Why would you wait in line at Highland Bakery or Murphy’s when you could hop on over to BWB?  Their menu is creative + delicious, the brunch isn’t crazy busy (yet), the service is great, and you really can’t beat the atmosphere.  I heart.  I heart.

This is what I ate most recently at BWB brunch with Gorms + Rosh…

Bread Pudding French Toast to share.  TO. DIE. FOR. 

Goat Cheese and Chorizo Crepes with sweet and sour fig jam.

Plancha Omlette with herbed goat cheese and mushrooms.

Fried Egg Sandwich with bacon, manchego, sliced tomato, garlic aioli, and served with grits.  (Didn’t photograph too well, but it was really tasty.  Manchego was excellent on it.)

Here are a few other BWB brunch menu items that made my mouth water: 

- Short Rib Hash with crispy potatoes, bell peppers, and two eggs.
- Gulf Shrimp and Grits with stone ground grits and chorizo gravy.
- Scottish Smoked Salmon with kumato tomatoes, whipped cheese, and pumpernickel toast.

Don’t those sound divine??

Check out more of Barcelona’s brunch menu here: BRUNCH TIMEEEE!

And, I’ll you there next week!! 

xx, L

Barcelona Wine Bar
240 N. Highland Avenue
Atlanta, GA  30307
404.589.1010
http://www.barcelonawinebar.com/atlanta.htm

Behold the two most impressive Food-Stuffed-Inside-Food contenders I’ve EVER witnessed anyone eat.  (Bold statement, I know.)

1 – The Nook’s Award Winning Shrimp & Grits Stuffed Burger: certified angus beef stuffed with sauteed shrimp and gouda cheese, topped with an andouille sausage-studded grit cake + a smoked tomato beurre blanc sauce.

Holy hamburger!!  I’m pretty sure that’s not fat free.

2 – The Nook’s Award Winning Southern Comfort Burger: certified angus beef patty stuffed with a ball of homemade fried bacon mac + cheese and topped with cheddar cheese and The Nook’s secret peach and Southern Comfort barbecue sauce.

Wait for it….  Wait for it….

BAMMMMMM!!  

You haven’t LIVED until you’ve seen these monsters in person.  Take my word for it.

Move over Totchos…

xx, L

The Nook
1144 Piedmont Ave. NE
Atlanta, GA  30309
404.745.9222
www.thenookatlanta.com

The Q+DD on Junior Achievement:
Junior Achievement is the only organization focused on economic, education, and workforce development.  We believe that inspiring and preparing Georgia’s young people to succeed in a global economy will result in a skilled workforce that will allow Georgia’s business community to flourish and grow.  We strive to impact tomorrow’s business and community leaders by bridging the gap between the business and education communities, encouraging Georgia’s youth to set long term career goals and showing them the value of education.  Our turn-key curriculum aligns to the Georgia Performance Standards, enhancing what students are learning in the classroom with real world examples and hands-on application of knowledge. 

Junior Achievement of Georgia partners with corporations, organizations, schools, and individuals concerned about the success of our students and our state.  Our volunteer-led programs teach K-12 students about business and entrepreneurship, personal financial literacy, and workforce readiness.  Volunteers share their personal and business experience to bring JA curriculum to life, helping students understand the real-world application of what they are learning in school.  This added relevancy inspires and prepares young people to succeed in a global economy.

Pretty amazing, right? 

Well, Junior Achievement has teamed up with Fogo de Chao to bring financial literacy education to even more metro Atlanta students.

Mmmmmmmm…Fogo….

Here’s the deal: You and as many guests as you like can dine at Fogo de Chao on Thursday, April 26, 2012 for a discounted meal to raise money for Junior Achievement.  All you need to do is call JA of Georgia to make a reservation anytime between 5:30 and 8:30 p.m.  Your meal will include a whopping 15 cuts of meat, all you can eat salad bar, soft drinks, dessert, and a cocktail.  The price of the meal is normally $75 per person, but by making a reservation through JA your meal will be ONLY $50 per person!  JA will receive 100% of the proceeds from the evening.

Seating is limited to 150 people + seats are filling up quickly, so make your reservation ASAP, y’all.  Reservations can only be made through the Junior Achievement office by calling 404-257-1932 x 210 or e-mailing cmajors@georgia.ja.org. 

Major beef-age + serious do-gooding.  Sounds excellent to me!  BRING ON THE BEEF! 

xx, L

Fogo de Chao
3101 Piedmont Road NE
Atlanta, GA  30305
404.266.9988
http://www.fogodechao.com/

barkley

Barkley’s owners are our great friends, the Sands.  We wanted to see them, too, of course.  They recommended that we have brunch at nearby Atmosphere Bistro and then head down to the Chattahoochee River Trails for Barkley’s first swimming lesson.  To me, that sounded like the best. day. ever. 

