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38!

Jun 19th, 2013

A few days ago (12) on a Friday, I turned 38. Because celebrating a birthday for only 1 day is for pussies sorely lacking in ambition, I stretched mine out for 3 consecutive days (just like I did last year). And, I’m having a birthday party later this month.

On the night of June 6, some friends took me to Abattoir for some meat and drink. The appetizer was the dreamiest vat of pork rinds I’ve ever seen, much less consumed. And this is from a guy who spent 4 years of higher education in Alabama. Fluffy with bacon sprinkles.

After that, I think I went to some bars or something, because the next day, I had no car. But no worries! I took Uber to work the next morning! Nothing says “baller” like rolling up to the office in a black town car being driven by a dude in a suit.

I spent 3 hours or so at the office, and then my work wife / suitemate / de facto partner took me to the Chattahoochee River to get on this thing, which he’d bought a couple days earlier off Craigslist.

There is nothing about this vessel that doesn’t say “win.”

We shoved off, started the music, opened a case of tall boys, and began entertaining the housewives living on Columns Drive.

Even the torrential rain couldn’t dampen our spirits, as we were soon joined by 4 others (and a lot more beer).

I caught a ride home, changed clothes, and then rode down to midtown for a local bar association’s summer band party. Like last year, we were the last to leave (after the band). And then I dragged my bride to a bar.

The next day, we went to the annual Law Jam, which is a chance for a bunch of attorneys who wish they were rock stars to perform musically. Proceeds go to charity.

The winning band features an attorney I have a few cases against, so naturally I voted against him, favoring these guys instead (as the singer works for a firm that refers me a good bit of work).

Despite the good guys’ losing, it was a great time. I then went to a bar with the hope of doing live karaoke with a heavy metal band, but the wait for my name to come up exceeded 2 hours. Around 3am, I gave up and found a cab home (my bride had left hours beforehand).

So, all in all, 38 was a good series of birthday celebrations. But mostly because it’s not 40.

Posted in: 38, Law, birthday, syndicated.

RIP James Gandolfini

Jun 19th, 2013

by ATLmalcontent.

Gandolfini and Edie Falco were to television drama what Carroll O’Connor and Jean Stapleton were to TV comedy. Peerless characterization. Filed under: RIP, Television Tagged: James Gandolfini, The Sopranos

Posted in: James Gandolfini, RIP, The Sopranos, syndicated, television.

ATLmalcontent 2013-06-19 14:04:23

Jun 19th, 2013

by ATLmalcontent.

Great talk with @SerenaWilliams. I don't blame her for her comments to @RollingStone, but she shouldn't have put herself in that position. — Black Larry King (@BlackLarryKing) June 19, 2013 Filed under: rape Tagged: Serena Williams, Steubenville

Posted in: Serena Williams, Steubenville, rape, syndicated.

Our next senator?

Jun 19th, 2013

by ATLmalcontent.

Actually, Paul Broun would be even worse. Regardless, our next senator is likely to be an embarrassment. Rep. Phil Gingrey (R-Ga.) told colleagues on the House floor on Tuesday that young boys and girls should take classes on traditional gender roles in a marriage because there are some things fathers do “maybe a little bit […]

Posted in: Ga. Senate race 2014, Georgia, Paul Broun, Phil Gingrey, United States Senate, syndicated.

Genius

Jun 19th, 2013

by ATLmalcontent.

Yeezus the poet: “Black girl sippin’ white wine/ Put my fist in her like a civil rights sign” Filed under: Music, Obnoxious celebrities Tagged: Kanye West, Yeezus

Posted in: Kanye West, Obnoxious celebrities, Yeezus, music, syndicated.

RIP Slim Whitman

Jun 19th, 2013

by ATLmalcontent.

Filed under: RIP Tagged: Andy Kauffman, Slim Whitman

Posted in: Andy Kauffman, RIP, Slim Whitman, syndicated.

King + Duke

Jun 19th, 2013

by Chloe.

