Free Gelato!

On Saturday, July 31, Nashville's Bravo Gelato is giving away free gelato from 12-3 at the Village Green location to celebrate National Gelato Month. See you there...

Googie Burger - Atlanta, GA

The double burger from the newly-opened Googie Burger at Atlanta's Centennial Olympic park - a classic griddled double patty:

Bacon Dogs

Thanks to 4505 Meats and Ryan Farr for the hot dogs - according to the label, they're full of "bacon-filled hot dog bliss." We'll be the judge of that next Monday, AKA Hot Dog Day, at Green Olive Media Atlanta. Check back next week for a full recap.

Hotel Signs - Denver, CO

Just a few of the vintage signs along Colfax Avenue in Denver:

Big Apple BBQ Block Party - New York, NY

Our annual trip to the Big Apple BBQ Block Party was a little different this year...instead of seeing how many different pitmasters' foods we could cram in over a two-day stretch, we mostly hung around our client Pat Martin's rig, helping eat whole hog BBQ for the better part of the weekend.



We did manage to participate in one of our favorite Big Apple BBQ activities - spending ample amounts of time in the Pappy Van Winkle Bourbon area with Julian and Preston Van Winkle, and listening to The Crooners. The band made Julian an honorary member this year, and commemorated the occasion by giving him his own cowbell, which he made good use of on several occasions.

Gus's Fried Chicken - Memphis, TN

I whole-heartedly endorse Gus's as the world's second-best fried chicken...what is it about Tennessee and chicken?

Dyer's Burgers - Memphis, TN

I finally made it to Dyer's in Memphis to try one of their deep-fried burgers...apparently they've been using the same grease for 100 years, and I believe they had a police escort for the grease bucket when they moved the location a while back. Take a look at the bun in the photo - I even saw the cook dip my cheese slice in the fryer for a second to melt it a bit.

Faidley Seafood, Baltimore, MD

I recently had a couple of hours to kill in Baltimore, and all of the food advice that I got had something to do with crabs. "Steamed crabs!" "Boiled crabs!" "Softshells!" I decided on a place called Faidley Seafood, as it has the added bonus of being located inside a market. After having the crab cake here, I can see how the versions that we've come to know in other places have gotten a bad rap. Their 'crab cake' is really just a baseball-sized ball of lump crab - I'm already trying to come up with an excuse to get back there for another. Clams weren't too shabby either:

Lexington Market, Baltimore, MD

I was quite surprised to walk into the Lexington Market in Baltimore with no real idea what was in store...I assumed there would be a few fruit and vegetable stands...I was pleasantly surprised by a huge amout of food stalls with quality signage to boot:

Mobile Post - Faidley Seafood, Baltimore, MD

Thanks Freemans!

A huge thanks to Freemans in New York for being able to accommodate our last-minute walk-in with a 13-person group of Green Olive staff/friends/family at 9:00 on a Saturday night. They handled it with ease, opening up a private room in the back that I've never seen before. Part of the full and happy crew, post meal on our favorite alley in all of NYC, Freemans Alley:

Something To Get Excited About

Coming soon from our man Billy Reid...

Bud's Bar - Sedalia, CO

Once again, thanks to hamburger man George Motz for recommending the burger at Bud's Bar just outside Denver. George has never steered me wrong, and this one was no exception. I didn't see a single person come in here and not order a burger.

Research

One of the most fun parts of what we do at Green Olive Media is the research that goes into our projects. A big part of that research involves eating. We need to explore what our clients' competitors are doing, and focus on what makes our people different. A recent highlight was a client's request that we eat at as many burger places as possible in New York to see what the newest trends were (by the way, I'm game for another one of those days if anybody's opening a burger joint).

Our most recent bit of research has revolved around chocolate, thanks to one in-progress project (Olive And Sinclair), and one that we recently completed (The Chocolaterie). A couple of the standouts that we've tried are the Komforte French Toast (real french toast pieces), and the Xocolatl Chicharron (with bits of pork rind).

Paella!

I didn't think to ask Hector Santiago from Pura Vida how many people this could feed...the pan was about 4 feet across: