Archive for June 29, 2008

Girl’s Night at The Shed

June 29, 2008 ashley Restaurants

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A few friends celebrated Lea’s birthday (she is over 30-that is all I will say) at [tag]The Shed[/tag] , a new restaurant in [tag]Glenwood Park[/tag]. We walked in to what is a very nice fresh, simple dining area and bar. The two t.v.’s over the bar were a bit large for the place I thought – even though I wanted to see Georgia play the second game of the College World Series (which they lost miserably.) I just don’t know why we all need t.v.’s in every corner of our world. Do we need to be constantly stimulated with crap? Yes. Okay, I digress.

The hunky bartender fixed us all nice drinks – Elizabeth and I had a half bottle of champagne for something like $35.00. A bit pricey, but it was refreshing. We were seated when all our party was there and our waiter (Patrick was his name I believe) was very informative and never got annoyed by my constant craving for attention for our table.

All “small plates” are to be shared and all cost around $12 to $13. The larger plates are pricier. The concept is “farm to table” so what you have on any given night may change. We started with the marinated olives which I thought were superb. We moved on to the cheese plate (with many more olives) and some nice toasted bread – all very good and nicely presented. (All dishes are white by the way.) The pickled beet salad with yellow and red beets, feta, and mandarin oranges was fabulous. The beets were gorgeous. We also had the truffle fries and homemade ketchup – not bad but not great – and the peach dish which I did not taste was said to be very nice. They unfortunately were out of the farm to table whole fish dish and for the fish eating vegetarian birthday girl, that was a bummer, but she got the salmon and I will let her comment on that if she would like. I had the fried okra and collard greens for my main meal because I had stuffed myself on cheese, and the okra was good but the collards needed some umph. I think Elizabeth got the BLT Club sandwich and it lacked umph as well. Nice, but just not all that tasty for some reason.

The sweetest part of the evening was when a couple walked out of the restaurant during their meal (we were all like, what the heck are they doing) and came back in a few minutes later and he screamed, “She said YES!” It was all schmoopy like and everyone clapped and got verklempt. Well, not really. But it was sweet as pie.

engaged-at-glen.jpg The newly engaged at Shed -Sean and Mandy.

Anyway, I would go back certainly to this restaurant. I do not need to go back once a month, but I will try it again and see how they are faring. The service was impeccable, the place has a nice feel and the food was good. Notice my overuse of the word, “nice.” That about sums it up…

girls-night-at-glen-1.jpg Celebrating Lea’s 25th – in black with blond hair :)

brutus-004.jpgAll in all, Brutus gives it 3 paws up.

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Great Pups in Need of Home

June 19, 2008 ashley Animals

I tend to find stray pups often and then go through the process of having to find them a home. The newest two I have found were wandering the streets together and had no tags, were timid, dirty, never seen the inside of a home, and looked like they needed help.

I have taken them to the vets, gotten all their shots and Draper (the boy) has been neutored. I can’t keep them, so if you happen to be reading this and need a pup, please email me and let me know. They are both loving, sweet as pie, great around other animals, wonderful around kids, a bit scared and a bit hungry, but on the way to being great dogs for someone.

They need a home where they can be inside and outside animals. They had never seen the inside of a home before they were rescued…

sweet-latta.jpg This is Latta, the little girl!

sweet-draper.jpgThis is Draper, the big boy!

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Village Vets of Decatur in a New Location

June 16, 2008 ashley Amazing people, Animals

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Brutus, Little Girl, Fred Cat and Bella Cat have spent almost as much time at [tag]The Village Vets[/tag] as they do at home. They seem to gravitate towards the vets to see [tag]Dr. Stacy or Dr. Villines[/tag] (the two we see most often) when they have stomach problems, gashes in their butts, or after they have eaten an entire bottle of Mylanta…I could go on and on. Anyway, we have always loved The Village Vets started by [tag]Dr. Will Draper[/tag] when he was much younger than he is today :) and now they have moved from their older Decatur location into a fabulous new building built especially for them across from Decatur High School on McDonough Street.

