tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-53708736825748424732024-03-19T00:58:50.728-04:00Blog SoupA melange of observations on some of life's more enjoyable moments...including but not limited to wine, restaurants & cooking, and adventures in home improvement.Lesliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08042405946803918471noreply@blogger.comBlogger197125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5370873682574842473.post-9339249188721416532009-09-30T10:43:00.000-04:002009-09-30T10:43:46.404-04:00Moving On<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">First of all, thank you so much to all the loyal readers of Blog Soup over the last few years. This blog was started right after we moved to Atlanta, and it's been a great way to chronicle our time here. I've had a great time writing restaurant reviews, talking about cooking, making random observations about life in A-town and getting to know others in the blogging world! </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">As we get ready to leave Atlanta and make our way back to Kansas City, I feel like Blog Soup is something that belongs here, so I won't be taking it with me to KC. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">That being said, I think my internet addiction makes it impossible not to blog. So I've got a new one, The </span></span><a href="http://www.diy-diaries.blogspot.com/"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">DIY Diaries</span></span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">! </span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The next several months of our lives will be pretty heavily focused on the ups and downs of home improvement. I'm really excited for it. Please hop on over there, and follow along. Thanks for reading y'all!</span></span>Lesliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08042405946803918471noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5370873682574842473.post-10342287341348610002009-09-30T10:16:00.001-04:002009-09-30T10:17:56.271-04:00Woodfire Grill<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Final stop on the Bon Voyage Atlanta Mini Restaurant Tour! I'm so glad we went to </span></span><a href="http://www.woodfiregrill.com/"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Woodfire Grill</span></span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> before the train pulls out of the station here in just a few hours. (Hours!) When we first moved to the ATL and lived down in the </span></span><a href="http://www.virginiahighland.com/"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Virginia Highland</span></span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> area, we'd been eyeing Woodfire... just never went. I suppose it took Executive Chef Kevin Gillespie getting on season 6 of Top Chef to really light a fire under our asses and get us over there! </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Loved the ambiance of this restaurant. It's inviting, but still has the slightest flutter of formality. The dining room is lively but not too loud. The scent of the woodfire grill is intoxicating as you first walk in. The bartender has a friendly face. It's easy to feel right at home.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">We'll start with service. The service at Woodfire was some of the best we've had from some of the finer establishments we've dined at as of late. Attentive but not too talkative, this guy had it right. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">There is a nice selection of seasonal cocktails available from the bar - I personally went with the Blackberry Bramble which had fresh muddled blackberries and gin. Fresh, tasty and not oppressive with the taste of alcohol, this is definitely a nicely mixed cocktail. The wine list is also notable - we had a 2005 </span></span><a href="http://www.ferrari-carano.com/wines/limited/prevailwestface.aspx"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Ferrari Carano Prevail Cab/Syrah </span></span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">with dinner that was outstanding. Compared to retail ($55), the price of the bottle at the restaurant ($59) was not bad at all! I love anything red from the Alexander Valley. It was bold, big in the mouth, juicy and delish!</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Now on to the food :) I started with the caramelized gala apples with celery leaf, fennel bulb and a sort of salty cheese on top. Very nice juxtaposition of sweet/salty/fresh and some great textures as well. One of our dinnermates ordered the pork belly.... originally we'd passed but once it got to the table Mason and I had to have an order to split. Definitely not the wrong move there. More fat than meat, but a nice crisp carmelization from the woodfire on the outside paired nicely with the apple butter served on the side. Can you ever really go wrong with pork belly? Another dinnermate had the prosciutto wrapped arugula salad with cherries and cranberries... delectable!</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">My main course was a grass fed beef strip loin, which I had to clarify with the waiter -- was it a strip or a tenderloin? It was the tenderloin in fact - three 1/2" pieces. Cooked to a perfect medium rare, but it was the slightest bit tough. The au-gratin-ish potatoes served on the side were underwhelming at best and overly salty. Mason had the halibut, which was served with a curry cabbage... his reaction to it was so-so.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Dessert redeemed a few of the entree shortcomings. Banana fritters with banana bavarian creme, milk chocolate mousse, salted caramel sauce and candied bacon was heavenly. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">One interesting option offered by Woodfire is the 3 or 5 course blind chef's tasting. I think the next time we go, we might have to go in that direction. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Verdict - definitely worth the trip, there are some impressive qualities to the restaurant. I'd like to give it another try.</span></span><br />
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<span style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/9/121715/restaurant/Cheshire-Bridge/Woodfire-Grill-Atlanta"><img alt="Woodfire Grill on Urbanspoon" src="http://www.urbanspoon.com/b/logo/121715/biglogo.gif" style="border: none; height: 34px; width: 104px;" /></a></span>Lesliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08042405946803918471noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5370873682574842473.post-76240019612888010062009-09-29T11:49:00.001-04:002009-09-30T09:02:10.303-04:00Canoe Review<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Stop #3 on our </span></span><span style="color: #660000; line-height: 20px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">BVAMRT (Bon Voyage Atlanta Mini-Restaurant Tour) was <a href="http://www.canoe-atl.com/">Canoe </a>in Vinings, GA. We got there just in the nick of time before the <a href="http://tastyblogsoup.blogspot.com/2009/09/canoe.html">great flood of 2009</a> hit the restaurant. The good news is, the restoration is in full swing and they should be back up and running soon. </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small; line-height: 20px;">Canoe is situated right on the banks of the Chattahoochee River and boasts some absolutely lovely gardens that are perfectly suited for an outdoor reception, rehearsal dinner or other fancy-pants party. The interior of the restaurant is warm, with lots of wood and brick. A very comfortable environment overall.</span></span><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Executive Chef Carvel Grant Gould is careful in selecting the items that go on her menu, and many of the proteins and veggies are locally sourced. I always like to see the Executive Chef when we go to a restaurant, and Chef Gould was spot on, managing the kitchen and walking throughout the restaurant while we were there to make sure everything was humming.</span></span><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Canoe's <a href="http://www.canoeatl.com/FoodWineWine.htm">wine list </a>was huge. We started with an 2006 Anne Amie Pinot Noir from the Willamette Valley of Oregon that was outstanding. When dinner came, we ordered the 2006 JC Cellars Syrah - and much to our delight they had a 2004 that they presented instead. The JC Cellars was incredibly rich for a Syrah - almost more like a Cab or a Zinfandel. </span></span><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">For starters I began with the carrot and pistachio soup, which was topped with tempura snow peas and pistachio oil. Thick, creamy and delicious. For dinner, I opted for their swordfish special, which was seared and then finished in the oven and served with a bacon and leek risotto. I wish I could remember exactly what else came with it... but it's been a few days and I'm a bad blogger... oops. I'm also not one of those food bloggers that takes pictures of the food... maybe that makes me a REALLY bad blogger but eh. Either way, it was fresh and delicious!</span></span><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">For dessert I also went with their special which was a watermelon and lime sorbet. The lime was great - the watermelon lacked flavor. Presentation was good. We also had a warm ricotta cheesecake with meyer lemon that was quite the treat.</span></span><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Canoe is on my <a href="http://tastyblogsoup.blogspot.com/2009/09/10-best-atlanta-restaurants.html">10 best</a> list for a reason - definitely worth the trip!</span></span><br />