Once in a while, I get to eat fancy. A reward for regularly eating cheap-but-delicious-eats in my food ‘hood of Duluth, BuHi, and Suwanee. I’ve seen so many drool-worthy photos of the food here on Instagram and been wanting to visit. My dinner party of three couldn’t secure reservations so we tried our luck and arrived at 9:45pm. The place was packed to the brim on this Thursday night but after waiting 20 minutes, we finally got a table. If you like expansive, modern space and a vibrant atmosphere then this is the place for you. Added bonus for seeing the most interesting and beautiful people of Buckhead.

We ordered six appetizers and three mains, a conservative move given my famous eating style of eating the entire menu. But since the kitchen’s last call is a little after 11PM, we really couldn’t order a lot more, have a good pacing of our dishes, and still beat closing time. So reluctantly, we chose what we thought would be a good representation of the kitchen skills.

First up, the popovers. If you grew up in Atlanta like I did, you’ll recognize these from the first restaurant to ever serve them in the city: The Zodiac. Doesn’t sound familiar? That’s because they now call themselves the NM Cafe. From the famous department store. Growing up, no trip to Lenox Square was complete without our mom taking us to The Zodiac for popovers and burgers. The version of the airy, eggy muffins at K+D is smaller, denser, and yeastier. Just the way I like them. I could eat six of these easily in one sitting. Oh wait… I did! Slather them with the accompanying whipped buttermilk butter for a fantastic bread appetizer. Or eat more for dessert which I also did.

Quail and Rabbit Terrine. Topped with a thin sheet of moonshine gelée and a dollop of housemade whole grain mustard, it was simply amazing. Most terrines I’ve tasted reeked of gaminess but not this one. The texture and the flavors were just so perfect.

Beet Salad. Not your ordinary beet salad. This had feta from sheep’s milk made earlier in the day and came with fresh oranges, marinated cucumbers, wood-roasted farm carrots, and harissa that was really nice and added another dimension of flavor to the simple vinaigrette dressing.

Beef Tartare. All I can remember is that it was awesome. I was getting food ADHD at this point. Kitchen is closing soon, delicious dishes piling up at the table.

Buttermilk Fried Quail. This should come as a main dish. Thin and crispy buttermilk coating, tasty quail, and the best romesco I’ve tasted aside from my grandma’s. So yummy.

Roasted Bone Marrow. Top three in my book. This one had a sweetish short rib marmalade with both crispy and tender pieces of shredded short rib, and some smoked mushroom salad. Most versions in other places are bland and only get the flavors from the accompanying ingredients. But not this one. This one had flavor so you don’t just taste a glob of fat. Brilliant.

Crab Toast. Fresh blue crab in a simple lemon-dill base with charred chiles, avocados, and thin slices of radish. These are so refreshing and you can really taste the sea from the freshness of the crab meat.

Now for the mains. The portions are huge so keep that in mind. I’m a big eater so I have no problems putting away everything that lands on the table. The Gum Creek Pork Roast came with substantial slices of pork loin and a thick slab of rib. They were wonderfully cooked and served with a thick au jus, grilled kale, and sour cherries. I’m tired of seeing pork dishes served with some kind of apple so I was really pleased to see sour cherries instead. Inventive and delicious.

Mississippi Rabbit. This roasted rabbit was void of any gaminess you often see everywhere else. The meat is juicy and flavorful. The sweetish savory au jus really went well with the meat. My sister really enjoyed this dish especially since it came with farro salad.

But the winner of all the delicious mains was the Roast Peking Duck. It had everything that makes an amazing dish. Crispy leg, tender and juicy breast, spit roasted in coal. There are red mustard greens and plums that really brought out the flavors of the meat yet didn’t clash at all. Genius.

I’m not a big dessert fan. I’m a breadgetarian so I opted to eat more of the popovers. But my sister is a huge dessert eater and requested the brilliant Pastry Chef Chrysta Poulos, who was in the house, to make her gluten-free desserts. How I ended up with a sister who loves salads and eats gluten-free is beyond me.

This sundae is what you get when a normal sundae dresses up for a party and rides in a muscle car.

This cheesecake is like the math whiz in class.

