balm for a tuesday – a poem from rumi

 

I’m away on a working vacation this week, Dear Reader. But something told me that this poem by Rumi might be something you needed to hear as much as I did today.

If not, tuck it somewhere safe for a rainy day.

 

come on sweetheart
let’s adore one another
before there is no more
of you and me

a mirror tells the truth
look at your grim face
brighten up and cast away
your bitter smile

a generous friend
gives life for a friend
let’s rise above this
animalistic behavior
and be kind to one another

spite darkens friendships
why not cast away
malice from our heart

once you think of me
dead and gone
you will make up with me
you will miss me
you may even adore me

why be a worshiper of the dead
think of me as a goner
come and make up now

since you will come
and throw kisses
at my tombstone later
why not give them to me now
this is me
that same person

i may talk too much
but my heart is silence
what else can i do
i am condemned to live this life

~rumi

 

cheers,

k

feast noir – atlanta’s first foodie flash mob is in the works

The creative mind behind the Atlanta Underground Market (AUM) just released the news of an event that will certainly have Atlanta foodies all in a tizzy.

Based on the wildly successful French foodie event, Diner en Blanc, Feast Noir aims to bring 1,000 foodies together in an as-yet-undisclosed location to enjoy dishes prepared by the participants themselves.

Feast Noir is scheduled for August 14, 2011 at 6pm.

Read all of the details about the event and register to attend at the Feast Noir website.

cheers,
k

i’m listening to: jill scott – the light of the sun

Buy on | Buy on Amazon | Listen (Grooveshark)

Album: The Light of the Sun (Deluxe)

Sounds Like: The official 2011 soundtrack of the ‘grown ass woman’

Makes Me Wanna: laugh, dance, sing, cry, and stage a one woman lip-synch show in my living room

Filed Under: r&b, new / progressive soul

Favorite Tracks: Le Boom Vent Suite, So Gone (What My Mind Says), Shame

I am currently obsessed with this CD. Once again, our girl Jill has found a way to put words to the silent songs I sing about love, life, relationships and black womanhood. How does she do it? I don’t know. Don’t really care. Just glad that she does, and glad that she does it so well. I think you will be to. Cop. Now.

cheers,

k

wine dinners: a great way to find good wine

When it comes to finding a wine you like, you’ve really only got a few methods to choose from.

• you can take a recommendation from a friend or an expert,
• you can take a wild guess based on the prettiness of the label and / or the floweriness  of the wording on the bottle as you stand scratching your head in the aisle
• or… you can taste it.

Of those three methods, only tasting is foolproof. Friends and experts may have different palates, and we all know better than to judge a wine by its cover, don’t we? And even once you’ve chosen a wine, there’s the work of figuring out what wine goes with what.

Enter, the wine dinner. This growing trend helps experienced and budding wine connoisseurs make sense of it all. If you haven’t had the chance to go to a wine dinner yet, lemme ‘splain what you’re missing out on.

 

What is a Wine Dinner?

A wine dinner is multi-course meal, typically hosted by a restaurant, a winery or a combination of the two. Each course of the meal comes along with a wine that has been selected to complement the dish being served.

 

What’s So Great about Wine Dinners?

You get to relax – unlike wine tastings and tours where you’re sort of shuffled along between tastings, at a wine dinner you’re comfortably seated. You can even kick your shoes off if you want, I won’t tell.

You get a serious wine education – during the wine dinner, either the restaurant’s sommelier or a representative from the vineyard will provide notes on the wines you taste that you simply won’t get anywhere else. Plus, if you happen to attend a wine dinner with other ‘cork dorks’, you’ll learn even more from the conversation.

You get to eat some really great food – most of the restaurants hosting wine dinners are pretty top-notch. Often, they’ll feature special dishes for the wine dinner that aren’t on their regular menu.

You save money – during a wine dinner you’ll typically taste a minimum of four dishes, along with equal servings of wine for a much lower price than you would if you were to purchase them all at regular price.

Here’s a quick roundup of three wine dinners in Atlanta that I’ve attended recently, and how I fared at each.

