attack of the silky soul singers – saturday at sugarhill

On Saturday 4/18, super-talented soul sensations Eric Roberson, and N’Dambi will share the Sugarhill stage with Atlanta-based vocal giants: Julie Dexter, Rhonda Thomas, Kameron Corvet and Heston.

If you’re an underground soul music lover, I don’t even have to tell you how HUGE this show is going to be. And if you’re simply a fan of real music – live instrumentation, killer vocals, and give-it-all performances – you should be here!

The performances will be recorded for a soon-to-be released Harmony in Life live album.

Tickets are $17.50 in advance and can be purchased at Moods Music, Marco’s Pita, or www.ticketalternative.com  

cheers,

k

best fries in atlanta

I know I shouldn’t love them as much as I do, but…I do. I mean some people like french fries, but I truly love them.  You know, kinda like an addict truly loves crack. Ask any friend of mine who’s made the unwise decision to reach for a couple of fries from my plate. Let’s just say, no one has ever done it more than once.

This weekend, I happened across Meredith Ford’s latest list of the 5 best fries in Atlanta. Of course, being the fry fiend that I am, I made a mental note to check out a couple of the places on her list whose fried taters I haven’t yet sampled (Shaun’s and Porter Beer Bar), but there were others that I was surprised made the cut (Steak and Shake? really?). After reading, it inspired me to pen my own list of Atlanta restaurants with the best fries.

Check ‘em out and let me know if there’s some other places you know of in the city where I should be fueling my addiction.

 5. Five Guys Burgers and Fries

Something about the whole Five Guys fry experience is just, well…dirty. But that’s part of what makes them so good. Oh you’re just gonna throw the fries into a little styrofoam cup? How delightfully low-brow! Grease stains on the bag? But someone might see…oh hell, I don’t care. Give ‘em to me, give them all to me! Let them spill over the cup into the bag. Let the cajun seasoning stick to my fingers so I have to lick it off. And when I’m done devouring them like I have absolutely no home training, hand me a napkin so I can ever so daintily dab the evidence off my lips. Nothing to see here, folks. Keep it movin’.

4. Eclipse di Luna

Here’s where Meredith and I definitely agree. This authentic tapas restaurant serves up fried potatoes with a Spanish flair. Eclipse di Luna’s patatas bravas are chunky cut, covered in a saffron-hued seasoning mix, and served with a side of romesco sauce, which is sort of like a spicy aioli. Ay, que sabrosos!

3. Corner Tavern

Honestly, the fries at Corner Tavern are only slightly above average. But what pushes them to such a high place on my list are the dipping sauces, of which there are six to choose from. An order of the never-frozen, skin-on spuds comes with your choice of not one, not two, not three… but FOUR dipping sauces! My faves are: curried ketchup, BBQ, and Thai chili (I usually double up on this one).

2. Cafe di Sol  

The shoestring potato often gets the shun from me. Mainly because most places just don’t do them right. They’re either so thin that they fry up hard and insubstantial; or they’re underseasoned and just taste like… shoestrings. Cafe di Sol, however, avoids both of those missteps. Their hand-cut shoestrings are just thin enough to get a good crispy exterior, but thick enough so you still enjoy the mouth feel of the fluffy interior. They’re also liberally seasoned with a mixture of what I think is garlic, salt, and pepper, and sprinkled with fresh chives. I effs with these crabcakes.

1. The Shed at Glenwood

The reason for The Shed at Glenwood claiming the #1 spot in my list can be summed up in three words. Black. Truffle. Powder. A light sprinkling of this earth-colored pixie dust takes an already spectacular fry to drool-worthy proportions. The Shed’s taters are made like the traditional Belgian fry (should it really come as any surprise that the folks who give us such great beer would also have such good fries?). Cut into batons and fried twice – once on low heat and once at extremely high heat – the result is a crispy fry with a luxuriously creamy interior. But thankfully, even perfection isn’t good enough for The Shed. Chef Lance Gummere makes them absolutely decadent by adding black truffle powder – which retails for around $15 an ounce. But it’s worth every penny. The powder imparts a rich, umami flavor that’s almost like eating meat. OPULENCE! Thank you Chef Lance! And shouts out to the Belgians. Oh, and uh…good looking out, pigs.

 cheers,

k

new look for bonvivant online

It’s finally done!

In case you haven’t noticed, the site has a whole new look and feel to it. I’ve changed from the Smashing theme I was using from Smashing Magazine, and updated to the Revolution Lifestyle WordPress theme from Brian Gardner.

The new theme is more of a magazine-style layout, and allows you to see more posts in each category versus the chronological, blog-style look of before. I’m really excited about the new look, mainly because I did the back-end config myself, which definitely challenged my below-amateur php / html coding skills.

There are still a few kinks to work out, but overall I think the changes make the site look more professional, and – dare I say it? – sexxxy!

Slide through and check it out, and let me know what you think.

cheers,

k

what’s twitter and why you should (or shouldn’t) bother

Imagine this. You arrive at a bustling, networking event and casually walk into the center of the very large, very crowded room. All around you, groups of varying sizes are engaged in lively conversation. From where you stand, you can catch snippets of every discussion, and a little smidgen of what each person is saying. That guy over in the corner is the promoter for that hot new nightclub downtown, and he’s offering all of his group free admission this Friday. The young lady a few feet away from him is happily sharing small business marketing advice and is giving a referral to a friend of hers who provides half-off discounts to the best restaurants in the city. The guy standing next to her isn’t saying as much as everyone else, but when he does, it’s the wittiest / funniest thing you’ve ever heard! And the woman on the far side of the room looks like Erykah Badu. No, wait…she IS Erykah Badu! As you stand there and listen some more, hundreds of other useful tidbits buzz by your ears. It’s hard to keep up with them all and you’re worried that you’ll never have enough time to meet and connect with all of the cool, funny, interesting, and helpful people in front of you. Plus, you’ve got valuable information and witty repartee of your own to share… but how are you ever going to be able to engage with everyone?