So, we met at Atmosphere pre-church crowd rush.  It was my first time at the restaurant, but even before setting foot inside I knew four things about it.

1 – I pass by it driving on Piedmont (Morningside intersection) almost every single day.
2 – It’s a French bistro that has won a lot of local dining awards.
3 – The patio looks like a great place to have dinner or brunch cocktails.
4 – Everyone I know who has tried it has recommended it to me.

Here’s a picture of Atmosphere at night.  So impossibly cute.

Anyway, we successfully snagged a table on the patio and ordered up some champagne cocktails + coffee.

We literally wanted to order everything on the menu.  It all sounded so splendid!  We ultimately decided on two appetizers to share – both of which I strongly recommend.

Crab with avocado, tomato + pineapple chutney served in a martini glass.

Breaded + fried brie with an arugula salad.  OOOOMMMMGGGG.  Awesomesauce, y’all!

After we’d effectively wet our whistles with a few cups of coffee, brunch-y cocktails, and delicious appetizers, we quickly eased on to our entrees.  The Sands both settled on Benedictine: poached eggs benedict over toasted bread, ham, and hollandaise sauce, served with homemade French fries and mixed greens.  A perfect brunch-on-a-patio dish.

Kevin selected the L’Omelette du Jour which happened to be filled that day with thick cut bacon.  There were no complaints from his side of the table.  His omelet arrived with French fries Oeufs and mixed greens, as well.  Kev thought that Atmosphere’s French fries were spectacular!  (Obviously cooked in duck fat and with love.)  He was thoroughly impressed.

I ordered the Carpaccio de boeuf: thin slices of raw Kobe beef with shaved Parmesan cheese, extra virgin olive oil, and fresh lemon juice.  Simple and delightful.  I was very pleased with my selection.

By the end of the meal, we were completely stuffed.  I was so glad that the Sands suggested we try Atmosphere, and now the delicious restaurant is no longer just a quaint house with a sign that I pass by on Piedmont each day, but rather a destination for really enjoyable French cuisine.  I am looking forward to going back to try their dinner menu, and taste their famous French Onion soup!

Shortly after brunch, we headed out to the Chattahoochee with Barkley – who had been patiently awaiting our return. 

I’m sure you will all be pleased to know that he is a total water pup and had a very successful first swimming lesson!  The Sands are sure to become river regulars!

Hoping that everyone had as lovely of an Easter as we did! 

xx, L

Atmosphere Bistro
1620 Piedmont Ave.
Atlanta, GA  30324
678.702.1620
www.atmospherebistro.com

HD1 is situated next to Pura Vida and San Fran Coffee in between Ponce de Leon and North Ave. on North Highland.  I think it’s a brilliant location pulling from the Poncey-Highlands hipsters, the Virginia Highlands college kids, the Fernbank area families, and the Little Five and Candler Park folks.  Kev and I visited HD1 on Sunday afternoon around 1:30 p.m. and it was P.A.C.K.E.D.  Admittedly, I was shocked by how popular it seemed to be.

Location, Location, Location – right?  Right.

A glimpse at HD1′s elaborate hot dog menu…

We found two cozy seats set aside from the otherwise communal seating, and were greeted by a pleasantly laid-back waitress who took our drink orders and informed us about her favorite HD1 dogs.  We perused the menu for a bit, and I frequently looked up to see Kev’s eyes get wider and wider.  Everything we were reading sounded more and more decadent and delicious than the former!  Eventually, we settled on a few things.

We started with the HD Waffle Fries with maple-oy sauce.

They were different. 

I found the maple-oy sauce to be pretty overpowering, and wished that we would have just ordered the plain waffle fries and soaked them in good ol’ fashioned ketchup.  Now we know…

Next, we moved on to THESE.  Beef ‘n pork wieners served on toasted sweet Ghana rolls.

From left to right – The Whiz: cheese sauce + shoestring frites (my fav.)/ Eastbound and Down: Carolina pulled pork, sweet mustard slaw + mop sauce (Kev’s fav.)/ Plain Jane: HD mustard, ketchup, sweet relish + onion.

Kev and I both agreed that the hot dogs were delicious and definitely creative, but the sweet Ghana rolls were really what made the major difference for us!  Y-U-M!

check out those buns!

Other hot dogs that we thought sounded great:

- Chow-down: chow-chow + brown mustard.

- Freemont St.: garlic cream cheese + red onion-tomato salad.

