Bar Versus Club

Earlier this week, a friend of mine from work invited me and a girlfriend out for dinner & drinks with 2 stipulations: dinner had to be "nice" and we were going to a "club" after dinner. Nice dinners I can do, clubbing is so not up my alley. I'm way more of a bar girl. A dive bar girl. Where I can wear jeans and a tshirt and it's fine. I actually remember more than one occasion in college where I wore a Polo sweater out to the bar and my friends poked serious fun at me. Whatever, it was my style!

So back to last night - we made late dinner reservations at Aria. I had never been, and I was a little worried the crowd would be on the older side of old. Wrong! The restaurant was swanky (I hate that word but it is the best one) with an AWESOME menu. But that's not the point of this post. The point of this post is to tell ya'll that I do not belong in a club. It's just so not my scene. Short dresses, high heels, teased hair, etc. No thanks. Plus, I saw more girls being carried out of the club than I EVER see getting carried out of any of the bars I go to. I think clubs bring out the worst in people. And if there is one thing that is SO NOT CUTE, it's puking in the bathroom and being escorted out.

There were girls walking around in "Easter Bunny" outfits, which was really just a (not very) creative way of wearing short, tight white dresses and bunny ears. And said Easter Bunnies spent 99% of their evening at a 90 degree angle looking like $.02 you know what's grinding against what were likely strangers they met 15 seconds prior. There were girls wearing really tight, short dresses who just shouldn't wear tight, short dresses. I shouldn't either, don't get me wrong, but I didn't try to. There were guys who didn't make any secret out of sizing up the ladies around them, and who had no intention of taking "No thanks, I don't dance." for an answer. And I've seen my fair share of bar makeout sessions, but nothing like the clothes-on-grinding that really is only meant to happen in the privacy of your own bedroom, and probably not on a sofa in the middle of a room where everyone can see.

My question is, why are these places appealing? It cost $10 for girls and $20 for guys to get in, the drinks were expensive and served in plastic-ware, and the crowd was less than impressive. I really don't think these scenarios are specific to the one place I went last night, either. To be fair, we opted not to spend any time in the Latin music room or the techno room, so maybe I was really missing out? Something leads me to believe that I didn't miss much though...

Do you go clubbing when you go out? Or do you much prefer a bar, some good tunes and an ice cold beer? Why? Is it the dancing, the drinks, the exclusivity that makes clubs so appealing? What is it? Inquiring minds want to know.

PS - Next time I go, I'll definitely incorporate a Playboy bunny theme into my outfit. Uncle Sam Bunny? Has a nice ring to it.

Friday Confessions: Via Edition

I went out to lunch & dinner yesterday. I try really hard not to do this, but all I had at work for lunch was leftover taco makings but only enough for 1 taco, some red quinoa, and potstickers. I took a vote and it was unanimous - out to lunch I went.

 Then, halfway through the day my friend asked if I wanted to go grab dinner since she had a Groupon that was about to expire. Oh, okay, twist my arm. After I spent an exorbitant amount of money at Hancock Fabric and Michaels, I met her for dinner at VIA (on Pharr Road, across from ATL Fish Market).

We sat outside because it was too nice not to, and we had margaritas. They weren't the best but I mean... they were tequila. Whatever. We ordered 2 appetizers & a pizza and it was a great amount of food for the 2 of us! I really wanted to try figs, and Jackie is like... the least picky eater ever, so we got the fig & prosciutto pizza. YUM. The food was great, the service was ok, but the whole place just seemed really, for lack of a better word, very swanky.


I  hate the word swanky. I think it's stupid, overused, and lame. But really, there's no better word to describe this place. It wasn't chic, it wasn't just cool, unfortunately it was swanky. But I really liked it.

The best part? Well, there's 2. The first one is that the grand total was $6.48, and the second one is that I also have a coupon to use there, so obviously we have to go back. I can't wait!


Thanks for a fun dinner, Jackie :)

No Alcohol August

One of the things on my 101 in 1001 that I can actually check off is to abstain from alcohol for 1 month. I've decided that August 2010 is the month of choice. I'm super busy this month with trips & meetings and other things, so I figured what the heck why not. And I can push back my "end of summer" party to September, no big deal! Maybe I'll do it every August for the next 2 years! Wouldn't that be special?