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</div>Lesliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08042405946803918471noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5370873682574842473.post-54889755448280239252009-09-22T10:50:00.004-04:002009-09-23T12:04:37.766-04:00Canoe<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">It's pretty scary how quickly things can go from perfect to a total mess. We had the pleasure of dining at </span></span><a href="http://www.canoeatl.com/canoe_default_content.htm"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Canoe</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> on Saturday night - and now just 2 days later, a good portion of the restaurant is <a href="http://twitpic.com/imukj">underwater</a>.</span></span><div> </div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">The food was fabulous though, review to come soon.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Update 9/23/09: Canoe is definitely reopening! Wish them all the best for a quick cleanup.</span></div>Lesliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08042405946803918471noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5370873682574842473.post-70727928133460823472009-09-21T23:38:00.003-04:002009-09-22T00:11:21.162-04:0010 Best Atlanta Restaurants<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Considering that a good portion of this blog has been devoted to Atlanta area restaurants, I thought it proper to post a top 10 list (another one!) before we depart in a few days. So here they are folks, Blog Soup's A-town favorites. I will note that this list is more or less off the cuff... I didn't deliberate on my choices for too long. These are the restaurants that came to mind first.</span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">
</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Most of these are centrally located - so if you're visiting Atlanta, they're easy to find.
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</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">10. </span></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Two Urban Licks</span></span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">. Great place to take out-of-towners with a hip, urban vibe. I like this place for the environment more than the food. Quintessentially Atlanta.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">
</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">9. </span></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Canoe</span></span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">. Focus on local, fresh, in season. Comfortable dining in a gorgeous setting right by the Chattahoochee. Admirable wine list. Good seafood selections.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">
</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">8. </span></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">JCT Kitchen</span></span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">. Deliciousness in every course. Fantastic bread from The Bread Garden, upscale Southern comfort food. Fried chicken and angry mussels are to die for. Great bar upstairs!</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">
</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">7. </span></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Alon's Bakery & Market</span></span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">. Fabulous cheese and olive selection, great grab & go entrees, delectable soups and sandwiches. </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">
</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">6. </span></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The Colonnade</span></span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">. An ATL favorite since the late 1920's, this is my favorite meat & three in town. I wake up at 3am craving their yeast rolls and butter on a regular basis.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">
</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">5. </span></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Hal's for Steaks</span></span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">. Skip the snootiness of Bones and/or Chops and head for a place that will give better service and phenomenal steaks in a hard-to-find laid back environment. The piano player and regulars in the bar add to the charm.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">
</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">4. </span></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Varasano's Pizza</span></span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">. Only been there once, but the pizza was better than any other pie I've had in the ATL. Hot, thin and crispy.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">
</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">3. </span></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">One Midtown Kitchen</span></span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">. Another Concentrics creation, this is also a goodie for the out of town crowd. Reasonable prices, consistent quality and innovation are among One's best traits.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">
</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">2. </span></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Sotto Sotto</span></span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">. My choice in town for Italian. Superb lemon chicken in the best neighborhood in ATL - Inman Park.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">
</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">1. </span></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Rathbun's</span></span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">. Definitely my favorite restaurant in Atlanta. Only wish I'd had more chances to visit! </span></span></div></div>Lesliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08042405946803918471noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5370873682574842473.post-40796112725761876182009-09-21T22:50:00.005-04:002009-09-21T23:17:59.715-04:00Floataway Cafe<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">The first stop on our BVAMRT (that's the Bon Voyage Atlanta Mini-Restaurant Tour, for the uninformed) was </span></span><a href="http://www.starprovisions.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Floataway Cafe</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">. Owned by the Bacchanalia folks, this place had been on our hit list for awhile. In a sentence - I enjoyed the meal but wasn't completely enamored with the experience overall.</span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">The environment is completely charming, kind of airy and beachy and ethereal. Some bright pops of orange in the lounge area give a nice modern vibe. The menu has a huge variety of choices - literally </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">everyone </span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">should be able to find something they like. Our friends brought their darling and very well behaved 10 year old twins and they had no problem selecting something off the menu that was suited for a decade-old palate.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Quick rundown: we started with the roasted peppers, anchovies on the side. Overall the peppers lacked flavor - like they hadn't been roasted long enough to bring that depth and sugar out. Mason had the bibb lettuce salad with green goddess dressing, bacon, maytag and tomatoes -- a great salad that's hard to mess up. We also had an order of </span></span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goug%C3%A8re"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">gougeres </span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> for the table. The outside was perfectly flaky and light. The cheese inside was a bit too runny for my tastes.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Both husband and I had the quail for our entree which I have to say was cooked perfectly. The wood grill gave the outside a beautiful char and carmelization. It was advertised with roasted figs and balsamic - however nary a fig was to be found on my plate. Disappointing since they're in season right now.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Dessert was a toffee pudding cake with vanilla ice cream as well as a fig brown butter tart with buttermilk sorbet. The pudding cake was tops and the tart honorable as well; however the buttermilk sorbet tasted much more like citrusy lemon than it did buttermilk.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Service was just so-so. Kind of slow.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">The verdict: Hard to judge after just one visit. I feel like I'd need to give it another chance.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">
