'Twas a fine mid-winters day that hosted our two and a half hour lunch. The minivan seemed a fitting vessel to celebrate the Super-H Mart’s one-year anniversary with an international food festival.
Upon leaving 285 (Atlanta’s perimeter superhighway), I made a wrong turn that put the van back on the highway. Dismayed, we got off at the next exit, Buford Highway. It appeared as though the day would be ruined, but as we learned (from Ming’s – see the post) with great misfortune comes even greater fortune.
It might have been the small man with a large mustache in a blue jumpsuit holding a 99c taco sign, or the colorful flags, or even the intoxicating scent in the air that drew us to a new Mexican restaurant right off the exit onto Buford Highway. With a series of sharp turns and 3 lane crossovers, the first part of our adventure began at Alvarado’s drive-through window. As we pulled up, looking particularly stupid in the mini-van, we noticed that there were no 99c tacos on the menu. We questioned the “waitress” and learned that they were real; you just need to to ask for them. We were now insiders.
Consumer hint: ask about the 99c tacos, they exist.
We received our steak and chicken tacos and pulled into the parking lot to begin our feast. Both the pollo and carne asada were tender, moist, and flavorful. Each taco was topped with the perfect amount of cilantro and raw onions. This is a FSFW find, and was a great start to our adventure.
Next on our list was the Super H Mart. As we opened the minivan door, a well known smell surrounded us: the scent of grills. By the entrance we noticed a line, so we joined. Free tacos were handed out, and delicious they were. Was it comparable to our earlier meal, certainly not, but were they free and filling, yes. This was the first step in the “dudes of food go to the international food festival.”
Within the Super H Mart, about fifty booths were set up, each displaying a product for sampling. Among the best were the steamed buns, the frozen udon, and the tofu flavoring, so look out for dainty discoveries in the blog.
The food court at the Super H Mart had been dissatisfying in our previous visits; the food was always average and tasted pre-frozen. This time I noticed a new sign hanging over the Korean “restaurant.” It was advertising “Korean Fried Chicken.” Korean fried chicken is prepared by removing the fat from the skin and lightly battering the chicken. Because the batter is closer to a tempura batter than the typical American fried chicken, the chicken and skin remain light.
The real deal was a whole (12) piece chicken for 13.99, but we wanted to do some more sampling so we ordered a half chicken. The plate came with pickled radishes, Korean potato salad, and sweet hot sauce. The radishes were refreshing. The potato salad was good, not great, but a healthy way to start the meal. As we hoped, the chicken was light, tasty, greasy, and absolutely delicious. Each bite of meat was moist and crunchy.
Consumer hint: If you like friend chicken, you will love Korean fried chicken, and this is one of the better places to get it. Please note: it takes 10-15 minutes to prepare.
Next, we ordered soba noodles from the Japanese “restaurant.” These were good, but certainly not memorable. The noodles were not freshly made and anyone can recreate the same meal with a package of soba noodles, soba sauce, green onions, and shredded radishes.
The day culminated with our third and fourth free tacos, this time steak (previously chicken).
‘Twas a great day after all. A mistake in the minivan led to some dainty discoveries and free food.
What to get:
Korean friend chicken from the Super H Mart food court
6035 Peachtree Road # B
Atlanta, GA 30360-3233
99c tacos from Alvarado’s restaurant.
5499 Buford Hwy.
Doraville, GA 30340
Posts
Dearest Dudes, Duders, Duderinos, your Dudinesses,
ReplyDeleteI took up the opportunity to try the 99 cent tacos at Alvarados on Buford Highway. Definately a great find. For a cool $2.12 I had 2 tacos, one steak and one chicken.
An interesting side note is that the steak taco had the onions and cilantro and the chicken had lettuce and cheese. I believe on your trip both tacos had the cilantro/onion pairing.
Back to the meal. The chicken taco was lovely. Chicken was seasoned perfectly and the fresh made corn tortillas really brought the taco together. I used the red spicy sauce that came with the tacos. It was my favorite of the two provided. Nice spice and great flavor.
The steak taco was firmly entrenched in second place on my trip. The steak was a bit grey in color and seasoning really wasn't anything close to the chicken. I will give them a pass and hope it was an off day for the steak taco.
Let's now talk about the "mini" in minitacos. They do advertise their 99c minitacos but the physical size is really the only thing mini about it. The fact is that the amount of meat they cram into the "mini"tacos is more than enough to satisfy this 6'1 , 210lb Dude of food follower. I would like to go back and try some of the large combo dishes.
Peace and "mini"tacos,
Youngest Gun Needle