Best. Date. Ever.

We’ve had a steady love affair going for a solid 5-6 years now. We started seeing each other when we lived in NYC and I was so glad we landed here in Atlanta together. I think it’s starting to get serious. For better or for worse, some of my best dates in Atlanta have been with my friend EZ. She’s a fabulous date. She’s cute and funny and fun to be around and very creative in her date ideas and Friday was no exception. It was a GNO (Lexicon addition: Girls Night Out) in 4 parts:

1. Manis and pedis at Nail + Toe Salon in Buckhead
Generally, I’m pretty loyal to Lily, but I think Nail + Toe does a terrific job and each manicure comes with an amazing 5-10 minute shoulder, neck, and scalp massage, gratis! Can’t beat it with a stick. While our nails and toes were polished (Essie “Angel Food” on our hands and OPI “Lincoln Park After Dark” on our toes) we polished off a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc and decided we needed to eat. Stat.

2. Light bite at Parish in Inman Park
I think Erin put it best when she said, “Was it the best food in the world? No. Was it the best “spot-hitter” for what we were craving? Yes.”

It was 9:30ish by the time we got there and a little chilly and rainy outside, but when we walked into Parrish, it was lively and warm and cozy and everyone was having an absolute blast. There were pretty people laughing at the bar and the restaurant was packed with little rowdy tables sharing bottles of wine and oysters on the half shell and whatever else. Fabulous. After hearing almost every single server’s advise, we settled on the Milk + Honey Salad (baby spinach with house made almond nougat, dried apricots and cherries, apple wood smoked bacon and chile and wildflower honey vinaigrette), the Squash + Dumplings (1/2 an acorn squash maple roasted and filled with buttermilk parmesan dumplings) and the Mahi Mahi (simple grilled over seasonal vegetables) then…the Bananas Foster. Amazing. When our glasses were empty and the live music packed up and went home, we thought we figured it was time for the next stop. After retrieving our keys from the valet, Bishop (hi, Bishop!), we decided to check out the cigar bar up the street.

3. In-and-out of Highland Cigar Co.
We both liked the idea of smoking a cigar, but when we walked into a wall of smoke, we walked right back out at the thought of either having to wash our hair that evening or having our pillowcases smell like an ashtray. But who knows? We may be back. Next!

4. P’cheen
MWolfe tells me P’cheen has his favorite burger in the city. I’ve never tried it. In fact, I have never had any food at P’cheen, so I can’t tell you what it’s like. What I can tell you is this: I have never had a bad time at P’cheen. It’s just a laid back, cool bar/resto. EZ and I drank cheap beers at the bar and giggled while we speculated about the life stories about everyone we saw and polled people on their favorite theme-party ideas (research for the 5th annual EZ/LK Birthday Bash coming up in early 2010. Get excited.)

All-in-all, fabulous GNO. Even on a cold, rainy Friday. So grab your go-to girl and g-o. I suggest someone as fabulous as EZ.

xx, L

Parish Foods & Goods
240 N Highland Ave NE
Atlanta, GA 30307
(404) 681-4434

Buckhead Nail and Toe Spa
3210 Roswell Rd NW
Atlanta, GA 30305
(404) 869-8999

Highland Cigar Co
245 N Highland Ave NE
Atlanta, GA 30307-1936
(404) 477-2415

P’cheen International Restaurant
701-5 Highland Ave NE
Atlanta, GA 30312
(404) 529-8800