</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; white-space: pre-wrap; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><a href="http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/9/120007/restaurant/Druid-Hills-Emory/Floataway-Cafe-Atlanta"><img alt="Floataway Cafe on Urbanspoon" src="http://www.urbanspoon.com/b/logo/120007/biglogo.gif" style="border:none;width:104px;height:34px" /></a></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span></div>Lesliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08042405946803918471noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5370873682574842473.post-88268890822862243482009-09-11T15:31:00.003-04:002009-09-11T15:42:09.740-04:00Restaurant Weekend<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">We're hitting up a few places this weekend with both some local and out of town friends - I can't wait!</span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">
</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Friday will be </span></span><a href="http://www.starprovisions.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Floataway Cafe</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">. I'm eyeing the marinated roasted peppers, ellijay apple and endive salad, warm cheese gougeres, local fig pizza with maytag and prosciutto, and the wood grilled quail. How's a girl to decide.... We're going to bring our bottle of Caymus Zinfandel with us. Hell to the yeah.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">
</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Tomorrow night will be the much anticipated </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.rathbunsrestaurant.com/">Rathbun's</a> with a good friend of mine from Philly who's coming in from out of town</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">. I'm semi-embarrassed we haven't made it down there yet, seeing as the chef is semi famous and the restaurant has received so much praise. I didn't know Chef Kevin Rathbun himself was born and raised in good ole Kansas City... a man after my own heart to say the least! Eggplant steak fries with confectioner's sugar, coriander roasted pork belly, roasted bone marrow (Bourdain's fave and a curiosity of mine), and the Maine Lobster and roasted chile soft taco are all looking pretty tasty.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;">
</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;">Maybe I should just commit myself to gaining 15# this weekend.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;">
</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;">I'd really like to get to <a href="http://www.woodfiregrill.com/">Woodfire Grill</a> before we leave but not sure if it will be happening. Stay tuned for reviews!</span></span></div>Lesliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08042405946803918471noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5370873682574842473.post-79870028196336271832009-09-08T20:18:00.003-04:002009-09-08T20:43:10.158-04:00Another reason to miss Trader Joe's<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Thank God for Trader Joe's. I am going to miss them so much when we move... hopefully it won't be too long til KC gets one. I have to rave about this latest find that I picked up on a whim during my last trip. This Trader Joe's Chicken Gorgonzola totally saved me in a pinch tonight.</span></span></div><div>
</div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvBsrrJytk7YbOQJ3ba347oLh1Ty4skvNumrVF0qQsDq2vpxwNCHZ-jM2__GP-13J-qupV0Z7_d_eqzHsySfWvlsHrBnkEPf6JTED1b646Os4In2WnuZbQsDtxJcG90ivjNnni__xeZ78/s1600-h/chix.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 205px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvBsrrJytk7YbOQJ3ba347oLh1Ty4skvNumrVF0qQsDq2vpxwNCHZ-jM2__GP-13J-qupV0Z7_d_eqzHsySfWvlsHrBnkEPf6JTED1b646Os4In2WnuZbQsDtxJcG90ivjNnni__xeZ78/s320/chix.png" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5379260155461935282" /></a>
<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">2 chicken breasts, with chopped roasted tomatoes, portabellas, gorgonzola cheese and a light pesto sauce goes from freezer to table in 8 minutes and it's the perfect amount for two. The sauce would go nicely with a side of pasta - but we actually poured it over a little steamed broccoli for an extra veggie fix. The best thing - the chicken gorgonzola has all natural ingredients - no Yellow 5, high fructose corn syrup or nitrates or nitrites or whatever that crap is packaged in. Totally did not taste like a frozen meal.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">
</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The verdict: better than a Lean Cuisine any day.</span></span><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;">
</div></div></div>Lesliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08042405946803918471noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5370873682574842473.post-64295524552080806692009-09-03T11:46:00.004-04:002009-09-03T12:14:46.396-04:00Picking up a few things...<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">In preparation for our move, I had to make one final trip to Ikea to get a few things I knew I'd want for the house right off the bat. I know there will be things to add to my shopping list... and luckily we'll be spending Christmas in Chicago with my family (and driving the truck up there) so we can make a run if need be. But, for the time being, this collection of lovelies will have to tide us over.
I'm really into white right now for some reason. Normally I'm big on color, but I think in my old age, I'm starting to neutralize just a tiny bit. The new house will have lots of color... but some nice white and neutral pieces as well. </span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">
</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Before I get into all of the Ikea stuff, let me show you this office chair I just got from </span></span><a href="http://zgallerie.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Z Gallerie</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">. I spotted this on a picture from </span></span><a href="http://www.younghouselove.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Young House Love</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> and fell in, well...... love. My office chair has been broken so it was the perfect excuse to pick up a new one :)</span></span>
</div><p align="left"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.zgallerie.com/images/PRODUCT/large/015200049.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 455px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 459px; CURSOR: hand" border="0" alt="" src="http://www.zgallerie.com/images/PRODUCT/large/015200049.jpg" /></a></p><div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Since we're talking about the office, check out these loverly wispy panels that will be going up on the window:</span></span>
</div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.ikea.com/PIAimages/0083712_PE213993_S4.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 360px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 349px; CURSOR: hand" border="0" alt="" src="http://www.ikea.com/PIAimages/0083712_PE213993_S4.JPG" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">We have a pretty good sized TV (61"... what?!!) in the living room. I have some <a href="http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/40103633">Lack shelves</a> from Ikea in a dark chocolate brown I'm planning on hanging above the TV. I think a few of these boxes will look so neat and clean perched on top:</span></span>
<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.ikea.com/PIAimages/69090_PE183814_S4.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 329px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 310px; CURSOR: hand" border="0" alt="" src="http://www.ikea.com/PIAimages/69090_PE183814_S4.jpg" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Our dining room has some built in bookshelves that we'll be using as a china cabinet. The dining room's a bit smaller (see </span></span><a href="http://tastyblogsoup.blogspot.com/2009/04/selling-our-house.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">here</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"> for pics), so we don't have much room to put doors on the shelves, so instead we'll be using some of these hanging panels to cover the front. We did a similar set up in our dining room in our first apartment in Atlanta, <a href="http://tastyblogsoup.blogspot.com/2007/08/be-bold-not-beige.html">here</a>. The white panel is semi transparent, and I think when layered with the brown panels below, the overall effect will be cool.</span></span>
<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.ikea.com/PIAimages/0092389_PE232619_S4.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 405px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 409px; CURSOR: hand" border="0" alt="" src="http://www.ikea.com/PIAimages/0092389_PE232619_S4.JPG" /></a>
<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.ikea.com/PIAimages/0092395_PE232625_S4.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 393px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 415px; CURSOR: hand" border="0" alt="" src="http://www.ikea.com/PIAimages/0092395_PE232625_S4.JPG" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Last but not least - I have an unhealthy obsession with grommeted window panels. I LOVE love love them. Our living room is painted with Behr's Prarie Field, and we have a light khaki couch and we'll be working in some chocolates, oranges, and greens. Click <a href="http://tastyblogsoup.blogspot.com/2007/08/be-bold-not-beige.html">here </a>to see some of the furniture we'll be using in the living room. I think some lighter colored panels will be great on the corner windows, close to the fireplace.</span></span>
