Learn Some Manners!

I have just created a blog which is the exact kind of thing that every chef everywhere dreams of doing for many different kinds fo diners. It is a blog which is dedicated to providing useful information for all of those people who do not behave correctly whenever you eat out. It is a practical look at what the restaurant sees and what you can do to improve your status as a patron of the restuarant. I hope that everyone will check out my new blog and provide feedback and even suggestions as I would love to make it as versatile as possible.
Brian

Tunes from the Tombs - Live it Up at the Oakland Cemetery

Living in Atlanta means there are many different kinds of events you can look forward to. There are the ordinary events that you would expect like sports and massive concerts. What you might not expect to hear about is that one of the most historic cemeteries in town will hold a concert. This is exactly what will happen the weekend of 5/21 – 5/22. This May, Historic Oakland cemetery has decided to allow an unprecedented musical event, Tunes from the Tombs to be held among the many graves and tombs which it holds.

The event is sure to be a lot of fun as it draws many different bands from all across the nation. Even bands as distant as Colorado, Pennsylvania and California will be showing up. The genres of music will range from jazz to rock, classical, folk, Americana and others. The artists will have small stages that they will be able to perform on and those in attendance are encouraged to walk from one band to the next.

Featured bands at Tunes from the Tombs include SmokeThatCity – an instrumental act featuring Bill Taft and the original members of the Cabbagetown act Smoke. Also included on the bill are such great acts as The Blacktop Rockets, Slim Chance and the Convicts and AM Gold. These are only a few of the local and national acts which will be hitting the stage at Tunes from the Tombs.

Full performer lineup here.

The entertainment, and the likeness to a New Orleans event, does not end there. You will also be able to enjoy the stylings of different buskers who will show up on their own small stages. Additionally, you can get your fortune read by Robyn Avalon, a well-known Atlanta psychic and fortuneteller. She will start offering her services at 2pm and will be available until dusk. You will also be able to enjoy free mini tours as a part of the price of the ticket that you paid for.

You will not have to worry about getting hungry at Tunes from the Tombs as there will be great food from nearby restaurants: Six Feet Under, Pallookaville and Hottie Hawg’s Smokin’ BBQ. Along with the food vendors, you will have the chance to purchase “spirits” in the form of beer and wine. Sorry, no ghouls invited!

Attendance at Tunes from the Tombs is expected to be high. With cheap tickets, there is really no reason why you should not show up. Tunes from the Tombs will run from May 21 to May 22. It will operate from 11am until dusk. It is held on the grounds of the Historic Oakland Cemetery which is found at: 248 Oakland Avenue, Atlanta, GA 30312. The tickets are being sold only at the event. You can get your tickets for $10 if you plan on just going for one day. If you want to go for both days, it is only $15. If you are bringing along your children, those who are 12 and under will only be $5 for one day, $10 for both.

If the event goes well and there is minimal damage to the space, it is likely that this will be a repeat event. So, please get out and support Atlanta and make sure that you are respectful of the eternal souls who will be rocking alongside you. Also, keep in mind that the proceeds from the event go to help preserve the Historic Oakland Cemetry so that it can remain part of what makes Atlanta so special.

Seeing the Golden Age of Comics at the Breman Museum in Atlanta

There is so much to do in the city of Atlanta that it is pretty easy to find something that you want to do. Being Mother’s Day, we decided to do something really special with our day. First, my wife was able to sleep in. It was nice to hear that Garrison Keeler from Prairie Home Companion agreed with us that this is something that every mother really wants. That, and to get away from the family for a little while for some alone time.

After we had pancakes and eggs as a family for brunch – no Mother’s Day brunch at a restaurant for our family – we set out to the Breman Museum to see the Golden age of Comics exhibit. I was not sure exactly why the Breman Jewish Heritage & Holocaust Museum would hold such an exhibit. We made sure to read all of the information and I was amazed to learn about how the comic book industry was born. It was basically founded by two Jewish men in the 30’s – Joe Shuster and Jerry Siegel – born out of the pulp books which were popular at the time.

We learned how the comic book artists of the time were drawing many of the scenes of American soldiers whopping up on Hitler before the United States of America ever entered into the war. Many of the artists were even hired to draft posters which were used as propaganda posters. These were some of the greatest scenes that I have ever seen of Hitler getting his light punched out and more.

Ariella got to dress up as Wonder Woman and ride the Batmobile. Brenden got to read a lot about many of the greatest artists of all time like Will Eisner and Jack Kirby. We even got to sit down and watch interviews from industry greats including Stan Lee. We even watched some old episodes of Superman which were originally aired in the movie theaters.

