Surely Pearly

East Pearl

1810 Liddell Ln

Duluth, GA

678-380-0899

har-gau - shrimp dumpling

The last time I was in Atlanta, I want to go to the outlet mall before heading home. The Discovery Outlet Mall is up Rt85 in on Sugarloaf Pkwy, and I wanted dim sum, but on the way to the outlet mall. So, there was one place that came up and it was East Pearl. By the time I got to the East Pearl, it may have been about 1 pm, after the lunch rush, and this place was not too crowded, plenty of parking, and easy access off of Rt 85. I was excited to be able to get dim sum midweek, like you can in NY, LA and Boston! There is no worthy dim sum in Nashville, and there is definitely no dim sum mid-week in Nashville, so this was just a nice treat for myself.

I got all my favorites, shrimp dumplings, veggie chive dumplings, sticky rice and piquot. I love dumpling dim sum. I love the rice noodles around the stuffing. I love the little bits you can take of them. I love the flavor. I just love how cute little dumplings are. I love most all things dumplings. The piquot wasn't the best, not enough fermented black bean flavor, it was just steamed pork. And there isn't a stick rice dish I don't like. I love sticky rice. It must be how bread people feel about bread. I have been to restaurants where stale rolls with margarine are served, and it is just terrible, but the bread people eat it up because they love bread. Well, that is how I feel about sticky rice, even if it is bad, or day old, or cold, I still love sticky rice. This sticky rice wasn't the most complex recipe, rather it simply had some ground pork in it, and I still ate it all because I haven't met a sticky rice dish I haven't liked yet.

For an area so far outside of Atlanta, and Decatur (Buford Hwy - the most delicious road in he Atlanta area) this is a nice little dim sum outpost.

piquot - pork, and jung - sticky rice in banana leaf

So after lunch, I went to the Discovery Outlet. What fun for me! I have not really been shopping for clothes for over a year, maybe 2. I have a sister that still lives by the 1980s motto "Shop 'Til You Drop" almost everyday, and she is probably smirking at me for not shopping for clothing more than once every other year. At the Discovery Mall, there is a Sears Clothing Outlet with clothes at is $5 or less. Yup, every piece was $5 or less. I got a bunch of Land's End clothing there, and Land's End is really very sturdy and well made clothing. Yes, this brand may be a little boring for some, but it is perfect for me. I got 4 shirts and 2 jeans for $30+tax. That is a good deal for 1st rate new clothing!! The Land's End jeans are super sturdy, well made, comfortable and I am so happy to have these jeans for $5 each. I originally did not know that everything in the Sears Clothing Outlet was $5 or less because the tags still have the original tags on them. Had I known, I would have bought more of the jeans because 1 pair originally retails for 6 times as much! I could have gotten 6 pairs for the same price as 1. Amazing. What can I say, I love Sears, and Land's End, and I love this Sears Clothing Outlet!

Flib Flip

Flip Burger Boutique
West Midtown Atlanta
1587 Howell Mill Rd
Atlanta, GA
404-352-3547 (FLIP)
open 7 days/week for lunch and dinner

I am a fan of Top Chef on Bravo TV, and I really enjoyed season 8 Top Chef All-Stars. I must say, I scheduled my gym workouts on Wednesdays to end in time to get home to turn on Top Chef and be at the end of the couch waiting to see who will be voted off, and who will stay. This season, I routed for Tiffany Derry, Carla Hall, Fabio Viviani and of course Richard Blais. As my top four were being picked off one by one, there was Richard Blais left as one of the final 2.

local burger with Gum Creek pastured beef

Then, Top Chef came down to Richard Blais and another chef. Richard Blais wins Season 8 Top Chef All Stars, beating out some of the best (or at least good characters for tv like Tiffani, Stephen and Marcel). I was thrilled, one of top 4 picks won! I was happy to see him win, and I was happy to hop into my car and drive the 4 - 6 hrs (6 hrs in Atlanta beltway traffic) to West Midtown Atlanta and try one of Richard Blais' Flip Burgers. I arrived at Flip Burger Boutique, and it is a first come, first serve place, there are no reservations. The concept here is excellent burgers, sides, fries, shakes and a bar in a chic building on the edge of Midtown with a hip Soho vibe. There are a wide range of burgers from turkey, chicken, chorizo, shrimp, beef, lamb, chickpea, and local organic pastured beef. There are a wide range of toppings including lettuce, tomato, cheese, smoked mayo, ketchup, caramelized onions, house made pickles, mushrooms, fried egg, sprouts, curry mayo and spicy Sriacha ranch. The bun appears to be homemade as well. There are sides including salads, roasted seasonal veggies (this trip was cauliflower), fries, onion rings, fried okra, and other yummies. The really fun part about this restaurant are the drinks from real milk shakes to a nice wine, specialty beer or martini. Take your pick for the perfect drink with the perfect burger.

fries, onion rings, and fried okra

We all got different burgers, sides and drinks. I got the local organic Gum Creek beef burger with cheddar, caramelized onion, lettuce, tomato, and a homemade pickle. Very good, and less than $12. Actually, all the burgers seemed to be less than $10. It is an a la carte menu, so some of the best fries and onion rings I have had cost extra. Oh, and there was fried okra to, which is a nod to the south, and southern food traditions. I really liked the fried whole okra. They were not slimy at all, and the okra reminds me of a really delicious veggie chip.

All said and done, I think I spent about $20 including tax and tip for my meal. That is a fairly good deal for dining at a "celeb chef" restaurant. I want to say that this place is accessible for the average tourist visiting Atlanta with a few extra dollars to spend on dining out. Actually, Flip Burger Boutique for me was the cheapest dinner I had for the week I was in Atlanta, and Flip Burger Boutique tasted better than many of the meals that I had in downtown Atlanta. I will even go out on a limb, I have to say I would love to go back to Flip Burger Boutique again! There are some "celeb chef" restaurants I have been to that are not all that they are cracked up to be, say ones in Newton MA, New Orleans LA, Phila PA, and NY NY, and I will not go back to any of them and I feel burned spending $50+/pp for averagely to below averagely prepared food. I felt different and happy at Flip Burger Boutique. I want to go back to Flip Burger, the burgers and sides start with good quality ingredients, and are well prepared. The presentation is wonderful giving the humble burger its just props, and the price point is affordable for many tourists, including me. I really think that Richard Blais has a nice concept in Flip Burger Boutique.