In retrospect, I feel like I did pretty well for having extremely hunger-impaired judgement in the TJ’s aisles.  I wasn’t thrilled with my decision to pick up a loaf of freshly-baked raisin walnut bread or TJ’s rice pudding (insert Adam Lambert’s ballad “What Do You Want From Me?!”)…

trust me - shopping while hungry can be a recipe for disaster...

…but I DID end up with some healthy staples: flattened bananas, hearty trail mix, frozen shrimp and organic blueberries.  My three most impressive items, however, seem pretty unhealthy, but actually aren’t that bad when you really look at the nutritional breakdown:

Trader Joe’s Fat Free Crumbled Feta (recently featured in the AJC)

Nutritional Facts:
Serving Size: 1 oz
Calories: 35 g
Fat: 0 g
Carbs: 1 g
Sodium: 260 mg
Protein: 7 g

Trader Joe’s Creamy Spinach Artichoke Dip

Nutritional Facts:
Serving Size: 1/8 container, 2 Tbsp
Calories: 45 g
Fat: 3 g
Carbs: 2 g
Sodium: 170 mg
Protein: 6 g

Trader Joe’s Soy & Flaxseed Tortilla Chips

hi, i'm blurry.

Nutritional Facts:
Serving Size: 10 oz, 7 chips
Calories: 130 g
Fat: 8 g
Carbs: 13 g
Sodium: 50 mg
Protein: 6 g

Not too terrible, huh?  The items that took the cake, though, were definitely THESE guys:

love

love even more!

Moral of the story:  It’s always smart to follow my Rule #84 (just here to help, y’all!) and avoid the grocery when you’re feeling hunger pains, but if you absolutely HAVE to go  – go to Trader Joe’s.  The healthy nutritional content of your seemingly-bad-for-you-thrown-into-the-cart-in-a-hunger-rage loot just may surprise you! 

xx, L

Trader Joe’s – Midtown
931 Monroe Dr. NE  30308
404.815.9210
www.traderjoes.com

red velvet cupcakes

peanut butter french toast

turkey sausage + egg + cheese on a croissant

peanut butter + chocolate cupcakes

mini cinnamon rolls

Highland Bakery’s Old Fourth Ward location on Highland Ave. is consistently delicious – and always packed.  So predictably packed that I’ve started completely avoiding it on Saturday and Sunday mornings for brunch…  However, my carb-craving prayers have been answered with Highland Bakery’s new Midtown location, which officially opened last week.  Food blogs were listing the opening date as “the last quarter of the year,” but I called the OFW location this morning to confirm that I did, in fact, see people eating in there on Friday.  And, I did.

Visit Highland Bakery – Midtown in the 1180 Peachtree Building around the corner from TAP, where TROIS used to reside.  And, please, do yourself a favor and go ahead and order that cupcake.  It’s worth it. 

P.S. All you Midtown suits:  H. Bakery is great for a quick workday lunch, too!

xx, L

Highland Bakery – Midtown
1180 Peachtree Street
Atlanta, GA  30309
404.586.0772
http://www.highlandbakery.com/

T. Bloom

Out of the four years I’ve thrown this event, I’ve never seen Table 1280 as packed as it was last night.  Way to go, Tracey!  We had cocktails and hors d’oeuvres in the bar area, which I think is just perfect for a smaller event, and then headed back to my personal favorite room at Table 1280 (the one to the left of the entrance) for a seated dinner.

table 1280

Simply, dinner was delicious.  We had a large group of people, and the folks at my end of the table ordered some pretty yummy starters to share, of which this one was my favorite:

Serrano Ham, Manchego, Piquillo Pepper, Arugula, Breadstick  (loved!)

I also had a bite of a brisket slider and someone’s organic salad – and both were great, too.  For dinner, most of the table ordered one of three items: the wild salmon (which came very highly recommended from our fabulous server, Lynn), the pork chop and the ribeye.   Everyone raved about all three!  I knew that my salmon was very tasty, but I was floored that there was such a strong positive consensus about the food from this very opinionated group of mine.  To finish off the dinner, I had the lemon panna cotta with Georgia blueberries.  It. was. heavenly.

What was the best part of the evening you ask?  Well, let me think…meeting Tracey Bloom was kind of awesome!

!!!!!

We found her to be very personable, and we got a kick out of her Top Chef stories.  It was particularly interesting to hear about the filming of the show, as well as some tidbits regarding producer-created drama among the contestants.  Although Tracey will not reign as season 7’s “top chef,” she is doing some pretty stellar things at Table 1280.  No longer will I consider this restaurant merely a pre-HIGH Museum destination.

P.S. If you throw an event at Table 1280, make sure that you order the miniature quesadilla with chorizo and manchego + the truffle chix salad on a crostini as hors d’oeuvres.  They are really, REALLY addictive!

xx, L

Table 1280
1280 Peachtree Street NE
Atlanta, GA  30309
404.897.1280
www.table1280.com

This is a pretty sweet deal, y’all.  Park 75 is delish!  Such a great place to escape the heat/ see + (most importantly) be seen this summer.  And, seriously, is there really a need to eat anywhere these days w/o some sort of deal, coupon or discount?  I think not…

(P.S.  Aren’t I getting so much better w/ my flyer-posting skillz?  Baby steps…baby steps…  Thanks, LK!) 

xx, L

1. I love Neil LaBute. I just do.  I fell in love with his writing in college when, in a particularly great scene study class, I was given a part from The Shape of Things.  Love his writing, love his exploration of our society’s idiosyncrasies, love his humor, love his dark side, love it all.