 

Mirassou Wine Dinner

As part of a multi-city promotional tour coinciding with the 156^th anniversary of Mirassou Winery, California winemaker David Mirassou hosted a series of wine dinners for local food and beverage writers, wine educators, and bloggers across the country. The Atlanta stop of the tour featured a 6-course tasting menu prepared by Chef Kevin Gillespie of Woodfire Grill, and yours truly was invited to attend.  Each course was a perfect mouthful of local, seasonal ingredients that Chef Gillespie crafted to complement the accompanying wine. Throughout the meal, David entertained us with stories from his family’s winemaking past, and explained the unique characteristics of each wine we tasted. Needless to say, the food was amazing. The wines – a pleasant surprise.

My favorite wine of the evening: Mirassou Cabernet Sauvignon – I’m not usually a big fan of Cabs, most tend to be too tannic for my tastes. But Mirassou’s Cabernet was much more drinkable, while still retaining the tannic profile. I dubbed it, ‘the softer side of Cab’. Retails for around $10

 

 

Mother’s Day Brunch at Frogtown Cellars

Craving the experience of Napa, but lacking the time or the funds? Georgia’s wine country is a suitable alternative for us Atlantans. This past Mother’s Day I decided to treat Mom and myself to our first visit to a Georgia winery. We chose Frogtown Cellars in Dahlonega, and were treated to a delicious 4-course brunch with wine pairings in a truly beautiful setting.

My favorite wine of the day: Frogtown First Convergence – East-meets-West blend of Cabernet and Malbec grapes from Russian River (66%) and Cabernet Franc grapes from Frogtown vineyard (34%). Retails for $27.99

 

 

The Generous Pour Wine Event at The Capital Grille

Did you know that there are only 173 Master Sommeliers in the entire world? So it’s a real treat when one of these esteemed wine experts hand picks 9 of his personal favorites and invites you to taste them. That’s exactly what went down this week at The Capital Grille in Buckhead. The restaurant invited several local food writers to a special preview of their summer wine event, The Generous Pour. George Miliotes, Master Sommelier and resident wine expert at The Capital Grille, joined via telecast to explain the 9 wines he chose for the event, and then answered our questions via live Twitter feed. After George’s introduction, we sampled each of the wines along with complementary dishes prepared by Chef Brad Weiderman. The unparalleled white-glove level of service at the Capital Grille made this one a real treat.

My favorites of the evening:

Tarima Hill Monastrell, 2009 – A Spanish varietal that’s not available anywhere else in the US for the next couple of months. It’s a medium-bodied red that I can only describe as ‘seductive’.

Chateau St. Jean, Belle Terre, 2008 – arguably the best Chardonnay I’ve ever tasted. Described as ‘a rich, creamy wine… with toasted almond and vanilla oak’. From the Russian River region of California. $25.

 

 

The Capital Grille’s Generous Pour Wine Event continues through September 4, and is only $25 for ample servings of all 9 wines with dinner. Do this!

To see questions and answers from The Generous Pour preview event, search for #tcgpour11 on Twitter.

Want to get personalized wine recommendations from a Master Sommelier? Follow George Miliotes (@TheWineExpert) on Twitter.

But hey – don’t just settle for his (or my) recommendations. Go out and taste for yourself.

 

cheers,

k

smashburger arrives in atlanta

If you were to count up all the burger restaurants in Atlanta on your hands, you’d quickly run out of fingers. It seems that burger fever has taken over the city, and Atlantans just can’t get enough beef. Denver, Colorado-based Smashburger has no complaints about the phenomenon at all, however. Smashburger opened its first Atlanta location last week, and I had the chance to get a sneak preview of what Atlanta’s newest burger concept has to offer.

On the surface, Smashburger seems to have all the right elements for success:

A founder who invented the stuffed-crust pizza and the McGriddle,

A cooking process that ensures a consistent burger every time,

A menu that offers a variety of high-quality ingredients along with regional specialties,

and a restaurant concept that strikes the right balance of decor, location, and service.

“We want to bring the burger back to the forefront of American dining,” shared Tom Ryan, Smashburger founder. I spoke with Tom during Smashburger Atlanta’s Blogger Bash last week. Tom, who was once head of R&D for burger behemoth McDonalds, is certainly no stranger to the field. “Our goal is to provide a total family experience, a place where everyone will find something they love. We’re known for our burgers, but we have salads and chicken, kids’ meals, split and grilled hotdogs, even fried veggies!”

