Keving Gillespie, You Light My Fire

And oh baby, Kevin Gillespie (the head chef), who won third place on Bravo's Top Chef, lit my fire at Woodfire Grill

Excuse my photos. I really need to get my camera situated so you can actually see the amazing food that I have been eating.



Before our meals, we were surprised with a spoonful of something that for the life of me I cannot remember. All I remember was that it was light and it tasted like a bouquet of flowers. Very fragrant!



For my starter, I definitely wanted to try the Black Truffle Mushroom Risotto. I mean black truffle, mushrooms and risotto, how can you go wrong?



Gillespie is known for his slow-cooked pork, but I wanted to try his Sturgeon. And of course it was just out of this world. Not a single flake of sturgeon left on my plate.

I topped the whole meal off with no, not a dessert, but a couple of glasses of bodegas borsao garnacha campo de borja tres picos. Now that's some great Spanish wine!

On a sidenote, but I am so proud of the culinary talent in Atlanta. We've had several of our awesome chefs on Bravo's Top Chef: Richard Blais, previously from One Midtown Kitchen and now Flip Burger; Hector Santiago, head chef at Pura Vida; Eli Kirshtein, from Eno

I know I'm missing several other chefs, so sorry chefs, but I suggest you check these places out!

P'Cheen

After Shopping Nights with Bodega at Studio 900 (definitely got some more good finds!), my friend Katie and I decided to get dinner and drinks at P'Cheen in Inman Park. I just love saying that word...P'Cheen..I could not stop saying it last night! It's just one of those words.


Photo from Savory Exposure

On a sidenote: What really bugged me was that P'Cheen was on Groupon the other day...I despised the table next to us as I saw them take out their Groupon from their wallet to pay for part of their meal. Groupon would be the end of my finances if I keep buying every groupon--that was my rationalization for the night and that was the end of my Groupon woes. End of sidenote.

And damn I didn't have my camera and you know how the iPhone cameras are...in times of darkness, I wish I had a blackberry so I could have some flash to my pics!

You think that as a Catholic I would adhere to my Lenten Season fasting: complaining

The dinner last night was delicious!

For an appetizer, we ordered the Drunken' Shrooms...boy, I could have made that dish into a soup. The broth was just out of this fungi world!

Main Entrée: Risotto du Jour
Oh yes, there was some pork belly with this dish. Pork Belly and Risotto are two of my many favorites things and put together...umm...yea...

I heart typography

It's true...everyone has their own little quirks and for some odd reason, I don't know....maybe it's because I'm a graphic designer...every time I'm out and about I always seem to try and figure out what type of font I see. And I guess I'm not ashamed of my freak flag, I like to wave it in front of people and declare, "I know that font!" I get the rolling of the eyes or the I want to pretend I didn't hear what you just said in front of all these people. I think it's a gift.

To wave my flag around even more, I bought this awesome Sans Serif Typography Wood Wall Art made by PepperSprouts from etsy.com


image courtesy of peppersprouts

What kind of freak flag do you carry!?!?

I want my baby back

barbecue sauce...



The baby back ribs were very tempting Monday night at DBA Barbecue in Virginia Highlands, but I chose to stick with the pulled pork with a side of deliciousness! Monday nights at DBA Barbecue they have great beer specials: $1 pint and $4 pitchers of Yuengling. So Natalie, Mr. Macking and I made our way to try it out! Conclusion: might be a regular place to hit up on Mondays, especially if Natalie becomes a guest bartender. Oh yes, they have guest bartenders on Monday nights.

Sorry for the terrible photos...I was sans camera that night



Pulled Pork plate with a side of red beans and rice and creamed corn



Mr. Macking's plate: Pulled Pork with potato salad and humungo onion rings



Natalie's Plate: Pulled Chicken with yummy macaroni n cheese and sweet potato fries



Did I mention that we had banana pudding and chocolate bourbon ice cream over a brownie?

Follow them on Twitter for daily specials!

http://twitter.com/dbabarbecue

I'm stuffed!

All You Need is Love

So I'm sure you know by now that I'm just rethinking the name of my blog...argh! It's like coming up with your child's name but not I guess since I'm able to change the name with a couple of clicks of the mouse and some keyboard love. Hmm...thoughts? I'm trying to play off the fact that friends, family, food, design and wine are what I really love in life.

On another note, I'm not super big into coffee, but I recently bought two of the cutest mugs from Target. I can't seem to find them on the internet, so I took a picture of one. Makes me all fuzzy inside for Valentine's Day!




So I thought what other cute mugs are out there?





Of course, I mean I just had too...I found these Valentine Owl Latte Mug Set of 4 in Pink on Kaboodle.




I found these hooters through Two Girls, One Blog... from Pemshop.com


Last one and I'll stop...can't stop..won't stop...Art Effect - Yuki Owl Mug I found on This Next.

Shopping Nights with Bodega at Studio 900

As a Daily Candy subscriber, I'm always on the lookout for awesome events around Atlanta, especially for shopping. Last month they did a feature on Bodega at Studio 900 Shopping Nights. Created by Rosa McWaters, it's a monthly event (every third Thursday of the month) of fashion and food. You can eat yummy food from Bookhouse Pub and drink beer while shopping for clothing, jewelry or handbags or getting your haircut by some talented hairstylists. Yes, I said it, haircut!

Last night I was able to go. I got my haircut for $25 by Christina McCarver from Bella Capelli.



I bought this really cute fish necklace from hot pink poo for $8



And my best buy of the night: Vintage Stuart Weitzman shoes for $25!

Now, you can beat that! I spent $58 for a haircut, vintage designer shoes and a necklace.

PS. If you are a local fashion artist and would like to be a part of Bodega at Studio 900 Shopping Nights, then contact Rosa McWaters.

Eat Your Heart Out, The Shed at Glenwood

I'm so grateful to have friends who are just as adventurous as I am with food. This past Saturday night we drove to Glenwood Park (which PS is such a cute area with condos, restaurants and bars) and sat ourselves down at The Shed at Glenwood. We ordered everything and anything on the menu that sounded even remotely like it just came straight from the farm to the table.

The appetizers we wanted to try were the innards of the chicken...the liver and the heart.

Chicken Liver-Bacon Bruschetta
Sad that I never got a picture. It was practically all gone by the time I remembered to take a picture. I was hungry! Tasted like a glorious chicken salad sandwich...delicious!


Pan Fried Chicken Hearts, Egg in a Basket
I know it sounds like I'm a maneater and I'm just out there to eat any kind of heart (chicken or man). This is a dish I definitely would recommend if you ever eat at The Shed.


Butternut Squash Soup!

For my main entree, I had the pork belly of course!


Crispy Pork Belly, Polenta, Organic Baby Turnips
The meat was so tender ! (TWSS)

And obviously we had to end the meal with dessert. The dessert menu was practically staring at me the whole time we were there.


Sheep's Milk Yogurt, Medjool Dates, Orange Blossom Honey
It was good, but I think it would be more of a breakfast item than a dessert.

Oh! and I almost forgot the wine! It probably helped out with the innard eating.


Navarro Correas Malbec 2007, Argentina

Pants on the ground

My godson's first baby steps! Such a Pellicer with his pants unbuttoned. Sometimes you just got to let it out!