What a Sh!%head

Today is a proud day for me. The radio station I work for is called 94.9 The Bull, so I came up with the grand idea that our entire sales staff should dress in this costume in honor of our namesake. We won best group costume. I know, I am one classy broad.

Mom's Chili

There's no denyin' it's chili weather. To honor the occasion, I'm whippin' up a batch of my mom's chili this afternoon. I love chili for the fact that it is such an American dish... the variations are endless and everyone thinks theirs reigns supreme. This happens to be the version I grew up with and still love today. The best part is serving it up with sour cream, shredded cheese, and fritos. Mom's Chili 2 pounds ground chuck 2 diced onions 1 green pepper diced 2 cloves garlic, minced 1 can of crushed tomatoes 1 can tomato paste 1 tomato paste can of water 1 can Rotel 1 packet of chili seasoning salt, pepper and cayenne to taste Brown first 4 ingredients together. Add tomoates, water, Rotel and seasoning. Simmer on medium-low for at least one hour. You can also do this in the crockpot -- cook on low 7-8 hours. Serve on top of fritos with a tasty dollop of sour cream and cheese.

The Colonnade

Friday dinner at The Colonnade. Temps have started to cool off around the Atlanta area (though we are still in the 70s during the day... how fantastical is that!) and there was a nice chill in the air on Friday evening. I had a major craving for good quality comfort food, so I hit up my trusty laptop for some recs. Since we moved to Atlanta, Citysearch has become my best friend. For the most part, their "best of" choices are spot on, and the reviews on the site are always noteworthy. The site recommended The Colonnade as the Best of Citysearch Comfort Food this year, and it has received accolades from Citysearch users in the past. I figured it would be just the thing to satisfy my comfort food craving. Located just off Cheshire Bridge amongst a slew of strip clubs, the parking lot was packed when we arrived... always a good sign, no? We had a bit of a wait, so we sidled up to the bar. The drink prices were delightfully affordable... we're talking a martini for $3.50 here people. The crowd was a mishmash... regulars who've been patrons since the 1960's, the gay crowd, families, and couples young and old. The restaurant itself was founded in 1927 and is the epitome of throwback America. It made me just the slightest bit nostalgic, because in high school I used to work at Gramma Sally's, a pancake house that also served great meat-n-three dinners. There just aren't many places like that around anymore. And it doesn't look like the Colonnade is going away anytime soon. They serve those uber-yummy warm yeast rolls to start off your meal, and they totally have that 'restaurant ranch dressing' as I like to call it... kind of runny with a great buttermilk flavor. It's nearly impossible to find in a bottle. I had the fried chicken with macaroni & cheese and cole slaw and it was delicious. The dinner made for fabulous day-after leftovers. The Mister had the braised short ribs with loaded smashed potatoes, also very yummy. There was a nice selection on the menu, and I can't wait to go back and try something else. 3. The Mister and I occasionally like to enjoy the outdoors. With the cooler temps this weekend, we decided to head up to the mountains of North Georgia in the Chattahoochee National Forest for an evening of camping. It might surprise a few of you that I am somewhat of an outdoor girl, but I went to Girl Scout Camp for 6 years as a youth so the spiders & dirt don't bother me so much...if just for a few days. We ended up at Desoto Falls, just about an hour and a half north of Atlanta. Although we didn't get to enjoy all the hiking trails, here are some pics of some of the waterfalls onsite. My apologies for not putting them directly in the post, Blogger is being pesty today. Overall it was a great evening away from the city, and the canine really enjoyed it. It was her reward for us being out of town for the last two weekends. :)

TMYLM

I hereby dedicate this post to the genius writers at HBO, those who have the courage to go where no writers have gone before. Not only do I love the witty, edgy, hiliariously scripted shows you produce, but your casting is supreme. I would especially like to compliment you on your newest show, Tell Me You Love Me. For those of you who have not watched, I highly encourage you to tune in on Sunday nights and cue up previous episodes on inDemand if necessary. Essentially, the show is about sex. Lots and lots of it. It's the perfect way to end a weekend, really. But, it's not gratuitous in that racy kind of way... more accurately it is a portraiture of the small moments in relationships that are sometimes difficult for regardless of age. I think we're about 7 weeks in, and the plot is starting to get super juicy. The character studies are fantastic and as the show goes on, the audience receives an increasingly clear picture of each character's psychoses. Well worth the hour on Sunday night. Enjoy!

