Month: May, 2010

Get Jazzed this Weekend

Praise the Lord, I’m throwing on a sundress and sandals, grabbing my picnic blanket and heading to Piedmont Park this weekend. After two years at other locations, The Jazz Fest has returned!

This is the 33rd year for this premier Atlanta event,  the largest free jazz festival in the country. The music kicks off Saturday afternoon at 2:00 with the Rialto Jazz for Kids All Star Jazz Band and continues though Sunday with the final act, Stanley Clarke and Hiromi, taking the stage at 8:30. And there are plenty more talented entertainers in between, who perform at the invitation of the Jazz Fest.

But like any good festival, there’s even more to enjoy than the music. Here are just a few of the attractions you can enjoy May 29-30:

• Bud Light Beer Garden.

• Publix Kids Zone with rock wall, batting cage, jump rope contest and more

• Food Vendors

• Crafts Market

• Family Lounge

In addition to all the free entertainment, there are a couple of events that require payment.

• Late Night Jazz Jam with William Green and Gary Harris at Loews Atlanta Hotel on Saturday from 10 PM to 2 AM. Tickets are $20.Click here for tickets.

• Gospel Jazz Brunch with Inspired by Valerie, Sunday, May 30 from 11 am to 1 pm at Park Tavern.

Here are a few things you wouldn’t have seen 33 year ago – you can discover what your carbon footprint is, learn some beauty tips using everyday products, and if you take a six-pack of cans or plastic bottles to recycle you can get a vintage Atlanta Jazz Festival poster.

Get more information at www.atlantafestivals.com, and find the list of performers here.

1 Comment by admin on May 24, 2010
filed in Atlanta Attractions
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Let’s All Go to the Lobby

The Nick is back! Yep, Nick Oltarsh, the opening executive chef of Lobby, has returned and is turning out plates of deliciousness again after a five-year absence.

Ever since his days at Murphy’s, Nick has been one of my favorite chefs. I was glad to see him back at Lobby where he wields his talent at taking simple food and adding his special touches to make it memorable.

Although it is located in Twelve at Atlantic Station not too far from my home, I somehow forget that Lobby is there. And it even has the added appeal of easy, free-if-it’s-under-two-hours parking. And perhaps a little shopping side trip if time and the budget allows.

But after having lunch there last week, it’s firmly back on my radar. And check out these specials: every Wednesday through Friday from 5-7, enjoy a martini for just $1! Just one per person, but that’s all I can handle anyway.

And how about this? Every Thursday night Lobby is sponsoring free outdoor movies, along with all-you-can-eat pizza for $10, add beer and wine for an additional $5. Get a schedule at www.atlanticstation.com.

As for the food? I’ll let the pictures tell the stories.

I’m not sure who invented Chicken & Waffles, (Gladys Knight?) but I’m processing their application for sainthood. Nick heats this salty/sweet dish up with a touch of Tabasco.

The pickled cucumbers, hearts of palm and sesame ginger vinaigrette add a touch of flavor and a lot of color to the seared tuna

It took all of my willpower to not eat a second piece of this simple, but perfect vegetable pizza. We tried analyzing what made it so delicious between cheese-laden mouth fulls

I loved the addition of capers and caraway seeds to the ever-popular shrimp and grits

I wasn’t fast enough to snag a lemon meringue tart but did manage to grab a pistachio eclair for a small indulgence at the end of the meal

1 Comment by admin on May 18, 2010
filed in Atlanta Dining
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Takin’ it to the Streets

Haley Richardson with her food trike filled with homemade ice cream sandwiches

Sure, Atlanta is a great food city – you can get everything from a naked dog at the Varsity to a masterful four-course dinner at Bacchanalia. But there is one thing you can’t get that almost all other major cities have.

Street food.

Seems the city won’t allow people in Atlanta to enjoy the wonders of tacos, hot dogs, ice cream, Korean barbecue and plenty of other delicious, affordable food that people in Austin, Los Angeles, Portland and New York can enjoy every day.

But now we have a committed group of folks who are determined to change that. The Atlanta Street Food Coalition is campaigning to persuade lawmakers that we deserve to enjoy the opportunities for people to sell and buy food from trucks in Atlanta and surrounding areas.  You can have a truck at a street festival or a catered event, and street carts are allowed more freedom, but locations are quite restricted. Read the full post »

2 Comments by admin on May 11, 2010
filed in Atlanta Dining
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What Lies Behind the Decorators’ Show House

Back view of the Decorators' Showhouse home

Back view of the Decorators' Show House

When I was in college  people asked if I lived “in the city” when I said I was from Atlanta. I said yes. I found out that many of them pictured me in a high-rise surrounded by asphalt. (In retrospect, these must have been Yankee folk, who bless-their-hearts, just didn’t know any better.)

Barely within the city limits, my neighborhood consisted of a maze of cul-de-sacs, forests and creeks, and dogs who rarely felt the restraint of a leash. We still live in the city, but even our small lot is surrounded by trees, we are host to occasional possum visitors and our next-door neighbors just this week dealt with a family of raccoons who had taken up residence in their attic.

A city life that doesn’t include acres of asphalt, doormen, or daily rides in an elevator is one of my favorite things about Atlanta. But even with that standard, the gardens at the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra’s 30th Decorator’s Show House left us two city girls, one with her own impressive acreage just a few streets over, awestruck. Picture more than four acres of gorgeous property, not overdone in a frou-frou staff-of-gardeners way, but in a let’s-fall-in-love-with-nature again sort of way. Right in the middle of Buckhead. Read the full post »

1 Comment by admin on May 3, 2010
filed in Atlanta Events