So anyway, I'm here to proclaim to the world that for the next 30 days I will be consuming zero alcoholic beverages. This will also go hand-in-hand with my goal of doing some form of exercise daily for the next 30 days. It's amazing how these things work, isn't it?

I do have to tell you though - my weekend was phenomenal! The best part was Saturday - $25 for a beer tasting at The Porter Beer Bar in L5P, followed by a 10 minute urban hayride to the PBB farm, and there was a pig roast and organic beer at the farm! We were initially a little skeptical (and really effin' hot) but the day turned into a blast. The company was fantastic, the food was OMG to die for (seriously I couldn't stop eating), and we had an absolute blast! I even got to try pork belly... um delicious!! And it made me think of Jenna. If you haven't been to the PBB, check it out! They have an awesome menu and a huge beer selection. I saw where all their fresh produce comes from - in a large garden (aka the farm) behind the owner's home in Inman Park. Isn't that incredible? They had tomatoes and okra and sunchokes and all kinds of other veggies growing. All the money they raised went directly to GA Organics, and while I am not exactly Miss Organic, I can totally support it! Our day ended with a giant rainstorm in which there were 8 girls huddled in the bed of a truck with some hay in it completely soaked from head to toe, but that just added to how really awesome the day was. I love doing things like that and having them turn out to be completely, unexpectedly AWESOME. Plus, when we walked back into the bar soaking wet, we received a standing ovation from the people eating there.

Anybody have any fun stuff going on this weekend? Any goals for August? I can't wait to hear about them :)

Happy Monday!

Friday Confessions

I love wine. A lot. I love all wines, really. When I go to wine tastings however, there is a reason that far surpasses the wine (sorry Hop City, your wines come in a close 3rd as to why we frequent your wine tastings). The chef. My confession? I've already decided that, despite my distance from possible engagement, and the missing boyfriend, or something that even closely resembles a boyfriend, the chef will be catering my rehearsal dinner & wedding. Why? Because he's incredible. His food is incredible, his personality is incredible, and I'll be honest... he isn't bad to look at, either! And that's an understatement.

We have 1 in our group who is a vegetarian, and no matter how many times we call in advance and proclaim we have a vegetarian, Chef Rob never seems to know until the minute we walk in the door. That means we get a lot of special attention. There are always discussions over who has the best seat, both for viewing, smelling, and wine-tasting privileges. That's still debatable. There's a lot more I could say about our fascination with Chef Rob, but for fear of my own blogging humiliation, I'll leave it at that. Plus, just in case anyone sees this before I show up tonight (or to next week's tasting), I'd rather not set myself up for looking like a tomato all through my meal. Embarrassment does not become me, at all.

So I am SO SO SO excited to go to another wine tasting tonight. The last one was beyond impressive, and I'm sure tonight between the company, the food, the wine, and the ridiculously attractive chef, I will be a happy camper.

So, today, I confess that as much as I love wine, I might love the chef even more. And I am so looking forward to this evening's wine festivities and the ones that will follow the wine. I'm skeptical about the bar-crowd that will be at Ormsby's tonight, but I'll be in good company so I'm sure it will be fun!

Happy weekend!

And a quick note - if you are an ATL peep and don't read The Q+DD, you should. They are great!

Eat Your Hearts Out

I'm pretty sure that while Dan the Man was in town we ate at every single place in Atlanta that I love (with the exception of a few, because there are a lot of places I love).

I'll include them when I recap the days, but for now, a generic rundown of the ridiculous amount of food we ate.

*Chow Baby. Never fails to impress me, and lunchtime just feels like a much better deal.

*Nakato. This was a newbie for me, as I am a loyal MoMoYa fan. It was good, although you either prefer one or the other. There's no liking both for this girl! We had a restaurant.com coupon, but I'm pretty sure the Scoutmob would have gotten us a much better deal.

*Willy's. No explanation necessary. I could eat there daily and be happy.

*Fellini's. Never fails to impress, especially with a crowd of rowdy, tipsy, twenty-somethings.

*Figo (Howell Mill location). DELISH, and I love the new combo special with pasta and soup/salad. Seemed like the perfect amount of food!

*FlipBurger. Food was alright, service left something to be desired. I'd been before and had pretty good experiences, so this was the only disappointing meal of the weekend.

Like I said, we ate our hearts out. But DAMN if it wasn't good, and if I'm not relishing in the leftovers.

The Veg!

