When my good friends the Delgados moved to Georgia, it was definitely a sad time. I worked with Jonathan as one of his volunteers for our church’s youth group and Maria, known only to me as Pepper Potts, was, for all intents and purposes, my writing muse. She almost knows the characters in my books better than I do. And they are two of the nicest people in the world. On top of that, their children are just perfect. I love their whole family. Which is why I was so stoked to find myself with time on my hands over spring break. My wife and daughter were taking a girls only trip to New Orleans, so I excitedly headed south.

I knew I was going to have fun because I always have fun together. We saw a movie and watched Mystery Science Theater 3000, played a really fun board game called Ticket to Ride, enjoyed the Georgia Aquarium, and went to church together. Jonathan was preaching, which is a truly happy thing. What I discovered, though, was just how much amazing food there was all around them. We barely scratched the surface of all the amazing restaurants, so I’m really looking forward to going back. Here’s a rundown of all the great places we ate, in as close as I am capable of recalling in chronological order:

Taco Mac: I was quite excited to eat here because Jonathan and I, along with a few other friends, had a tradition of having wing nights. Now that they live in Georgia, Jonathan does his winging here, so I was really looking forward to having wings with him. I must admit, I was a little underwhelmed, though I strongly believe it isn’t the restaurant’s fault. The problem wasn’t the flavor, which was really good. I split my order between lemon pepper dry rub and barbecue and I really liked both. The problem was the size of the wings themselves. They weren’t just small–they were, at least in some cases, freakishly small. There were a couple of drumettes that looked like they came off pigeons instead of chickens. I normally can’t finish an order of 20 wings, but I had no trouble this time. But I’ve run into that issue the last few times I’ve gotten wings at home, too. I don’t know why, but wings just seem to be getting scrawnier and scrawnier. I ordered a peach lambic to drink. I love the pesche lambic I used to drink at a pub my brother used to run in Virginia, so I was fired up to see they had one available, though it wasn’t the one my brother’s place carried. It was good, but it definitely didn’t compare. It had a peach flavor, but more like a stewed peach than a fresh one. The server was friendly, but almost a little too friendly, if you understand what I mean. He made suggestions whether we asked for them or not, but he was quite efficient. I’d rather have a server that’s too attentive over one that disappears when you need him. All in all, I’d give this place a 7 out of 10, but, to be fair, I think most of the problems I had were not their fault. All things considered, I’d definitely go back.

Zuarepa: First of all, don’t ask me to pronounce the name of the restaurant or the item I ordered. I called it the number two, hold the ham, but its actual name is Cabimera. But before I talk about my food, the restaurant is an unassuming little place in a shopping plaza, though Jonathan assured me it was going to be the best Venezuelan food I’d ever eaten. That was an easy promise for him to make, considering I’d never had Venezuelan food before. But this was delectable! It was, I thought, supposed to be essentially a sandwich, but it turned out to be open-faced with a soft corn-based foundation that was almost like a dense cornbread or cake. I am not describing it as well as it deserves, because it was so good. On top were beef that was said to be ripped (I assume, based on the texture, it would be called pulled in the States), cabbage, slices of hard-boiled egg, mayonnaise, ketchup, and white cheese. As I mentioned before, it normally comes with ham, but pork products don’t always agree with me, so I asked them to leave that off. But I definitely didn’t miss it. It was so much better than the ingredients would seem to add up to. It was creamy and crunchy and sweet and tart and toothsome, with an earthy essence to it that I am guessing is a result of whatever the beef was cooked in, but I don’t know. The best bites were the ones where I managed to get a little bit of every ingredient. Jonathan got something else, but he raved about his selection as well. I would give my dish a solid 9 out of 10. And beyond the food, the young person who waited on us was quite personable and helpful. I would go there again in a heartbeat.

I’ve written so many words and I haven’t even gotten to the big highlights yet, so I think I’ll just call this part one and finish my story next week. I hope you enjoyed the first half of my food journey and come back to hear about Rico’s World Kitchen and Over the Top Burger Bar. If you’ve eaten at either of the restaurants I talked about, I’d love to hear from you. Just leave me a comment and give me your impression of the place and the food. I look forward to hearing from you!