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Showing posts from March, 2011

Schroeder's Deli: Great Eats & Art

Last weekend we went to Rome...Rome, Georgia that is! A small college town about an hour from Atlanta. We took cover from the rain and had lunch at Zach's favorite place, Schroeder's Deli. A family owned restaurant with a great atmosphere and yummy eats. The owner's son's impressive artwork hung on the wall for sale. We ordered a pitcher of Blue Moon and potato skins to share. I got the turkey pita, which was hot with sprouts and veggies. All of it was delicious!

Why I'm not hungry for lunch...

This morning I was in a rush and forgot to make breakfast. I really wanted an egg and cheese sandwich, but not down for supporting fast food places anymore...so I used Foursquare's explore feature to find a breakfast place on my route. New Yorker Deli at 4691 Atlanta Rd came up with rave reviews! I stopped and got my sammie to go. They make everything fresh and it was ready in 5 minutes. To my surprise it was 2 fried eggs with melted cheese and crispy bacon. Yummy! Next time I'll try a bagel, which is about half the price. Great place to stop!

Spoon's Panang Chicken Rivals Ban Thai

The flavors are spot on! Panang is made with a red curry coconut sauce, veggies and optional meat served with rice. Instead of zucchini Spoon uses thinly sliced eggplant, which is an interesting twist! Compared to Ban Thai, their packaging prevents spills - a plus! But they don't serve brown rice - a minus. The restaurant was very busy so I grabbed my food to go...and it was ready quickly. Spoon is located in Midtown, Atlanta.

Octane Coffee Buzz

Pleasantly better than Starbucks, this Atlanta coffee bar is a local favorite and now I know why.  They make super fresh French press coffee for you to sit and enjoy while reading a paper or checking your email.  In addition to amazing caffeinated concoctions, Octane Coffee serves beer, wine, liquor, sandwiches and more.  I have to go back again soon! The best part is this place is a hop, skip and jump away from my new office!

Cupcakes from Sugar Cakes Patisserie

It was a gloomy Sunday and all I could think about was adding some sweetness to my afternoon.  Marietta Square is the center of the town and there are several independently owned bakeries and homemade ice cream shops within a few blocks of each other.  (I'm having a secret cupcake war between bakeries to see which one is the king of the square.  This is my first taste test.)  Sugar Cakes Patisserie seemed to be the only one open to the public on Sunday and I called ahead to make sure they still had some cupcakes.  Once I arrived I was told that the cookies and cream and red velvet cupcakes went really fast!  Apparently I wasn't the only one with cupcakes on the brain.  I picked up 5 to share with my loved ones...plus a chocolate covered strawberry for myself.  When I got home and opened the box only the vanilla cupcakes had fallen over. These cupcakes were surprisingly super light and not very sweet.  The icing was like a whipped frothy pudding; vanilla hinted of cream cheese

{ weekend } Loving Midtown

My weekend was pretty exciting.  I spent last Saturday as a Makeup Assistant in Midtown, Atlanta.  Veronica (aka Vrok, my sista) is a Master Makeup Artist and was booked for a bridal fashion photo shoot.  (Visit her website: http://veronicasitterding.com !)  The location for the shoot was at the Redefined Home Boutique .  This store is so much more than your average furniture store... it's a gorgeous display of luxury items that I'd love to collect for my home.  If you're anywhere near Downtown or Midtown Atlanta you must stop at Redefined!  The owner and staff were awesome and I was in heaven spending an enter afternoon in this place!  The gowns went beautifully with the background -- a perfect setting for this type of photo shoot. It's hard to say what my favorite look or gown was because they were all out of this world.  Efran Lebron Arroyo's designs were stunning...and made me want to hurry up and get one!  Veronica did a fantastic job changing up the model'