In each of its restaurants, Smashburger features a local burger on the menu that speaks to the flavors and tastes of the region. The appropriately named ‘Atlanta Burger’ comes topped with peach bbq sauce, fresh sliced jalapenos, Vidalia onion slaw, and Wicked Pimina Cheese from Rome, GA.

I sampled the Atlanta Burger and several other selections from the menu, but was most impressed by:

Smashfries – Two versions are offered. Sweet potato and original. The latter come topped with rosemary, parmesan and olive oil. Both are absolutely delicious!

The Tom Burger – It’s not on the menu, but it’s founder Tom Ryan’s favorite way to top his burger. Simply a Smashburger topped with a fried egg and American cheese. I was skeptical until I tasted it. The cheese melts to a velvety-smooth creamy texture, and the richness of the egg along with the fresh-tasting burger… sinfully delicious. Definitely not something you should eat often. But give it a try just once, and thank me later.

I even got the opportunity to try my hand at the Smashburger method of cooking up a perfectly juicy hamburger, which involves pressing down on the burger to achieve a ‘crust’ that seals in the juices and flavor, then being extremely careful not to break the ‘crust’ when flipping the burger. Not as easy as it looks, lemme tell ya.

Smashburger’s Buckhead location opened last week near the intersection of Piedmont Road and Sidney Marcus Boulevard. With two more locations set to open soon in John’s Creek and Alpharetta, Smashburger is sure to be a welcome addition to the Atlanta burger scene.

To get exclusive mobile deals and discounts for Smashburger Atlanta, text “smashburgeratl” to 90210.

Smashburger
2625 Piedmont Rd.
Atlanta, Georgia 30324
404.237.2374
www.smashburger.com

my new favorite atlanta restaurant – lunacy black market

I’ll admit it. Nowadays when I hear of a new Atlanta restaurant that all the foodies are raving over, I scoff. Yeah, I said it. I scoff.  I’ve become jaded, you see. Time and time again, I’ve fallen victim to the buzz surrounding a hot new restaurant in Atlanta. First, the in-the-know insiders and foodies start circling stories of a concept, a location, an opening date. Soon the chorus of foodie-faithfuls grows. Comments of, “I knew Chef so-and-so when he/she was just a paduan,” and , “Have you had his whatzadoozit-with-mystery-sauce? It’s to die for!” start appearing all over the interwebs. Then the opening happens, a flurry of food scenesters, bloggers, media and critics flock to the place, each waxing poetic about the ambiance, the décor, the innovativeness or simplicity of the menu. After the dust from the initial hoopla finally settles and I get the chance to visit the restaurant once, twice, or three times, an unsettling reality sets in. The food… ain’t shit. Either the quality and consistency has deteriorated over time, or it was really never that good to begin with.

It’s this prejudice that was a large factor in keeping me away from Lunacy Black Market until last Friday, when a neighbor arranged for a group of folks to head over for a visit. I’d been hearing positive rumbles and awestruck whispers of the place since it opened last year, but was reluctant to believe any of it. Within minutes of arriving, I was completely disarmed. To call Lunacy Black Market a restaurant is correct only in the most literal of senses. Food is served for a price, so, yes, it’s a restaurant. But it would be more accurate to describe the place as a communal parlor – a space where conversation is encouraged as much as consumption. Our party of three arrived and was greeted cordially by our waitress, who suggested we claim a collection of comfy-looking, well worn couches near the front of the restaurant as our seats for dinner. A few moments later, the waitress returned with menus – hand printed in black Sharpie on cardboard box panels. We peered and pondered for several minutes, marveling at both how tasty the dishes sounded and how affordable the prices seemed. Wine
selections were decided upon (also at very wallet-friendly prices), and we settled back into our couches to chat for a while before ordering our first samples of food.

Like Chef Paul Luna’s prior restaurant ventures, Eclipse di Luna and Loca Luna, the menu at Lunacy Black Market is all tapas. In my opinion, Lunacy measures higher on the authenticity scale than the other two, and though the selections are more limited, the flavors are infinitely more soulful. We ordered almost everything on that night’s menu, including:

Antipasto platter – A perfect starter. Salami, roasted peppers, olives, and house-made mozzarella

Bread with olive oil and balsamic – A must-have to sop up all of the delectable sauces on the other dishes ordered. The bread is perfectly toasted – crispy outside, pillowy inside

Garbanzo beans – In a rich, savory curry sauce that was so good it caused one of my cohorts to moan inappropriately

Sauteed shrimp – My favorite dish of the evening. Swimming in an olive oil and garlic sauce that begs to be licked from your fingers

Roasted mushrooms – Charred nicely, accompanied by yet another tasty sauce. This time, a smoothly tangy crushed tomato sauce

Asian style ribs – Tender as love. Braised in ginger, soy and sesame. Simply sumptuous.

