Edible Sunshine

Two thoughts - both citrus related.

First - I love citrus, it is edible sunshine. however, getting at ti sometimes can be a bit of a pill. If you have fingernails or you don't for that matter - you are familiar with the tiresome and often frustrating act of peeling a citrus with your nails/no nails. It is absolutely fruit drudergy and the impatience you feel rising as you attempt to access the sweet flesh inside is often unbearable. Behold - the citrus thingy. Not sure where I got it..I think maybe ma put it in my stocking one year, but I am totally enamored of it. Only an inch or so of plastic, you run in downt he side of a citrus several tiems and it makes peeling fast and easy. God bless you cirtus thingy.

I found it online for $1.50 at Amazon - It's worth it: http://www.amazon.com/MSC-Citrus-Peeler/dp/B000FRZCKQ

Note my husband giving me a big orangey middle finger for making him be my hand model. Yes , he is very clever...

Second - while in France we had the combination of grapefruit and avocado. It was delightful. Who knew? So I attempted to recreate it the other day with a decent amount of success. Probalby because there is little involved with the combination. Here is it served with chicken burgers which were a nice light main with the avocado/grapefruit with it.

Avocado and Grapefruit Salad
(serves 2)
1 ruby red grapefruit
1 avocado
salt and pepper to taste
pinch of ginger

Slice grapefruit in about four circular slices.
Cut avocado in half and twist slightly to seperate. Gently remove the pit fromt he second half with a knife tip.
Mash avocado with a bit (about 1-2tb) grapefruit juice, pinch of ginger and salt and pepper to taste. The consistency should be thick and textured versus thin/puree.
Place a little avocado on plate, place a piece of grapefruit on top, add another dollop of avocado, another slice of grapefruit and one mor dollop...Volia! Sweet, rich, tangy, bright...lovely. Nice with grilled fish as well.

Nice Tryma Kyma

The husband and I ventured out on our first date as spouses to Kyma. A BLG card initiated the experience.We stylishly arrived at 4:30pm on a Friday...much too early to be seated, but were welcomed nonetheless to sit and have a drink at the bar. The drinks were well poured and enjoyed.

I imagine that the place is gorgeous in the evening hours,and fabulous in the dark...very sexy nooks and what not, but with the summer sun shining in...let's say white hides not age. I feel the pain of attempting to have white anything in my life...I can't imagine trying to keep that place immaculate...but that said, it should have been.

The service, while attentive, was appreciated though the staff in general were a bit tiresome as a whole as they were grouped about canoodling and texting and whatnot. This place is not a diner, so I would have hoped for a more refined approach to the atmosphere. (Canoodling is okay pre-opening...I realize we were early, but after 5pm on a Friday, a no-no...especially in Buckhead!)The food had its high points and low. I loved the option to have a series of meze for the meal as I love to taste everything...that is a high point. Now onto the food itself.

Melitzanusala (eggplant, mint, walnut)Good, loved the hint of mint, but think I like babghanoush better with its smokiness.
Htipiti (red pepper, feta)A-ight.
An unnamed bright yellow spread (yellow split peas, lemon)I really liked this one, super bright flavor.Grilled pita that accompanied was warm, delicious and retained just a hint of grilled tste - very good.
Dolmades (grape leaves stuffed with bulgur, tomato, onion. mint, cumin-yogurt)We are a huge fan of dolmades, and every culture makes them slightly different. These were quite lovely and different. Plump, fresh and the cumin-yogurt I think really was beautiful with it.
Baby Maine Calamari These were very good. Similar to the kind I make at home...super light with only a hint of crisp - no heavy breading, the squid itself, meltingly tender. Well done.
Saganaki (pan fried cheese)This was overwhelmingly salty, rich and warm. I loved it. The build up on our palates from the meze in this order peaked here.
Braised Rabbit mousaka And the crescendo descended. This dish was light and creamy...but that is kinda all you could taste...there was a nuance of nutmeg floating about, but by this time in our dinner, our tastebuds had been focusing on bright, acidic lushness...and this dainty lactic dish could not compete. I would serve this earlier in the meal if one hoped for proper praise of it.
Lambchops (3day marinade, wood grilled, oregano, tzatziki and greek fries)Very good. Cooked perfectly medium rare. Mine was better than the husbands. It was smaller and burst with flavor. I admit I gnawed the bone a bit (I NEVER do this, not even with ribs). He gave a piece of his thicker chop, and sadly it contained not the herbal boost of mine...understandable, as it was a thicker cut..but avoidable. Still good though.

Overall, a reasonable evening. Reasonable price. Not our favorite of the Buckhead Life Group restaurants.

how many Guys does it take...

