More reviews to come....I promise

I know, I know... I haven't kept up my end of the bargain here. With the summer comes more traveling and less opportunities to get the group together for dinner. However, we did recently make it to our third restaurant, Udipi Cafe. We will have a complete review very soon. All I can say is that, for a first time diner of vegetarian Indian food, I am now a huge fan!

Man Vs Food Challenge - The Chicago Super Market

I just need to get something off of my chest after my experience at the Chicago SuperMarket off of Buford Hwy in Atlanta, GA. I am calling out to Adam Richmond, eating champion of one of my favorite TV shows Man Vs Food, to propose a challenge to him for a taco eating contest at the Chicago Supermarket in Atlanta, GA off of Buford Hwy.

The challenge: 20 Tacos in 20 minutes. I will not participate in such a fiasco (I could probably take down 10 though, easy), but if anyone can do it, it is you my friend. We need you to put this place on the map. The tacos aren't that big, but man, they are tasty. The combination of the authentic mexican spices coupled with their home made, grilled corn tortillas is out of this world. I can’t wait to hear how you describe it on your show, so eloquently filled with wonderful adjectives. Not only will you be impressed with their friendly and hospital service, but you will get the opportunity to dabble in some complimentary fried pork skins for dessert. Nothing says dessert like fried pork skins. I think you’d agree my friend.

I know the odds of this message finding you is slim to none, but I am a eating contest believer and truly understand the power of this vast ocean we call the Internet; but if it does find you in good health please email me at MichaelMedwed@gmail.com so we can make this place famous. While you're in town, we can hit up the Vortex too. We’ll do a round or two of the blue shroom burgers with some tots. Also, I know you went to college in Atlanta. Have you ever been to 3 Dollar café for wings? My treat if you come here.

Thanks,
Michael

PS-No idea why it's called the Chicago Super Market. But I can investigate. There is nothing Chicago about this place.

From Asian to Mexican... Our Second Stop on the Blissful Challenge

It sometimes takes an Act of Congress to get a large group together, but we managed to get our schedules synced this Sunday. Going forward, we plan to get together more frequently. We are rotating retaurant choices among the "Blissful Challengers," and this week Ori chose Chicago Supermarket. I like the idea of having the said "restaurant picker" write the actual article on our blog so stay tuned for Ori's thoughts on Chicago Supermarket...

This was pretty cool.....

So today I messaged Jennifer Zyman, aka the Blissful Glutton, on Twitter. Well apparently she really liked the idea of the Blissful Challenge that she wrote a short blog post on the front page of her website about our challenge. Not only that but the other well known Atlanta food blog, the Foodie Buddha , read about it and wrote a little article on their website. Very cool to get noticed. Thanks all for the mentions! Keep up with us as we tackle the Bliss List 2008!

Restaurant #1: Mings BBQ

First up, Mings BBQ.

First Impression: A little nervous, especially when we first sat down and saw some very different items on the menu (pigs blood rice congee or the fried intestine).

Overall Thoughts: The menu was really large and offered a lot of choices. There were several items that looked really good that I wanted to order.

The Blissful Glutton recommended the Honey Roast BBQ Pork Fried Noodles and that is exactly what I ordered. I thought the pork was really good and the portion of noodles that came with it was huge. Shrimp fried rice was ordered for the table and this may have been the best dish of the night. I would definitely make a repeat appearance at Mings again.

Round One was a success. (At least for me)

The Blissful Challenge

The Challenge:

To get together a few times a month (even weekly, depending on schedules of course) and try out some of the Blissful Glutton’s best restaurants of 2008. (Yes, I realize that it is 2009 but this list was released in January of this year, so the 2009 doesn’t even exist yet.) I know that eating out all the time is not always pretty on the wallet, so we can weed out any restaurants that we have been to already or are just too much of a schlep to get to. Maybe we can pick 10 and our goal would be to eat at all of them within a 3-month period. (That is an average of less than one per week.)

The List:

Here is the link to the page to see a better view of the Top 30:

http://blissfulglutton.blogspot.com/2009/01/bliss-list-2008.html

1) The Korean gluttony at Honey Pig;

2) The wings at Jamal's Buffalo Wings;

3) Freshly-fried churros at La Churreria;

4) Chef Liu's new menu at Tasty China;

5) Pristine sushi and just plain awesome homestyle dishes at Sushi House Hayakawa;

6) The burger, drinks, folks and everything else at Holeman and Finch Public House;

7) Weekend tacos at Chicago Supermarket; (Completed)

8) New York-style pizza at Verra-Zanno Pizzeria;

9) Korean BBQ and bibimbap at Hanil Kwan;

10) The massive and delicious sandwiches at Muss and Turners;

11) The fried green tomato BLT at Parish Market;

12) The fruit cups, paletas and pressed sandwiches at Lottafrutta;

13) A dirty martini and ground-to-order ribeye burger at Kevin Rathbun Steak;

14) The fried pies at the Chick-fil-A Dwarf House;

15) A hot dog and freshly made sweet onion rings at Barker's Red Hots;

16) Kamal Grant's craveable doughnut creations at Sublime Doughnuts;

17) Chef Bruce Logue's La Pietra Cucina;

18) The meat pies at Australian Bakery & Cafe;

19) Anything with barbecue at Ming's; (Completed)

20) The comforting cuisine of Cakes & Ale;

21) A big greasy cheesesteak at Roys' Cheesesteaks;

22) Shabu Shabu at Nakato;

23) Bagels, breads and more at H&F Bread Company;

24) The yakitori and ramen at Yakitori Jinbei;

25) The dan-dan noodles and fish with tofu at Cafe 101;

26) The consistently good Italian cuisine at Sotto Sotto;

27) The classics at Canton Cooks;

28) The gorgeous Indian vegetarian fare at Udipi Cafe; (Completed)

29) Afternoon tea at Park 75 Terrace and Lounge;

30) Tlayudas, tacos and more at Taqueria Oaxaqueña

The Participants:

Ryan, Jennifer, Mark, Stacey, Michael S, Gaby, Michael M, Lindsay, Brian, Sarah, Ori, and Jessica... and anyone else that loves to eat as much as we do.

Who’s in?