<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.ikea.com/PIAimages/74221_PE190980_S4.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 384px; CURSOR: hand" border="0" alt="" src="http://www.ikea.com/PIAimages/74221_PE190980_S4.jpg" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">So there you have it kids! Let the games begin! As we get moved in, I'll be sure to post lots of before & afters.</span></span>Lesliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08042405946803918471noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5370873682574842473.post-42462574288994723242009-08-31T11:57:00.005-04:002009-09-01T14:05:12.529-04:00Georgia Top 10<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Time for a very important announcement: As of October 1, 2009, Blog Soup will be relocating to Kansas City! This is a super exciting move for us because it means we're returning home. Atlanta has been good to us for the past few years, but our hearts are in Kansas City and we're so happy to be headed back to the midwest. Blog Soup won't be changing much... I'll still post restaurant reviews, recipes, home decor updates and more. Don't forget, I now have this </span></span><a href="http://tastyblogsoup.blogspot.com/2009/04/selling-our-house.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">plain ol' house</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> to spruce up! The next several months are going to be an adventure in home decor, indeed.</span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">
</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Because of this big change, I thought it appropriate to post a Georgia Top 10 list. Here are some of the things we've enjoyed most about The Peach State.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">
</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">10. </span></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Concerts</span></span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> available to us in Atlanta. Since we've been here, there's been no shortage of great entertainment available on any given day. My favorite concert was probably Michael Buble at the Fox Theater.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">
</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">9. </span></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Fried Chicken.</span></span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> Not only is it one of my favorite foods, but it's available here in plentiful quantities. The best, in my opinion, can be found at <a href="http://tastyblogsoup.blogspot.com/2008/07/jct-kitchen.html">JCT Kitchen</a>, Mary Mac's and The Colonnade. Publix gets an honorable mention. I will definitely miss shopping at Publix after we're gone. It is really a fantastic grocery store, they epitomize customer service.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">
</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">8. </span></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Savannah</span></span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">. One of America's great smaller cities, <a href="http://tastyblogsoup.blogspot.com/2007/10/collard-greens-n-drag-queens.html">Savannah </a>is only a 4 hour drive from Atlanta and is absolutely chock full of great things to do. The trolley tours, historic district and Forsyth Park are among my activities of choice.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">
</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">7. </span></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Dunwoody.</span></span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> We moved up to the burbs about a year ago, and even though it's truly the definition of suburbia, I really like it. It's convenient, safe, and close to Buckhead and Midtown. </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">
</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">6. </span></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Springtime in February. </span></span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">I'm sure I'll be cursing our move when I'm scraping ice off my car this coming winter.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">
</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">5. </span></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Georgia Wine Country</span></span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">. There are some really fantastic wineries just an hour north of Atlanta in the Dahlonega area. I particularly liked <a href="http://www.threesistersvineyards.com/">Three Sisters</a>.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">
</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">4. </span></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Atlanta Hartsfield Jackson International Airport</span></span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">. True, it might be the busiest airport in the world, but you can get a direct flight to anywhere. </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">
</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">3. </span></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Virginia Higland.</span></span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> In my opinion, this is one of the coolest neighborhoods in Atlanta. We spent our first year in the neighborhood and loved it. A great place to live if you're young and want to be close to the city.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">
</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">2. </span></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Inman Park and the Inman Park Festival</span></span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">. By FAR this is my favorite neighborhood in Atlanta. Gorgeous historic homes, great restaurants... tons of personality. Take the tour of homes during the IP Festival in the spring -- totally worth every penny. Don't miss Fritti and Sotto Sotto restaurants while you're there.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">
</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">1. </span></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Fantastic Restaurants</span></span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">. Being the capital of the South, there is no shortage of amazing places to dine in ATL. We've had many a tasty meal here, several of which have been documented in this blog. We're trying a few more places before we go, namely <a href="http://www.canoeatl.com/canoe_default_content.htm">Canoe</a>, <a href="http://www.woodfiregrill.com/">Woodfire Grill</a> and <a href="http://www.rathbunsrestaurant.com/">Rathbun's</a>.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><i>Edit: 8/31/09, 10:43pm: This post wouldn't be complete without a shout out to Trader Joe's and Ikea! Oh the joys of living in a big city, how I will miss thee. </i></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><i>
</i></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Last but certainly not least, I must say that we are going to miss the friends we've made here more than anything. It's hard to make new friends when you're new in town and don't know anyone. We've had some of the kindest people take us under their wing and I don't want to leave them. A huge THANK YOU to all of our Atlanta friends - we will miss you!!</span></span></div>Lesliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08042405946803918471noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5370873682574842473.post-36192808019724241082009-08-28T12:35:00.005-04:002009-08-28T13:04:36.253-04:00Sausage & Lentil Soup<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">There's been a chill in the air this week and it's been kind of rainy. Odd weather for Georgia in August. Combine that with trying to use up a few pantry items, and you get the perfect equation for Sausage & Lentil Soup. I love the rustic flavor combination of sausage and lentils -- served with some country bread or garlic <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naan">naan</a> from Trader Joe's and you've got yourself a nice cozy lunch or dinner.</span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">
</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Sausage & Lentil Soup</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">
</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">1 lb italian sausage, casing removed</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">3 stalks celery, diced</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">1 onion, diced</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">2 carrots, diced</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">2 cloves garlic, minced</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">thyme</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">parsley</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">8 oz. green lentils</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">2 T. olive oil</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">48 oz chicken broth</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">1/4 c. tomato paste</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">
