Baxter Bark Twice

Do as I say, never as I do

Posts Tagged ‘restaurants’

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Where have YOU been?

Posted by AllieB on January 18, 2012

Hey what’s up.

I’m just going to jump right in as though I haven’t been on a two week hiatus. I find the best way to delve back into BBT after an unearned and unwarranted vacation is by doing a random round-up of randomness. Here goes:

Food: Atkins Park in Virginia Highlands (and Vinings, although I haven’t been there, and it’s owned by the same dudes as Ormsby’s of which I am also a big fan) has excellent burgers. I recommend The Best Way Burger: medium rare with bacon jam and tellaggio cheese (it’s brie-like in consistency and taste). Go with a side of the fried pickles – skip the sweet potato fries, they are less fry and more slab of potato…they kinda look like slugs. After you enjoy this light snack, take a stroll thru Va High and walk off an 1/29th of your meal, then stop by Murphy’s for dessert. Unbeknownst to many, Murphy’s will make you a molten, melty, amazing brownie for $2.00. It’s not on the menu, but it should be. Stop by and get one of those, unbutton the top button of your jeans enjoy a mimosa and/or cuppa joe and the company of friends. This makes for a very, very pleasant Sunday.

Celebrities! The Golden Globes happened. Obviously, Heidi Klum was my favorite – shocking, I know, what with the nude backless dress and large turquoise necklace. If A.B.S. by Allen Schwartz comes out with a remake of this one, I seriously might buy it.

Cameron Diaz…has possibly never looked worse.

More Food: you’re in the market for some good, old-fashioned, pseudo-texas-style bar-b-q, may I recommend One Star Ranch on Irby Avenue in Buckhead. It’s pretty basic, but in a good way – if it’s not broken there is absolutely no reason to fix it. Standouts include the fried pickles, onion rings, pork and beef ribs, and the smoked turkey. I hear their servers are really nice, too, and it’s a great place to go for lunch or dinner…plus, who can beat the $5 daily margarita special?! Just sayin, you might wanna give it a shot.

MISC: I didn’t share my NY Ressies because I find that once you share things people are more likely to hold you accountable, but I really would like to start volunteering. I worked at a non-profit for several years, and the pay was such that I felt like I was pretty much volunteering, but now I need to seek something out. Pallison is checking out the Humane Society, and I’ve considered being a foster parent for Atlanta Lab Rescue, but I’m not sure I can handle being around animules at risk/in danger…maybe I’ll plant some trees or something? I need to research. If you have a cause you hold near and dear, holla at me – I’m open to most anything.

The End. I will never, ever abandon you again.

Posted in Celebs, Food & Drink | Tagged: , , , , | 7 Comments »

The Year of the Dragon

Posted by AllieB on January 3, 2012

I’m jumping the gun on the Chinese Zodiac here, but it seemed like an aggressive, carpe diem sort of title which is only fitting for post numero uno of 2k12.

Happy New Year!!! It’s gonna be a good one – I can feel it in me bones. I aim to get a bit more personal with you peeps in the coming year, but that won’t be starting today. No, today I will pass along just a few points of interest, then you can carry on with your Tuesdays. Freaking Tuesdays.

If you are a Comcast subscriber, Showtime is offering FREE ACCESS this coming weekend. This is excellent news as Sunday, January 8, includes the season premiers of Shameless and Californication, and the series premier of House of Lies. I’ve been ranting and raving for months about how mandatory it is that you all have Showtime, and now you can just figure it out for yourself. But be sure you listen up for my voice in your head saying, “I told you so” accompanied by a knowing flat face when you’re on the phone with Comcast next Monday morning. If one more person comes up to me and says, “omigosh I am just LOVING that show Homeland!! Have you seen it??” …. I will pull a Nick Brady and punch them in the throat.

I’m no longer an avid AJC reader – I get my news from NYMag and the Today Show, which means I tend to know very little about local events, but I was at my parents’ house yesterday and stumbled upon award winning cartoonist Mike Luckovich’s favorite cartoons of 2011. He’s one of the AJC’s few claims to fame, and I really like his stuff. Check out the slide show here…and my favorite below.