Mutiple visits are definitely a must. I want to try the candied lamb belly appetizer, the burger, the roasted lobster, and maybe even a fish dish. You can make your visit as expensive as you want depending on the dishes and amount of appetizers you order or make it simple and just have appetizers. You can also get the dinner for two which is a great deal. Our bill for three people for all the food, desserts, and two diet cokes came to close to $160. And though I can’t ball here every week or even a couple of times a month, that’s a little over $50 for each person before tip. Not bad considering the amount of food we ate. Definitely one of the best meals I’ve had in the city. Solid all around — food, service, space, ambiance. Chef Joe Satterfield is brilliant.

King + Duke
3060 Peachtree Rd NW,
Ste 160
Atlanta, GA 30305
(404) 477-3500

Technorati Tags: Buckhead, Modern American, Joe Satterfield

Posted in: Buckhead, Modern American, syndicated.

Coffee Talk

Jun 18th, 2013

by mostlymuppet.

References to Linda Richman & the Holy Roman Empire notwithstanding, it’s a great time to be a fan of good coffee.

I wasn’t really a big coffee drinker until sometime between when my son was born in 2007 and when our third child arrived in early 2010. Something about being outnumbered by children and having to remain awake & alert during the Winter did me in and I switched from my normal morning Chai and went whole hog to coffee.

Java.
Mud.
Joe.

Always without sugar, cream or anything else.

Black (and not just for Closers)

My Mom has always been a big coffee drinker and I never recall her putting any sweetener or dairy product in her cup, so I opted for the same approach.

What started as a regular trip to Dunkin Donuts soon became Starbucks and quickly morphed in to me becoming in charge of the office coffee pot.

When that proved too much work I acquired a french press and brought my own raw materials to work. Still Dunkin Donuts, I just made it a little stronger.

Then for Christmas of this past year Jenn got me an Aeropress. There was one at the startup office where I worked last year and I was intrigued by it (but always a little gun-shy to use it myself). Turns out you can make a killer Americano rather quickly and for all the strangeness of the device itself, it’s actually super simple.

With this additional new coffee hardware in my possession I have taken to trying a lot more different blends & grinds of coffee. I know I need a better coffee grinder but I’ve even taken to buying whole bean coffee at Costco simply because it puts me more in control of the entire process of making my daily cup (though, mostly, I grind & brew with Aeropress only on the weekends).

Having exhausted the range of coffees available to me in bulk quantities – and after hearing about Tonx from several blog & podcasts I follow – I decided to get their free trial started. Unfortunately I started my free trial about a week too early, thus missing out on their recent Father’s Day deal where I could have gotten another Aeropress at a discount. Oh well.

The coffee itself was fantastic though. It was roasted on June 2, 2013 and Jenn & I both had a cup that Saturday, June 8, 2013. Coffee roasted less than a week prior to my consumption. In my home. At a grinding and brew strength of my choosing.

We live in the future.

What follows is a gallery of my Tonx/Aeropress process to get from beans & water to, eventually, “pushing a tonx“.

A few notes on how things went:

Having an electric kettle is really great for this kind of coffee brewing. Special thanks to my Mother-in-Law for gifting her old one to me
I think I’d like a Burr grinder instead of my electric one. Don’t want to introduce any burnt/charred flavors if I don’t have to. Maybe this one?
I’m not yet convinced that doing a “Reverse Aeropress” is a good idea since I like the ritual of the Americano as opposed to “coffee” but what do I know?

I still need to start my subscription – likely just 6 oz. of beans every two weeks – but from what I tasted, Tonx is definitely for me.

I can’t wait to start trying more ways to enjoy my weekend coffee-drinking.

Until the next cup!

UPDATE: Maybe I should have checked my privilege & faux-coffee-snobbery at the door by reading this article first (h/t to @mat)

Posted in: Non Sequitur, syndicated.

The 10 worst movies I paid money to see

Jun 18th, 2013

by ATLmalcontent.

You won’t find “Patch Adams” or “Gigli” on this list — some train wrecks you know to avoid. I can only think of two occasions when I bought a ticket for a movie I knew would suck: 10.) “Fast Food” starring Jim “Hey Vern” Varney and the guy who played Jo’s boyfriend on “The Facts […]

Posted in: film, syndicated.

a changing of the throne

Jun 17th, 2013

by Father Muskrat.

