Best Restaurants in Atlanta (Part 2)

It's time for the next 5 restaurants.  Yea! 1. Ok Cafe.

Duh.  Ok Cafe is so great.  You can go in there and get a warm, Southern, home-cooked meal at any time.  There's also a sweet money tree.  As I previously posted, I'm a sucker for a veggie plate, and the one at OK is the best in town.  Personal highlights include: corn that's cut off the cob by hand, field peas, fried green tomatoes, green beans and corn muffins.  The peanut gallery also suggested that the fried mac and cheese and fried cheese grit apps are must have items.

The three of us in the marketing office hit up the OK Cafe salad bar at least 3x a week.  We eat a lot of hand-carved turkey, veggie soup and Brunswick Stew. #okcafe4ever

2. Woodfire Grill

I've had a huge crush on Kevin Gillespie ever since I saw him on Top Chef incorporating chocolate dipped bacon into his dessert. #fatkid

He was actually manning the grill the first night I went to Woodfire Grill, which may be why it was so enjoyable.  I kept looking over there so often he finally offered to sign my menu (I keep it in a glass case in my living room... not kidding).  Their menu changes nightly and features local organic ingredients and lots of bacon.  #love

3. Salt Factory Pub

Jimmy and I love Salt Factory.  It's up on the square in Roswell.  Remember when we went there last year and I discovered the perfect glass of wine?  The first thing I ever ate there was the cheese plate.  It was hands down the best cheese plate I've ever eaten.  The cheese comes with caramelized onions and whole grain mustard that will knock your socks off!  The French onion soup is amazing as well.

While you wait you can walk around to all the little art galleries.  It's a great way to spend a Friday night.

4. Flip

 

For my money, Flip has the best burger in town.  I love the chorizo and fried egg burger the best.  They also have great fries and sweet potato tots.

I know a lot of people feel like there are better burgers around ATL... and I'm open to the arguments.  Hamburgers are so amazing...  5 Guys is incredible   You just can't beat those fries, and the put A1 on the burgers.  I have a slight (large) obsession with A1.   The Holeman & Finch 10 PM burger might be the best burger in Atlanta, but I just can't wait until 10 PM to have dinner (yes, I do know that have them at Brunch...)   Farm Burger? Great.  All I'm saying that if it's 12 PM and someone asks me to go get a burger, I'm going to suggest Flip.  There you have it.

Notes from the peanut gallery: Yeah! Burger, Canyon Burger, US Cafe and The Vortex have great burgers as well.

5. Cakes & Ale

I've only been to Cakes & Ale twice, but both times the food was exceptional.

It's the perfect date spot.  They recently moved to the Decatur square and split the restaurant into the dining area and the bakery.  It's fun to go have a glass of wine in the bakery while you wait for a table.  The servers are out of this world, and I recommend listening to their suggestions.

That's it!  My top 10 favorite restaurants in the ATL.  To read the first half of my list please click here.

I'm happy to expound upon this topic, so please feel free to send me any and all suggestions.

-Blayne

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My Favorite Atlanta Restaurants Part 1... (3 are gluten free!!)

Here's a list of places that make me happy to live in Atlanta :) 1. The Sundial Restaurant

I LOVE the Sundial!  It's located at the top of the Westin in downtown Atlanta, and I've been going there since I was a child.  You can see all the way to Stone Mountain, which is such a treat for a little kid!

Recently I introduced Jimmy to the Sundial, and he loved it too.  There's something about sipping a White Russian while taking a 360° spin around the skyline that just says "Welcome to Atlanta!"

To be 100% honest, I've never eaten there... so perhaps this deserves the title of my favorite bar in Atlanta...

2. Watershed on Peachtree

Ever since 6th grade I've had a fairly fanatical obsession with The Indigo Girls.  Galileo had me at first listen, and the CDs have been staples in my car ever since.  When they opened Watershed here in Atlanta, I was desperate to go.  While I loved the Decatur location, I have to say that the new Peachtree location is much better.  It's closer to my house, and I love the design.  I've heard the fried chicken is out of this world, but I was delighted with my gluten free veggie plate as well.  The servers are wonderfully knowledgeable about which items are gluten free and which can be made gluten free, which is so refreshing.  Jimmy's taking me there for dinner tonight... lucky me!

