ATL LOVE | Grant Park

This is the last of ATL LOVE Series! Thank you to Natalie, Lesley, Nicole, Patty, Lindsay, Jana, Erika, Amber, and Natasha for covering this blog space while I've been busy unpacking. We'll return to regularly scheduled blogging later this week! 

Our last stop of the ATL love series we're head to Grant Park!

Natasha Steinberg of Tartlet Sweets is showing us around her 'hood. Natasha is a talented photographer, recent grad school graduate, and lawyer to be. Her seed and nut loaf recipe is crazy delicious! 

find more of Natasha: twitter/instagram/pinterest/facebook

  

What you love about your hood: It's beautiful, tons of trees, unique houses, quiet, and walkable.

Favorite breakfast/brunch: My house! Breakfast is my favorite meal, and we hardly ever have it out because we love to make it ourselves.

Favorite coffee stop: SteadyHand Pour House. Although they're in transition, I'm still super loyal to them... partly because one of the owner's is my boyfriend, but my answer would be the same even if that weren't the case!

Best working lunch: I used to work in Midtown and absolutely loved going to the food truckson Thursdays. I'm sadly too far away now for that to be a feasible working lunch, but I'm sure it's still just as awesome.

Best date night bet: Once upon a time, I would have said Pura Vida, which is no longer open unfortunately. Now, I would say Abattoir. It's in a cool area and isn't too crazy. We have sat at the bar a couple times and ordered some plates and wine, and it has always ended up being the perfect, unplanned date night! We are also huge fans of dates on Buford Hwy. It's fun to try out different kinds of amazing food, and it's cheap!

Best meeting friends for drinks: Paper Plane for cocktails, Brick Store for beer

Favorite dessert stop: Cakes & Ale or Little Tart... I love a good pastry, and both deliver on that front.

Donuts, pie, or ice cream: Morelli's has amazing ice cream. The rosemary olive oil is my favorite.

Diner, greasy, spoon or grab and to-go dinner: Hankook! The sesame fries are toooooo good.

Neighborhood Shop or Farmer’s Market: Grant Park Farmer's Market is one of the things I look forward to every weekend, which is probably a given considering I live in the neighborhood. They have so many awesome vendors, and I am usually able to get all my fresh veggies for the week.

Non-food shopping: I love wandering around Kudzu and picking up random little things. Highland Row Antiques and Young Blood Gallery are good for that too.

more ATL LOVE: Marietta|East Atlanta Village|Tucker|Buckhead|Decatur |Westside|Roswell 

ATL LOVE | Roswell

Many thanks to Natalie Kilgore, she created this artwork just for the ATL LOVE series.
Find more of her work at Natty Michelle

Welcome to the ATL LOVE Series! I've asked a handful of my favorite Atlanta bloggers to give us an-eats-and-treats tour of their favorite Atlanta area neighborhood over the next few weeks.

Roswell, Georgia is just a short drive from my home in Marietta, but I don't make it there nearly often enough. Amber of  Arbitrary  Ambrosia is touring us around this quaint Georgia town. Amber's blog is full of style, with plenty of music and magic. I'm a big fan of her Fashion Spark series! 

What do you love about this hood: While I don't live here, charming, southern Roswell and it’s tree-lined, brick sidewalks of Canton Street stole my heart early on in my relocation to Atlanta. Yes, its OTP, but this old mill town is rich with history, Antebellum homes, boutiques and amazing restaurants removed from the hustle and bustle of Atlanta’s city center.

Favorite breakfast: Artisan Foods. This hidden little cafe is a great spot for breakfast right in the heart of downtown Roswell. It's order at the counter style and mismatched tables create a warm and welcoming atmosphere with consistently delicious food. I could start out every morning by enjoying their fresh coffee and tasty beignets.

Favorite coffee stop: it’s a toss up between the philenthropic, "do-good" coffee of  Land of a  ThousandHills and the latte's at the beautifully decorated European marketplace, Roswell Provisions.

Best working lunch: Fickle Pickle. This spot gets my number one lunch spot vote simply because of its cute and catchy name. Add the over sized pickle outside and I'm sold. Aside from the catchy name, they have delicious sandwiches and their fried pickles (go figure) are to die for.

Best date night bet: Table and Main. Self described as a southern tavern and bourbon bar, this cute restaurant sure has gotten it right. Located in a cozy, southern house, the atmosphere is ideal and the food is even better. Its romantic without being pretentious and their shrimp and grits certainly pass my southern test of approval.

