Tag Archive for: hummus

Yalda Atlanta

Posted by Liz and John Attaway, 1/14/23

Inside the new Aria development in Sandy Springs, Yalda is a top notch Middle Eastern spot with a spacious dining room, open kitchen, sprawling bar, and expansive patio to welcome you! Beyond the décor, on the menu, everything from spectacular hummus and Labneh with amazing toppings, delicious dips, fresh salads, gorgeous grilled meats, sensational small plates, decadent desserts, as well as cool cocktails. This is not one to miss.


When we arrived, the bar manager put together an amazing coursed meal for us and we had a little bit of everything on the menu and it’s pretty epic. Let’s start with their cocktail menu. They have a great wine and beer list, but the cocktail we got was a treat. The Hafez’s Last Word is a mix of a tangy, tiki-inspired mai tai with a creamy, NY sour. It does start out sour with a red wine topper, but ends up sweet from the mai tai. It’s both beach and city! Yes, please.


Our first course started with the spreads like the Za’atar Labneh, Hummus, and Mirza Ghasemi. Starting with the Hummus that is earthy and creamy on it’s own and you can flavor it up with either pickled mushroom mixed with carrot or lamb shawarma. We opted to top it with the pickled mushroom that added a tang and crunch that comes through on the end. We’ve not experienced this combo of flavors before, but glad we have now! It is all together earthy with white truffle, well seasoned, tangy, crunchy.


Our favorite, surprisingly was the Za’atar Labneh, but this time with lamb shawarma. The lamb is tender and well seasoned a top a sour yet creamy labneh yogurt. We’ve tried this before at various restaurants and it was lack-luster. Yalda does a good job with a delicious mix of creamy, savory, and seasoning. We’re all-in. Finally, the Mirza Ghasemi is not to be missed either with smoky, smashed earthy eggplant mixed with tangy tomato, flavorful spices, and earthy garlic. You can eat it alone or as a dip with the pita bread they bring for snack!


The second course they put together for us was Mezze with the Roasted Haloumi Cheese, wings, and Zeytoun Parvardeh (olives). Starting with the meaty, smoked wings, they’re perfectly charred and tender inside. A great wing paired with a creamy, spicy harissa that goes so well with the char of the wings. Something we didn’t expect to like was the Zeytoun Parvardeh. Not being big on green olives, this dish also boasts ground walnuts and pomegranate seeds. That takes the olives bitterness and tang down a notch with the earthy of the walnut and fruitiness and burst of tang from the pomegranate. Wow!

Our favorite of the mezze was the Roast Haloumi Cheese. Spongy, springy cheese with a sharp rich flavor then perfectly charred and roasted outside that changes the texture. It comes atop the pickled mushrooms to give it tangy, earthy, crunchy flavor in addition of the delightful roasted cheese.


The third course was the healthiest of the night with the salads! Don’t miss out on these, there is a lot of delicious options on this menu, but save room for a salad, you’ll be happy you did! First, a staple on any middle eastern menu is the Mediterranean Salad. Mixed green that starts crunchy and a good helping of earthy feta, as well as a fantastic wine vinaigrette. Another staple, the Shirazi Salad is the freshest and healthiest, but doesn’t skimp on flavor. Crisp and clean cucumbers paired with tomatoes, tangy onion, and earthy parsley then doused in a bright lemon dressing.


Our favorite of the salads was the Beet salad. Think a bed of spring mix surrounded by sweet pickled beets, crunchy and nutty walnuts, tangy onion, a sprinkling of cheese, all slathered in a tangy bright and sweet pomegranate dressing. It’s actually sweet and rich, a must try.


The final course we got was an epic grilled meat duo of Salmon Kabobs and Lamb Chops paired with crispy, Tahdig rice. The rice itself is cooked on the grill to add a crunchiness and you can chose between Lentil and Raisin or Fava Bean and Dill. Between the two the fava is more earthy with a flavorful dill mixture, while the Lentil and Raisin is sweeter with raisings and crispy, crunchy onions, with was our favorite.