Now that I’ve tried my hand at being crafty, I thought I’d try my hand at being handy! Why? Because I got an email from Dad Central consulting offering me an opportunity to receive a complimentary* Delta Elongated Water Saving toilet, install it, and write about it. They call it a “campaign.” This was appealing, as I’m normally replacing appliances and fixtures in our house AFTER they break, and I thought replacing something before it broke would be both novel and prudent. Plus, our toilet (and everything else in our master bath) is ugly as hell and makes weird noises at night (see, e.g., the bidet).

What follows will forever be known as THE GREAT CRAPPER REPLACEMENT OF 2013, starring my bride and me.

We began at 8:15pm when I shut off the water supply and pulled those little white dome things off either either side of the bottom of the existing toilet. The box for the new toilet came with instructions for removing the old one (including blue protective gloves!), which was great, but it didn’t alleviate the disgustingness associated with pulling off the waxy ring of poo (or maybe it was just wax–hard to say) left under the toilet belonging to a dude who lived in my house for 4 decades before I did. Right before I sat down to write this, I realized Delta even has videos for installing and removing toilets! If only I’d realized that before beginning this project.

Bidets make great tool boxes, but it turns out I didn’t need any tools, as a multi-use plastic thingy comes with the new toilet, so the bidet held wrenches that were never used (and some nasty old bolts + washers from the old john).

Once the old toilet was safely hoisted into our front yard to become a geranium planter, I began readying the new toilet for installation. A couple times, I struggled to find parts that I thought had to be attached but were already attached to the toilet–that’s how simple and “pre-made” this thing is. Like these bolts on the underside of the tank, for example:

At one point, I stood up after screwing the tank to the bowl, forgetting there’s an overhanging cabinet there. When I came to, I was playing Hearts with Roger Rabbit and Jesus Christ (I lost). A geyser of profanity befitting the USS Decatur polluted our bathroom worse than anything my backside has ever produced. But that’s not necessarily Delta’s fault. There was no blood, so I continued.

It was no time at all before I was able to add the seat.

A quick refreshment, and I checked the clock: 1 hour total, including taking the old john to the front yard and thoroughly washing my hands.

But would it hold up to the rigors of actual utilization? Say, after 3 pitchers of margaritas and extra servings of refried beans?

Absolutely. In fact, I’m posting from my new throne right now.

* Required boilerplate: “I participated in a campaign on behalf of Dad Central Consultin g for Delta Faucets. I received a product sample and promotional item as a thank you for participating.”

Posted in: delta toilet, product reviews, syndicated.

Don Soo Baek

Jun 17th, 2013

by Chloe.

Remember what I said about Korean restaurants constantly reincarnating itself? This is one of them. This used to be my beloved Moon Family restaurant. I was so sad when I came in the day after Easter to find out they were closed — they never close! So I came back a few days later, on April 6th, and sure enough, my favorite place has been replaced by a new restaurant. They had only been open the day before.

I came in ready to find faults. After all, they can’t be as good as the best Korean restaurant that has ever opened in Georgia; no one can replace (nor replicate) Moon Family. So I came in, pouting, stomping my feet, and with a heavy heart. I was immediately impressed by the warm reception from the servers, even though they still treated me like an amateur yankee. The menu was very limited and nothing was in English (that’s still the case up to now). I started asking about dishes using their Korean names — I may not speak Korean but I speak Korean Food fluently — I guess I earned street cred after that because they all started telling me what’s on the menu… in Korean. So for my first meal, I went with their specialty: pork soup.

One spoonful of this pork soup and DSB became my most favorite restaurant. I thought no restaurant can ever top Moon Family when it comes to awesome tasting Korean food. But this one is it. How do I know? If you haven’t noticed yet, I have eaten at almost all the Korean restaurants in the metro. I’ve been to 80+ of them. I can tell you the specialty of each Korean restaurant in Duluth and Suwanee. But back to the soup. This is the best soup in the history of Korean food in Georgia. The glorious tonkotsu broth has that glistening fat on top and the creaminess that only hours of boiling and breaking down the collagen from the pork bones can produce. There’s a lot of pork slices and offal, too, and those don’t taste porky at all. The correct way to eat this is to dump the rice into the soup. It’s why they call it pork rice soup (Daeji Guk Bap) to begin with. But the Chloe way to eat this is to spoon some soup and pork slices into your rice bowl a spoonful at a time. That way, you can adjust how soupy your every bite is.

