Watch the Throne

            When a visiting friend asked me which restaurant in Emory Village was the best, I was overcome with a sense of guilt and embarrassment. I was trying to figure out why and how I could have lived at Emory for an entire semester and only have eaten at two restaurants in Emory Village. Due to the feeling of guilt that my friend’s question installed upon me, I decided the only way to resolve my feelings would be to embark on a quest by eating at all of the restaurants in Emory Village within the second semester.

After eating at Saba, a slightly expensive Italian restaurant, my expectations were held high for the remaining restaurants in Emory Village. Falafel King certainly did not hold up to my previous expectations and I believe that the restaurant has a significantly overrated reputation around campus. I’m actually quite surprised that the place has stayed in business. Even though the food was acceptable, I never thought it was possible to grow a beard while waiting in line to receive an order of Falafel. Nevertheless, Falafel King at least made it possible for me, while I waited for my order, to go across the street and get a cheap haircut at Super Cuts while still having time to pick up my dry-cleaning down the road.

Another restaurant that did not hold up to its reputation was Everybody’s Pizza. To be honest, the restaurant seemed to have a decent status among friends. However, I felt that the service at Everybody’s Pizza was subpar, the dishes lacked even a remote amount of diversity, and the food was bland. Furthermore, after receiving my dish and seeing a four-inch strand of hair emerging from the pesto sauce, I do not predict I will be revisiting Everybody’s Pizza any time soon.

House Salad and Pork Steamed Dumplings (Doc Chey's)

On the other hand, Doc Chey’s Noodle House was one of the restaurants that offered a beacon of light in my quest to find the best restaurant in Emory Village. Doc Chey’s offers quality Asian dishes at an affordable price. My friend and I ate there after a tiring swim practice and we were stuffed with only spending twenty dollars on food. If you’re someone that enjoys sampling many different appetizers, the dumplings, the edamame, and the house salad were all phenomenal. The House salad had an original homemade ginger dressing which served as an excellent compliment to the hot, hand rolled, steamed pork dumplings. Additionally, the Edamame was cooked perfectly and was coated in just the right amount of salt to fulfill a crave. It was easy to notice that I was enjoying food prepared with fresh vegetables, meats, and quality ingredients. As of now, Doc Chey’s Noodle house takes the crown for being the best restaurant in Emory Village. However, I still need to eat at a few more to restaurants to decide if any others can usurp the throne. 

Edamame (Doc Chey's)