Tiny Bistro by Figs & Honey Catering

I had a busy first day at my new job.  Did some training, lots of reading and meeting new people.  I can not begin to explain how excited I am to be working for this company.  It's like a dream come true.  My job is an amazing part of town with some of the coolest people and it feels like what I was meant to do.  Finally found my place in the universe again! For lunch my new supervisor took me out to lunch at this neat place called Tiny Bistro a few minutes from the office.  The menu is written on the chalkboard wall and there are pops of bright pink everywhere.  The chicken salad on greens caught my eye and I went with it.  Turned out to be a really great choice too! Here are a few photos I snagged from their site of the interior.  I'm sure I'll be back there for another lunch out soon, but there are lots and lots of new restaurants to explore in Midtown! Need to go to sleeeeeep!!! Early morning with quite a commute.

Green Smoothie: Spinach Cantaloupe Banana Chia

I almost ran out of the house without breakfast this morning in a rush to get on the road for my first day of work.  But I thought about what my options were and wasn't feeling it.  What did I do?  Made a green smoothie in less than 5 minutes and drank it on my commute!  Healthy and fabulous way to start my day. Recipe Ingredients: 1/4 fresh cantaloupe 1/2 frozen banana 1.5 Tbsp Chia Bia* 1 cup Original Almond Breeze Blend and enjoy!  The cantaloupe was SO refreshing.  LOVE this recipe. *After a little bit the chia starts to thicken the smoothie, so it's best if you drink it somewhat quickly. Drink Your Greens!

La Parrilla Margarita Time!

La Parrilla is a chain of Mexican restaurants around the Atlanta area.  Someone had a craving for burritos last Saturday night... and La Parrilla came to mind.  A live musician played cover songs with a flare.  The restaurant was hustling and bustling with patrons... and a few of them celebrated their birthdays.  We ordered a Patron margarita pitcher to share.  Yes, I said pitcher!  Veronica ordered a Mango Daiquiri and it was so tasty that I'm going to have to get that next time.  Apparently they make really great drinks at La Parrilla!  (One drink was all I needed.)  We ordered a side of white cheesy queso (which I didn't snap a photo of) and snacked on fresh tortilla chips. Check out my Super Burrito! Can you even tell there's a burrito under there? Seasoned shredded chicken topped with lettuce, cheese, sour cream and a tomato slice. Deliciouso! But after tasting how fantastic the marinated steak is... I will order than next time too. With a side of guacamole. SO

Say NO to GM Alfalfa!!!

How did I miss this last month?! The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has approved the planting of genetically engineered alfalfa, rejecting regulations that the department proposed.   NOOOOO!!!   Monsanto wins again... and the American population loses a little more "real" food and faces unforeseeable side effects.  Genetically Modified Organisms (and now Animals!!!) could be the biggest controversy of our century !  European countries have banned GMOs and will not allow trade of products make with these ingredients into their countries.  (I'm taking that as a sign that I need to move to Europe.)  Do you guys realize how scary and serious this is?  It's threatening my precious Organic Premium Blended Alfalfa, not to mention the food supply of our entire planet...and I won't stand for that! My mouth dropped and eyes widened when I read this : "This is great news for farmers who have been waiting for the green light to plant Roundup Ready alfalfa,"

Blue Moon Pizza

Last Friday we headed out to eat at Blue Moon Pizza .  I love the name and atmosphere of this place -- they have free Wi-Fi too!  Every table has these cute blue moon tiles on the corners and the restaurant was pretty busy for a Friday night.  I ordered a Blue Moon beer (of course, one of my faves)!  We decided to share the garlic knots, Greek Salad and white pizza.  Our waitress was from Florida -- somehow I keep running into Floridians! White Pizza: Fresh spinach, roasted garlic, red onions, artichoke hearts, creamy ricotta cheese and our house cheese. Overall this is definitely a place you should visit if in the Atlanta area.  I'd love to go there on a sunny day to enjoy a leisurely lunch with a fresh brew and my laptop.  I still miss Dominic's though! Au revoir!