- Kenturkey: turkey sausage, tomato-pimento marmalade, mornay, bacon + parmesan.

See the full HD1 menu HERE!

Although we’d stuffed ourselves with hot dogs, we HAD to try the Caramel Popcorn Vanilla Soft Serve at the end of our meal. 

It was out-of-this-world good! 

We had such a fun time at HD1.  The food was an interesting change up to an otherwise potentially boring Sunday lunch.  While I might not want to eat hot dogs every weekend (Kev disagrees with me on that point), I would absolutely bring out-of-towners and first-timers to HD1 to show it off.  And, next time I’m definitely trying the Kenturkey.

So, about that wedding diet…  

xx, L

HD1
664 Highland Avenue NE
Atlanta, GA  30306
404.815.1127
www.hd1restaurant.com

WHAT'LL YA HAVE?!?!

The Varsity sits on more than two acres and can accommodate 600 cars and over eight hundred people inside.  On Georgia Tech football game days, up to 30,000 people visit the restaurant.  The Varsity sells more than two miles of hot dogs daily, a ton of onion rings, 2500 pounds of fresh cut potatoes, 5000 homemade fried pies, and 300 gallons of chili, all of which are made from scratch each day.  The downtown Varsity is also the world’s largest single outlet for Coca-Cola.  Fun fact for ya…

Most menu items at The Varsity are under $2.75, so we could keep it supa-casual for everyone (which Kev loved), while I still got to plan a party (which obv. I loved)!

Here’s another peek inside:

I strongly encouraged everyone to sport the traditional Varsity hat.

And, we all sat down to celebrate with the birthday boy!  (I went a little crazy in the toy section at Party City…)

Kev got balloons.

A Superman cake.  (My favorite is still that some kid walked by the cake table and goes, “Woooah!  That guy is turning 29!!!”)

Buddies.

Girl buddies.

Chili cheese fries + onion rings.

And, a few chili cheese dogs.  Mmmmmmm…  Man, were they good!

Some of us ordered up The Varsity’s famous frosted oranges.

behold!

But, none of us enjoyed them quite as much as little Avery! 

Kev ended up having a really fun + memorable birthday!

Don’t forget about The Varsity.  It’s been y.e.a.r.s. since I’ve eaten there, but it’s totally worth the visit + every, single, chili-covered calorie!  This Atlanta staple is an excellent place for a pre-sporting event bite, a lunch destination for tourists, and birthday parties for kids of all ages!

“What’ll ya have?  What’ll ya have?  What’ll ya have???”  Um, EVERYTHING.

xx, L

The Varsity
61 North Avenue
Atlanta, GA  30308
404.881.1706
www.thevarsity.com

Also FACT: My most delicious meal was eaten at Aria. 

This Buckhead institution is known for its delicious food, excellent service, extensive wine list, and super-exclusive wine room table.  It’s a restaurant that I think of for celebrations.  Turning 30 was an appropriate one.  I was treated to this fantastic dinner by my fantastic friend, Gorms.  You are going to be so disgusted impressed by how much we ate!

We began our feast by polishing off Pastry Chef Kathryn King’s Warm Focaccia Bread and a glass of pinot gris.  If there was a such thing as a winter coat made out of bread – I’d want it to be this bread. 

Next up was Aria’s Creamless Celery Root Soup with black truffles and parmesan.

Potato and Goat Cheese Ravioli with lamb and mushroom bolognese and reggiano parmigiano followed.

Warm Lobster Cocktail with butter braised Maine lobster, broccoli, and black truffle potatoes were next.  This was incredibly delish!  Gorm’s favorite, in fact.

For entrees, we shared the Blue Ridge Mountain Trout with sweet potatoes, black trumpet mushrooms, Maine lobster, and white corn…

…and the Painted Hills Ranch Natural Beef Short Rib with celery root whipped potatoes, tender carrots, sugar snap peas, and celery hearts.

They were cooked to perfection.  So many lovely flavors!

Dessert began with a sensational Warm Apple Tart with caramel ice cream to share…

…and ended with a delightful birthday plate of chocolate surprises! 

The meal was OUT OF THIS WORLD (as predicted)!  If you have something to celebrate – celebrate here.  I would also tell you to order exactly like we did.  We had such a nice variety of savory and pastry, and I really feel like it was an excellent sampling of Aria’s menu.  I’ve never heard anything negative about this restaurant, and I only have very positive praise to add!  So well done! 