Best meeting friends for drinks: Salt. Ambiance is one of the biggest things for me when I'm going to grab a drink or two with friends. This restaurant is both rustic and hip with its cool exposed brick and subway tile lined interior and grounding wood accents. Having a good happy hour is an added bonus.

Favorite dessert stop: Douceur de Fance. French pastries- need i say more?

Donuts, pie, or ice cream: The Pie Hole. Pie shops are the new "it" thing in the dessert world, and I have to admit, after treating myself to an enormous slice  of the Pie Hole's peanut butter pie (peanut butter is my dessert weakness) I can understand why. This place is cozy, cute,  has a good variety of pies, and most of all, its just fun to say.

Diner, greasy, grab and to-go dinner:  Rhea’s Take OUT Foods. This place is definitely not high on ambiance but the burgers more than make up for it.  Rhea's Special with Double Meat:  Two patties with "everything"  is the way to go.

Farmer’s Market: Riverside Farmer’s market. Every Saturday from May to September you can find live music, special events, and some of the best locally-grown produce and products around. Me, personally, I can never pass up on a jar of Lavender Wind Farm’s strawberry lavender jam. 

Non-food shopping: 425 Market Place Antiques. I am a huge fan of antique shopping and being located in such a history rich town, you can imagine the great gems you can find among the eclectic dealers that call this market place home.

Many thanks to the talented Natalie Kilgore, who's incredible hand drawn illustrations "really tie the series together". You can purchase her work in her etsy shop, Natty Michelle Paperie or follow her blog, Natty Michelle, I'm loving her recent post on the failings of comparison.

more ATL LOVE: Marietta|East Atlanta Village|Tucker|Buckhead|Decatur |Westside|

ATL LOVE | Westside

Many thanks to Natalie Kilgore, she created this artwork just for the ATL LOVE series.
Find more of her work at Natty Michelle

Welcome to the ATL LOVE Series! I've asked a handful of my favorite Atlanta bloggers to give us an-eats-and-treats tour of their favorite Atlanta area neighborhood over the next few weeks.

Today we tour Atlanta's Westside (which is sometimes called West Midtown). The Westside is one of my favorite neighborhoods and I'm so happy to have one of my favorite Atlanta food bloggers - Erika Council of Southern Soufflé - show off her work-hood. Erika  is a working mama, who also just moved houses, and yet still some how manages to churn out amazing recipes every week. Her Gin and Ginger cocktail is one of my new favorites. PS Erika has a quick wit and a fabulous eye for photography - you'll love her blog. 

Find more of Erika at Southern Soufflé  or stalk her on Twitter, like I do. 

What you love about your hood: My hood caters to the foodie in me. Some of Atlanta's best restaurants live on this side of town. From the Optimist to Atlanta's best soul food at K & K. With Star Provisions, which is like the Anthropologie of the food world, topping my list of what I love the most. It's a marketplace, a bistro, a bakery and beyond. 

Favorite breakfast/brunch: WestEgg Cafe 

Favorite coffee stop: OctaneCoffee 

Best working lunch: Bocado 

Best date night bet: TheOptimist 

Best meeting friends for drinks: JCT Kitchen, Ormsby's, Northside Tavern for some hole in the wall dive bar greatness.

Favorite dessert stop: SublimeDoughnuts 

Donuts, pie, or ice cream: Yoforia 

Diner, greasy, spoon or grab and to-go dinner: Thumbs Up Diner or K&K Soul Food (best soul food spot in the Atown) 

Neighborhood Shop or Farmer’s Market: Star Provisions 

Non-food shopping: Westside Provisions Market

Many thanks to the talented Natalie Kilgore, who's incredible hand drawn illustrations "really tie the series together". You can purchase her work in her etsy shop, Natty Michelle Paperie or follow her blog, Natty Michelle, for her insightful "free-lance ladies" series or peeks into her charming home.

more ATL LOVE: Marietta|East Atlanta Village|Tucker|Buckhead|Decatur 

ATL LOVE | Decatur

Many thanks to Natalie Kilgore, she created this artwork just for the ATL LOVE series.
Find more of her work at Natty Michelle

Welcome to the ATL LOVE Series! I've asked a handful of my favorite Atlanta bloggers to give us an-eats-and-treats tour of their favorite Atlanta area neighborhood over the next few weeks.

Today's ATL LOVE post takes us on a tour of Decatur Georgia! Our tour guide is Patty Catalano, my colleague and good friend. Patty was sort of the catalyst for this series, because she is expecting her first child and will be out of the office for maternity leave this month. I'm happily taking on extra work during this very special time! Patty is our Culinary Researcher, a loyal Bulldog fan, and a lover of maple syrup. 