Happy Easter! Easter to me means family, food, church, bunnies, baby chicks, and all things green. In honor of all things green, I thought I would let ya'll know about possibly my favorite restaurant ever. Bold statement, I know, but you'll see why. The restaurant is called Veggieland. Can you guess why? Yup, it's 100% vegan!

It's located in Buckhead, just off Pharr Road east of Peachtree Street. The restaurant seats about 20 people max, and they have a few tables outside for pretty days. They have a board at the front showing the specials for the day, and sweet Marie brings you a menu.

My recommendations are as follows, although I have never ordered a bad item myself nor has anyone I've ever dined there with.

1. Buddhist Delight - Pasta in a ginger & garlic sauce with all kinds of veggies

2. Steamed Broccoli - Sounds so simple, but it comes served with a side of their top-secret white sauce. To die for!

3. Rice Paper rolls - I like to get them with lettuce, guac, cucumbers and sunflower seeds. Totally customizable!

4. Chocolate Peanut Butter cake - My favorite dessert on the planet. Seriously, there is nothing better in all the world.

You can't go wrong with any of the salads, and really each menu item is completely customizable. They have tofu and quinoa, curry & veggieburgers, and everything in between. I've never had a bad experience, and the best part is that the food is SO reasonably priced for what you get!

Has anyone else ever been? What did you think?

some things i've done lately that i liked.

1. I went to see the movie Valentine's Day with a couple of girlfriends. We even went for free (thanks Hannah!) I enjoyed the movie tremendously, and I enjoyed it even more because I didn't pay for the ticket. I think my favorite role was Julia Roberts, and I was equally impressed with Ashton Kutcher because I usually don't like him in movies. I'm not a slapstick humor movie kinda girl. It's just the way I am. But this was a super fun girls night out at the movies, we all laughed a little, we all got a little teary-eyed, and we all just enjoyed ourselves. Good old fashioned Monday night fun! Plus who doesn't love Patrick Dempsey and Eric Dane in all their attractive deliciousness?!


2. This past weekend was Oysterfest, one of my favorite 'fests in Atlanta! The weather couldn't have been more perfect on Saturday, so we packed up and headed into Midtown for the festival. I think the tickets were a little pricy ($20/person just for entry), but the oysters and shrimps were reasonably priced and delish! Plus, the company really couldn't be beat. We shucked our oysters (or some of us had oysters shucked for us), we peeled our shrimp (some of us also had shrimp peeled for us), and we ate and were merry. Then we listened to some music, we hung out on a hill and people-watched, and just had an extremely pleasant Saturday afternoon. The beer was yummy, the weather was ideal, and the company, like I said, couldn't be beat! Last year, the festival planners ran out of beer, the port-a-potties were overflowing, the lines were atrocious, and things were just not all that fun for fest-goers. This year, they capped the ticket limit, added more restrooms, and streamlined the oyster-obtaining process. Oh yeah, and I'm pretty positive they purchased more beer. Overall, a great experience and I'm already looking forward to next year's Oyst-ravaganza!


3. Tried a new restaurant! I love love LOVE dining out, and I especially love it when I can venture out to a new restaurant that is in a cool place. My friend Lizzie & I went to Ormsby's, which is on the Westside off Howell Mill in the White Provisions project. My biggest complaint was the parking situation, and the fact that the restaurant really didn't have a sign indicating where it was. Other than that, I'm sold! A couple other people had told me about this place before I had the opportunity to go, and I'm so glad I did! The food was good - Liz got a sausage sandwich and I got a cup of soup and the sweet potato fries. Yum! The service was really great, and there was a pretty good crowd of people for a Sunday evening. The best part is that while the dining takes place in the upstairs, there is a giant staircase in the middle where you go to the downstairs and they have darts, pool tables, Bocce Ball and shuffleboard. How fun! I thought the drinks were a little pricy, but not over the top and definitely not too much for a night out on the town, and the food was super reasonable! We had a great night just gabbing and catching up on girltalk.

What have you done lately that was just plain old fun, and something you would totally do again? Tonight I'm going to a free beer tasting (kind of like my wine tastings I told you about) and then to play trivia at Rocky Mountain. I'm all about getting out of the house these days... winter has really been dragging me down and I gotta stay upbeat somehow until these cold, dreary days pass. So tell me about your fun adventures, I can't wait to hear!