Wonderful nibbles around ATL (Part I)

My recent compilation of best nibbles in the past year seem to suggest that most of the good eating that I have done were all away from the ATL - my adopted home city. This couldn't be further from the truth. My tummy has never been happier anywhere else. Just within the last month, I've sampled some rather memorable eats around town. So while I've still yet to exhaust my list of wonderful nibbles away from home, I'd like to also present a list of great bites in and around town. Again, I list these in no particular order as my mind prefers chaos (my preferred excuse for a lack of organization).

First up is the much hyped tres leches cake from Tierra. Located along a lonely stretch of Piedmont Rd in midtown, Tierra's odd yellow facade always caught my attention, but never looked attractive enough to beckon a visit. After reading much press about the place in the three years I've lived here, J and I finally managed to go for a weeknight dinner this past month.

I wanted so much to like everything about this cozy chef-owned place. Unfortunately, the savory food simply didn't live up to my expectation. My rubbery mussels floated in a rather watery broth, while J's pupusa tasted dry. The turning point of the meal was when the famous tres leches cake came out of the kitchen. The cake had very little adornment and it didn't need any. It was creamy creamy creamy, having soaked through and through with a sticky sweet tres leches mixture. If you haven't noticed, I am fond of creamy things. And that particular night, my sweetness tolerance was way high because this cake doubtlessly measures at the very top of the GI scale. My favorite part was the down comforter looking frosting. It reminded me very much of marshmallow fluff straight out of the jar. If you don't like that concept, then maybe this is not for you. But I happen to find marshmallow fluff quite yummy and very nolstalgic.

I have a weakness for foods exhibiting a savory and sweet combination. Salted caramel, yum. Honey on Stilton, double yum. Adding a stick a butter to this winning combination, hmm, triple yum? You bet! Sotto Sotto's Granny Smith apple sausage ravioli in a sage-laced brown butter sauce is exactly that kind of a dish. The apple note was much more pronounced than in other apple sausages I've experienced. The sweet tart flavor perfectly punctuated the rich flavor of the meat juice and the fragrant butter sauce. Even the nibbler couldn't resist taking more than a few bites.

Few things provide more pleasure than consuming a big plate of slow-smoked bbq outdoors under gently rustling trees. One of those things being also receiving a generous helping of super crisp onion rings with the que. These good sized examples from the much anticipated Fox Bro BBQ on Dekalb Ave. totally overshadowed their plate mates. The slightly sweet crust and addictive crunch will get me to go back even without the que.