RIP :(

Also sad: Georgia’s loss yesterday. Pretty irrelevant but football related: Oregon’s chrome helmets in yesterday’s Rose Bowl game were pretty rad. And that’s all I have to say about sports.

There’s no better day for hibachi than January 1, and I’d like to give a quick nod to Nakato on Cheshire Bridge: reasonable prices (particularly if you get in there for the Early Bird Special: 6:30 or before Sunday – Thursday), entertaining staff, and excellent pink sauce. And, I don’t know if you knew this or not, but Tower Liquor is now open on Sundays, and it’s right around the corner…

January kind of sucks because there’s a real emphasis on self-improvement and change and the righting of wrongs and other things of moderate to extreme difficulty. I guess it’s exciting in some senses – fresh start, clean slate, etc. – but mostly it just makes me tired. Or so it has in the past….this year is a totally different ballgame. BOLO for Active Allie, Backbone Baxter, and an All-Round-Better BBT. Like I said: it’s the Year of Dragon…I’ll be channeling Lisbeth Salander for the first few weeks, at least.

Welcome home, PALLISON!!! I feel whole once again.

From left: me & you :) Just kidding – here’s a much nicer/accurate rendition of us…

Posted in Arbitrary | Tagged: , , , | 5 Comments »

Where’s my penthouse?

Posted by AllieB on December 28, 2011

There is a lot of money floating around in Russia, and this guy’s got a bulk of it. Dmitry Rybolovlev, a fertilizer kingpin – obviously, just purchased the most expensive apartment in New York City for his daughter, a freshman in college. There are a few things worthy of note regarding this exorbitant acquisition:

  1. If you are a freshman in college in NYC, or even in the general ballpark of that age, it would behoove you to make friends with Mr. Fertilizer’s offspring. 2 words: house party. (Jordan, I’m looking at you.)
  2. Mr. Crap is ranked as the world’s 93rd richest person, worth approximately $9.5 billion as of March this year. That makes my head hurt.
  3. He is also in the process of getting divorced. Well, hellooooo Mr. Smelly {head toss, shoulder dip}

Check out pics/floor plan here. I want to go to there.

That’ll do.

Did you have a nice Christmas? I did. It was lurvely. My sisters were home for nine full days, so we got in lots of QT. My favorite new things include: my express electric kettle – it boils water in like under a minute!! Given the amount of Easy Mac tea I consume, this is a real luxury. I am also obsessed with my new Pierre Deux “Eau de le Maison” candle. It is the best smelling candle I have ever smelled, so you can imagine my dismay when I realized that Pierre Deux has closed. Ever resourceful, I did done some research and found the maker of this candle: Seda France. I also love my new DvF luggage – I never saw myself as a glamorous traveler, but this stuff is a real game changer – as well as my new home goods. Notably missing from my new possessions: a penthouse.

As we’ve learned, I am no good at reviewing movies, but I do have to acknowledge Girl with a Dragon Tattoo: it is awesome. It is very long, but unless you consume a (movie sized) medium diet coke AND a (brought from home) can of La Croix, you should be okay. Rooney Mara is excellent at encapsulating Lisbeth Salander’s rage/intelligence, and Daniel Craig is exactly who I always pictured to play Mikael Blomkvist. Even if you haven’t read the books, you need to see it. BBT says: two thumbs way up.

Uno mas shout out: Antica Posta. My whole fam went on Christmas Eve, and we enjoyed what was probably one of my top three meals of 2011. From the arugula salad (so fresh with LOTS of parmesean) to my roast chicken entree (a seasonal special – bursting with flavor) and my side of pasta (a carbonara of sorts with a gemelli noodle – I should note this is not a “side” so much as a $13 appetizer option…I wanted leftovers…) – it was awesome. Plus the bar area is very cool with double-height vaulted ceilings and cozy club chairs. Huge fan. I’d like to say I’ll be going back soon, but, while the food is not unreasonable, the wine list kinda is, and that’s what gets me. BBT says: have someone take you in the very near future.