Just then, Rod Serling magically appears at your side, and says, “There is a fifth dimension beyond that which is known to man. It is a dimension as vast as space and as timeless as infinity. It is the middle ground between light and shadow, between science and superstition, and it lies between the pit of man’s fears and the summit of his knowledge. This is the dimension of imagination. It is an area which we call ‘The Twitter Zone’. ”

Suddenly, the room goes dead silent. Everything begins moving in slow motion. When the next person opens their mouth to speak, you see their words appear written in a little bubble over their head with a time and date stamp on the end of it. You – and everyone else in the room – can go around and literally cherry-pick out of the air those bits of conversation that are interesting to you and put them in your book of acquaintances. Every time you open your book, you’ll have a growing history of everything those people said since you picked them. Those you don’t pick, won’t show up in the book. And because of the time / date stamp, you can see how long ago the words were said. Likewise, anyone who’s put your name in their book, will be able to see everything you’ve said. “Wow” you think to yourself, “This is pretty friggin’ amazing!” “No,” says Rod Serling, “This. Is Twitter.”

Read more

april fool’s day at the office

5:30 pm Tuesday March 31: It’s done. I’ve set up my April Fool’s Day office joke and I managed to do so without being detected. Sweet. Now I just need to pack up my things and head home for today. If it didn’t look weird, I’d pat myself on the back for being so clever. My joke is simple, effective and to the point. I rock.

5:45pm Tuesday, March 31: A sudden feeling of nervousness is creeping up on me. What if they don’t think it’s funny? Well, that in itself wouldn’t be bad. Plenty of folks don’t get my sense of humor. But – that’s not what’s making me nervous. What if they think it’s offensive? What if someone thinks I’ve singled them out specifically, and complains to management? Hell, I’m not even an employee at this office. I’m a hired gun. A contractor. Technically, I hold less rank than the mail room guy. Oh, no. What was I thinking? I shouldn’t have done it. I’m not part of the team. I’m an outsider. An interloper. I’m going to tarnish the image of my firm. There’s going to be repercussions. I could be reprimanded. I could be fired. I could be drawn and quartered at dawn! Ahhh ,well…too late now.
6:30 pm Tuesday, March 31: On the ride home from the Marta station, I explain my prank to the beau. He laughs. “That’s a good one.” Whew. Okay, well if he finds it funny, I should be okay. I mean, he’s a good natured wholesome kinda guy – If it doesn’t offend his sensibilities…. Though there was that one Katt Williams joke he laughed at uproariously…. Maybe he can’t be trusted.

Oh, how did I get myself into this?

9:30am Tuesday, March 31: I’m sitting in a room the size of a large storage closet, having a discussion with one of my coworkers. A trio of people are peering in through the glass door to the room smiling broadly. One of them opens the door. “See, look at the transformation!” The others oooh and ahhh. They’re apparently oblivious to the fact that my colleague and I were attempting to have a private discussion. After a few moments, they close the door and walk away. Their excitement is due to the fact that today, someone decided to arrange the chairs and tables (the same ones that have always been in the room) into café-style configuration. They’ve even placed white paper napkins on the table and a printed sign on the door that reads, “Café Tres” (we’re on the 3rd floor). Since we 3rd floor dwellers haven’t had anywhere before now to eat our lunch other than our desks, I too can appreciate the subtle changes, but “C’mon people,” I think. “It’s the same room, the same chairs. Now there’s just napkins and a sign. Seriously?” Just then, another group peers in smiling and repeats the ooh and ahh session of the previous group. Seriously.

A few moments later, I’m chit-chatting with two other coworkers over coffee. I decide to hip them to the new ‘café’. “Oh, have you guys heard about the new restaurant in the building?” I’m hamming it up. They’re eating it up. “It’s called Café Tres! The décor is simply sublime! I hear the wait list is as long as your arm. But don’t worry. I know a guy who owes me a favor. I can get us in.” They laugh hysterically. I’m high off the feeling of making them laugh hysterically. Then it hits me: I’ve got the perfect April Fool’s Day joke!

9:00am Wednesday, April 1: I slide into my cube and set my things down. Something looks awry. Was my monitor angled that way last night? Uh-oh. Maybe they’ve found me out and pranked me back. Or maybe they were searching my computer for evidence of the crime. That’s ridiculous I tell myself. Just play it cool. I go about preparing my morning coffee and decide to query one of my team members that arrives earlier than I do. When I run into her in the hallway, I ask “So…uh, anything interesting or exciting happen this morning?” She squints suspiciously. I drop the coy routine. “You know, like anything about the…uh, café…?” Her eyes widen. “That was you!?” In the next second I contemplate either running from the building or pleading for leniency. Then, she starts laughing uncontrollably. “Oh my god, that was hilarious. We were wondering who did that. It took us forever to figure out it was a joke!”

“So, nobody was offended, right?”

“Offended? Noooo….” she says, still laughing. “It was hilarious. You should have seen our faces. I gotta go tell Nancy! She’s gonna get a kick out of this!”

So like I was saying…. I wasn’t worried. I knew it would work all along.

cheers,

k

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