I sent my good friend Gene, a Korean, of Eat Drink Man fame (and who also used to blog for the AJC) to this place the same week he came back from an eating tour of Korea and he, too, found this place legit. A “restaurant for the working class” is what he said the term is for good places like this. I made him eat their hearty Dak Doritang, a super spicy chicken stoup (a cross between a thick stew and a soupy soup). It’s my other favorite here. His verdict: delicious. The bold broth/sauce has the perfect balance of sweetish, savory, and spicy with large pieces of potatoes and at least half a chicken cut into huge chunks. The Chloe (and easy) way to eat this is to scoop out the chicken and transfer one piece at a time to the empty bowl provided to remove the bones and get the meat parts. Transfer the meat to your rice bowl, add soup and potatoes, then scoop to your mouth. Now you’re eating like a true Korean!

Every meal is ended with the awesome Yakult. If you didn’t grow up in a household where your mom’s weekly grocery shopping in Atlanta involved Food Giant, A&P, and YDFM and bringing home loads of Yakult like I did, then you missed out. This is a tasty, yogurt-tasting, lacto-bacilli drink that was really meant to be a kiddie drink. And if you’re like me and find yourself being liked by Asian elders everywhere because they are so tickled that you’re eating their authentic, acquired-tasting food, then you’ll get many presents from the kitchen. Like fruits and desserts reserved for the staff.

I go here at least 2-3 times a week. Not only because I love Korean food but it’s like comfort food to me. Everything is good. The cold noodles (naengmyeon), the pork bone soup (gamjatang), and the pork and sundae (blood sausage) ssam are all phenomenal. I’ve added the Korean names of the dishes on this post to make it easy for you to order. One more note, this isn’t for the newbie Korean eater. It’s truly an authentic Korean joint. You won’t find mainstream Korean dishes here like tofu soup of bulgogi. I want all of you to love Korean food as much as I do and my honest advise is to start out with mainstream dishes at the myriad of places offering delicious versions in town (like Han Il Kwan, So Kong Dong, Seorabeol, Well Bean, or Book Chang Dong). Once you’re accustomed to the different flavors of the cuisine, graduate to a more advanced palate and come here. After all, it takes an acquired taste to love offal or pork neck bones in soup.

Don Soo Baek
3473 Old Norcross Road
Duluth, GA 30096
(770) 622-7780

Technorati Tags: Korean, Duluth, Gwinnett, soup

Posted in: Duluth, Gwinnett, Korean Cuisine, syndicated.

Useful idiot

Jun 17th, 2013

by ATLmalcontent.

Some snippets from #AskSnowden: He asserts “the US media has a knee-jerk “RED CHINA!” reaction to anything involving HK or the PRC, and is intended to distract from the issue of US government misconduct.” So acknowledging the obvious (China is a totalitarian state) qualifies as a knee-jerk reaction? “All I can say right now is […]

Posted in: Big brother, Edward Snowden, NSA, syndicated.

You Take the Good and the Bad

Jun 16th, 2013

by Onenormalwoman.

Early Monday morning, I hopped on a plane to a new city outside the U.S. It was a meeting we had, in true corporate style, planned for nearly a year…planned, postponed, rescheduled, planned again, put on hold and, finally, decided to have. Having never been and enjoying seeing new places, meeting new people and learning about how people live where ever it is they settle, I was up for the trip. It didn’t hurt that we’d be announcing a promotion I just received during the meeting.

It all sounds great on the surface…and, in many ways, that is accurate. A summertime trip to a beautiful city with a strong and interesting culture, telling my team of 5+ years…my team of friends…I had finally gotten “the” promotion, and, then, a quick jog by the home office in another city (this time inside the U.S.) to tell the rest of the organization before heading home at the end of the week.

