What to Eat Near Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre, Battle of the Banh Mi, and More

Over at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, John Kessler rounds up restaurants worth visiting before a show at Alpharetta's Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre. He qualifies his recommendations with some eyebrow-raising advice: "Don’t go looking for the best possible meal before a show at Verizon. Go for a guilty pleasure and try not to get mad if there’s a hassle factor," but eventually suggests Rio Nuevo Mexican Cantina, Spice Brick Oven Kitchen, and Buca di Beppo. [AJC]

Creative Loafing's Brad Kaplan compares banh mi at We Suki Suki and Quoc Huong. About the "near-pinnacle" example of a sandwich, he says, "[It's] a freshly baked French baguette stuffed with flavorful grilled meat or tofu or Vietnamese deli meat, along with the bright crisp crunch of slivers of pickled carrots and daikon, a sprinkling of cilantro and jalapeño, and a smear of decadent Vietnamese mayo." The verdict? We Suki Suki wins out on most fillings, but Quoc Huong's bread is flawless. [CL]

THE ELSEWHERE and THE BLOGS: Also at Creative Loafing, two Italian restaurants, Nino's and Alfredo's in what may be Atlanta's red-light district and Urban pL8's paleo-friendly menu, Jennifer Zyman's picks for Asian dumplings in the AJC, Chow Down Atlanta says Kal Guk Si's handmade noodles aren't to be missed, and Atlanta Restaurant Blog takes on Thai and sushi at R. Rice.
[Photo of Buca di Beppo via Metromix]