</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">In a large stock pot or dutch oven, heat oil and crumble and brown the sausage until cooked through. Remove to a plate, leaving the rendered fat in the pan. Saute carrot, onion and celery until translucent, about 7 minutes. Add garlic. Meanwhile, pour boiling water over lentils and let sit for 15 minutes. Drain. Add lentils, herbs, tomato paste and sausage to vegetables, and cover with chicken broth. Simmer 1 hour on medium low heat. Serve with warm bread.</span></span></div>Lesliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08042405946803918471noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5370873682574842473.post-5710266711611500942009-08-22T19:14:00.006-04:002009-08-23T13:44:47.513-04:00Make This Now: Manale Shrimp<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">A few weeks ago we were asked to a shrimp boil for a friend's birthday. In addition to the shrimp/corn/potato loveliness, we sampled a different type of shrimp called Manale shrimp made by the birthday girl's parents. Originally from Pascal's Manale </span><a href="http://www.neworleansrestaurants.com/pascalsmanale/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">restaurant in New Orleans</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">, these crusteaceans were to die for. Spicy and tangy with a rich buttery sauce for soppin'. Heaven.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">
</span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.wwoz.org/files/all/images/articles/content_bbq_shrimp.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 315px;" src="http://www.wwoz.org/files/all/images/articles/content_bbq_shrimp.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Mason just got home from a long business trip overseas, so I wanted to make something extra delectable for his first night home. I thought these would be perfect for the occasion served with some crusty french bread, corn on the cob and of course some cold beer. I'm not much for tootin' my own horn, but this was the best meal I've made at home in awhile. It's a snap to put together and would make a dynamite dinner for casual company. I'll definitely be making this the next time my mom's in town or we have guests over.</span></div><div><div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">There are lots of different recipes on the internet for this (and the family recipe itself is closely guarded), but here's how I cooked em up. Serves 2-3. Make sure to follow the <b><a href="http://lagniappemarketing.net/this-aint-your-mammas-barbq/">SPE</a></b><a href="http://lagniappemarketing.net/this-aint-your-mammas-barbq/"> method</a> (thanks to Bird on a Wire) when diving into these lovelies. SPE meaning suck, peel, eat. First pull the shrimp through the sauce by the tail, and suck off all the sauce that clings to the shrimp. Then peel, and eat. Ce magnifique, no?</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><i>Manale Shrimp</i></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><i>
</i></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">1.5 lb raw shrimp, unpeeled </span></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">note: In my humble opinion, Costco has some of the best shrimp around at their seafood roadshow on Fridays & Saturdays. 1# of shrimp runs $8.99, and these suckers are huge - about 12 to a pound. Best value in town!</span></b></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">1.5 sticks butter </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">A few teaspoons of olive oil</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">2 large cloves garlic, minced</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">1 t. oregano</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">1 t. thyme</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">1 t. basil</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">1 t. paprika</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">several dashes cayenne pepper (I used a lot, we like them spicy)</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">salt</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">freshly ground pepper</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">3-4 T. worcestershire sauce</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">lemon juice</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:arial;">Rinse shrimp and dry. Lay out in a baking dish. Preheat oven to 425. Melt butter in a saucepan and add garlic, spices, lemon juice, worcestershire and oil. Stir to combine. Pour over shrimp. Grind a whole bunch of fresh pepper over the shrimp. Bake in a 425 oven for 15 minutes total, turning over and grinding more pepper at the halfway point. Serve with sliced french bread.</span></div></div></div></div>Lesliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08042405946803918471noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5370873682574842473.post-47122042484269632092009-08-21T10:19:00.001-04:002009-08-21T10:20:50.273-04:00Identity Crisis<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Ok, so I changed my background. Again. I was having trouble reading on the last one I was using due to the texture of the background. So here we are again.... hopefully this change makes it easier to read, and no more changes for awhile!</span>Lesliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08042405946803918471noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5370873682574842473.post-60591399902265112172009-08-21T00:54:00.003-04:002009-08-26T19:06:40.942-04:00How cute is this!<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">I am so getting this for my office from <a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5849492">Mod Dog Shop</a> on Etsy.</span><div>
<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://ny-image3.etsy.com/il_430xN.84612231.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 430px; height: 349px;" src="http://ny-image3.etsy.com/il_430xN.84612231.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>
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</div></div>Lesliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08042405946803918471noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5370873682574842473.post-3861731830489691942009-08-20T22:43:00.011-04:002009-08-21T17:38:04.006-04:00What I'm Loving Right Now<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">We're getting primed for a living room update and here's what I'm loving right now:</span>
<div><span style="font-family:Arial;"></span></div><div><div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Media center from Crate & Barrel. Love the varied colors of the wood anchored by the dark wood on the sides and handles. Can also work as a sideboard or buffet.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">
</span></div><div></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><img border="0" alt="" src="http://images.crateandbarrel.com/is/image/Crate/SeguroMediaConsoleSC09?$share$" style="text-align: center; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; width: 379px; display: block; height: 335px; cursor: pointer; " /></span></span></div>
<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Arched lamp from CB2:<img border="0" alt="" src="http://s2.thisnext.com/media/230x230/big-dipper-arc-lamp-shopping_3C333D0E.jpg" style="text-align: center; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; width: 230px; display: block; height: 230px; cursor: pointer; " /></span></span></div></div></div><p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Silver bowl from Ikea. Wouldn't a series of 6 of these look cool hung over a couch?</span></p><img border="0" alt="" src="http://www.ikea.com/PIAimages/62450_PE169166_S2.jpg" style="text-align: center; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; width: 135px; display: block; height: 129px; cursor: pointer; " /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Last but not least I love this rug from Ikea. I think it looks like an onion. I don't know if we'll end up buying it, but I think I'd like the look of it under a coffee table.</span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXtb0itBH3kGPVE4aAPsHnovpDzaknOpa3igxUNvVn8wlD36UULD2vjwot08ihY008yQBY98n3rHIACc5LvtqA4BsFT_XTQvG5ldlkfIhzaCy6z8_AuICCs8yrxcW_QkkCT6tnFnCPhu0/s1600-h/jorun-rug-by-petra-borner-ikea.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXtb0itBH3kGPVE4aAPsHnovpDzaknOpa3igxUNvVn8wlD36UULD2vjwot08ihY008yQBY98n3rHIACc5LvtqA4BsFT_XTQvG5ldlkfIhzaCy6z8_AuICCs8yrxcW_QkkCT6tnFnCPhu0/s320/jorun-rug-by-petra-borner-ikea.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5372534456848983586" /></a>
<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.thing-of-beauty.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/jorun-rug-by-petra-borner-ikea.jpg" ikea="" the="" love="" i="" but="" this="" using="" up="" end="" ll="" if="" sure="" not="" jorun=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">
