Cover Story: Hit the highway

COW’S FOOT, OXTAILS, quail eggs, eel, tripe. Not your average dinner. Unless you are exploring the wonderful culinary world of Buford Highway.
From the venerable Havana Sandwich Shop at 2905 — the delightfully worn, pleasantly crowded palace of Cuban sandwiches in the shadow of Buckhead’s glitzy shopping-mall district — to Costa Verde at 6200 — the Peruvian-Colombian restaurant just south of Jimmy Carter Boulevard with excellent fish stew — Buford Highway entices with aromas and flavors of every description.
Fast, fun and ridiculously inexpensive — unless your taste runs to Peking Duck, lobster or whole Dungeness crab — the restaurants of Buford Highway offer not only terrific food, but a crash course on other cultures. And there is no better way to learn about a country than through its food — although the many video stores, stationary shops, herb counters and the alphabet soup of signs and banners along the route provide tantalizing glimpses of their own.
The road is home to the “Chambodia” district that captivated Tom Wolfe when he was doing research for A Man in Full.
Amazing ethnic restaurants line Buford Highway heading away from Atlanta, with a particular concentration of Chinese, Korean and Vietnamese restaurants in the 5000 block a mile or three inside I-285. Most of these are modest, family-run affairs in small spaces with plenty of character in place of amenities.
Ethnic restaurants are great fun to visit with a group; the culture, not to mention the sizes of the portions and the breadth of the menus, make meals ideal for sharing around a large round table.
Be prepared for a language barrier; in some cases, a significant barrier, especially at Korean restaurants. Usually, there is at least one person on the premises who can translate the menu for you; if not the proprietor or a member of the staff, then a fellow diner. Smiling, gesturing and pointing discreetly at someone else’s food works, too.
Take cash. While most Buford Highway restaurants accept credit cards, a number are cash-only.
It is almost impossible to have a truly bad meal on Buford Highway. But it is entirely possible to scorch your mouth on some of the biting herbs and myriad peppers common to many of these cuisines. Every restaurant will ask your seasoning preference. If you are just starting out, begin with the mild and work your way up. The goal is balance, not blisters.
For a real urban adventure, you can’t beat eating your way along Buford Highway. New places pop up all the time and, fortunately, most of the tried-and-true restaurants manage to maintain their standards. Here’s a peek inside this remarkable, tasty world:
LATIN AMERICAN
A collection of national cuisines from South America and the Caribbean that make the most of the least. Look for oxtails and goat, and don’t shudder when you see them. Although they are small and bony cuts, they also are tender and tasty, and take well to sauces. Favorite fresh fish dishes are the spectacular escovitch style — marinated whole fish with a fresh, vinegary taste — and ceviche — scallops or flat white fish pieces that are “cooked” by soaking in lime juice, and laced with cilantro, tomatoes and cucumbers. In addition to black beans, yellow rice, and rice and peas (beans to Westerners), staples include plantains — they look like bananas, but are starchier and not as sweet — and yuca, a tuber that tastes and cooks up like a potato. Caribbean spices stand up well to ginger beer; between the carbonation and the ginger, you’ll feel a pronounced but pleasant sting all over your mouth. Cool the heat with flan, a custard dessert often sporting a thin, caramelized-sugar cap.
Cuban — Havana Sandwich Shop, 2905 Buford Highway, 404-636-4094
It isn’t caviar and blini, but the black beans and flat Cuban bread at Havana Sandwich Shop come close. Place your order — don’t forget the yellow rice — browse the grocery shelves, pick up your food and grab a seat at one of the small tables. This place is always crowded, but the lines move fast.
Dominican — Santo Domingo, 5310 Buford Highway,
770-452-3939
Think of the cuisine behind the darkened windows of this modest place as Jamaican food you can actually taste. As in, the flavor of everything is not completely hidden under jerk spices. Full-bodied stews are meaty, not fatty. Shrimp and fried fish are delicious and an excellent value.
