Foods and Goods on a Sunday

I love Sundays! I get in my praise and worship and then I get my grub on! Again, I am sauntering the streets of Virginia/Poncey Highlands.   I should just move there….I digress. I spy an older brick building with rustic Parish. It is a market and eatery, hence the name “Goods & Foods” in the title (yeah, I had a moment).

photo from Daily Candy 

Friends are seated out on the patio with the MacBooks typing away utilizing the free wi-fi.  Babies are reaching their short arms across the Cherrios placed in front of them for the fluffy eggs on the adult’s plate.  I am enjoying taking all this in and I have not opened the door. I enter through the market, the smell of freshly brewed coffee and warm muffins fill the air. I see breads, baked goods, specialty coffees and tea…you can even get a quick deli bite, I tell you I love this already. The hustling servers know how to weave in and out of gawkers, such as myself, and serve the hot dishes to the Sunday crowd.

I go up the stairs to the main dining room and to my surprise I am looking at a perfectly chiseled nude couple….lucky it is just a statue, but still kind of awkward for a New Orleans inspired Southern eatery.  Parish has a full bar and specials featured on a chalkboard.  The frequency of the specials change daily since they are a “farm-to-table” establishment.  I am seated at a cozy table by the window and the server excitedly tells me the specials and whisks off to get my warm beignets. My sister and I look at the brunch menu and think “WE WANT IT ALL!!”  She ordered the Fried Chicken Doghead Benedict, I am not a fan of poached eggs so I got the Belgian waffle, scrambled cheese eggs, Logan Turnpike grits with cheese and Applewood smoked bacon. 

Look at the brown sugar butter!!

Envy my sister's plate: the Fried Chicken Benedict

GOOOOOOD STUFF. The brown sugar butter on the perfectly toasted waffles is sweet enough to nix the syrup. The cheese eggs were light and fluffy with just the right amount of seasoning. You know, sometimes eggs can be really bland or scrambled too hard.  I am Southern gal…I love grits, I like for my grits to be slightly creamier, but these were good, especially with cheese.  Bacon is bacon right? No…I like my bacon crispy not chewy and not so stiff it crumbles…does that happen to you? Well fellow Georgian, Chef Joe Schafer knows good bacon, y’all!!! I gaze over at my sister’s plate and I can not resist the perfectly golden brown fried chicken, the white fluffy biscuit and roasted potatoes. (She can keep those poached eggs).  She was being sweet that day because she shared some of that good chicken and biscuit and even poured some of the sawmill gravy on there for me. One taste and I wished that was my plate! The chicken was juicy and from the taste, you know it was marinated.  The biscuit is huge, but not too doughy or hard. The taste of the biscuit is fresh, for some reason the image of a flour covered baker with a rolling pin popped in my head! The roasted potatoes had diced onions and peppers in there and seasoned with cracked black pepper.  Again…delish!!

The comfort food is very tasty, the atmosphere is cozy and the service is spectacular!

Cost-Check, Return Factor-You'll See Me There

***ROZZY’S TIPS***Call ahead for seating…this place gets PACKED! 

Pura Experiencia

Today, I decided to go to Mexico. Ok, wishful thinking, I just headed to Inman Park in search of some Mexican food.  I saw, Pure Taquiera www.puretaqueria.com (300 North Highland Avenue) a cute spot, kind of looks like a 1950s gas station.  Since the weather was so nice, patrons were dining on the patio and the windows were open, making passerbys feel very welcome.

The menu is full of tasty choices from appetizers to entrees to desserts.  I started with a "shorty"--a miniture margarita (hey, don't judge me, it is the middle of the day *spoken like a true light weight*).

AWWWE look at "Shorty"

The small drink had just the right amount of kick to it.  The chips and salsa were placed on the table immediately...and I began to chomp.  You have to watch the chips and salsa, it will get you full before you know it :-).

Queso Fundido con Chorizo

I ordered the Queso Fundido con Chorizo (melted chihuahua cheese, thinly sliced poblano pepper and sprinkles of sausage).  The Queso Fundido came with flour tortillas, it had just the right amout of chorizo...sometimes the chorizo can be a little salty, but this was great.   The choices for an entree were tough...tacos, fajitas, salads, speciality dishes...just so many.  I decided to get three tacos (yeah, I got three) camarones (shrimp), carne asada (steak) and puerco (pork) I added friojles negroes (black beans) and arroz (rice).   The shrimp taco had medium sized breaded and fried shrimp, cole slaw and chipotle mayo, which gave it just the right amount of kick---this was my favorite of the three.  The carne asada was garnished with cilantro and onions which blended very well with the lightly seasoned steak, adding a squeeze of lime juice gave it the spunk it needed.  Maybe I was getting full, but the pork taco was not the best.  It was pulled pork with a chili salsa, I was not a fan, it was a bit bland for me.

Camarones, Carne Asada, Puerco con Arroz y Frioles Negroes

I wanted to get dessert, but I was FULL!!
Ratings: $-Cash; Return Factor: You'll See Me There

**Rozzy's Tip***If you go, get the FULL size margarita

A B-day Surprise

On a Friday night, I was blind folded...spun around and seated. I heard clanging of glasses and the shakes of a bartender mixing a drink. I removed my blind fold and a bevy of my beautiful girl friends yelled "SURPRISE!!" I was overwhelmed with happiness.  I look around to see a dimly lit room with hues of blues hitting the decor perfectly, comfy lounge chairs and a semi circular bar.  Where am I? The Lobby at Twelve (http://www.lobbyattwelve.com/home.html) at Atlantic Station.

Our server was ready to roll, and he kept a group of fab ladies smiling, he did an excellent job!  We began with cocktails. I began sipping on the Martin Weyrich Moscato...very sweet and I like it.  I ordered the chicken and waffles from the small plates section.  They arrived--two small waffles topped with four breaded and fried chicken strips, drizzled with syrup and a hint of Tabasco sauce.  Can you say delicious? Thank you Chef Nick Oltrash.  :-)

The band began setting up and they played tunes from the 1990s...New Jack Swing...perfect.  The crowd began to grow.  A sea of some of Atlanta's loveliest crop were enjoying the sounds of the band.

My cake was from trusty old Publix! Those cakes are wonderful.  I got my favorite, Raspberry Elegance. Now listen, this yellow cake has a thin layer of raspberry gel and delicious cream cheese frosting we all devoured it! 

I must return to try some of the main entrees. But I had a wonderful time with friends, beautiful decor and great entertainment. 

$-check

Return Factor-you'll see me there

**Rozzie's Tips***Go with a group of FUN people. Listen to the band, sip the wine and have fun.