I was so appalled/mystified/jealous when my boss made us read that mega-popular book “Who Moved My Cheese” about Sniff and Scurry the mice. Appalled that I had been assigned a third-grade-level book to read, mystified by why people practically turned it into a cult and insanely jealous that I hadn’t written a book read my millions.
Anyway, the premise that we all have to accept change is a valid one, no matter how juveniley it was presented. Which brings me to my point – it’s time for my blog to change. As I often tell myself when I should be writing and instead am looking at photos of somebody’s dog’s birthday on Facebook – and I don’t even know the person much less the dog – I need to focus. Read the full post »
by admin on February 25, 2010
It is so easy to just not go out. Especially if you’re trying to conserve funds. But when you get deals as good as three courses for $25 in some of your city’s best restaurants, it’s time to throw down the leftovers, get off the couch and get out.
That’s just what we did last night for the extended week of Downtown Atlanta Restaurant Week. My husband asked if I wanted to go out and it seemed a perfect time to check out a new place.
So we headed to Legal Sea Foods, where I had a house salad, salmon with green beans and sweet potatoes and a killer key lime tart for dessert. I only ate half my entrée, so just finished the rest for lunch. And Chris and I shared one key lime tart, so the other is safely tucked into the fridge, waiting for whoever claims it first. Being the bearer of the more powerful sweet tooth, he will most likely polish it off before day’s end.
Downtown Atlanta Restaurant Week lasts through Sunday, August 16, so check it out for yourself. And just about every major city has at least one restaurant week if not several. Whether you live there or are traveling, it’s worth a few minutes on Google and an entry into your calendar for this affordable way to check out new restaurants. Or even visit a few old favorites.
But if you miss this one, be sure to catch Midtown Restaurant Week, which is Saturday, August 29 to Sunday, September 6. Same great deal – enjoy a three-course menu at close to 40 restaurants for just $25.
by admin on August 13, 2009
Lenox Square as an open-air mall.
This morning I attended an anniversary celebration. For a mall. But this isn’t just any mall – this is Lenox Square and it opened 50 years ago today.
At the celebration I ran into the charming Mr. Feiman, the dad of one of my high school boyfriends. He came because he had owned a popular men’s shop called Hirsch’s, and had a found a copy of his original lease with Lenox from 1959.
His rent back then? $14,887 a year, for 2600 square feet and a 2200-square-foot basement. Less than $6 a square foot. These days merchants pay around $65, and there is a waiting list for new tenants.
I went because I grew up with Lenox. Being roughly the same age, and growing up just a few miles away, I spent many, many hours there, including having two jobs, adding tens of dollars to my own bottom line.
Here’s just a few of my many memories from Lenox Square: Read the full post »
by admin on August 3, 2009
A window front of Ri Rá, fronting Crescent Avenue in Midtown
Before last night, about the closest I ever got to Ireland was attending the St. Patrick’s Day parade in Savannah where more than half a million of my closest friends got drunk, got their cars towed, warbled an off-key rendition of “Danny Boy” and watched the Savannah River get dyed green.
But now after visiting Rí Rá , I feel I’ve gotten a bit more civilized and authentic taste of The Emerald Isle. This Irish pub opens today in Midtown Atlanta, becoming the newest addition to the burgeoning Crescent Avenue dining scene.
Before we even walked in, we enjoyed viewing the windows, full of authentic Irish artifacts, one whose purpose we debated. Vacuum cleaner or sausage maker? And the flowers on the patio and in containers at the front door are stunning.
Take a step inside, and you’ll be entering 19th-century Dublin, complete with wood
Just one section of the main bar at Ri Rá
paneling, a parquet floor from a shipyard in Belfast where the Titanic was built, gorgeous crystal chandeliers and a beautiful bar. Walk through the front room, through a dining area, and in the back you’ll find The Harbour Bar, which can be rented separately for private parties. The place feels so authentic you can just picture James Joyce sitting at the bar, plotting his next chapter of Ulysses. Read the full post »
by admin on July 10, 2009
The home of the best blueberry pies on the planet.