2. The name of the theatre company is great:   Pinch n’ Ouch. I think it’s funny and cute all on it’s own, but, as a student of the Meisner acting technique, which calls for organic reactions to imaginary circumstances, I think the name is brilliant.

3. I have a really cute date

4. I always feel so proud of Atlanta when I visit the Woodruff Arts Center

5.  Tomorrow is closing night!  Get tickets here.

xx, L

m. reynolds

Since she hadn’t been to Bakeshop before, we decided to meet there around noonish to take advantage of the Concentrics Group’s Summer Swag promotion: http://snipurl.com/xsnd2. 

outside

inside

We each ordered a tasty sandwich (fancy grilled chix for M. Reynolds + curried chix salad for moi), and we shared a very rich chocolate souffle for dessert ALL for a whopping $10.00 – thanks to the marvelous Swag promotion.  Seriously – take advantage of it!  It’s such a great deal.

However, writing about our lunch date isn’t the point of this post.  (I’ve already blabbed about Bakeshop – been there + done that.)  What I really want to tell y’all about is this adorable special they have going on during the summer on Sunday afternoons:  Every Sunday in June, July + August from 3:00 – 7:00 p.m., Bakeshop wants you to stop by for a housemade waffle + specialty topping + a scoop of vanilla ice cream for $5.00. 

(LK taught me how to post fliers last night.  Thank you. Thank you.  I hope she’s proud!) 

Isn’t that a precious idea?  Sundays are meant to be decadent days!  I think this is so cute for a date, too.  

Also, I saw another flier during M. Reynolds + my lunch for a 4th of July event @ Bakeshop – a pancake breakfast!!  From 8:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m., enjoy all you can eat blueberry, plain or whole wheat pancakes and fresh seasonal fruit for $10.00.  It’s the perfect post-race carb delight for Peachtree Road Race runners!  What better way to kick off the holiday?

FINALLY…next time you are in Bakeshop, puh-lease try one of their amazing chocolate croissants.  Trust me.  They are divine, dah-ling, divine.

worth it.

xx, L

Bakeshop
903 Peachtree Street, NE
Atlanta, GA  30309
505.892.9322
www.bakeshopatl.com

the bride-to-be + me

I’ve blogged about it before, but as a reminder:  EVOS is an alternative fast food franchise (also in CA, FL and NC) specializing in healthy and environmentally sound eats, featuring soy, veggie, turkey and salmon burgers, fruit smoothies and their signature Airfries.  They Airbake (of course) their Airfries instead of deep-frying, which saves us 50-70% of the fat.  Also, they cater.  Awesome.  The company website describes the restaurant chain as “inspired, energetic, real, philanthropic, culturally plugged in, adventurous, respectful, fresh and forward thinking.”  Even before I actually went, I wanted to give this restaurant a hug.

Dana and I both ordered the Steakburger + Airfries. The Steakburger was a bit on the dry side, but was still good enough to finish - and we certainly felt better eating it than we would have any other fast food hamburger.  The Airfries were delicious.  They did not taste lowfat at all, even though the restaurant insists that they are.  I’m still not 100% convinced, though…

EVOS steakburger + airfries

When I got up to refill my fountain soda + get some more ketchup for our Airfries, I saw a flier with EVOS’s daily specials listed on it, AND I’d like to share that w/ y’all:

(Refresh) Mondays:  Receive a FREE Regular Shake or Drink with the purchase of any Hand-Tossed Salad.

(Truly Awesome) Tuesdays:  Receive a FREE Regular order of Airfries & Drink with the purchase of an EVOS Original Steakburger.

(Wrap-it-up) Wednesdays:  Receive a FREE Regular Shake with the purchase of any Wrap.

(Thankful) Thursdays:  Receive a FREE Organic Cookie with the purchase of a Warm Veggie Chili Value Meal.

Isn’t alliteration fun, kids?!

(Hot Dog It’s) Fridays:  Receive a FREE 2nd Hot Dog with the purchase of an Adult Hot Dog Value Meal.

(Shake-it-up) Saturdays:  Receive a FREE Shake with the purchase of a Shake of equal or lesser value.

(Family Fun) Sundays:  Receive a FREE Kids Meal w/ drink with the purchase of any Adult Meal.

These are pretty good deals, and EVOS is worth a try – especially if you take advantage of one of the freebies listed above.  I don’t think that this chain is for everyone, but I will probably eat there again when I want to splurge on a fast food, basic hamburger + fries, but I don’t want to destroy my diet for the week or feel guilty about it. 

