Antico Pizza Napoletana - Atlanta, GA

Yet another worthy addition to the Westside dining scene...Antico has been open about a week, and we had a great Margherita pie there yesterday. I believe they make theirs according to the rules set by the Pizza Police (or, here's their official link). We finally have great pizza by the office...set up your next meeting with us around lunchtime if you want to give it a try...

GOM's Meggan Talley Taps the Keg at 5 Seasons

Hot Dog At Holeman & Finch

They've done it...a hot dog that's better than the Varsity's...

The Hermitage Hotel / Oak Bar Makes it in the New York Times along with other Nashville Favorites

"The Times style guide online features a clickable map of styley Nashville destinations, including City House, Hermitage Hotel, Hutton Hotel, Billy Reid, Patterson House, Hatch Show Print and Venus & Mars."-- Carrington Fox, Nashville Scene

check it out

Allan Benton In Esquire Magazine

"The way I see it, just because they live in Parma, or in Germany, or anywhere else, doesn't mean that they can produce a better ham than a bunch of farm boys from Tennessee can."

See below for some photos from one of our many trips to the smokiest place on earth...




On bacon grease: "Add a little flour and milk, and that's your sawmill gravy. You pour that over biscuits, buddy."

Chef Tyler Brown Cooks at Euphoria in Greenville, SC this weekend...September 18 - 20

Euphoria offers a setting where the chefs come to you from multiple cities and a cornucopia of restaurants to dazzle your senses and intrigue your palate. Whether you come for a single event or select from our value packages, we offer a variety of ways to reward your “inner-foodie.”

Brown is cooking at American Grocery on Saturday, September 19 with Tim Graham, Executive Chef of Tru in Chicago and Joe Clarke Chef/Owner of American Grocery.

We Love Billy - Make No Bones About It

We love Billy. Ever since the first time we visited Muscle Shoals with our friends from the Southern Foodways Alliance, we have sported the fine handiwork of Billy Reid. Billy and his lovely wife Jeanne are to fashion what Frank and Pardis Stitt are to Southern cuisine.

We love giving the gift of Billy Reid -- and receiving Billy Reid gifts (hint hint) -- Chef Sean Brock gifted a cool t-shirt to Jeff last year, I gave Kempten an amazing purple silk top in honor of her bridesmaid dresses a while back, Jeff's Mom gave him a brand spanking new cord jacket and shirts last fall, Jeff gave me an amazing leather jacket and a few shirts and a skirt, Green Olive gave Alvin a new pair of shoes so he could go on to find his way properly in this world -- and recently Meggan received a gift certificate for her birthday. Now Billy Reid has introduced shoes for women -- save me now. The new website launched this week as well -- check it out.

Here is a fun piece posted in GQ Magazine this month -- 10 Essentials By Billy Reid:

1. AARON CORD JEAN, $195, SIMILAR STYLES AVAILABLE AT BILLYREID.COM

2. SOUTHERN FOODWAYS ALLIANCE T-SHIRT, $44, AVAILABLE AT BILLYREID.COM

3. PAUL SMITH SPECTACLES, $300, AVAILABLE AT PAULSMITH.OLIVERPEOPLES.COM

4. KENTWOOD ROPER BOOT, $450, AVAILABLE AT BILLYREID.COM

5. PENTEL QE517, $8.49 FOR TWO, AVAILABLE AT STAPLES.COM

6. PAPPY VAN WINKLE FAMILY RESERVE BOURBON, $100, OLDRIPVANWINKLE.COM

7. A CAR, JEEP, TRUCK YOU CAN CALL YOUR OWN

8. A VINTAGE OLD HARMONY GUITAR

9. AN LSU SWEATSHIRT (OKAY SO HE HAS A FAULT)

10. A VINTAGE CASE POCKETKNIFE

Sign Us Up!

Back In January we were mourning the loss of Domino Magazine. We had just attended an Atlanta event for the pub...and our collection of the issues was moving to top shelf status.

We heard tell of a new magazine coming about -- Lonny. Michelle Adams and photographer Patrick Cline, both former editors of Domino Magazine, have teamed up to produce an online decorating and lifestyle magazine. The first issue of Lonny Magazine is out this month.

Their Mission Statement:
"In the time when shelter publications are turning their last pages...

Our Mission is to reopen the doors to accessible design. By embracing an online platform we provide inspiration at the click of a finger, directly connecting our readers to their favorite products and resources. Our freedom from page limits means that we can share more content in each issue, delivering an intimate look into the way people really live. At Lonny, we value independent thinking and believe not in following trends but rather in making choices that lead to happiness. We believe that good design and affordable design can coexist and that true inspiration can be found in the teeniest of homes or in the grandest of spaces."

