A Short Stop at AthFest 2012

In the previous chapter, I wrote that we took a quick trip to Athens. It wasn’t on the agenda, but Marie heard a feature on NPR about how Elf Power, one of my favorite bands (it is a very long list), would be playing at the annual AthFest downtown. We hadn’t been to AthFest in many years. I’m reasonably certain that the last time we were in attendance, those “goin’ to Hell” Westboro-wannabes that try to ruin Bele Chere in Asheville every year hadn’t heard about it yet, but they’re out in force now, being jerks. Continue reading “A Short Stop at AthFest 2012”

Leopold’s Ice Cream, Savannah GA

This is Marie, contributing an article about ice cream. Because of an unfortunate scheduling snafu, the baby and I went to visit my folks without Grant or the girlchild, so they got no time at the beach. Well, I didn’t either, but the more important part of the visit was grandparent fun time with baby. One of the activities for that was a trip to the opening day of the first phase of the Savannah Children’s Museum. They are associated with the Savannah Railroad Musum and the children’s area is among some of the historic buildings so the place has a lot of character and considerable charm. They’re going to have problems with the grass being trampled by babies pretty soon, and the toys are so portable my son tried to escape with a Lincoln Log and I had to go back to return it. Continue reading “Leopold’s Ice Cream, Savannah GA”

Hot Dog Depot, Westminster SC

No kidding, this is what happened. I saw a sign in Toccoa pointing me toward the town of Westminster and decided that would be the road that I would take. In a few minutes, I crossed the Tugaloo River into South Carolina and immediately U-turned – safely – and, as though I just remembered that this state elected a moron like Nikki Haley to be their governor, sped back into Georgia. Continue reading “Hot Dog Depot, Westminster SC”

This land is Billy Dilworth’s land.

Last month, one of our readers, Cheryl Kitchens, sent a recommendation that we stop by Bar-H Barbeque near the neat little town of Royston. I agreed that was a terrific idea; I had not been anywhere around these great towns in northeast Georgia that I enjoy so much in a really long time. Bar-H was, therefore, the last restaurant that I deliberately looked up and planned to visit before I set out on my trip. I noticed that I could get there from Athens via one of two roads. I’d driven US-29 through the area many times in the past, but I’d never seen GA-281 before, so that was the one that I took. I also thought about where I might go after Royston. I glanced very briefly around Google Maps and figured that Toccoa and Clemson would be eventual destinations, but I backed away after making that conclusion. I was resolved not to print out directions or use Urbanspoon to lock myself into a schedule. After I left Bar-H, I would be on my own. Continue reading “This land is Billy Dilworth’s land.”

Johnny Mitchell’s Smokehouse, Euharlee GA

Several months ago, I spent some time cleaning up Urbanspoon’s listings of barbecue restaurants throughout Georgia and Alabama – I probably need to do that again – and found quite a few that I had never heard of before. Johnny Mitchell’s is one of those. He and his wife Jill boast that they have been in the restaurant business for 32 years, and that the Smokehouse is their second enterprise. Jill is from California and Johnny from here in Atlanta. His aunt was the owner of downtown’s B & G Restaurant, about which I can find no information online. That’s one of the reasons that I wanted to create this blog in the first place, to keep stories about food and community and dining going, even from a perspective as narrow as ours, with just a little information and a couple of photos. Continue reading “Johnny Mitchell’s Smokehouse, Euharlee GA”

Vintage Pizzeria, Chamblee GA

Back in March, Marie organized a Festival of Dairy for herself to celebrate her return to eating pizza and ice cream. Well, that’s not accurate; actually, she commanded that cheese be obtained in great quantities and set me the task of finding appropriate locations for her indulgence. On the trip, we visited the Frosty Caboose for a banana split, and we noticed that it was across the street from a pizzeria called Vintage. I filed that away for future reference, because that just sounded like a perfect lunchtime getaway for a warm late spring day: a few slices of pizza followed up by ice cream under a shady tree. Continue reading “Vintage Pizzeria, Chamblee GA”

Johnny Rockets, Atlanta GA

So Johnny Rockets, a deeply 1980s concept restaurant which occasionally attempts to evoke the 1950s, invited some local media to come visit their newly reopened store at Phipps Plaza and learn about their company. The store in the Phipps Plaza mall had been there for many years, but the entire mall food court was gutted last year, along with several clothing stores on the upper floors, to make way for the Legoland Discovery Center. By all accounts, this attraction is doing very good business – there seems to be a ridiculous amount of things to do here – but the restaurant’s shindig was held at the time that Legoland closes each weekday, so we didn’t see any rampaging mobs of children, or gangs of obsessed grown-ups desperately digging through the bins in the gift shop looking for the last, elusive bricks that they need in order to replace the red half-height two-by-sixes that they lost when their Harry Potter Quidditch set fell off the mantle and some of the Legos fell into the fireplace.

Yeah, that’s right, I said LEGOS. I PLURALIZED your brand, Lego. And I might do it again. Continue reading “Johnny Rockets, Atlanta GA”