Green and purple cabbage salad – tossed with gorgonzola, toasted walnuts, and a touch of fresh mint. At first taste, I was underwhelmed by the delicate flavors. But enjoyed it more as I paired it with sips of red wine

Dishes arrived at the table in no particular order. We intermittently noshed, lounged, and strolled about the restaurant taking in the art on the walls, tickled by the eclectic mish-mash of second hand furnishings in the space. Other neighbors joined later in the evening, and we floated back and forth between our two tables with ease. Chef Paul eventually emerged from the kitchen, and stopped by for a chat, during which he shared a bit of the inspiration behind Lunacy Black Market.

When he and his partner Cynthia were living in Spain, there was a small neighborhood restaurant that they’d often walk to. The restaurant’s owner would encourage them to stay as long as they wanted during their visits; to take their time and enjoy themselves, instead of feeling the hurry-up-and-get-outta-here vibe encountered in many restaurants. When Luna and Cynthia (the name Lunacy is a cheeky combination of their names) were conceiving the restaurant, they wanted it to be much like that restaurant in Spain – a place where patrons felt like guests and were welcome to stay as long as they liked.

Indeed, we did stay as long as we liked, and ended up being the last people to leave that evening after having spent a leisurely and enjoyable FOUR HOURS at the restaurant. Lunacy more than lived up to the hype surrounding it, and delivered everything I want in a restaurant experience: a variety of well-executed small plates to suit both my indecisive palate and the desire to feel full but not stuffed; an amazingly reasonable price point; easy accessibility – being only a stone’s throw from home and with free parking; and an environment so comfortable as to make me feel like I’d never left my living room. The fact that it took me so long to get there was, well… lunacy.

Watch Chef Paul Luna – the mad scientist behind Lunacy Black Market – at work.

cheers,

k

 

Lunacy Black Market

231 Mitchell St. SW

Atlanta, GA 30303

404.736.6164

http://www.lunacyblackmarket.com/

Photos courtesy of: dahon and Lunacy Black Market

end dependence day playlist – a collection of freedom songs

Is it just me? Even though Independence Day has come and gone, I can still sense a distinct feel of freedom in the air. Several of my acquaintances are making bold choices, breaking with normal patterns of behavior, becoming a little more daring, a little more liberated, and a lot more in touch with the little voice inside that often urges us: Just do it. Just be you. Tell your story. Dance your dance. Sing your song.

For this past 4th of July holiday, I compiled a personal collection of songs about freedom and independence that I thought captured the spirit of the holiday while not necessarily being all about American patriotism. I decided to call it the ‘End Dependence Day’ playlist.

I hope you enjoy this selection of 20+ tracks that convey the importance of freedom of mind, body, heart, and spirit. More than that, I hope that in some small way, this playlist might inspire you to: make a fool of yourself for a good cause, to tell fear to go take a long walk off a short bridge, or to flip yourself the finger in the mirror – partly to symbolize defiance of your own unrealistic expectations, but mostly to see how badass you look doing it.

End Dependence Day Playlist on Grooveshark





End Dependence Day Playlist on iTunes


cheers,
k

Photo: Welcome to Independence by taberandrew

been too long

Hello Dear Reader. It’s been a long time since we last talked. Yes, I know you probably thought I’d disappeared for good this time, but I’m glad to say you were mistaken.

You know how it is. Sometimes you get caught up with other endeavors and diversions, and before you know it, almost an entire year has passed. I’ve thought of you often in our absence, however. And since we last spoke, much has occurred.  Over the next couple of weeks, I hope to catch you up on most of the highlights. Namely:

My new favorite Atlanta restaurant

Mirassou wine dinner

An ethnic foodie bingefest

A visit to Frogtown

My European vacation

9-to-5 school’s out for Summer

The Seersucker Social

Perfect recipes from my imperfect neighborhood

New old music from across the pond

Finding my fitness balance

I can’t wait to tell you all about it.

cheers,

k

Photo: Time Flies by Grant MacDonald