by Lauren Townsend for The Aha! Connection
Dunwoody is fortunate in that our local restaurants are really trying to open to serve. When venturing out of Dunwoody, nailing down a dine-in meal has proven more difficult. My mom comes to visit twice a year and we always spend time compiling a list of restaurants we want to try. As restaurants struggle with COVID, staffing, safety and supply, it has become increasingly more difficult to nail down a lunch spot.
My mom, daughters and I headed to Chamblee to grab a quick lunch and landed at Hopstix. Hopstix currently offers dine-inside and outside as well as take-out. Like many of the restaurants we’ve visited recently, they are utilizing a QR code to take you to the menu. I took my kids, which usually leads to a less than desirable dining experience, but I was pleasantly surprised that they were able to find joy in this meal. We started with the calamari, which is very lightly battered and fried on skewers. The calamari was my 7 year-old’s favorite, so we ordered an additional one. We also ordered the curry fries, which were my favorite; not spicy, but a little kick and lots of flavor. We opted for the Robata grill options for the bulk of our meal because it is basically meat on skewers. I ordered beef tenderloin, chicken, squid, and baby octopus. Everything brought to our table was loved by someone at our table. My mother’s biggest fear is not having enough food at the table, so we ordered a basil fried rice. We all liked it so much that we ordered another one to go. I highly recommend Hopstix for an enjoyable meal with or without kids. There is decent parking, a good mix of menu options and a variety of alcohol.
Throughout our culinary adventures we stumbled upon Bogartz Food Artz in Sandy Springs. Apparently, it has been around since 2018, which is embarrassing that I have never been, given my love of Cajun food. This is a great locally owned and operated restaurant that sources ingredients locally. We were told right off the bat that they could accommodate most food allergies because everything is made from scratch to order. We started with pimento cheese grit fritters served with pepper jelly. You get 4 and I ate 3. They were as good as they sound. I floundered between jambalaya, shrimp and crab étouffée or a duck club sandwich. I opted for the duck club with duck breast, bacon and tomato jam, with a cup of gumbo. Both were AMAZING. I love that they also offer smaller portions for kids as well. My oldest daughter ordered a kids portion of fried catfish with mac and cheese. The fried catfish was a win. I need y’all southerners (I’m looking at you– Nina Arnold) to give the catfish a try. We had enough of everything leftover to have dinner but my mom asked to return before she leaves.
I hope you find time to visit both these great local restaurants and any others that are trying to stay open during this time, whether for dine-in or take-out. You will need more patience and grace as we all navigate all this, but you are needed and appreciated.
Join our Lunch with Lauren Facebook Group!