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<div></div>Lesliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08042405946803918471noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5370873682574842473.post-14472725144781239492009-08-20T21:56:00.005-04:002009-08-20T23:27:38.555-04:00Pura Vida<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">We hit up </span></span><a href="http://www.puravidatapas.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Pura Vida</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> last week. This has been a restaurant I've been wanting to try since we lived in the </span></span><a href="http://www.virginiahighland.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Highlands</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">, but we just never got around to it. Luckily Ali & Byron were game for it... plus we wanted to give it a try because Chef Hector Santiago is one of the competitors on the newest season of Top Chef. Proudly, Atlanta has three chefs on this season!</span></span> <div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">When we got there at 7ish it was pretty empty, but it filled up as we got through dinner. The cocktails were inventive, and I particularly enjoyed a hibiscus number... can't quite remember what was in it, but it was light, fresh and fruity. The mojitos were also quite good.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">I love the tapas style of eating because when it comes down to it, I really prefer snacking over a full meal. To hit a few </span></span><a href="http://www.puravidatapas.com/tapasMenu.pdf"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">highlights</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">, we loved the malanga root chips with cremini mushroom dip, the bone in short rib with orange chipotle bbq sauce, and the steamed coconut buns with the dreamiest protein ever, </span></span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pork_belly"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">pork belly</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">. Quite delish across the board! Unfortunately the mussels were very fishy, and the chicken barbacoa burrito smacked of Taco Bell. We tried a few desserts - the first was a sheep's milk ice cream with blackberry caviar (basically just the little rounds of blackberry) and a salted caramel sauce. Interesting taste - a little bit of a dry texture - didn't love it, didn't hate it. Glad we tried it. The second was a chocolate chile flan brulee which was delicious. I loved the combination of heat & sweet.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13;">
</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13;">The verdict: Go!! </span></span></div><div><div>
</div><div><span style="BORDER-COLLAPSE: collapse; WHITE-SPACE: pre-wrap; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2pxfont-family:arial;font-size:11;" class="Apple-style-span" ><a href="http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/9/120042/restaurant/Virginia-Highland/Pura-Vida-Atlanta"><img style="BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; WIDTH: 104px; HEIGHT: 34px; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-RIGHT: medium none" alt="Pura Vida on Urbanspoon" src="http://www.urbanspoon.com/b/logo/120042/biglogo.gif" /></a></span></div></div>Lesliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08042405946803918471noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5370873682574842473.post-25949582194689546262009-08-18T16:55:00.003-04:002009-08-21T00:48:50.832-04:00Holy Crap<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">My friend </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><a href="http://juliesfoodie.blogspot.com/">Jules</a> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">just tipped me off to </span></span><a href="http://wine.woot.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Wine.Woot.com</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">.</span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">New site to stalk - yes!!</span></span></div>Lesliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08042405946803918471noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5370873682574842473.post-2774572044609125772009-08-16T20:19:00.003-04:002009-08-16T20:26:08.141-04:00Perfect Sunday Night<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Elements of said perfect Sunday night:</span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">
</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">1. vino</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">2. season premiere of <a href="http://www.amctv.com/originals/madmen/">Mad Men</a></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">3. Pillsbury Mint Chocolate brownies baking in the oven right now. I had to remove the spatula from my mouth before all the batter was gone to leave some for the actual brownies. </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">
</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The only thing missing is a certain husband who is on a business trip for a few days. </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;">
</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;">So much to write about these days! Stay tuned for a forthcoming restaurant review of Pura Vida (chef Hector Santiago will be on Top Chef Las Vegas starting this coming Wednesday), fun new things I'm shopping for in the home decor department, and more.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;">
</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;">Have a good week friends!</span></span></div>Lesliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08042405946803918471noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5370873682574842473.post-53555130608512778082009-08-10T21:24:00.003-04:002009-08-22T19:59:53.298-04:00Varasano's Pizza<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">We had the pleasure of trying </span></span><a href="http://www.varasanos.com/index.php"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Varasano's Pizza</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> this past week with a friend. In a word (or two): quite tasty. I'll give you a quick rundown:</span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">
</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Drink Menu: versatile, inventive.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">
</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Bar Service: attentive.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">
</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Table Service: Par for the course, annoyingly suggestive. I want to order what I'd like to order, not what the server wants me to order. If you don't want to serve it, don't put it on the menu.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">
</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Appetizer Selection: limited, decent salumi.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">
</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Pizza: Some of the best I've had in Atlanta. Super thin, hot, bubbly slightly charred crust. Crisp, not floppy.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">
</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">What we </span></span><a href="http://www.varasanos.com/menu.php"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">ordered</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">: Nana's with sausage & roasted red pepper, white clam, and finally the caramelized onion with emmenthaler cheese and mushrooms.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">
</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Wine: </span></span><a href="http://www.stephenvincentwines.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Stephen Vincent</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> Crimson for $6/$28. A great glass of full-bodied wine for the price, I'll be seeking it out in my local wine store.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">
</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Promo: Tweet or update your Facebook from the table and show your server - get a free slice of cake. Genius.... nearly free exposure for the cost of - literally - a piece of cake.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">
</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">The cake itself: Skip the boozy Italian Cream Cake and go for the chocolate.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">
</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; white-space: pre-wrap; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><a href="http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/9/1434280/restaurant/Peachtree-Hills/Varasanos-Pizzeria-Atlanta"><img alt="Varasano's Pizzeria on Urbanspoon" src="http://www.urbanspoon.com/b/logo/1434280/biglogo.gif" style="border:none;width:104px;height:34px" /></a></span></span></span></div>Lesliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08042405946803918471noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5370873682574842473.post-24809994369329602792009-08-10T20:53:00.003-04:002009-08-21T00:58:44.293-04:00Minty Fresh<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://tbn2.google.com/images?q=tbn:EH5Kjmwkbz9Y6M:http://socialicious.files.wordpress.com/2009/02/mint_white.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 143px; height: 107px;" src="http://tbn2.google.com/images?q=tbn:EH5Kjmwkbz9Y6M:http://socialicious.files.wordpress.com/2009/02/mint_white.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">If you're anything like me you have a gazillion online accounts for more or less every website you frequent. Financially speaking, I think I have at </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">least</span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> 10 different login/password combinations for everything from my car to our mortgage to the water/trash/sewer provider from eight years ago. There are some services like </span></span><a href="http://www.selznick.com/products/passwordwallet/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Password Wallet</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> that will keep these straight for you, but I wanted to see all my accounts in one place. </span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">