3. Sophie's Uptown

Sophie's is a cute little cafe/bakery on Pharr Road.  They publish a gluten free menu every day that includes quiches, soups and even sandwiches.  I whole heartedly recommend the tomato soup (ask for an extra pack of Saltines).  The sandwich was good, but I'm not a huge fan of gluten free bread.  I have to say though, sometimes you just need a sandwich.  They also donate to homeless pets, which makes me feel good about eating there.

4. Houston's 

If you don't like Houston's you don't like Atlanta.  I'm serious.  Every time you go to Houston's you know what you're going to get.  Here's a list of the absolute best things at Houston's in case you live in a hole:  Spinach dip, French Dip, chicken fingers + fries + colesalw, salad with the chicken fingers on it (forget the name), crab cakes, vegetable plate, Hickory Burger, tortilla soup, grilled artichoke, bbq chicken.  FYI, I just asked Lindley (my bff) what her favorite things were at Houston's. She launched into a list that included the grilled chicken salad subbing in chicken fingers and the sleeper favorite smoked salmon, which nobody ever gets because you'd be a fool not to order the the spinach dip or artichoke heart.  Kids who were raised in Atlanta and went to Westminster love Houston's as much UGA grads like the Bulldogs.  It's a thing.  By the way... if you go there and tell them you are gluten free they will make you almost anything on the menu gluten free.... except the chicken fingers, which crushed a little piece of my soul.

5. Nuevo Loreado

Lindley and I love Mexican food more than anything.  When we lived together at UGA we would go to the La Parilla on Prince at least 5 times a week (sometimes twice a day if we just had to).  We would go to the drug store next door and buy gossip magazines.  Then we would go in to La Parilla and order two giant mugs of beer in the frostiest glasses you've ever seen.  We'd spend at least 45 minutes drinking our beers and eating bean dip before we ordered our taco salads (her's with no cheese... we were on weight watchers, of course).  The whole experience would take at least two hours, but the servers never said anything to us because we were probably their best customers.  Though we left Athens at least 15 lbs heavier, we also left with holes in our hearts that no frosty beer or taco salad could ever fill... not to say we haven't tried.  We've probably tried every mexican restaurant in the city, and we rate them all... though that's a different blog post for a different day.  Suffice it to say we like Nuevo Loreado the best.  They have the best salsa and the best taco salads.  I know some of you are jumping out of your chair because I didn't say Jalisco's, but give me a break... I like what I like.  The salsa at Jalisco's is a touch too hot, and I can't go in there wearing pajama pants and a sweat shirt because I'll run into like 30 people I know.  Last night Lindley and I went over to Nuevo Loreado, and I carried a little plastic bag of gluten free chips.  My Bud Light bottle was cold, but it was no frosty mug.  At the end of the day I say if you can't drive to Athens, you're best option is to hit up Nuevo Loreado.  As a side note, be careful wearing you're pajamas because you'll most likely see someone you know ;)

Tomorrow I'll work on finishing the list.  Have a great night everybody!

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Whatever happened with... (water bill, diet, wedding plans) and a new listing from Anne Powers!

There are so may things to tell you guys!!!

Last week, Glennis and I went to the Who's Who in Luxury Real Estate conference in Scottsdale, Arizona.  This is one of our favorite conferences.  They always have great speakers, and the conferences are always held in really cool places.  (Remember last year when we went to San Diego, and the year before when we went to Seattle?)

Except this time it wasn't cool, it was HOT! :)

But there were tons of pools there :)

On Wednesday we went to the awards dinner, and I got an award called "Outstanding Social Media Savvy."

I was THRILLED!  Over the years Beacham has gotten a lot of awards for our magazine, our print marketing and our marketing package, but this is our first award for social media.