This new spot is a state of the art veterinarian center and it looks amazing. Built in a modern style, the building is stark and clean and the exam rooms are big and comfortable for both the human and animal. Of course all the familiar faces are there and everyone is always so happy to see- not me, but Brutus. I have only one complaint. There are fabulous portraits of “star” patients (cats and dogs of course) throughout the building and Brutus WAS NOT ASKED to be in one. Now, I know how much these people love Brutus and I intend to give Dr. Will a piece of my mind next time I see him. Brutus would look very good in a portrait on the wall of The Village Vets- possibly in the waiting room where others can coo and cah over him.

Enough sulking…Congrats to The Village Vets and their new wonderful building. If you have not found a vet in town, you must go see them! Tell them Brutus sent you.

home-006.jpg Brutus gives it 4 paws up even though he is sad he is not on the wall…

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Abita Beer and Homemade Pickles – Yum

June 11, 2008 alison Bars, Restaurants, Shops

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On a whim – while driving on Highland, the completely re-developed strip in Inman Park – Ashley and I decided to drop in to one of the new [tag]Atlanta restaurants[/tag] on that road – [tag]Parish Foods and Goods[/tag]. Not Perish – as in death, but Parish – as in the geographic boundaries used in Louisiana that most states call “counties.” It took me a few minutes to put this together, despite being a native Louisianian….here’s the story and review.

I had not heard of this place so I walked in without any expectations. The interior is great – a brick office building from the early 1900s with exposed brick walls, open spaces, and great old tin roof tiles. Downstairs is the gourmet store/deli/coffee shop with fresh pastries (pistachio crème brulee anyone?), meats, snotty bottled drinks and fresh sandwiches and salads. The downstairs area is open all day. Oh – and the pastries are half price after 6pm – according to the bartender.

Ok – back to dinner. We sat upstairs in the main restaurant at the bar. It was there that I finally realized this was a restaurant shooting for the Louisiana vibe – they have an excellent selection of [tag]Abita beer on draft[/tag]. If you have not had beer on draft – it is a great microbrewery from Abita Springs, Louisiana that uses fresh spring water and it is some of the best beer in America. If you like wheat beer – the Purple Haze is a flavorful burst of raspberry and wheat. If you prefer a more stout-like feel, go for the Turbo Dog – light but dark. High gravity? AndyGator. Lager – go with Abita Amber – smooth and tasty. Non-alcoholic? Abita Root Beer on draft is one of the best things you will ever drink. Parish offers an Abita Root Beer Float that sounds superb. Maybe next time.

This time we went with signature cocktails followed by an Abita Amber. Oh – and to eat – the Chef’s seafood sampler and shrimp burger. The sampler was a nice mix of crawfish empanadas, some oyster thingy, a nice broiled fish, and other stuff. The shrimp burger was tasty and delicious – small and on French bread with a side of home-made potato chips and a homemade pickle. The chips were skip-able, the pickle was grand.

As the bartender pointed out – Parish isn’t trying to be some “Cajun” joint – they are going for a more upscale “Creole” feel. In other words more uptown New Orleans than downtown Lafayette. But don’t go searching for some Creole owner whose Momma still speaks French. This fancy joint is just another exquisite space with pretty good food by your friends at Concentrics Restaurants who have brought us One Midtown Kitchen, Two Urban Licks, and Trois. We found the service – great, the food – yummy, the specialty cocktails tasty (and affordable), and the drink list on a brown paper bag appropriately snotty-cheap.

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brutus-007.jpgBrutus gives it 3 paws up!

 

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Hosea Williams – Again on the Back of the Bus

June 3, 2008 ashley Amazing people, Yadda Yadda

[tag]Hosea Williams[/tag] is known in Atlanta and around the world as a famous civil rights leader who was unfortunately arrested some 125 times for things like drinking at “whites only” water fountains or sitting in the front of a bus. Today his picture is stamped on a the back of Atlanta Marta bus. I find this a bit sad since his image is now hawking a bail bonding business for those imprisoned at the [tag]Fulton or Dekalb County Jails[/tag] and the tag line is “still setting em free.” I almost hit this bus today trying to get these pictures.

hosea-2.jpg hosea1.jpg

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