El Azteca for a work day lunch

During a busy workweek, it’s imperative to get out of the office for an hour or so to grab a bite to eat. This week, I lunched with my favorite work friend, Evie. We ran down the block to El Azteca, a mexican restaurant in midtown Atlanta. Although mexican food gets a bad wrap in Atlanta, the gnarly grub at El Azteca is consistently cheesy, fatty, and filling. It’s by no means great food (and many will argue it’s not even good food), but you do always get free chips and salsa.

I'm free!

The [free] chips and salsa come to the table right away. Hot from fryer and sprinkled with some salt, “it’s good” (says Evie). Personally, I like the non-chunky salsa for the nice amount of heat and the dressing-like consistency. The chips are a cunning distraction from the gaudy decor and the image-filled, Americanized menu.

the drinks are huge and refilled constantly

Evie got the lunch special: a chicken chimichanga with a guacamole salad (ensalada) and a side of [mexican] rice. (what makes it mexican rice, I have yet to find out.)

I'm the special one today!

The deep fried burrito was satisfying to Evie. Here is her review – “The pico de gallo was fresh, however the sour cream became warm and melty from the hot plate. Oh, and you can see the surplus of sour cream they give out in my empty plate picture below.” (Thanks Evie!)

job well done

In preparation for Thanksgiving weekend, I tried to stay healthy (which is quite a feat at El Azteca):

exceeded expectations

Other than the not-very-red-or-ripe tomatoes, the salad was pretty great. The lettuce was crisp, the avocado both firm and creamy, and the shrimp was seasoned well and sauteed to a T.

salsa was my dressing (you can see the extra drippings)

As far as El Azteca goes, it’s all about expectations. I had the lowest of the low expectations, and thus, I was pleasantly surprised.

My advice — come here for a quick mid-week meal with an empty stomach and your lowest expectations. Or, don’t eat the Mexican food and create your own salad.

Update: I was just told by a different work friend (Lauren) that her chicken tacos tasted like Campbell’s chicken noodle soup = FAIL. Quote, “it was even liquid-y and gross”

Buckhead
(404) 249-1522
1784 Peachtree Street
Atlanta, Georgia 30309

A Yummy, Yummy Yom

table view

Let’s have a BreakFast!

After 3 days of no real food, this meal was a revelation. The salt was the biggest element missed by my tongue, so I was ready to dig into this platter of smoked salmon.

smoked fish at its finest

Of course, there must be bagels at a BreakFast but I didn’t dig into to any of these. After years of New York bagels, I haven’t found a single doughy mass that compares in Atlanta (plus, it was against the rules of my ‘transition from juice fast’).

doughy and carby

My friend Meredith graciously offered to cook both a Noodle Kugel AND cheese blintzes FROM SCRATCH PEOPLE! Both were well received by the crew, but I only had a tiny taste of the blintz and it was out of this world. Cheesy, and creamy, and oh so sweet. It was truly awesome.

Russian great-grandma supplied the recipes

I made a delish salad with mixed greens, cukes, toms, feta, and green olives while Lauren prepped the juicy fruity salad.

devoured

Lauren also made a delectable drink dubbed as “sparkling pomegranate lemonade”. Sparkling water, fresh-squeezed lemon juice, POM juice, agave nectar. A great addition.

mix it up

Food was consumed, drinks drank, and interesting conversations took place (why does it always end with mental illness – a sign?)

Yes, some of us were crrraaazzzzyyy enough to try the smoked herring (picked up that day from the Dekalb Farmer’s Market). It was dark, dark brown and did not look appetizing at all. I tasted a teeny, tiny bite and a bang of pure salt rushed into my mouth. There was also a faint smoked fishy taste, but the sodium-ness was so strong that there was no hope for this little guy. One of the few fish products that I did not appreciate.

taste at your own risk