It means so much to me because I run the social media campaign here at Beacham, and I am really proud of what we've accomplished.  We have this blog, which was ranked #5 real estate blog in the world last year.  A few months ago we launched a new Beacham Blog, we have more fans on Facebook than any other real estate company in Atlanta, we are very active on Twitter, and we even have a new Pinterest account.

One thing that never ceases to amaze me is that people read THIS blog, and they remember what I talk about!  Every time it happens I do a double take.  Over the last few months I've run into people I haven't talked to in a year or so and they will say "what happened with your water bill," 0r "how is that diet going?"  A lot of times it happens when I'm introduced to someone for the first time.  I'll shake their hands and they say, "how are the wedding plans coming along?  I read about them on your blog?"  That happened to me a lot this past week in Arizona.  It made me realize two things... one, that people actually take the time to read the blog, and two, that I've left a lot of loose ends!

First thing's first... the water bill.

Read this story to see the initial story of what happened with my $9,000 water bill.  A few weeks later I wrote this post explaining that the City of Atlanta Department of Watershed Management replaced my water meter and wiped away everything but $800, which they said I still owed them.  I decided to wait a few months and collect a few bills.  Every bill I've gotten has been under $50, so I clearly had one of those bad water meters that are all over the city.  Now I just have to go back before the board, argue my case one more time and hope they erase the final $800 balance.  WSB actually interviewed me about the water issue last week, but my hair looked so horrendous I just cannot post it here.  I've  since stopped using leave-in conditioner. ;)

In a huge karmic joke, I actually walked over my water meter last night and the top was off just slightly.  It slipped off and my foot fell INTO the water meter hole.  It left three big scrapes on my leg, and it's all bruised today.  I guess the water department is out to get me one way or another!

Next loose end?

The Dukan Diet.  I started the Dukan Diet about a month ago for two reasons. I wanted to lose a few more pounds before the wedding, and I was also just having a lot of stomach pain.  I did the Dukan Diet for about 2 weeks and lost 4 lbs.  I guess that's not a huge amount of weight, but it was 3/4 of the weight I wanted to lose, so I would consider it fairly effective.

At the same time I started the Dukan Diet I also gave up gluten and dairy in hopes that it would help my stomach pain.  My friend Ginny also suggested I go see Dr. Tasneem Bhatia.  She is a holistic doctor here in Atlanta who was on Dr. Oz and went to Westminster.  I loved her!  When I went to see her I still had significant stomach pain even thought I had dropped the gluten and dairy.  I also had headaches and low energy, which was a result of all the meat I was eating.  She did a lot of test and got me all turned around.  She put me on a low acid diet, kept me off the gluten and dairy and got me some supplements.  I've kept the 4 lbs off and feel SO MUCH BETTER now.  If any of you are interested in holistic medicine I recommend her 150%!  She spent a lot of time with me and listened and really tried to figure out a way to help me.  Please email me if you have any specific questions about her.

And now a wedding update...

We did a food tasting, YUM!  The food at The Grand Bohemian is amazing.  I even liked the sea bass, and I don't even like fish!

And we picked out a save the date. We are so excited because it's orange, the best color ever.We picked out flowers :)  We decided to work with Flora in Asheville.  She is going to do a beautiful mix of succulents for me.  It was really fun talking to her.  She totally understood what I wanted.

And we will end with a house...

A few weeks ago I shot this house at 2128 Lucerne Lane.  Anne Powers has this house listed, and I loved it!

Isn't it pretty?  The kitchen is so wonderful.  it opens to the family room and breakfast area.  The whites and greens go together so well.  The master bedroom suite is also large and cozy with a huge master bath and fireplace.  The gazebo pictures show a large common area in the neighborhood.   To find out more about this house please visit beacham.com.

Talk to you guys soon!

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The Owner of Fab'rik's House!

Linda Williams listed the owner of Fab'rik's house a few weeks ago (1653 Johnson Road)!  I was planning on putting it on the blog, but she got it under contract before I could post it!  The house is so good I decided to show you some photos anyway :)

I love the foyer.  Isn't that great looking?

