So Ba in East Atlanta

Woo!! Finally a real-ish Vietnamese place in East Atlanta! Not Soba but So Ba (I can't do the little symbols over the vowels but it's two words) - this is in the old La Casita space. They don't have their liquor license yet but the place has been re-done in dark wood and a soothing jade green with minimal decor. There is a physical bar that has no contents yet but it acts as a really cool looking centerpiece for the dining room. The menu is limited to broken rice, pho and bun but what else do you need? Some have complained about the lack of banh mi and true vegetarian options, but to me, this makes it more authentic. It's not a Vietnamese bakery so it wouldn't have the banh mi anyway. They are currently only open for dinner but are open until 2am on weekends!! Yay!!! I had the bun with the shrimp, cha gio and pork and it was as good as anything I ever had at Bien Thuy. My friend had the pho and she said the quality of the meat was better than what you usually get at Buford Hwy pho places.

winter and comfort food

Ahh, butternut squash and hazelnut lasagna - cheesy, warm, sage-y, surprisingly light, this is my favorite lasagna recipe ever. Cook butternut squash with onions, butter, garlic, toast a cup of chopped hazelnuts and toss in some chopped sage and parsley. Roux with 5 cups of milk, a bay leaf and garlic, cooked down until creamy, layer with mozzarella/parmigiano-reggiano cheese mix (about 5 cups total) with lasagna noodles and the butternut squash mixture - cook for 25 minutes with foil on, 15 minutes with foil off at 425. So so so good. I ate three huge pieces tonight before I forced myself to put it away. I also made a traditional banana pudding - yum. It probably doesn't help that I watched the Top Chef finale and Gordon Ramsay's F Word that I've had on TiVO for a while all day.

poor food

Alrighty, haven't blogged in a while because I was very busy at my real job and life but now I don't have a job so I'm a full-time jobseeker/blogger/tweeter/facebooker. Excellent. Sometimes, I manage my life better the poorer I am, and I'm ready to get back to having fun. In my six years at this last job I've been pretty miserable in my personal life, to be honest. Maybe not miserable, but in a rut. Excitement was getting to stay home and clear off the TiVO.

Most recent food and drink activities have included doing the Les Dames Escoffier...Afternoon in the Country at Serenbe again (thanks to a friend's generous ticket), Decatur Beer Festival, Thanksgiving, and making chocolate souffle. Afternoon in the Country is a giant meat-wine-chocolate fest. That really is what it boils down to. I had some pretty amazingly simple but delicious brisket with sunchoke slaw and my friend had a date wrapped in prosciutto stuffed with blue cheese that she loved. Otherwise, I wasn't all that excited. I did purchase some honey from one of those little shops in the main village-y part of Serenbe. I just ran out from my unbelievably delectable bottle from last year so it was perfect timing.

Decatur Beer Festival was cold and rainy-ish this year for the beginning part. We had fun because my friend made pretzel/breath mint necklaces for us that others were mucho jealous of. Memorable beers? It's all a blur weeks on but it is always a good time.

Chocolate souffle - the simplest recipe in the world: 3 egg yolks and melted chocolate (pick a good chocolate), 6 egg whites, 1/3 cup sugar. It is to-die-for and super-easy. Bake for 45 minutes at 350 F. Don't leave any leftovers or they will concrete themselves into your souffle dish.