I knew it was going to be my kind of trip when I realized that our days’ agenda was built around the acquisition of freshly baked blueberry pies from the local farmers market.
We were visiting friends in Cashiers, North Carolina, who informed us shortly after our arrival that the best blueberry pie on the planet was made at the local farmers market but they ran out fast so getting there when the market opened was imperative. After just one bite of the pie after dinner that night, I agreed and was on board for Operation Piecrust, set to begin at 0900.
Read the full post »
by admin on June 23, 2009
tagged
Atlanta,
Cashiers Farmers Market,
DeKalb Farmers Market,
Farmers Markets,
Green Market for Piedmont Park,
Local Harvest,
Locavare,
Marietta Square Farmers Market,
Morningside Farmers Market,
Peachtree Road Farmers Market,
St. Simons,
State Farmers Market
Jersey Boys are charming audiences at the Fox this summer in Atlanta.
Being more of a Bruce Springsteen/RollingStones/Rod Stewart kind of girl in my younger years, the softer tones of Frankie Valli pretty much escaped my notice. Add to that the fact that one of my daughter’s college professors once stated, “‘Jersey Boys’ is everything that is wrong with American theater,” and you get the picture – the dancing/singing quartet wasn’t at the top of our list.
But hey, you don’t win Tony Awards for nothing, and it’s playing at my beloved Fox Theatre, so my daughter and I went to see “Jersey Boys” last week. Oh, what a night. Read the full post »
The interior of 30 Tables, where windows face Peachtree and Spring streets.
I’d bet a box of moon pies that only in the South would the discussion at dinner at an elegant restaurant turn to the topic of mayonnaise. But that it did at my dinner at the newly opened 30 Tables last night.
And I’m glad it did. Not because I’m a huge fan of the creamy condiment although it does have a place in my heart and my fridge, but because it meant this restaurant space is finally where it needs to be – in the hands of people who know what Atlantans want.
Read the full post »
My fantasy summer includes afternoons lounging around this pool at the St. Regis, followed by a glass of pinot noir in their gorgeous wine bar.
I’ve found my new fantasy home for the summer – poolside at the new St. Regis in Atlanta. We had breakfast there and took a tour this morning and as soon as I stepped onto the terrace, I already pictured myself lounging with a cool beverage in one hand, and a trashy magazine in the other, with an attentive cabana boy nearby should I need someone to turn the page or fluff my towel. Read the full post »
by admin on April 28, 2009
Gary Mennie takes his toque to the new restaurant Livingston, opening at the end of April.
I won’t go so far as to call myself a chef groupie – that term I reserve for the McMen of Gray’s Anatomy and a few members of the Rolling Stones, decrepit bodies and all – but after writing about restaurants in Atlanta for more than 10 years, I do have my favorites that I follow. To me, there are few things more attractive than a man who knows his way around a skillet and makes a living with fire.
One of my favorites is Gary Mennie, chef at Canoe for 10 years before opening the glorious, yet-strangely-unknown Taurus. I mourned the closing of the restaurant, but knowing that talent like this won’t stay still for long, waited for this “New Age Soul Food guru” to reemerge on the dining scene. Read the full post »
by admin on April 6, 2009
The company of A Chorus Line. Photo: Paul Kolnik
What job-hunter, college-applicant or Ebay bidder hasn’t said those words to himself? Twenty-four years after its first debut, the sentiment behind the popular musical A Chorus Line is still universal – we hope we get it. Whatever it is.
I first saw the popular musical years ago on Broadway and loved every single Marvin Hamlisch-crafted note. Of course I couldn’t relate to the specific setting of the play, given my complete lack of any acting or singing talent whatsoever. I was the girl who the elementary school choir teacher would point to and say, “Let’s try that song again, and Jan, you just listen this time,” until she finally gave up and banished me to recorder lessons. The closest I ever came to performing on stage were the recurring nightmares I’d have that I was about to step on and couldn’t remember my lines. Read the full post »
by admin on March 3, 2009