It was an overall interesting exhibit and a must see for anyone interested in comic books in general or just art. It is a shame that it is not better advertised as the only thing I ever saw for it was the poster outside of the Breman Museum which is easily ignored. If you or someone you love enjoys comic books, this is a great exhibit to go to.

After we went to the exhibit, we went to Kilwins to get some chocolate and candies. My wife got a delicious candied apple. We also got two caramel apples, two caramel dipped rice crispy treats, a white chocolate dipped rice crispy treat, 1 1/3 pound of fudge and some caramel dipped pretzels.

Now, we are getting ready for Treme to come on and we will undoubtedly drink some Heineken and New Castle Brown Ale. It is a great Mother’s Day in our home. I hope that all of the mothers out there had a great one and will have many more to come in the future.

Atlanta Coca-Cola Building All Lit Up

This year marks the 125^th year anniversary of Coca-Cola. They have decided to throw a huge party in Centennial Olympic park which they will simulcast on their website for all the public to see. Apparently there will be a few friends from American Idol which will show up and there will be plenty of festivities for the Coca-Cola employees.

To do something to say thank you to the rest of the city of Atlanta, the corporate headquarters in downtown was draped with screen material and different images were used to advertise the celebration to the city of Atlanta. We celebrated by heading out to The Varsity Restaurant right across I-85 from Georgia Tech. We got a good view of the building and we were able to see all of the images as they were cast on the side of the building.

We expected a big show since we knew that Coca-Cola paid close to $1 million just to project everything on the side of their building at night over the course of the weekend. The official anniversary is not until Sunday, but the festivities are underway. It is great to live in a city with so much heritage and pride.

In my family, we for one celebrate drinking Coca-Cola. My only wish is that we did not have to wait until Passover to get Coca-Cola made with sugar or buy the product made in Mexico. Still, all I want to say is happy 125^th to Coca-Cola and here is to another 125 years of deliciousness to come.

You can get even more information through the Creative Loafing website.

Easter Time in Georgia 2011

Well, Easter has passed yet again and what a glorious time it was for all. At least it was great where I was. We had a great time going to two different kinds of Easter egg hunts with my daughter. My son even got to get in one the action even though he is beyond the normal Easter egg hunting age limit. It reminded me about how special these holidays can be whether you are religious or not.

The reason for my revelation was because we went to Cleveland, GA last week to go to the Eggstravaganza at the Cabbage Patch Kids Babyland General. We showed up for the pancake breakfast with the Easter bunny and got to enjoy some music and take some pictures. Ariella went wild dancing to a few different songs, but was nice and tame when it came photo time. She sat right down in the Easter Bunny’s lap to take a sweet little picture.

From Babyland General, we went over to the town square where they had a parade set up. It was mostly from the churches and the local firefighters, police organizations and even some banks. They tossed out candy and generally waved to their heart’s content. The only mishap during the event was the fact that a dog threw up right in front of one of the children trying to catch candy. The parents spent the rest of the parade directing their child to untainted candy.

After we had lunch with a friend and her baby boy and daughter, we all headed back over to Babyland General where we participated in the big Easter egg hunt. Thousands of eggs disappeared into baskets in a matter of seconds. I was slightly annoyed by parents picking up eggs for their children as it seemed to defeat the purpose. This is not a competition to get the most after all, it is a chance for the kids to have fun picking up candy for themselves. There was even an overgrown kid collecting eggs to stuff in his shirt. I digress.

We wondered through Babyland General and entered into a contest to win a valuable Original Cabbage Patch Kid which we won. We also purchased some great Cajun style boiled peanuts and pork skins. We hung out and did some shopping while the kids got to watch a Cabbage Patch Kid being born right from the cabbage patch. There was hardly a mention of the religious aspect of the holiday. Instead, it was simply a great way for families to have fun.

The next week, the day before Easter, we went to another Eggstravaganza at Callanwolde. This is a fine arts center which is just down the street from our home where we always mean to do more stuff at because the place looks cool and always has fun events going on. The egg hunt last year was disorganized and started early. This year, the hunt started right on time and Ariella was able to get out there and pick up some more candy. It was a great time.

We did not go to church today, but we did have a great Easter brunch complete with baked ham, broccoli casserole and roasted red potatoes in herbs. We got to spend time together as a family. It was a great holiday and we are truly thankful for the gifts that we have received by being blessed on this holiday. Seems like a long time until Halloween now.

Bleary Eyed and Bushed

If there are any loyal followers of this blog, you might be wondering why the posts are so infrequent. I promise you it is not because of a lack of wanting to post every day. In fact, I long to write long notes to you and any other passers by. The problem is that I do not have as much control over my schedule as I would like to. I have so many clients that I work for that I end up writing so much for everyone else that I hardly have enough time to write what I want to write. When I do write something I feel guilty that I am losing money.