</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Enter </span></span><a href="http://www.mint.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Mint.com</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">. I had heard about this site from some friends and wanted to scope it out. It took a bit of time, but within about an hour, I had all of our assets, investments, debts, and spending trends in front of me in one handy place! It's particularly useful if you follow </span></span><a href="https://www.mytotalmoneymakeover.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Dave Ramsey's Debt Snowball</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> plan (highly recommended by Blog Soup), as it lists your debts in order from smallest to largest. Even more convenient is their budgeting tool. You can get extremely specific with what you spend in each category monthly (alcohol at the wine store ::cough cough:: what???), and set a budget accordingly. Last but not least there are friendly reminder emails letting you know when some of your bills are due.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">
</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Similar products like </span></span><a href="http://quicken.intuit.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Quicken</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> are popular as well; however Quicken wouldn't sync with my mortgage servicer so that was a big negative and I couldn't feasibly use their service longterm.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">
</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Since signing up I have to say I'm in love! Play around with it yourself and see if it works for you.</span></span></div>Lesliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08042405946803918471noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5370873682574842473.post-84871731036690482752009-08-06T10:34:00.005-04:002009-08-26T19:05:01.462-04:00Three Dollar Cafe - Roswell Road<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">I challenge you to name a better hangover cure than salty bar food after a night of debauchery! Hard to do, isn't it? I sure could go for some right about now...</span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">
</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Lucky for us we have some of the best pub fare in Atlanta right down the street from us. </span></span><a href="http://tdcnorcross.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Three Dollar Cafe</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> on Roswell Road has a great menu full of homemade goodies and the best hot wings I have ever had. Extra crispy and served with homemade blue cheese dressing, these wings will knock Buffalo on it's behind. The teryaki ones are hard to beat as well. I've been a fan of Locos for a pretty long time, but since being introduced to Three Dollar by chums Ali & Byron, my loyalties have changed!</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">
</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Although the Roswell Road location doesn't have a website, the menu at the Norcross location is about the same. Click <a href="http://tdcnorcross.com/info/food.html">here </a>for details.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">What we've had and loved:</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Wings - either the hot or teryaki with the homemade blue cheese dressing</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Cheeseburger with bacon</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Reuben Sandwich</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Fried Chicken Salad</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Mozzarella sticks - awesome</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Jerk wrap with black beans</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Buffalo Chicken Sandwich</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Fries -- yummy thick cut steak fries</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Skip for something else:</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Onion rings - these are good but they're more breaded than battered and I like a nice beer batter on my onion rings.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">
</span></div><div>
</div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" border-collapse: collapse; white-space: pre-wrap; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; font-family:arial;font-size:11px;"><a href="http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/1/2303/restaurant/Belltown/Queen-City-Grill-Seattle"><img alt="Queen City Grill on Urbanspoon" src="http://www.urbanspoon.com/b/logo/2303/biglogo.gif" style="border:none;width:104px;height:34px" /></a></span> </div>Lesliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08042405946803918471noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5370873682574842473.post-61420156640637695032009-07-31T12:11:00.005-04:002009-07-31T15:24:44.292-04:00Television Xanadu<div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">It's been a doozie of a summer - not much to select from on the ol' boob tube. Hubs and I have upped our Netflix count lately to get us through some rather boring summer evenings; HBO's cop drama </span><a href="http://www.hbo.com/thewire/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">The Wire</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"> has been our show of choice lately. Bravo has had some gems with <a href="http://www.bravotv.com/nyc-prep/season-1/about">NYC Prep</a> (trainwreck) and the can't-miss premiere of <a href="http://www.bravotv.com/the-real-housewives-of-atlanta/season-2/about">Real Housewives of Atlanta</a> (double trainwreck). We have gotten a couple good laughs out of </span><a href="http://abc.go.com/primetime/wipeout/index?pn=index"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Wipeout</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"> - my favorite parts of this show is the commentary and the BIG BALLS. Check out Jill's big ball FAIL:</span></div><div style="text-align: center;">
</div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://widgets.abc.go.com/o/48bda4baaf82f1d1/4a731b023b911670/48bda4baaf82f1d1/1fb7ae77/-cpid/419834b2c64e4d6d" id="W48bda4baaf82f1d14a731b023b911670" width="308" height="235"></object></div><div style="text-align: center;">
</div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">But I digress...this post is entitled Television Xanadu, not Netflix Xanadu. In just a few short weeks, some of my favorite shows are coming back to the idiot box! Rejoice!</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">
</span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"> </span><div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">First and foremost: </span><a href="http://www.amctv.com/originals/madmen/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Mad Men</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">. Don Draper and I will be reunited on Sunday, August 16th at 10pm via AMC. In the words of January Jones, who plays Betty Draper, "the season is a little dirtier, a little grittier." Dirtier? Yes...with three olives please!!</span></div><div style="text-align: left;">
</div><div><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdvhyU060IxNPl6JHCXg6WByIqSPvLA_tzr1PPg6fFZcmIbg71kwMXq6nvQKauGMn3vR4qE_SNXH2f-T_rGSjzom9F7Io6y6zYp6hjtjRFTbgb_f2ETTXoaWeNq7XFzQrl7bnC80aWoBE/s320/Jon-Hamm_l.JPG" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5364662455402969890" /></div><div style="text-align: left;">
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Next on the schedule: </span><a href="http://www.bravotv.com/flipping-out"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Flipping Out</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"> on Bravo! Premieres Monday, August 18. Everyone's favorite high maintenance real estate queen is back! How will he handle this crazy housing market? </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">
</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Tuesday 8/19 marks the return of </span><a href="http://www.bravotv.com/top-chef"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Top Chef</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">. This season will be coming at us from Vegas. I wonder if there will be any scenes of Colicchio hanging out at the </span><a href="http://www.thunderfromdownunder.com/#/home"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Thunder From Down Under</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">?</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">