I realize this whole post is kind of apropos of nothing, but ya gotta grease the wheels before you get back on the bike…or something, I just made that up.

HAPPY ENGAGEMENT TO SISSY AND BILL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! There are no words that could do my happiness justice. It’s just…yay.

I don’t put boys on BBT, so here’s a pic of me and Sissy. Mash.

 Oh, and if you don’t have a lot going on in the workplace this week, take some time to appreciate this 35 picture retrospective of B Spears. Amazing. That “Hit Me Baby One More Time” video was to me what Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” video was to pop culture in general…

Posted in Arbitrary, Food & Drink | Tagged: , , , , | 6 Comments »

New & Improved

Posted by AllieB on November 16, 2011

Good day.

Two, no three things of interest:

The Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Calendar has been released. They seem to have cut out the bonus 13th month that I posed for…strange. That Brooklyn Decker is just tragic, isn’t she?

so sad :(

On a wholly unrelated note, I have updated my restaurant spreadsheet!!! I’ve even helpfully HIGHLIGHTED the new restaurants, per the suggestion of Randy Dale. I know I am missing some because there are more than 150 restaurants ITP (there are three or four OTP that I need to mention…next time), but it’s pretty comprehensive. You may check it out here, and it is also updated on my Atlanta Restaurants: A Guide page that has some other helpful links to reviews and stuff. I aim to please.

My posts are getting shorter and shorter…OH YEAH – I went back to Mirko and ordered off the menu…BBT says: delicious. I got papardelle (long, wide noodle) with the mushroom cream sauce. It had approximately 1,400 calories and 45 grams of fat, but it was really, really good. My father got the papardelle with the Amatriciana (spicy tomato) sauce, and his was really good, too. Not as good as my gluttonous concoction, but very tasty nevertheless. Plus, the Spinaci salad (baby spinach, goat cheese, raisins, some vinaigrette dressing) was also quite good. Forget Pan-Asian on Sundays; I’m going to Mirko.

Watch out for tornadoes.

Posted in Food & Drink, Imparting Wisdom | Tagged: , , , , | 4 Comments »

Weak Sauce

Posted by AllieB on November 4, 2011

I feel like a traitor for saying this, but I am not 100% in love with the new look of Gmail…it’s too spacious or something.

Last night, amidst the rain and fraffic, I got my culture on at Huff Harrington Art Gallery. It is my favorite of all the galleries. But last night was a special Owner’s Reception for Lorraine Christie’s new show – my parents own two, I own a poorly framed poster (but I still love it). Prince Charles owns a couple and so does Eli Manning – this woman’s legit. She is also a delight to talk to in person, as my parents and I did last night. She’s from Belfast, Ireland and is very thin and very blonde and very charming.

Paris Remembered

Poet’s Walk

Love it! ALSO Huff Harrington Home is opening soon next to Lucy’s Market on W. Paces Ferry by the St. Regis…I’ll be at the opening reception next Thursday and will report back, but I know it will be fabulous and not even in the same hemisphere as my budget.

After all the culture, I got some margs over on the Westside at Bone Garden Cantina. The skeleton/Día de Muertos theme is kind of aggressive, but the Hot Chile Margarita was very tasty. In fact, I might even have to re-do my Best in Show: Margs list. I’m bumping Nava and adding Bone Garden – Nava’s make me queasy and I am skeptical as to the amount of tequila they put in there. And Treehouse is still my numero uno.

TO DO: Chomp & Stomp Chili Festival. I’ve been the last two years and it’s really fun….and I’ve never even had any chili.

Chomp & Stomp 2k10: Tina, Allie, Mims, Leigh, Lindsay. Lookin good!

OR you can check out the Butt Off. It’s at Sweetwater and for $25 you get all the beer and bbq you can handle…plus proceeds benefit Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta.

With this weather it’s a win/win.

Oh yeah, I got my nails did the other day and I LOVE the color: O.P.I. Road House Blues. I saw it on Pinterest, obviously, and I think I’ll sport it thru the winter. Just FYI.

HOLLA!

Posted in Arbitrary, Food & Drink | Tagged: , , , , | 2 Comments »

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