Weekday Musings

Apologies for my absence, it has been a week since my last update! I will say three Hail Marys as penance. My excuses include the fact that we were out of town this past weekend in Florida with friends from KC. We haven't seen this group since we moved, so it was quite the celebratory occasion. It's taken me a few days to recover since I successfully pickled my liver, and am preparing to do so again this coming weekend. This weekend we're going to the wedding of a good friend. I love him and his betrothed and I could not be happier for the two of them. This is one of those weddings that I've been contemplating and I keep saying to myself, "Wow, I can't believe E is getting married." It seems very unreal, simply because E himself is somewhat of a character and never disappoints in the humor department. The wedding is sure to be unique and it will be great to be back home for a few days. Speaking of home, I consider myself to be one lucky broad as this fabulous group of women is throwing a party especially in my honor this weekend. I am humbled. What more could a girl ask for?

Puzzling Visit To Walgreens

I was at Walgreens tonight making my weekly drugstore run. I have become oddly enamored with drugstores lately for some reason unbeknownst to me. In particular, I like the CVS by my work. I usually stop by there once a week or so, pick up the sundries that I need (self tanner, face lotion, the occasional lip gloss or birthday card) and wander the aisles to look at other items that I don't need at all (TrimSpa, the nutrition facts on circus peanuts, eggs filled with pantyhose.) After making a quick stop at RiteAid on my way home and deciding I will never go there again due to overall lack of general product, I swung into Walgreens. I picked up a few items (Burt's Bees for the Mister, Ziploc sandwich bags) and perused the remaining aisles for a couple of additional things. In my search, I noticed that they still sell the following:Whaaa? They really still sell La Jean Nate? No you didn'! As a matter of fact, Revlon still has an entire website dedicated to the product. Holy rollers, I didn't know JN had such a cult following. Much to my delight, Walgreens also carries this wedge/ramp combo made by Liberator Bedroom Adventure Gear. Available in blue, red and black! Um, when did the drug store turn into the porn store, that's what I want to know. Comes complete with "gig bag" (????) and 100-page position guide.Last but not least, I had to find Q-Tips. I cannot survive a morning routine without these little babies. However, I could not find the usual branded box of Q-Tips I prefer, so I was forced to buy this Brady Bunch-sized bag of swabs. Until next week's shopping adventure...

ONE. You're like a dream come true

Friday night marked our first visit to ONE. Midtown Kitchen. This restaurant has been on my fridge list of "want to tries" for awhile... especially since I am such a fan of Two Urban Licks, which is owned by the same restaurateur. First off, I must say I love the atmosphere at One. It's still got the earthy warehouse vibe that Concentrics has made so popular here in Atlanta, but it's much smaller and cozier than Two. My favorite part was the long, dimly light lightbulbs hanging over the main dining area. They gave the restaurant such a great warm, urban fall feel without being over the top robot funky. We started off with cocktails (surprised?) with every intention of trying a few items off the wine list for which they are so well known. I had a gin martini flavored with grapefruit and ginger, while the Mister enjoyed a honey bourbon mint julep. It was outstanding, and yours truly does not even like whiskey! The menu overall is fairly simple & fresh, and it changes daily. I love that. It's a great way to gauge the freshness of the restaurant's food and also the creativity of the chef. The Mister and I decided that the stroganoff appetizer would be a great way to start. My mom made beef stroganoff for me all the time as a kid, and I still make it to this day. I enjoy trying variations when they're available. One's version was delectable: fall apart beef short ribs served with a rich brown sauce over linguini with cornichons. Yum. So far sooooo good. Dinner wise, I had the best entree I have enjoyed in some time. I had worcestershire Bluefin Tuna (medium rare) served with broccolini and parmesan herb fries. The dish was supposed to come with fingerling potatoes, but the parm herb fries looked too good to pass up. Holy mother, it was fabulous. I love worcestershire, and the meatiness of the tuna made me feel like I was eating a steak. The Mister enjoyed the thick cut pork chop with sweet potato hash. The chop was served with some kind of mango salsa.... it was good but not fabulous. I, on the other hand, ate every last morsel of my tuna! Oh and wine! I tried the Concentrics Cab, a wine made specifically for the Concentrics group of restaurants. It was a bit flat at first, but then it opened up beautifully. Mason had a nice zinfandel... red of course! The pink stuff is a farce in my opinion. Last but definitely not least... dessert. I have been a chocoholic lately so I had to order the chocolate grenache cake. Yummy, but not even close to the bliss that was the orange mint chip ice cream that Mason had. OMFreakingG. I think it was the best ice cream I've ever had. I can't wait to: 1) go back to try more or 2) make it myself! Overall... after this visit, One takes the crown as my most favorite restaurant we've tried in the ATL.

