of this entry »

During Midtown Restaurant Week, Mario and I were looking for a restaurant we hadn’t visited with a menu that ventured beyond the chicken/fish/steak on most restaurant week menus. Enter Pacci Ristorante, a new-ish Italian eatery adjacent to the Hotel Palomar. The restaurant is so named for its signature carpaccios, none of which we actually tried on this visit (unfortunately). Despite that, we had a really excellent meal, which started with an amuse of watermelon and prosciutto with balsamic drizzle:

Melon/Prosciutto Amuse

Neither of us were particularly impressed with the amuse-bouche–the melon was sweet but the prosciutto was lackluster and a little overly chewy.

Luckily, from here our meal only improved, beginning with our appetizers: Watercress & Pear Salad (Parmesan tuile, Gorgonzola mousse, candied walnuts), and Papardelle Bolognese in a classic slow braised meat sauce.
Read the rest of this entry »