As far as the Salmon Kabobs, they’re tender and flaky fish with a ton of flavorful seasonings and charred crispy skin for that added je ne said quoi. If you get one meat, it would be the Lamb Chops. Succulent, meaty, large chops that are fall apart tender, perfectly seasoned, and a good lemon flavor on the back end. That pairs so well with the sweetness of the Lentil and Raisin rice. Along with your meat, they have a large list of sauces to try. We imagine any of the creamy offerings would be delicious with the lamb.


We passed on dessert because we were so full. This meal was very well put together and Yalda is well run for it being so new, we went in the second week. We were astounded by how well it was run.

Salads: Shirazi, Beet, Mediterranean
Decor
Roasted Haloumi Cheese
Mirza Ghasemi
Wings and Olives
Hafez’s Last Word
Lamb Chops and Salmon Kabobs
Labneh with lamb

Tiki Tango: Island Paradise

Posted by Liz and John Attaway, 10/8/20

Once you step into Tiki Tango, you’re whisked away to a tropical island with all the sights and sounds of the jungle. You can imagine the palm trees hanging low, nestled close to a beautiful sprawling beach and the sound of the rain hitting the hut roof. There’s a humidity in the air beckoning you to grab a cocktail, so why not go for the best Tiki cocktail in Atlanta, Tiki Tango, or the striking Cobra’s Fang and even a classic boozy Mai Tai? Plus, did you know they have some fun, seriously delicious sharable bites? Come, join us on an island adventure that you won’t forget.

Tiki Tango is known for their stellar cocktails and we can’t speak any more highly about the Tiki Tango signature cocktail. It’s truly a perfect tiki cocktail, the best we’ve had in Atlanta. While you sip it, you can feel the pineapple and warm rum wash over you. The sweetness mixes well with the tea bitters, which really make this drink unique. Rich. Sweet. Tart. Slightly fruity. Perfect. There’s something naughty about the Cobra’s Fang with a balanced combo of rum, bitters, passionfruit, then it hits you. It creeps up on you and bites right when you least expect it, Demerara 151. One part boozy, one part sweet, it’s a fun drink. We’d recommend you share! Finally, no tiki bar is truly a tiki bar without doing the Mai Tai well. This was truly a great Mai Tai. We’ve had a ton and most of the time they come off sweet or watered down, this one was strong, booze forward with light citrus, lime, and the slight nuttiness of the almond. Refreshing and cool, but strong and tart, this is a solid cocktail.

Again, who knew that Tiki Tango had a great sharable menu? From our favorite Tiki Tango Tuna, plus the pineapple forward and refreshing Mauna Loa Hummus, to the Sticky Huli Huli Wings with a great sauce, crispy and tasty turmeric fried okra, and of course crispy flamingo fries with a freakin fantastic cucumber wasabi aioli, you can’t sleep on these bites.  Starting with the fresh and bright Tiki Tango Tuna, we loved the tender tuna atop of earthy and slightly peppery greens that mixed well with the savory vinaigrette and wasabi. It was a culmination of rich fish, earthy and tart ginger, greens, and the slight spice of the wasabi to be a balanced bite.

You don’t see many fried okra appetizers on menus around Atlanta, but who doesn’t love a good fried okra? The Turmeric Fried Okra was no exception with a crispy, slightly spicy, and rich batter that went well with the crunchy okra. Okra is a finicky vegetable and sometimes gets stringy or gooey, this one wasn’t! It had the right amount of crunch and tenderness! We think we can all agree that wings are always a good idea for the table, and the Sticky Huli Huli Wings didn’t disappoint. The stand-out was the slightly spicy, but sweet chili lime sauce that was just the right amount with the meat of the wings. The sauce was definitely sticky, but was delicious, wet naps required. One thing that we didn’t anticipate was how much we’d enjoy the pineapple-forward and savory Mauna Loa Hummus. We are now in love with the hummus and pineapple combo, it’s something we didn’t know you could even pair. It has the perfect balance of savory chick peas and crunchy sweet of the pineapple. We all agreed this one was fantastic! The Flamingo Fries were cut like a plank, which made it easy to shovel the cucumber wasabi aioli into our mouths. Spicy, creamy, cool, sweet, savory, four stars on the sauce. Can we get this on EVERYTHING?