UPDATED: Patty and her husband welcomed Lucy Grace into the world yesterday! Congratulations Patty and Vince! 

What you love about your hood: I love North Decatur for a lot of reasons: it is where my husband and I bought our first house, it is easily accessible (just a half mile or so and I'd be OTP...phew, just made it), it is close to good restaurants and grocery shopping (as you'll see below), it is close enough to downtown Decatur that I can pretend I'm part of that special club (yeah, that's me sneaking in to a Decatur resident only dog park), and it is close to Stone Mountain (I love it for the trails, not the Lasershow Spectacular).

Favorite breakfast/brunch: Though my go-to breakfast spot is Goldberg's Bagel in Toco Hills (cinnamon raisin bagel double toasted with cream cheese, thank you), the best breakfast spot in my neighborhood has got to be No. 246 in downtown Decatur. My sister and I stopped in for brunch one weekend just after I found out I was pregnant, so naturally we ordered one of everything off of the menu. I spent the next few weeks...ok, months...thinking about the thick, gooey yet crispy French Toast. Yum. 

Favorite coffee stop: There's no question about this one: I love Dancing Goats. It is right in the heart of downtown Decatur, serves great coffee and snacks, and has plenty of seating both inside and out. Bonus: there's a Little Free Library just outside the front door.

Best working lunch: I'm not often around my 'hood for weekday lunches, but Leon's Full Service is always a favorite for weekend lunches or dinners. They serve a warm chickpea salad that I've hacked and made several times at home, and a quick Google search tells me that I'm not the only one who loves this dish: http://www.ajc.com/news/lifestyles/from-the-menu-of-leons-full-service/nQMgb/ 

Best date night bet: My husband, Vince, and I aren't too fancy when it comes to date nights, and for that reason we usually end up at Sushi Avenue on the Square. 

Best meeting friends for drinks: Twain's is the spot if you want grab a beer and seat (if the beer is more important than the seat, you should head over to Brick Store Pub in the Square). I've yet to try the Pinewood Tippling Room, but I've heard they serve fantastic cocktails. It is at the top of my list once I have this baby!

Favorite dessert stop: Bakery at Cakes & Ale

Donuts, pie, or ice cream: Two words: Revolution Doughnuts

Diner, greasy, spoon or grab and to-go dinner: Can't choose just one. I love Community Q - they've got great BBQ, mac & cheese, and lemonade. Monterrey's Mexican Restaurant on LaVista Road wouldn't be anything to write home to mom about as it serves your standard Tex-Mex fare, but Vince and I are regulars there and have struck up a friendship with one of the waiters. If you find yourself in the neighborhood and in the need of a taco, head on in and ask for Jacob.

Neighborhood Shop or Farmer’s Market: This one is tough, because I'm pretty lucky to equi-distant from both Your Dekalb Farmer's Market and Buford Highway Farmers Market. I have a love/hate relationship with YDFM, and if you have ever been there on a weekend or heaven forbid the week of Thanksgiving (somehow I always do and barely make it out alive) you know that there are a few ground rules. #1: Go in with a game plan #2: Don't be that fool with a shopping cart. Use a basket. If you have too much for a basket, bring a buddy, divide, and conquer and #3: There is no such thing as keep to your right. Still you can't beat it for some things, especially spices. Buford Highway Farmer's Market is AH-MAZING. If you love food and haven't been, you need to spend a Saturday wandering around. Compared to YDFM, Buford Highway Farmer's Market is cleaner, has greater variety, and is much less hectic--plus it is just plain fun to wander the aisles (arranged by country) and see Turkish cotton candy, fresh tortillas (yes---I'm talking fresh as in made in-house), a thousand types of Asian noodles, and locally made Georgia olive oil and cheeses. I do want to throw in one more farmer's market that I've been obsessed with this summer, and that is Sherry's Produce Stand on Lawrenceville Highway in Tucker. They have great quality produce (I may have cleaned them out of figs and corn on more than one occasion this summer), fresh flowers, and vintage sodas. The folks that run the place are really nice and the prices are very reasonable.

Non-food shopping: KudzuAntique Market has got everything from vintage clothes to garden art, tchotchkes, records, and retro home furnishings.

Many thanks to the talented Natalie Kilgore, who's incredible hand draw illustrations really tie the series together. You can purchase her work in her etsy shop, Natty Michelle Paperie or follow her blog, Natty Michelle, for her insightful "free-lance ladies" series or peeks into her charming home.

more ATL LOVE posts: Marietta|East Atlanta Village|Tucker|Buckhead