Fellowship Chairs

My family had these web lawn chairs growing up. You know the ones…70s era, tubular aluminum frame with straps of woven vinyl, nylon, or polyester. I think about these chairs a lot lately (early fall, the second weekend of football season, and my parents were here visiting last weekend). My folks would set up the lawn chairs at the end of the driveway, Evan Williams & Diet Rite firmly in hands and enjoy fellowship with the neighbors. [My Dad took his last drink when I turned 16. He turned instead to Diet Coke. I guess he gave himself an upgrade on account of not purchasing as much booze.] Point is, I think about those chairs most at this time of year.

I watch my son playing in the yard until dark, my husband grills out often, we do our share of cocktailing only with a different brand – if we only had those lawn chairs to sit in while enjoying our time of fellowship then the circle would be complete.

I almost lost my Dad this year. In May, just when we were signing the lease on our office in Nashville, my father unexpectedly was admitted into the hospital for heart surgery. He had a magna bovine valve replacement as well as a bonus aneurysm. Complicated by diabetes, almost full blockage in his arteries (except for the Circle of Willis), the odds kind of sucked. Dad pulled through. He was finally well enough to travel this past weekend and came to see me. All I could think about was how much I miss the picture of my folks sitting in the web lawn chairs at the end of the driveway of my childhood home – happy, carefree --.

Seems like back then we were surrounded by great food – I just didn’t realize it. My paternal grandparents’ dairy & Angus herd fared well. My maternal grandparents ran the Marianna Tractor Company and had a farming irrigation business. Dad owned a packaging company which sold film to meat packers. We had a ton of food all around us. We entertained often – a giant pit in our backyard where we placed a fence length and grilled hogs. Fellowship was sharing food with our friends and sipping cold drinks while sitting in those lawn chairs. Fellowship chairs. I am going onto Ebay after this post, ordering some green web aluminum lawn chairs, and planning a menu for sharing this weekend. Cheers to you Mom & Dad.

Grindhouse Burgers - Atlanta, GA

See below for the second burger that the brand-new Grindhouse served...if they're already this good, we have a lot to look forward to...

Ace Hotel - New York

Impressive design at the new Ace Hotel in New York. Aside from the graphic design, other nice touches include turntables in the rooms (complete with vinyl library at the front desk), and of course, a restaurant from the folks at the Spotted Pig...

The 'Shack Stack'

I finally convinced myself to order something besides the basic Shack Burger at Shake Shack - see below for the 'Shack Stack.' The giant fried mass on top of the burger patty is a portobello, but the majority of what was inside was actually molten cheese.

Resto - New York

Resto may have the world's best grilled cheese...cheddar, gruyere, bacon AND pork belly. And don't get us started on the beer list...

Breslin Bar - New York

Sometimes the iPhone camera surprises you...a nice shot of the new Breslin Bar at the Ace Hotel:

Standard Grill - New York

The Standard Grill is open at the new Standard Hotel in the Meatpacking district:

Love the 'no stools' policy at the bar in the beer garden...

The burger:

iPhone Roundup

I was trying to clear out some photos on the ol' iPhone and found a few recent shots that haven't made it onto the blog:

'Green chile cheeseburger taco' - a special at Taqueria del Sol in Atlanta...I love it when Eddie Hernandez has more chiles than he knows what to do with:

Pork sandwich at Jim 'n' Nick's, Charleston - these guys are cooking pork about as well as anybody out there these days:

Martha Lou's Kitchen, Charleston - just good southern food:

We raved about Anisette in Los Angeles a couple weeks back...here's some of their nice typography:

Nashville's best competitive BBQ team - Peg Leg Porkers, who cleaned up at this past weekend's BBQ festival (note the peg leg on the porker):

Finally, one of those mysterious birds that appeared in our hallway at 21C Hotel in Louisville:

Leblon Cachaca Presents Chef Hector Santiago at NYC Culintro "Flavors of South America"

Vote For Garden & Gun

Click here to vote for the Garden & Gun 'Turtle Issue' as 'best magazine cover' at amazon.com...

Photo Shoot - Trattoria Lucca, Charleston, SC

A few shots from a recent shoot at Lucca...

Five Guys - Westside Atlanta

There's cause for celebration at Green Olive today, as the new Five Guys has finally opened near our office on the Westside. This is an early contender for lunch of the week...

Comfort Restaurant On Chefs A' Field

See a preview of this season's Chefs A' Field, featuring Jason Alley of Comfort (the one inhaling an oyster):