An Embarrassment of Delicious Riches

originally published March 19, 2008

Sabor the Flavor: Remember how I told y’all Sabor Latino (in the old Mexicali Grille space by the Georgia Square Mall at 3690 Atlanta Hwy., 706-850-6012) was a Latin food store? Well, darn if that wasn’t a complete misapprehension on my part. Instead, Sabor Latino is something much better: a pan-Latin restaurant serving breakfast (they open at 10 a.m., but there’s a whole section of early morning items), lunch and dinner in the categories of Mexican, Colombian, Salvadoran and Peruvian. Much of the previous tenant remains, but the wall décor is decidedly Salvadoran. The plasmas playing “Rob and Big,” not so much. The take-out menus have a lot of handwritten additions, and a sign in the window proudly boasts the recent acquisition of beer, with margaritas coming soon. Like many South and Central American restaurants, its plates are an embarrassment of riches, requiring strong wrists just to lift. The tostones (savory plantain chips served with a mayo-based Thousand Island-esque sauce) are superior to those at Cali 'N' Tito’s, with a flavor that hasn’t been fried away. A vegetarian quesadilla is stuffed with mushrooms and spinach sautéed in cream and comes with sides of rice, refried black beans (ineffably superior to pintos) and a pile of lettuce on a plate more properly defined as a platter. The bandeja paisa is a Colombian feast, an even bigger plate covered with thin but tenderized steak, fried hunks of pork, a spicy red sausage, the same refried black beans and rice, a fried egg served over the rice with soft yolk ready to coat each grain, sweet plantains and a plain arepa, or cornmeal patty, all for $9.95. Some items could use a touch more salt, and nothing is exactly South Beach Diet approved, but this is the kind of food that fills the stomach and soothes the frenzied mind, resulting in a happy little temporary coma. The best, of course, is last. Sabor Latino also serves a deep-fried Twinkie, dusted with powdered sugar, for a mere dollar. Picture a funnel cake filled with “cream.” The application of high, brief heat liquefies the interior and intensifies the vanilla of the flavoring, resulting in a treat that is miles better than the original dull, processed log of cake. Sabor Latino is open every day and takes credit cards with a smile.

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Unsinkable: Having not ventured into Uncle Otto’s European Eatery (350 E. Broad St., 706-546-5362) since it changed its name and started referring to its sandwiches as kebaps rather than K-Bobs, I assumed that, shrunk to one store from two, it might be sort of sad and quiet. Nothing could be further from the truth. The store remains bustling at the lunch hour, with the cheery owner, Achim Reus, still amiably slapping together sandwiches behind the counter and yelling out names with gusto. The sauces are now available jarred, and the rolls by the half-dozen. Newly introduced, too, is a wrap version of the standard kebap, rolled tightly in a flour tortilla and dosed with the chipotle sauce (at the staff’s recommendation). The only advice I have to offer is: don’t try to eat it like a burrito. It has, in fact, been neatly sliced on the diagonal through the middle, allowing for more genteel eating, and if you make the mistake of trying to address it from one of the ends, you may find yourself in trouble as you reach the center. The interior translates just fine into the new format, which compresses the lettuce, onions, tomato, et al., into a product that is easier to eat than the original and just about as delicious. Reus is still trying to make a go of franchising, and his boundless energy may yet serve him well in that field. Uncle Otto’s is open for lunch and dinner daily and takes credit cards.

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What Up? The Grit’s Golden Bowl was a finalist in a contest run by the Vegetarian Times about favorite veggie dishes in the United States. While the results haven’t been posted yet, and the site where one could vote has disappeared, Athenians and non-residents surely cast their ballots in droves for the vegetarian dish so delicious it raises cravings in even confirmed carnivores. Trax Coffee Café, serving coffee and food, should open soon in the Leathers Building on Pulaski Street. Both Roly Poly (downtown, on E. Clayton St.) and Jimmy’s BBQ (on Lumpkin, near Five Points) have shuttered. Bischero has changed names and is now 237 Prince. Lee Epting and sons are working with event planner Michael Montesani on a barbecue restaurant, unnamed as of yet, to be located at their Homewood Hills space.

Hillary Brown

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