Yet, there’s always something. Something like knowing that my closest friend on the team deserves a promotion in his area more than I do in my area. Yet, my promotion came first. Something like changes the organization was making that would be unpleasant for a few for the role to even exist. Something like my own personal fears.

You might have noticed I have a bit of an imagination. And, believe it or not, I am a home body. Even more, I have a serious, no-joke, terror of flying. And, what I know that others may not see is that deep inside I’m an empathetic liberal who just wants to see everyone get along, coexist and do well. So, this change from my cozy team of friends that has left a couple people unhappy and will require me to travel globally feels like I might just be pushing my personal universal balance way out of whack.

So, all that was going through my mind as I checked into my hotel, made it through the first day of meetings and explored the city that night with colleagues. Announcement day was looming early the next morning, and, as the night wore down, I felt the need to share the news with my friend whom I knew would be happy and yet bristle from it the most. I didn’t want him caught off guard in a group. He reacted as expected…mildly happy for me, processing the information for himself and then…I watched it…the barely hidden personal sting he was feeling. It wasn’t about me. It was about him. I get it. I don’t know many people who wouldn’t have had the same reaction.

And, just like that, I felt the winds change…figuratively and literally. A storm rolled in and for the next 3 days, winds blew in and out, sun peeked through the clouds only to be overtaken by dark skies and lightning and torrential rains…off and on…no matter where I was in North America. My personal days matched. People happy, unhappy, celebrating, feeling their own personal feelings and covering them fairly well. Small talk, thanks, visionary conversations, congratulations, unsure moments, unhappy moments, and very, very little sleep or places to find comfort.

So, when I got ready for the final leg…the leg home…and I got on my plane to watch the skies open up and to hear there were also severe storms on the other end, it wasn’t a surprise. The world was putting me on notice. My worst fear in taking this new job was that I might find myself somewhere far away from my family when there was a problem for them. I looked out at rain and lightning on the tarmac as we waited it out, not knowing the full brunt of what was happening at home…a tornado hitting 3 miles from my house. Thank God, my family was somewhat unaware too. They waited safely in our home for the storm to pass and only had a few heavy winds and storms. But, still, it was like the scenario I had imagined as the worst possible was, in some way, coming true.

I made it home that night and emerged into a beautiful day the next day and the days to follow. It’s easy to see this as just a run of the mill summer storm and to see me as a run of the mill corporate leader…like the thousands and thousands of them like me out there. My imagination wants to take it farther. My imagination wants to go to the place that is about me and me alone, just like everyone else I encounter on a daily basis. Yet, let’s face it…the world does not have time to put little, old me on notice. It’s marching on…just like I need to.

Posted in: Uncategorized, business travel, corporate life, syndicated.

Lest we forget

Jun 16th, 2013

by ATLmalcontent.

Before the birth of the Antichrist (a female, striking a blow for women) pushes Edward Snowden from the national consciousness, let’s revisit Edward Snowden’s judgement. “Whether it was youthful naïveté or just ignorance, Mr. Snowden’s positive view of Hong Kong no longer matches the reality, according to the director of Hong Kong Human Rights Monitor. […]

Posted in: Big brother, China, Edward Snowden, Hong Kong, syndicated.

Friday Night Dinner On The Deck…Crispy And Cheesy Zucchini

Jun 15th, 2013

by lindaraxa.

Friday night is my favorite time to cook dinner. Even when I worked, it was a time to take out the pots and pans and cook something special perhaps in celebration of two days of R &...

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Posted in: Cauliflower, Mushrooms, Sides, Steaks, menus, summer, syndicated, zucchini.

Atlanta Blogs

38!

RIP James Gandolfini

ATLmalcontent 2013-06-19 14:04:23

Our next senator?

Genius

RIP Slim Whitman

King + Duke

Coffee Talk

The 10 worst movies I paid money to see

a changing of the throne

Don Soo Baek

Useful idiot

You Take the Good and the Bad

Lest we forget

Friday Night Dinner On The Deck…Crispy And Cheesy Zucchini

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