Excited about Eating by Ernie Hiers

This edition of Excited about Eating takes us to the Buckhead neighborhood of Atlanta, to Café Agora, a Turkish restaurant that serves Turkic, Arabic, Persian, and Greek food. Agora means “gathering place” or “assembly” and was the center of life in a city.

Since we're headed to Istanbul this fall, we decided to give Turkish food a try. We discovered dishes that we enjoyed, and others, not so much.

The Agora Mixed Grill consisted of several kabobs: chicken, lamb, adana (minced lamb), Kofta (ground beef), and beef/lamb gyros. All the meats were tender and juicy, and very tasty. My favorite was the lamb kabob. My least favorites were the gyro meats.

Agora Mixed Grill

The salad was fresh and light. Every single forkful zinged with flavor.

Agora Mixed Grill ~ under the bread

Dora here. I'd read great things about their Maza Platter appetizer. Hummus, Ezme (tomatoes, peppers, cucumber, onion, and walnuts), Eggplant Salad, Babaganush (another eggplant concoction), Piyaz (red beans, tomatoes, onion), Potato Salad, Fried Eggplant, Haydari (yogurt, walnuts, dill), Tabuli (parsley, tomato, cucumber), and Carrot Salad (made with yogurt). Phew! Is that it? :)

Maza Platter appetizer - small

Can you believe that's a small plate?? It's a whole meal! My faves were Ezme, Hummus, Haydari, Potato Salad, and Carrot Salad. They could've left off the three eggplant dishes, but that's just my personal preference. And they didn't blink when we asked for a second basket of that awesome bread. Delish! If you're looking for a sample of flavors, this is the dish to order.

It's always nice when a complimentary treat comes out with the bill.

Complimentary Rice Pudding

We rate this restaurant 5 forks out of 5 for a family friendly restaurant serving outstanding food. 

A little travel. A little romance. A lot of home.

I love vacations. 

Dreaming about where to go, planning the trip, visiting a new area, trying out new foods~

"Ahem." Dear hubby clears his throat.

I hit the delete key a few times.

OK. I'm a "home" kinda gal.

I love coming home more than the actual vacation itself. 

This week we visited Atlanta and stayed at the Westin Peachtree.

Had a great view from the 24th floor ~ all that steel and glass on the building next to us. Certainly not the Carolina blue sky view from our deck.

The hotel boasted a Starbucks cafe, but it wasn't nearly as blissful as waking up to my hubby's perfect brew of cafe con leche.

And what is it with down pillows? Does anybody actually like them? 

Definitely not as comfy as our fluffy pillows, and they didn't tuck a Dove dark chocolate heart on my hubby's pillow.

We ate at a great Irish Pub. To make up for the long wait, the waiter gave us a bag of homemade salt & vinegar chips. 

Did I say it was a long wait? Great chips, but I woke up the next morning, bloated and swollen, three times my size. Kinda like this poor guy.

But you know what the hardest part of this trip was?

Leaving our baby behind.

Do you see why I'm a home kinda gal?

Next year's agenda? 

Denver.

Now that's a place I could get excited about.

Hubby rolls his eyes.

I grin. OK.

I get more excited about coming home.


What about you?