Real Atlanta Street Food - El Burro Pollo and ATLFRYGUY

Remember that whole Atlanta street food movement that was kind of an underwhelming blip on the food radar? Food trucks would set up shop in parking lots as a joint festival celebration of "street food." Well now there are two true street food vendors in Poncey Highland that are far outshining the food truck competition. Both of these new stands make simple, comforting classics and they do it far better than anyone else.
The first street vendor that's really doing things right is Hector Santiago (Pura Vida and Superpan). His El Burro Pollo is crushing the likes of Willy's and Moes and frankly, doesn't deserve to be used in the same sentence as the California burrito chains. Every weekend Hector sets up shop in the parking lot at the corner of N. Highland and Blue Ridge Ave (across from the old San Francisco Coffee lot). Hector makes the most magnificent burritos in all the land and combines a heaping portion of lightly spiced and shredded chicken with fresh, cool and crispy vegetables which will leave you full for the afternoon. El Burro Pollo even goes the distance by grilling the tortillas prior to assemblage. An enormous burrito will only set you back $6 and a veriety of latino beverages are offered for $2 each. Go hungry.
Less than 100 feet south on Highland (next to the Highland Inn) is an even newer entrant into the street food realm - ATLFRYGUY. Serving belgium style frites (fries), ATLFRYGUY cooks to order and seasons these fresh, crispy yet fluffy numbers immediately after removing from the frier. A wealth of sauces are offered and an order will set you back 5 delicious dollars.

Don't hesitate to make a grand lunch of it combining the frites with the burros. If you want to top it off with some dessert, just stop in at King of Pops, further south on N. highland in the Buddy's Parking lot.

PS - Since the onslaught of cooler weather is in full swing, El Burro Pollo has been moved inside Superpan on Blueridge. Hours are approximately 12-3.

Just Life - Pura Vida

I'm baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack. On Friday the 13th no less! It's been entirely too long, but after flirting with a gig in print, I'm back to the blog and will be updating on a more regular basis. I have a ton of backlogged reviews, so keep your refresh buttons handy, as they'll be flowing forth in the coming weeks.

I should have hated Pura Vida. I hate tapas. They are more often than not overpriced, meager on the portions (Iberian Pig), and poorly executed. In fact, before our meal at Pura Vida, I can't think of a successful tapa I've ever had. Another reason I shouldn't have liked it was that Chef Hector Santiago kind of rubbed me the wrong way on Top Chef. He also was eliminated early on in the competition. However, our meal at Pura Vida was my favorite in recent memory. 15 atrocious minutes of fame aside, the Hector can clearly cook.

Taking one glance at the menu at Pura Vida, there are easily more than 10 dishes I would pine for. The menu is heavy on the proteins so if you're a vegetarian, you only have 4 items to choose from - although I'm sure they're good. Kins and I tried to order a variety of dishes that sounded best and this is how they came out. The menu is clearly Latin inspired, and the one Asian inspired dish we ordered was kind of a failure. Here's the breakdown:
1. Chorizo Empanadas - These were a special and only $3 and they hit the spot. Just Chorizo, cheese and a flakey crust which was slightly on the dry side.
2. Sierra and Langoniza Pinchos - Easily the best fish I've had in a loooong time! It was tender, flakey, and still steak like while remaining sublime in flavor. The house made sausage was also perfect and tender enough to fall apart at first bite. The baby banana mustard on this dish was brilliant and was the perfect offsetting tang to the perfectly seasoned fish and sausage. At $8, you get 4 skewers - a very generous portion by tapas standards. I'd pay $8 for two.
3. King of Crab Papaya Salad - This one was the failure. The spices were completely overwhelming and killed the sweetness of the papaya, if there was any. The crab distributed through the dish was very generous and delicious however.

After I tore into it

4. "BBQ" Beef Rib - Beef shortribs are essentially the modern day pork belly. They're fatty, flavorful, and historically, undesirable. In the past few years, the shortrib has made it's way up to more refined establishments and rightfully so. Fork tender, with perfectly rendered fat, the rib was extremely flavorful and the accompanying spice of the chipotle-bbq sauce nails it with the pickled vegetables providing a cool followup to the heat.

The magaritas here are kind of bland, but it's my understanding that the mojitos are top of the line.

The meal at Pura Vida was nearly perfect and delicious (most of the time). The menu is inspired and well executed and has items that you can't get elsewhere in Atlanta, and for this I have to give it all of my praise. Hats off to you Mr. Santiago because your menu and food is awesome.