MAMA NING’S THAI (2 S. Primary St., Watkinsville, 706-705-1012): You wouldn’t suppose {that a} Thai restaurant in Watkinsville can be good, regardless that the city does have some vivid spots, and eating choices have expanded. Even Athens solely has restricted Asian choices whether or not east, west, north, south or central. Certain, there are many locations the place you will get an OK curry or a merely executed stir-fry, however there’s not a ton past that.
Mama Ning’s isn’t precisely uncalibrated to the Western European palate, nevertheless it is much better than it must be. Occupying the previous Mirko Pasta area within the City Middle advanced in downtown Watkinsville, it has a patio for out of doors eating, an appropriate if not wonderful masks coverage (an indication on the door asks the unvaxxed to masks up, fairly good for Oconee County), and a strong on-line ordering platform for take-out. You possibly can choose your spice stage from delicate to extremely popular for many dishes, and medium is lots satisfactory. One of the best stuff on the menu is underneath “Mama Ning’s Favorites,” the place you’ll discover catfish in basil sauce (frivolously fried and served with bell pepper, onions, inexperienced beans, inexperienced peppercorns, fingerroot and mushrooms in a chili basil sauce; it unsurprisingly collapses in a take-out container, however nonetheless has loads of taste), a bunch of duck dishes, Thai-style hen and rice (additionally out there in a smaller portion on the children menu and principally the Thai model of hen soup, steamed with loads of aromatics, served with a hearty broth and comfortingly bland in some ways), and khao soi/chiang mai noodles (a scrumptious curry dish specializing in coconut milk and turmeric with egg noodles, your alternative of protein, onions, lime, scallions, cilantro and splendidly good and stunning pickled mustard greens, to be topped with fried wontons for a satisfying crunch). The greens and the fish appear to be one of the best choices, though there’s additionally larb, a chilly ground-meat salad most frequently made with pork however right here out there as hen, shrimp or tofu, all tossed with lime juice, fish sauce, onions, celery, cilantro, mint and scallions. Tofu and the hen massaman are fantastic however not thrilling. The inexperienced papaya salad is just a little wilted. The concept of the Thai-style scrambled egg, filled with greens, is a little more thrilling than the truth, by which the result’s a chewy pancake studded with stuff that doesn’t assert itself. Nonetheless, on the entire, the place deserves credit score for utilizing contemporary substances and never counting on sugar to hold its dishes. Even the tom yum, a hot-and-sour-type soup that’s a normal in lots of Thai eating places, has extra panache than at most locations.
The aforementioned children menu has a number of choices, none of which is hen fingers, and there’s makgeolli (Korean rice beer) among the many beer and wine choices, plus cake from Sweetie Pie by Savie for dessert. The restaurant is open for lunch and dinner Tuesday–Sunday, with a break in between the meals.
ACHACHI INTERNATIONAL MARKET (2024 S Milledge Ave., Athens, 706-850-9800): This place isn’t a restaurant in any respect, however a market. It’s value a word nonetheless, because it has been a minute since Athens had a spot the place you can get Indian, Pakistani, Arabic and West African groceries. The shop, proper by the Islamic Middle on Milledge Avenue, is pretty teeny, nevertheless it packs in loads, particularly within the second room that will be simple to overlook, the place coolers maintain complete frozen fish (pomfret, rohu, and many others.), halal meats, butter produced from water buffalo milk, lassis, tofu, roti (cooked and raw) and attention-grabbing sodas. There are contemporary greens, too, and gigantic baggage of rice. The principle room has copious packets of assorted curries, well-priced complete spices, nuts, a great deal of snacks (potato chips in an array of flavors, together with mint; baggage of spicy fried lentils), poori, mango drinks, soaps, a great deal of pickles, Cadbury Milk candies and far more. When you’re in search of glorious COVID precautions, you received’t discover them right here, and a few issues are nonetheless higher discovered at Fooks Foods, simply down the block, nevertheless it’s a enjoyable place to browse and uncover new issues, and a useful useful resource for the various worldwide college students who dwell within the space. It’s open 11 a.m.–9 p.m. daily, and greater than keen to do particular orders for folk who ask.
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