Peruvian — Machu Picchu, 3375 Buford Highway, 404-320-3226
Colorful, festive interior with food to match. Five excellent ceviches and even more memorable soups, including warm mussel broth, shrimp broth and a seafood soup hearty enough to be a meal in itself. Fresh fish is slow-simmered or deep-fried, stir-fried or plopped on spaghetti.
Peruvian-Colombian --
Costa Verde, 6200 Buford Highway,
770-449-3221
Excellent fish soups and stews and ceviches on the Peruvian side — fresh fish and lots of it is key; beef, fried bananas and peasant-style food on the Colombian side. The beige and faux-brick interior may be modest, but the food deserves the white tablecloth treatment it gets.
CHINESE
A cuisine for the ages, from the simple pleasures of won ton soup — with its delicate scallion tops and wide, tender noodles in clear, light chicken broth — to the monumental preparation of Peking duck, its crisp skin the color of mahogany. Place that and slices of juicy breast meat onto thin, tender Mandarin pancakes, paint the pancakes with hoisin sauce, and voila! In between those extremes are myriad dishes comprising whole or filleted fish anointed with such fragrant, piquant toppings as black bean sauce and ginger with scallions. Savor green tea in traditional small, handle-less cups, then finish off your meal with orange wedges.
Little Szechuan, 5095 Buford Highway, 770-451-0192
Whole steamed fish and silken tofu are the highlights here, especially when they’re swathed in black bean sauce or perfumed with ginger or garlic. But any of the fish and shellfish dishes should please you, thanks to the quality of the main event at this longtime crowd-pleaser. Fabulous green beans, too. (No, really.)
ETHIOPIAN
More than other cuisines, Ethiopian food reflects a national aesthetic that emphasizes strong color and geometric patterns in such endeavors as architecture, decor, clothing and food presentation. Thus, the spicy stews and condiments will be arrayed on colorful platters as though they were stained-glass windows. The cuisine’s most unique element is injera, the spongy, vinegary bread that serves as platter, eating utensil, flavor modifier, principle food and napkin rolled into one. Injera is the product of fermented water and teff, a cousin of millet milled to a flour-like consistency. It’s the ideal foil for collards and cabbage, yellow split peas and lentils, mild or spicy lamb and ground beef.
Abbay, 3375 Buford Highway, 404-321-5808
Floor-to-ceiling fabric and low lighting puts you instantly in the mood for wonder-fully spicy African stews built around beef, lamb and chicken braised with garlic and cardamom, rosemary and ginger. What is more fun than sopping them all up with squishy, tangy injura?
INDIAN
A country as large and diverse as India is not going to conform to a single menu. In metro Atlanta, here’s what you’ll find on the typical Indian restaurant bill of fare: meats and breads from a tandoor oven, especially tandoori chicken; charcoal cooking produces moist meat and a characteristic, lobster-red color that extends to the onions, lemons and limes the chicken is served with. Highly seasoned curries of lamb and goat should produce a balance of spices that should not be more prominent than the dish they’re supposed to enhance. You’ll find lentils in everything from soups to salads to breads, such as papadum (crisp lentil wafers eaten like chips) and mulligatawny, a spicy lentil soup. Naan is the puffy, white, crisp-tender flatbread usually pocked with charred spots from the oven. Cool the fires with lassi, a refreshing cold yogurt beverage.
Panahar, 3375 Buford Highway, 404-633-6655
Tandoori chicken, of course. Plus, a larger selection of fish and shellfish dishes than usual: shrimp or crab with spinach and herbs; shrimp in cream sauce with cashews, almonds and raisins; and charbroiled fish. For vegetarians, it’s hard to beat the roasted eggplant with tomatoes and onions.
JAPANESE
Stylized, serene, a balance of seasons and textures and colors. Find all this in the signature sashimi (sliced raw fish) and sushi (raw fish with vinegar-infused rice), nabemono (one-pot dishes cooked at the table in simmering broth: meat, fish and vegetables, either alone or in combination). That stuff on the edge of the sushi platter is daikon (a mild, versatile white radish) and wasabi, the pale green, hot-as-horseradish sashimi condiment. Mix that with soy sauce and dip the fish (not its sushi rice base) into it.