I’m definitely interested to know what y’all think.

xx, L

EVOS– Midtown 
855 Peachtree Street
Atlanta, GA  30308
www.evos.com

EVOS – Sandy Springs 
5590 Roswell Rd. NE
Atlanta, GA  30342
404.252.4022
www.evos.com

Michelle + I both quickly grabbed the Scoutmob promotion for Nakato when it was offered up and few weeks ago, and we set a hot date for hibachi.

michelle + me

Nakato is a Japanese restaurant that’s been around for a while located on Cheshire Bridge close to Piedmont.  Although it is surrounded by strip clubs and XXX stores, the restaurant is v. hard to miss with its traditional architecture and sculptured bushes.

When you walk into Nakato, you’ll find the sushi room directly in front of you.  To your left, is the expansive hibachi room + private tatami rooms for groups.

sushi room

tatami room

Nakato’s hibachi is better than fair.  I’ve been to hibachi restaurants in Atlanta where the chefs have had a bit more personality (i.e. Orient Express in Vinings – LOVE), but Nakato will do – especially with the 50% off Scoutmob…

Has anyone’s hair ever caught on fire?  I couldn’t help but think about how many flammable products I put into mine before my date w/ Mich when this happened…

ahhhhhh!

Mich ordered sushi, which we both thought was very fresh and well-priced.  My hibachi was okay.  It’s always a fun experience to do hibachi every so often (remember not to wear nice clothes – you reek afterwards), but I think I forgot exactly how much food it actually was going to end up being…  I left the restaurant almost doubled over because I was so full.  I really do need to work on my will power. 

After our server processed the Scoutmob 50% off discount, our final bill was only $12 per person!!  I couldn’t BELIEVE how cheap it was!  Although the meal was just fine – nothing really to write home about, the discount made it totally worth it.  So, for all you recessionistas who are in the mood for sushi or hibachi, grab the Scoutmob discount on your iPhone and head on over to Nakato.  (If you don’t have the Scoutmob discount, though, I’d suggest driving to Orient Express, instead.) 

Q+DD on Nakato’s Happy Hour:
$3 wines by the glass
$3 sushi rolls
$5 speciality cocktails
$15 for a drink + 5 appetizers!  (EXCELLENT DEAL!!)

xx, L

Nakato
1776 Cheshire Bridge Rd NE
Atlanta, GA  30324
404.873.6582
www.nakatorestaurant.com

A couple of weeks ago, I saw City Island at the Tara…

It’s about a dysfunctional family living on City Island, a suburban island off the coast of the Bronx, who are all keeping secrets much more innocuous than the atrocities they assume each other are hiding.

I liked this movie, despite the fact that I usually can’t stomach this type of “one piece of missing information, otherwise everything would be fine” humor. (Three’s Company and Meet the Parents kind of stuff…gives me massive anxiety.)

However, it was funny and poignant and heart-wrenching all at the same time, there was some really nice acting (particularly by Emily Mortimer), and I LOVED the scrawny teenaged son who has a thing for large ladies. If you haven’t, go see it!   It’s cute!
Then, a few nights ago I saw “Exit Through The Gift Shop” at Midtown Art…a film I THOUGHT was going to be about the British street (graffiti) artist, Banksy.

If you’re unfamiliar with Banksy, I encourage you do to a little research.  He’s far too interesting for a Q+DD explanation. Check his blog out here and his art website out here.  But…..here are some of his more popular pieces:

(I love you, Maura.)

Anyway, as I mentioned, I thought the film was going to be a documentary of his work…which I was really excited about because a) he is notoriously reclusive and b) street art is very hard to document, of course, since it is technically vandalism.

What I found, however, was that this was not really a movie about Banksy, but rather about a man named Thierry Guetta, a Frenchman with a camera and an obsession for the craft.  So it was a film by Banksy about Guetta trying to make a film about Banksy… get it? “Prankumentary” is what they’re calling it.

Guetta films thousands of hours of footage of Banksy and countless other famous (infamous?) street artists including his own cousin, Invader, and Shepard Fairey (you know him. He is responsible for this:
Eventually, Guetta decides he is ALSO a street artist himself. Going by the alias “Mr. Brain Wash,” Guetta starts tagging, and almost immediately stages his own art installation filled with “blatant knockoffs and cut-and-paste pop trash” and Banksy’s message becomes clear.

The film was brilliant; I just wish we had seen more Banksy! He was rarely on camera, and when he was, he was hooded and his voice was disguised.

The Voice Disguiser. A la The Bert Show.

I don’t think that he’ll be making any appearances on Larry King anytime soon, either.  He is quoted as saying, “The film is the end of my public life rather than the beginning.” Bummer.

Obviously, I recommend it. (Bonus: there’s a Foursquare badge associated with the movie:

To get it, simply shout “Banksy” when you check in to Midtown Art,…thanks Mark!)

Gah, I am so artsy! Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to go unwrap the DVD I just ordered from Amazon: The Sweetest Thing with Cameron Diaz, Christina Applegate, and Selma Blair…a classic piece of American cinematography if you ask me.

xx, L

Olive will be there along with her friends Lola, Cooper, and Sebastian…

Sebastian will be dressed to impress.

…and maybe you, too? Hope to see you there!

xx, L + O