</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Rounding out Xanadu week on Wednesday 8/20, we'll head over to </span><a href="http://www.mylifetime.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Lifetime</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"> for a cup of chamomile tea, a thousand cats and a rainy afternoon with a movie about teen pregnancy. Ok not really, but that's my perception of the Lifetime network. In their biggest victory in probably, well.... ever, </span><a href="http://www.mylifetime.com/on-tv/shows/project-runway"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Project Runway</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"> will be debuting on Lifetime. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">
</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">And finally, although it's a bit further away, Fox's new show choir program <a href="http://www.fox.com/glee/">Glee</a> will premiere 9/9/09. Bring on the sequins and the jazz hands, and let's do a celebratory box step! </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">
</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Now back to your regularly scheduled programming...</span></div></div></div>Lesliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08042405946803918471noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5370873682574842473.post-39254695822228826802009-07-30T22:48:00.005-04:002009-08-10T20:42:37.462-04:00New & Improved...<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Welcome to the all new, recently snazzified Blog Soup! I thought it was time for a facelift. Thanks to the folks at </span><a href="http://hotbliggityblog.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Hot Bliggity Blog</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"> for the inspiration!</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'Lucida Grande';font-size:78%;color:#40393A;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 9px; white-space: pre-wrap;">
</span></span></div>Lesliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08042405946803918471noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5370873682574842473.post-43526717357685705472009-07-30T18:23:00.004-04:002009-07-30T20:18:31.849-04:00Beer Dip!<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Life in the social circles I run in wouldn't quite be the same if it weren't for the introduction of Beer Dip by my friend </span></span><a href="http://www.simplytasty.blogspot.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Stacey</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">. This dip began as just a small, everyday dip and now it has developed into nothing short of a phenomenon. Give it a try for your next party, or even your next breakfast.</span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">
</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Beer Dip</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">
</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">2 - 8oz packages cream cheese</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">1 packet dry ranch dressing mix (not DIP mix, dressing mix)</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">1/2 c. beer - drink the rest, obviously</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Shredded cheddar cheese</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">
</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 15px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Combine soft cream cheese, dressing mix and beer. The consistency will be weird at first, but just keep stirring. When the consistency becomes thick and smooth, add cheese. Stir to combine. Top with more cheese to taste. Best served with pretzels, wheat thins, or veggie of choice.
A few notes from the </span></span><a href="http://www.simplytasty.blogspot.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">chef </span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">herself:
A few notes on the recipe...</span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 15px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">
</span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 15px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">+ don't use fat free cream cheese</span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 15px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">+use whatever beer you have on hand</span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 15px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">+keep stirring, keep stirring
Enjoy!</span></span></span></div>Lesliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08042405946803918471noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5370873682574842473.post-3038233669406296542009-07-25T18:55:00.005-04:002009-07-26T13:02:55.158-04:00Tasty Wines On The Cheap<span style="font-family:arial;">A few weeks back we picked up a </span><a href="http://www.vinotemp.com/"><span style="font-family:arial;">Vinotemp </span></a><span style="font-family:arial;">wine cooler at our trusty neighborhood warehouse club. We've started to add a finer bottle or two to our, erm...collection (if you could call it that), and we thought it only right that these little babies be stored properly. The nice thing about this unit is that it can be used as a standalone, or it can be installed underneath your kitchen counter because it has a front exhaust. Someday, this lil' lady will be staring out at me from my brand new designer kitchen, complete with Ceasarstone quartz countertops, a prep sink on that huge island I'll have, maybe a copper exhaust hood.... am I getting carried away? Anyway...someday. <img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 285px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 288px; CURSOR: hand" border="0" alt="" src="http://www.vinotemp.com/LiveImage.ashx?preset=medium&img=ProductPhotos/VT-52SN-Main.jpg" /></span><span style="font-family:arial;">Times being what they are, we've had our eye out for some easy drinkin', big flavored everyday wines that are friendly to the pocketbook. We've found a couple real palate pleasers that are well worth your $10 or $15 bones.</span>
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<div><a href="http://www.mcmanisfamilyvineyards.com/"><span style="font-family:arial;">McManis</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;"> Cab is the first that bears mentioning. We were tipped off on this one by our friends Brad & Ashley a few months ago during our trip to <a href="http://tastyblogsoup.blogspot.com/2009/03/30-is-knocking.html">Napa & Sonoma</a>. even though we hadn't caught our eye until recently, it seems to be everywhere now. What I like about it is that its a nice big cab but it will only run you about $9-12 max. We just picked up a bottle of the Pinot Noir tonight as well, so once we give that one a taste, I'll be sure to post the update.</span></div>
<div align="left"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 347px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 405px; CURSOR: hand" border="0" alt="" src="http://www.mcmanisfamilyvineyards.com/externals/8c/a9031730813d7a756c7e043b031117e43e95dd.jpg" /><span style="font-family:arial;">This second one's a real charmer at just $5.99 a bottle. </span><a href="http://stage.casellawines.com.au/mallee-point-cabernet-sauvignon"><span style="font-family:arial;">Mallee Point Cabernet</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;"> comes to us from Down Under. I was floored when I found out it's made by the same folks who produce Yellowtail. Personally I think it's about 50 times better than the standard Yellowtail - it's got a nice full body and some flavors of chocolate and dark fruit. (How official did that sound!!) For 6 smackers, it can't be beat.</span> <img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 107px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 442px; CURSOR: hand" border="0" alt="" src="http://assets3.casellawines.com.au/assets/vY5c2ykGR9J4lLK/mallee-point-cab-sav-lr.jpg" /></div>
<p><span style="font-family:arial;">For you whitey lovers, pick up a bottle of <a href="http://www.novineyardsandwinery.com/no_wines.htm">NO Sauvignon Blanc</a>. Typically selling for between $7-9, this wine skips the oak barrels and </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malolactic_fermentation"><span style="font-family:arial;">malolactic fermentation </span></a><span style="font-family:arial;">(big fancy wine words) and what's left is a crisp, citrusy beautiful white wine that would be perfect for sipping with grilled shrimp or maybe even some guac and chips.</span></p><p><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 217px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicKyvQCKsM_uuEjRYtSjpIVfs1HwpaF4HXQDm-rXhRc2RvH3-PS9z6v-1OgZk4S5jb6McrXqI9si3eMo9n6mZiGSxaGslBgOmsV0AURjr_yil2WGGAsyfRa3b_nx-UA2XoCmz1YTmx3Ik/s400/NoSauvignonBlanc2006.jpg" /></p>
<p><span style="font-family:arial;">Thank God wine is good for your heart. I must have the healthiest heart in three counties!!</span></p>Lesliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08042405946803918471noreply@blogger.com2