Month: August 2016

Atlanta Foodies Meetup…Sandy Springs

I was heading to my first Atlanta Foodies Meetup. I hit traffic not once but twice but I was determined to make it to my first Atlanta Foodies restaurant crawl. I am what’s known in Atlanta as an OTP-er. It means I live outside the perimeter of 285. The city lays ITP, Inside The Perimeter. Generally speaking I live about 45 minutes outside the city of Atlanta. I know if I plan to make it anywhere in the city I need at least an hour and fifteen minutes so I am not late. On this particular day that was not enough time. I ended up spending about two hours trying to make it to my Atlanta Foodies meetup. I made it, late and a little frazzled but I made it. I do not let where I live affect me meeting new people and trying out new restaurants to share with you guys.

I finally arrived at Tupelo Honey Cafe . Our group organizer, Audrica of Napping on Mondays, was so gracious in helping me not feel bad about being late. I quickly got a seat and was introduced to the small group of attendees. I was a little late so food had already been brought to the table. What a spread it was. I think the pictures will do better than the words I could ever type. Between our waitress and the manager, we were made to feel like we would never want to leave and truly we didn’t want to. But there were more restaurants to visit and good eats wait for no one. Make sure you check them out in the Gateway Plaza in Sandy Springs.

C.I.P with our lovely waitress Bianca

Biscuit with in house made blueberry jam

Fried Green Tomato on a of Creamy Grits

C.I.P. and the manager, John

Grilled Okra with Ranch Dressing

Sharonda of Pay or Wait, doing that pic thing

I bet you wanna eat your greens with some Grilled Okra and Deep Fried Brussels Sprouts with the in house made Ranch Dressing

Fried Green Tomatoes on a bed of Creamy Grits

Burrata Cheese served with Pesto and Oven Roasted Tomatoes and Micro Greens

How we ended our meal , The Tiki Bomb

Two types of Tacos, Fried Chicken with Pickled Red Cabbage and Fried Shrimp with a Corn Jalapeno

The Peach Bell, a must have cocktail made with moonshine. Need I say more?

The second stop on our restaurant crawl was Urban Cookhouse. All I can say is that I didn’t know I liked broccoli salad until UC. It was sweet and crunchy and just downright yummy. UC is a family friendly restaurant. It even has a drive thru for those days when you just can’t manage to get out of the car or don’t want to fuss with the kids inside a restaurant. The must have item on the menu is the Half Baked Cookie……MY GAWD! Seriously it’s not something you want to share with anyone else. So make sure everyone gets their own. Check them out the next time you’re in Sandy Springs.

The restaurant’s motto…Farm to fire to table

Our spread, pulled pork, turkey, ham

Macaroni and cheese, broccoli salad

Grilled steak and onions, chicken salad and fresh fruit salad

Introducing The Half Baked Cookie

Even Sharonda was getting in on the pics

Our finally stop on this restaurant crawl was Buttermilk Sky. Now technically we had dessert over at Urban Cookhouse but…Who can say no to pie? I sure couldn’t, so off to Buttermilk Sky we walked. At this point in the crawl the ethnic fatigue was starting to kick in. I knew I would still need to make it back to Conyers, you know OTP almost an hour away. I still pushed forward because my readers need to know what the Gateway Plaza in Sandy Springs has to offer them. I did it for you : )…LOL! Buttermilk Sky is a quaint little bakery that offers what I came to realize was some damned good pie. Kimmie ,the owner, took time out to chat with us about her bakery and what it offers. (Check out my Facebook page for the videos) She then presented us with goodie bags with what else? … PIE. We got to take home her I-40 pie, which has fresh grated coconut, pecans and chocolate. Now anyone that knows me knows that I am not a fan of coconut but that pie was really good. We also got the All-American favorite…apple pie. I sampled it cold and then reheated it the next morning for breakfast (I know it wasn’t the healthiest breakfast but it sure did taste good. The green tea helped to balance it out some…LOL). The crust on the pies were so buttery and flaky. And the fillings weren’t too sweet. They seemed almost perfect. I can’t wait to go back. Make sure to give Kimmie a visit and let her know you read about her on The Chef In Pearls.

Pie…Pie…Pie…

C.I.P. and Audrica, of Napping on Mondays inside Buttermilk Sky

Audrica and Kimmie inside Buttermilk Sky

C.I.P and Kimmie, owner of Buttermilk Sky

The unboxing in Conyers

The I-40 Pie

The Apple Pie

I look forward to the next Atlanta Foodies Meetup. I got to meet some wonderful new bloggers including Shana of Technotini, Loren of Dating with Passports, Sharonda of Pay or Wait and our organizer Audrica of Napping on Mondays. I can’t wait to make more memories with Atlanta Foodies Meetup. Now you have 3 new restaurants to check out. Go forward and make new memories. Until next time.

~The Chef In Pearls

August 26, 2016
Your New YP Insider

Yep, you read that right. I am one of the newest YP Insider member. What is that you ask? Well, we are a group of individuals (mostly bloggers) hand selected to do reviews on businesses in the local Atlanta area. We get to have first hand experiences brought to us by the Yellow Pages and share our views on them. We write about everything from the local car detailing services to even the best place to have plastic surgery done. We have you covered in the review department on whatever you may be interested in.

Last night as apart of the YP Insiders, I got to attend an event at The Watershed. It’s a local Atlanta restaurant that serves “Local, seasonal, soulful dishes inspired by Southern tradition and prepared with present day artistry.” You can find out more about them here. We had an opportunity to take part in small bites, wines and beer; all while networking. We even got a chance to meet Chef Zeb Stevens, the man behind the food.. Nothing better than getting to meet the person creating what you’re eating. He’s been with The Watershed family for a little over 18 months. He prides himself on bringing local and seasonal foods to the tables at The Watershed, while trying to keep within the southern feel of the menu. I love that he chose to do fried boneless, skinless thighs as opposed to the chicken breasts. We all know there’s more flavor in those thighs.

Tuille skirt : Eshakti Metallic Pink Tee: Lane Bryant Pearls: all me

When you feeling yourself as a YP Insider

Doing the model face… I guess

Our choices for the evening

THe YP Insider spread for the night

same food different angle

Fried Skinless, Boneless Chicken Thighs

Deviled Eggs with Bacon Jam

My sampling for the night

Didn’t partake but I am sure they were good.

C.I.P. and Chef Zeb, the man behind the food.

Yellow flowers for Yellow Pages

Wine anyone?

I started the evening with a little bubbly.

YP Insider photographer for the night

The YP Insider Hostess for the evening The Lovely Erica of Erica Eats

I look forward to other great events as a YP Insider. Being able to meeting other Insiders and saying my piece about businesses in and around the metro Atlanta area. So check out the reviews on the YP app or visit the site, you just might read one I’ve written. And when you find a moment go make some memories over at The Watershed. Let me know what you think.

~The Chef In Pearls

August 2, 2016