Here it is from the other direction.  That's a beautiful Todd Murphy painting above the fireplace.

I love this view into the office.

Isn't it fantastic?  I really like that they painted the windows black.  It makes the office look really handsom.

The dining room is so simple and elegant.

The kitchen opens up to this wonderful keeping nook, which is perfect for families!  There are also skylights in the kitchen which make it feel lofty with tons of natural light.

I love the porch... it's like being at a resort in Miami!

Isn't this the cutest child's room you've ever seen?

The entire upper floor is a master suite.

Don't you like that exposed brick?

I love this view of the bedroom!

There is a full guest suite  on the terrace level...

and a full blown man cave!  How good looking is that?

Congratulations to Linda Williams for getting the house under contract so quickly!

Remember to Enter our contest to win a free ad in "The Beacham Series!"  The contest ends tonight (Tuesday September 18th) at midnight!

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Water Bill Update+ Dutch Colonial Masterpiece!

Wow!  My water story went viral! I was on AOL, Yahoo the Huffington Post and on TV three times!  The people from Fox & Friends even called me!

See that nice screen shot of me?  ha ha.

Well, I wish I could say that all the publicity fixed the problem.  It didn't.  The City of Atlanta Department of Wetershed Management DID replace my meter, so that's a huge step in the right direction.  They also said they would erase the $6,00o bill that I got last month.  That was human error that occurred after they put on the data logger.  They also erased the next two highest bills, which were for several thousand dollars.  That leaves me with a $900 balance.  I still don't think that is fair since I have been overplaying them for a year.  It also does not totally solve the problem of why the bill has been so crazy.  I had another plumber come out (the 4th) to confirm there were no leaks.  Now I have to get a 5th plumber to come out at the same time as a person from the city, which is called a water audit.  After the audit I have to go back to the water board appeal hearing.  I am so tired of dealing with this.  I have put at least 40 or 50 hours into dealing with this for the past year.  I am just so ready to have a normal water bill and get back to life as usual.

Moving along...

I shot this amazing Dutch Colonial home a few weeks ago.  It is located at 537 Hillside Drive with interior design by Mandy Culpepper.  Listed by Erin Yabroudy and Wendy Wood Leebern.

It's been a while since I was totally floored by a house... and I was thrilled to pull into this driveway!

It feel like you are in Europe as soon as you hit the gravel.

I started outside photographing the grounds.  It was all so lush and perfectly landscaped.

Loving this bench!

You know my favorite color is orange!

No, the house does not come with this super cute dog!

I could take a snooze on this hammock, especially after my late night last night watching fireworks at Cherokee!

There is a treehouse!  My entire adult life I've wanted to build myself a treehouse... although I would NOT run water to it!  (re: my $9,000 water bill).

I love this picture because of that swing...  If I knew where that was from I would def register for it.  Awesome!

When I was finished with the grounds I headed inside...

The foyer reminds me a little bit of our famous Neel Reid House on Andrews.

Office with fireplace off of the foyer.Another view from the office back into the foyer.

This is the view right as you walk into the front door.  Love the carpet!  

This is the dining room to the right of the foyer.

I love the kitchen!  Any type of exposed shelving always gets me... and the stainless steel island... oh my.

This kitchen opens to this amazing breakfast room, which opens to the porch.  Those chairs are fantastic!

This is the view looking back into the kitchen.  Great looking!

The formal living room is off the kitchen and the library.  The red is such a bold choice and works so well.  I'm also slightly obsessed with the bird painting above the fireplace (it looks kind of like the shirt I am wearing on the news in the screen shot at the top of this post).

This hallway leads from the kitchen to the great room.  That's a great coffee table/ottoman.

This is my favorite room in the house.  I'm a sucker for cathedral wood ceilings... AND cow rugs... and framed American flags.  Duh.

Loving the color of the walls and the fun pillows!

For more information on this great house (and upstairs pictures), please check out Erin Yabroudy's blog.

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