Dining in the ATL: Kang Nam (the puffer fish place)

The name of this place is just Kang Nam, but I call it the puffer fish place because there is a big puffer fish on the sign.  Also, because I can never remember the actual name of the place, I find it easiest to refer to it as the puffer fish place.  Everyone I dine there with always knows exactly where I am talking about; we all call it the puffer fish place.  And every time I call it the puffer fish place I remember the episode of the Simpsons where Homer accidentally eats puffer fish and has only a few hours to live.

Kang Nam is a Japanese Korean restaurant or a Korean Japanese restaurant, or something like that.  In essence, you can get sushi as well as Korean food.  I've never ventured too far into the menu, as I am so completely taken by the lunch special Bento boxes (pictured above) that I never want to order anything else.  The lunch boxes are in the range of $8.95-10.95, depending on what meat you have (pictured on the lower right-hand side of box are the Korean spare ribs, I've also had bulgolgi).  At that price it's slightly at the high end of the range for Buford highway dining, but look at all of that food.  From the top left going clockwise the box contains:  salad, tempura shrimp and vegetables, some unknown fried cheese (this portion of the box always varies and is always delicious), the main course (in addition to the ones I've tried, they also have fish and chicken), rice, and half a California roll.  Not pictured (well, barely) are all of the fun Korean appetizers--kim chi, fried corn, and a few other things I can't remember, and the green tea ice cream that comes at the end of the meal.  Definitely a good value, and very good food.  Plus, I derive such enjoyment out of the Bento box format and the sense of adventure that comes from not exactly knowing what is in a few of the wells.  Food with intrigue.

This post is going to be short as the weather is beautiful and I want to get out into the garden for awhile.  Soon I plan to have post after post about the bounty from the garden.  It's taking a bit of work to get there and blogging is suffering as a result, but we're getting closer.