When you are looking at having to save up for Summer vacations and all of the other things that you want in your life, it can cause you to push yourself pretty hard. That is exactly what I have been doing here as of late. Burning the candle on both ends can lead to a lot of money, which it has, but it also leads to inactivity, weight gain and a serious lack of beer drinking. What a sob story right?

I stand before you tired and unashamed of it. I say to those who have come back again and again, thank you. I say to all those showing up for the first time, welcome and I hope to see you again really soon. This blog is a labor of love for me, but without much time for labor, I lay forlorn and in desperate need of about an extra ten hours for each day.

The lack of energy and time is not a harbinger of doom though. There is a light at the end of the tunnel and I will make more time for this blog as well as my other personal writing projects. I will keep you guys posted as to the results. For those of you wondering about what happened with my work out routine, I will tell you that it has gone straight in the trash. I went around the lake about 8 times the other day and even ran a lap. I felt like I was gonna die.

Until the next time we cross paths... tomorrow, maybe.... I hope you have a great day and that you will be able to enjoy drinking all of the beer that I am missing out one. CHEERS!

Having Fun at the Winter Beer Carnival in Atlanta

This blog post is about a month late. I swear I have not been drinking beer ever since the carnival. Okay, but not every minute of the day at least. Nonetheless, here it is in all of its glory and splendor for your approval.

When planning for my wife’s birthday, I came across an advertisement for the Winter Beer Carnival in Atlanta. From what I understand, this was only the second year that the Carnival has been in existence and I gotta tell you, it was GREAT. One of the biggest problems with beer festivals is that you are too close to the rest of the hopheads around you. The first thing that I noticed was that there was plenty of space.

It was a good thing that we got the VIP tickets to the event because we got in an hour early. There was a container of free water bottles which disappeared within the first hour of the event and was never refilled. It was a good thing that I decided to grab a couple of bottles in between beer stands. That one bottle may have saved me from getting over the top drunk with no return to sanity.

On to the Beer

I tried so many great beers that day. It is one thing that the Winter Beer Carnival in Atlanta really had going for them. Not only did they have most all of the major beers represented, they even had smaller breweries and a whiskey station available. It was truly a sight to behold. I was very happy to see my old friends from the New Belgium Brewery out there with some great Fat Tire. I was disappointed that they did not have very many of their obscure labels and I would have thought that they would have brought something out just for the carnival, but they did not.

I was also happy to see the local favorite, Sweetwater, show up. I did not have any of their beer until much later in the event as they are local and I can get many of their more obscure labels any time that I want to. They did have a good beer that I tried in the VIP tent though I was pretty drunk at that point and I do not remember the name of it.

My stand out favorite was – this is going to shock you right out of your seat – Guinness. They had their Foreign Extra available and it was truly one of the best stouts I had at the Carnival. I liked it so much that I had to buy myself some beer from the liquor store after the carnival was over.

Another standout that I really liked was the Southampton Double White. It was rich and deep without being fruity like many white beers can be. I did go back for this one a few times. It was a treat to have such a great beer on a great day.

One more great beer that we tried that day was the Smuttynose Old Brown Dog. It was a good beer which was smooth and slightly bitter. It had a good clean finish which made you want to come back for more. I would have gone back for more, but once I was in the VIP area, I did not want to leave again.

Now for the Bad Stuff

The main problem with the Carnival was that the beer ran out too fast. This is not just me. Apparently a lot of people complained about this. Most beer festivals have enough to get at least close to the end. This one seemed to have enough beer for about half the crowd that actually showed up. One speculation was that there were too many beers which were given away to the event. One look at Yelp for the event and you will see how many people commented on the fact that they did not pay for their ticket. It made me feel like a chump for paying so much for the VIP tickets.

It is a good thing that I did not need to use the bathroom while I was there. There was only normal mass public port-a-potties to be had. Even in the VIP section there was an insane line to behold. I would have also have thought that there would have been some kind of food to purchase or water available in the VIP area. Instead, if you wanted something you had to leave the VIP area to go out with the rest of the crowd.

Overall Rating

I did thoroughly enjoy myself no matter what. I got to try a lot of great beers and I met some cool people. I will definitely get the VIP tickets again next year so that I will be able to try everything that I want without having to worry about the lines. Maybe next time I will make sure to buy some food straightaway so that I will not have to wait an hour in a line for corn dogs. Thank you Winter Beer Carnival. I will see you next year for your third season.