Like a Hot Knife Through Butta'

I am so excited for one of this weekend's upcoming activities. For years, I have been telling Mr. Soup that I have wanted to take a knife skills class. Unfortunately, the cooking class selection in KC was not very extensive. But we in the 'Lanta now baby! Love, love LOVE watching the chefs on Food Network expertly slice and dice their vegetables into perfectly symmetric, equally sized bites of vitamin-filled love. I am always jealous of them, simply because I can never seem to achieve the same result myself. We own a mandoline, but to be honest it just sits in the back of the cabinet. It's kind of a PITA to drag that thing out. I should probably just sell it on eBay. So, this weekend, we are officially students of the Viking Cooking School! Knife Skills will be our first class, but I can't wait to enroll in other offerings such as French Bistro, Salute to Rome, and Tapas & Paella. The ultimate would be the three-day Culinary Basics and/or three-day Italian Culinary Basics. I'll have to save up for one of those. The syllabus includes learning how to "dice, julienne, chop, mince, and chiffonade, how to quickly and easily butcher a whole chicken, and how to quickly and easily peel and devein shrimp. Students will also learn how to prepare a salsa and dipping sauce from scratch, how to prepare a rich chicken stock from leftover ingredients and how to prepare excellent fajitas." I'll check in with y'alls later with my new title, Master Samurai.

Nava-Ho

Nava has been on my list of must-tries since we moved to Atlanta, so needless to say I was excited to sample the Southwestern cuisine. When I read the online menu a few weeks back, the White Corn Asiago Nachos had caught my eye, so I knew those were a must try! We ordered those as an app and they were divine. Melted asiago cheese, smoked pulled chicken, queso cotija (sort of a spicy sauce), tomato and fresh lime... so good. Not that I need any nachos for lunch, or any meal for that matter, but I don't regret ordering them. I think they might actually be something I crave from time to time. For lunch, I ended up with the Adobo Fish Tacos which came with a spicy cabbage and lobster slaw. Mmm! Crispity crunchity goodness complete with a crema that I swear had just a bit of tequila flavor. Notably, the slaw had good size pieces of lobster in it... not just a miniscule flake here and there.

Service was just average. The restaurant was not busy, and our server was training a new hire. I guess she was really into the training (read: chatting up the new person) because it took her awhile to deliver drink refills and get our check. I would suppose service would be more timely if the restaurant was busy. Will go back for sure!