Out back on the patio, the cool night breeze picked up and remind us about those long summer nights at the beach. The last of our cocktails dwindled and the tiki lights began to grow louder. We reminisced about our favorites, so we’d love to know what you’d like to try at Tiki Tango. Next time we’re getting the drink they set on fire.

Lily White: THE New Buckhead Hot Spot!

Posted by Liz and John Attaway, 1/26/19

From the moment you enter Lily White in Buckhead you get a Miami vibe with the pops of neon, pristine marble, and sleek design. With stunning and tasty signature cocktails, good service, stellar food, and a parking lot on property, they could quickly become THE hot spot in Buckhead! It’s time to join us for our food adventure filled with lamb, kabobs, hummus, beats, and more.

Starting with the cocktails, we sampled two fun cocktails called Yalda and Hydration. The Yalda with Grey Goose Vodka, pomegranate, and pineapple was hands down our favorite with a creamy, frothy, smooth sip up front and tart and crisp on the finish. It’s one of those cocktails you can have any time of year and a real crowd pleaser. We’ll be back for it! The other cocktail, Hydration, was good, as well with gin, cucumber, St. Germain, mint, and more. This boozy beauty is one pretty lady and you feel high class when you hold the rose gold cup. From the booze and tart up front cools on the end with cucumber and mint. It would be a good summer sipper to pair with a light salad! Next time, we’re in for the Saint-Tropez.

Diving into the Mazze, we picked the wings, beet salad, and spread sampler that included hummus, tzatziki, labneh, and Mirza Ghasemi. Starting with the beet salad, if you don’t know much about us, one thing you need to know is we love beets. Restaurants don’t include beets enough in their fare, and we applaud Lily White for including a beet starter! This one was earthy with the tart and salty of the balsamic paired well with a little bit of crunch and sweet of the candied walnuts and the cream of the goat cheese. We were impressed how well the beets and goat cheese went together. Beyond the lightness of the salad, the wings were the right amount of meat, crunch and sauce. The sauce was sweet with a slight sauce of the harissa, a solid wing dish! Finally, the spread sampler is a must-get. The hummus is some of the best we’ve ever had, and we eat A LOT of hummus. With just the right amount of salt, garlic and herbs, it’s a perfect hummus bite you can eat with a spoon! Another stunner was Mirza Ghasemi, which we’d never had and now we know we love it. From the smoky eggplant that perfectly paired with the tomato and garlic, served warm, went great with the bread and veggies. Beyond that we’d recommend mixing all four dips together for one glorious bite piled high on a piece of crunchy pita. That’s the ticket.

Moving on to a selection that was cooked on an open flame, the Chicken Kabobs could have been boring, but this was anything like that! Juicy, well-seasoned, and perfectly grilled, it’s delicious! Paired with a charred and grilled tomato topped with oil and herbs to the cranberry in the rice, it’s a good meal and come hungry, you could split it!

Recommended by our waitress, the lamb shank was TO DIE FOR. There isn’t one thing we would change about this dish. The lamb is marinated and cooked for hours and literally falls off the bone. The herbs, rich, and savory in the sauce to the pop of the couscous, to the Israeli raisins that give it a tart and sweet ending, it’s one of those bites you close your eyes and just savor. Pro tip: Take the meat off the bone then mix it with all the other elements on the plate. PERFECTION. Also, I re-heated it for lunch the next day, it was still unbelievable!

Did we mention that Lily White has its own parking lot it shares with the other businesses in the complex? So, weeknights and some non-busy weekends, you can come, park, eat and not have to worry about getting side-swiped or your meter running out. We all know Buckhead can be a challenge for parking. Win-win. We can’t wait to go back and try the Seabass and Salmon. Are you in to join us?