August Moon, 5715 Buford Highway, 770-455-3464
If you are struck by a craving for sushi and tempura as you’re cruising Buford Highway, this is the place to go. Yes, you can get the big boat filled with sushi. But, by all means, order one of the udon bowls, filled to the brim with thick, tender noodles.
KOREAN
The most robust of the Eastern cuisines, as is obvious from the amounts of kimchi, spicy pickled cabbage, downed by the natives. Chilies, garlic, sugar and salt in varying proportions give Korean food its edge. Add to that the aroma of charcoal from spicy barbecued meats and you have a boisterous meal. Wrap the barbecue in lettuce and experience a burst of hot and cool, sweet and salt in one bite. Think of the seafood pancake as an elegant pizza.
88 Tofu House, 5490 Buford Highway, 770-457-8811
A true dining and cultural adventure. Join extended Korean families for a sizzling bowl of tofu soup laced with spicy clams, oysters, mushrooms, beef, kimchi or pickled shrimp. Silky smooth, fresh and satisfying. The raw eggs on the bowl on your table are meant to be cracked into the hot liquid.
MALAYSIAN
Comprising 13 states, Malaysia is surrounded by larger, more powerful countries. There is very little native Malay cuisine. Instead, its food blends that of its neighbors. Thus, you’re likely to find India’s roti, Thailand’s tom yum and China’s beef with ginger and scallion. Look for peanuts — both crushed and whole, in sauces and dressings — and touches of mint, lime, lemongrass and basil that contrast with and heighten the ever-present chilies. Highlights are satay — grilled, skewered chicken or beef — and yums, hot-and-sour composed salads with meat.
Penang, 4897 Buford Highway, 770-220-0308
The variety of all the culinary influences can be experienced most deliciously with the soups. These feature an astonishing array of noodles: thick, thin, flat and every permutation thereof, made of eggs or rice and various flours. Malaysian food is a riot of herbs and spices: lemon grass, ginger, garlic, shallots, coriander, cumin, aniseed, cinnamon, cardamom, turmeric and fresh chilies. When Penang’s menu says “hot,” it really is. The peanut pancake is a must for dessert.
MEXICAN
Chilies, chilies and more chilies. Auth-entic Mexican cuisine employs an infinite varieties of peppers, far more than we usually see, although more are appearing here all the time. Everyone uses cilantro now, but this is where it belongs. If you are wondering what distinguishes authentic Mexican from fast-food Mexican, the answer is corn, glorious corn. In Mexico, there are so many kinds of corn grown that natives are able to differen-tiate between neighboring farms based on the taste of tortillas made from their corn meal. In addition to corn tortillas, look for the all-corn version of tamales. Arroz con Pollo is a glorious version of chicken and rice — with saffron, especially good with sangria or Mexican beer. Finish up with flan, the classic custard dessert.
El Taco Veloz, 5084 Buford Highway, 770-936-9094
So modest that being a hole-in-the-wall would be a step up on the plush scale. The food at this local chain, however, cannot be beat: steak, tongue and soft beef tacos and burritos; chiles rellanos; rice and beans. This is the sum total of the menu. And, sometimes, they run out of beans.
VIETNAMESE
Pho, glorious pho! What is better on a cold day — or a hot one, for that matter — than slender, tender rice noodles and various cuts of beef in a broth that has simmered for 24 hours? We’re also seeing chicken pho and, lately, shrimp pho. But the hearty beef pho is still the best. Lemongrass and tamarind, with their biting, sweet-and-sour contrast, are the cuisine’s hallmark flavorings. And the thick, heady French coffee sweetened with condensed milk puts today’s trendy coffee drinks to shame.
Bien Thuy, 5095 Buford Highway, 770-454-9046
Funky, thatched-hut interior with Christmas lights and out-of-this-world food. Like the fattest, freshest spring rolls around, special egg-noodle soup (stuffed with shrimp, tender barbecued pork and sundry greens and herbs in a flavorful broth), vermicelli with charcoal broiled shrimp, and fresh fried fish with tomatoes.