Collard Greens 'n' Drag Queens

This weekend marked the first occasion that the Mister and I took advantage of some of the travel options available to us regionally. It's kind of fun when you move to a new part of the country... all of a sudden some great little finds are easily accessible by car when just a few months ago, we were talking plane tickets, hotel rooms, bad airport food and a Kia Rio from Avis. We headed to Savannah, Georgia this weekend: home to such famous Georgians as James Oglethorpe (founder of the colony of Georgia) as well as everyone's favorite Suthanuh, Miss Paula Deen herself ya'll. Savannah itself is such a picturesque town. Residents have done an outstanding job preserving the city, considering it was settled in 1733. The Savannah College of Art & Design is also credited with much of the building restoration and preservation in Savannah, for which the town is quite grateful. Pictured above is just one of the many bed & breakfasts nestled throughout the boulevards of the town. Much to my delight, they ain't skeered o' no booze in Savanney. We arrived in town on Friday night and noticed quite a few lads and lassies walking around with beverage in hand. I'll tell ya what, the absence of an open container law sure does make it easier on a regular alchy like me. Finished with dinner, ready to hit the next bar but still have a Cap'n & Diet to finish? No problem! Pour 'er in a plastic cup and you're good to go. Not to mention, it sure is nice to take an evening stroll with a cold one as your special guest. Yep, I think I could get comfortable here. Saturday morn brought about hunger somethin' fierce, and the man and I had to get a good meal in our gullies. Though we were tempted to hit up The Lady & Sons, I wasn't up for a long wait just to get my name on the list. Taking some advice from Trip Advisor, we decided to hit up The Pirate's House instead. The restaurant is housed in one of the oldest buildings in Savannah on the opposite side of the historic district from our hotel, so we enjoyed a nice walk through some of the city's famous squares on our way to lunch. Lucky us, we came across this gem on the way! For those of you who don't know Mr. Soup in real life, his name is: Minus the Incorporated part. There he is, in the righthand corner :) On to The Pirate's House, matey! Our lunch definitely had some high points: you can't go wrong with the fried chicken, and the biscuits with honey pecan sauce were unreal. I also tried collard greens for the first time and also the last. The famous southern side was entirely too bitter for my taste. Oh! I almost forgot the best part. As we walked into the restaurant, we were greeted by this handsome fella. I, for one, thought his Soul-Glo look was very becoming and quite ahead of his time for a pirate! We took the trolley tour through town on Saturday afternoon -- totally touristy, but well worth the $23 ticket price. Complete with on and off privileges, the trolley tour was a great way to see all of Savannah from the famous River Street (home to the nation's second largest St. Patrick's Day Party) to gorgeous Forsyth Park, complete with her beautiful fountain. I only wish we would have had more time to explore a bit. However, I did come home chock full of interesting facts! Did you know the founder of the Girl Scouts, Juliette Gordon Low, was born in Savannah? Or, how about that Savannah is home to The Bird Girl, aka the statue on the cover of the book Midnight In The Garden of Good and Evil. I love this statue... it is so haunting and beautiful all at the same time. But enough sightseeing... on to the fun of Saturday night. We started off with a great dinner at Vic's On The River, a fantastic cozy little restaurant situated right on - you guessed it - River Street. After a martini apiece and a bottle of wine, we sauntered down the main drag and watched an artist sketch and some breakdancers cut it up to nothing more than some bongo beats. The best entertainment came from a lone trumpeter who liked to "soundtrack" everyone who walked by. Case in point: a feller walks by wearing a giant 10-gallon hat. All of a sudden, the stylings of the Dallas theme song can be heard filling the street. We were dying! I have to compliment my man for being a pretty willing chap. Some straight men would be a bit apprehensive when it comes to seeing men in women's clothing, but the husbanator was being a good sport. We'd heard that Savannah is home to a rather elaborate drag show... in fact Lady Chablis, the character from the movie Midnight in the Garden, still performs at a particular club in town regularly. I must say, she looks pretty good for a 67 year old man. Also, the night before, we'd ridden up the elevator with a few of the performers who gave us the down low on showtimes. Now I love a great drag show, so there was no way I was missing this performance. We actually ended up running into our waiter from dinner at the cabaret, who apparently had just been named Miss Gay Pride Savannah! He knew several of the performers who were actually in for a special visit from Atlanta, so after the show (and several more cocktails) he got us an introduction. I am fascinated with drag, so it was great to chat them up and ask them questions about makeup and how in the world they do backflips in 4" heels on stage. That's entertainment I tell you! The show didn't even begin until 12:30, so after all the performances and a bit of partying with the coolest queens this side of the Mississippi, we were ready to hit the sack. This has been a rather long entry, so I will conclude with letting ya'll know that the drive back to the Big A was a long one. Thankfully, my wonderful Mister didn't mind when I took a snooze somewhere in between Macon and Morrow. What a nice southern gentleman. :)