I'm going to come clean--I'm a burger snob. In fact, it was an overwhelming craving to eat a cheeseburger that broke my 8-year streak, changing my status from "pescatarian" to "omnivore" 5 years ago.

I'd been resisting going to Five Guys because I'd heard way too many people raving. I mean, really...if they don't cook my burger until I order it, and I can't have it bloody as hell, what's the point?

I finally gave in today, and the point is that this place is competing with McDonalds, not with the Vortex. Yes, it is better than Mickey D's, but not that much better. And, to be honest, I like McD's fries better. There were things about the Five Guy's fries that I liked -- that they were obviously made from real unpeeled potatoes, that the establishment offers malt vinegar (don't ask me where this Southern girl picked up a thing for malt vinegar). But they didn't have enough salt, for starters, and they weren't all that crispy. I think I ate about 10 and threw the rest out.

And so, the illustrious burger. I got the small cheeseburger. It was juicy, especially for a well-done burger--I will give them that--and I liked the array of toppings offered, especially the grilled onions and mushrooms. But they got my order wrong. I waited for 10 minutes for this thing, and it had mayonnaise on it. The only thing I asked them NOT to put on it. I hate mayonnaise.

I hate mayonnaise in a passionate way in which it is impossible for me to ignore the mayonnaise residue on my sandwich after I wipe it off. As infrequently as I order there, McDonald's always gets my no mayo order correct.

My receipt clearly stated "NO mayo"--that was it. Everything BUT mayo. Gah.

So, yes, Five Guys was okay, but I don't really get what the fuss is about. If they had gotten my order correct, they might have earned one additional star, but I really can't see myself going back. It would be one thing if it was a great value, but it's not that much cheaper than the Vortex (considering there is no beer involved).

Score: Lobby 1, Harrison Ford 0

We dropped into Lobby at Twelve for a pre-movie dinner tonight. The dinner was much more successful than the movie. The new Indiana Jones is...kind of bad. Even Cate Blanchett can't rescue it.

Anyway, so the restaurant. It was really dead at 6:30 when we arrived for our reservation and we were seated at a huge booth by ourselves. So huge, in fact, that we quickly made the decision to sit on the same side of the booth together. Schmoopiness aside, I kind of like it when empty restaurants don't try to put you in the window so that passersby will think there are people in there. The seats were kind of uncomfortable, especially for my tall husband, but the decor of the restaurant was understated and spacious. The kitchen is huge and open with bar seating overlooking the workspace. I guess these guys want the customers to have confidence that they are above board!

We started with glasses of wine--he the XYZin, me the Trivento Malbec. Both were good, and the pours were generous. The glasses were a little on the pricey side, so the generousity was definitely necessary for them to be a decent value. First course arrived quickly -- the shrimp ravioli, which our server recommended. It was really good, topped with a shrimpy beurre blanc sauce, peas, asparagus and tomato. It was very spring-y.

Entrees were appropriately timed, and attractively plated. He had the duck breast which was served with a mushroom egg roll. Both the duck and the spring roll thingie were really tasty--well seasoned, not greasy. My Boy doesn't normally like mushrooms, but the preparation really took advantage of the earthiness of the mushrooms. I especially liked that the cabbage and mushrooms in the roll weren't minced beyond recognition as they often are in stuffings for Asian dishes.

I wanted a recommendation from the server who did the thing that I hate the most when I ask for a recommendation--he asked what I was in the mood for. Um...I want to know what the specialities of the house are and your personal favorites. If I was in the mood for something in particular, I wouldn't have asked for a recommendation. Gah. That response makes me think either that the servers don't like or haven't tried the food. Anyway, other than my personal hang ups, the service was great.

I ended up having the prime rib which wasn't really anything to write home about. It was strangely bland and came with a horseradish sauce that really overpowered the meat in a weird way. It was tasty, of course, but I liked the duck dish better.

Sides are served to the table, and appear to be seasonal. We had beets, english peas, Israeli couscous and mashed butter with a little bit of potatoes in it. All were tasty, even the beets, and I really don't like beets. The peas were especially good. And my prime rib was really good slathered with the butter...erm...potatoes.

The bill came to about $90 which seems reasonable for the value that we got from the meal, and the service was attentive, but not rushed. The convenience of having a nice place to have a solid meal and go to the movies (or any of the other attractions in Atlantic Station) makes the creepiness of Atlantic Station worth it. Give me good food and H&M, and I can handle feeling like I'm walking around a fake movie set of a deserted city. There probably won't be zombies wandering in during dinner...I hope.

We made our movie with time to spare, and our bellies were satisfied, though our nostalgia for the original Indiana Jones trilogy was a bit tarnished. Harrison Ford is pretty spry for a senior citizen, but it's not exactly a newsflash that swashbuckling adventurers/archaeologists don't chase aliens. Le sigh.