Enjoy, restaurant-goers!  And, thank you Gormsie, for such a delicious night!

xx, L

Aria
490 E. Paces Ferry Rd. NE
Atlanta, Georgia  30305
404.233.7673
www.aria-atl.com

We stepped + repeated, drank a few of STK’s signature martinis, watched very bendy dancers put on quite an interesting STK-inspired performance, and we hobnobbed with some big shot Atlantans, including Mr. Peter Thomas (satisfying my RHOA spotting for the month).  Thank you very much. 

Q+DD @ STK

It was an excellent way to toast the opening of this NYC-based restaurant (with locations in L.A., Miami + Vegas) that has positioned itself as a “steakhouse for women.” 

STK’s space on 12th and Peachtree is GORGEOUS.  Very modern + plush.  I was particularly impressed with the signature white horns grazing the bar wall.  So cool. 

And, we were really pleased with the small bites we sampled over the course of the evening.  STK’s sliders were seriously delish.

We’re super excited about STK!  This place is going to kill it.

xx, L

STK Atlanta
1075 Peachtree Street NE
Atlanta, GA  30309
404.793.0144
http://www.stkhouse.com/

Set to open this month, Lauren + I were recently able to take a sneak peak into the contemporary Mexican restaurant to try out some of their tasty bites!

When it officially opens, Alma Cocina will serve lunch + dinner and provide catering services to the downtown Atlanta area.  The restaurant accommodates about 200 guests for traditional dining room seating, accented by two distinct bar areas with large booths and communal tables which spill out into the beautiful One Ninety One Peachtree Tower atrium.

We sat at the bar, which was a spectacular choice, because we got to spend two full hours with the fabulous bartender Tony – who, get THIS, plays a zombie in AMC’s The Walking Dead seasons 1+2!  We love him.  MEET him.

I started off with a skinny girl margarita called “Just Wear Black”: Herradura silver tequila, agave syrup, and hand-squeezed lime juice.  It was goooooooood.  Made perfectly.

Lauren opted for some amazing-looking rum drink.  I missed the name of the cocktail, and admittedly, the ingredients - but I DO know this: Lauren liked it a lot.  And, it comes in a cool glass.  Witness, por favor:

Our man Tony ordered us some traditional Guacamole: tomato, lime, cilantro, red onion, and serrano.  It was good.  Although we didn’t try it, we thought the Guacamole & Butternut Squash on the menu sounded pretty cool.  It’s seasoned with chipotle and queso fresco.

Lauren and I decided to share everything – small plates and entrees.  We certainly brought our appetites.

One of my favorite dishes of the night was the Yellowtail Ceviche: pickled mango, cucumber-serrano water, coconut granita, Fresno chile, and micro cilantro.  So fresh – so light and unexpected at a Mexican restaurant.

Next up, Braised Lamb Taquitos: cucumber-mint salsa, fire-roasted salsa, queso cotija, and pomegranate seeds.  We thought the pomegranate seeds were such a nice touch, and they added a unique flavor to this creative dish.

We moved on to the Huitlacoche Empanada: corn truffle, charred tomato, jalapeno, queso Oaxaca, epazote, and salsa ranchero.  It hit the spot.

Tony stopped us there and informed us that we needed a wee bit more to drink.  (Did I mention that we loved Tony?!)  He whipped up a blended pina colada with ginger for us to share.  It tasted like Christmas in Mexico!  And, you MUST know by now how we feel about umbrellas in our drinks.  We couldn’t have been happier if we tried. 

We made Tony take a picture of us with it…

And, also a Roasted Chicken Mole Oaxaca: mashed plantains, grilled green beans, and sesame seeds.  I pretty much ate all of the plantain mash.  SO good.  Sorry, Lauren…

To finish off our grande meal, we shared a few bites of the refreshing Grapefruit-Mint Sorbet: rum-marinated pineapple, guajillo chile sauce.

I’m fully aware that that was a lot of food for two lovely ladies, and I’m being completely honest when I say that we ate most of it and we weren’t in a food coma when we left the restaurant.  The plates were smallish – perfect for sharing – and many of them were lighter than you’d expect at a Mexican restaurant.  We LOVED Alma Cocina + we’re thrilled to add it to our Fifth Group favorites list!  Heck, we’ll even drive downtown to eat there…  Anytime.

Welcome, Alma Cocina!  Ay! Ay! Ay!  We’ll be back soon.

xx, L

Alma Cocina
191 Peachtree Street
Atlanta, GA  30303
http://www.alma-atlanta.com/

steak tartare w/ miso-soy glaze, sesame aioli + quail egg

It’s legit.  That’s all.

xx, L

Abattoir
1170 Howell Mill Road
Atlanta, GA  30318
404.892.3335
www.starprovisions.com