Atlanta's Taste of the Nation

On Wednesday, I was incredibly lucky to volunteer at Atlanta's 2010 Taste of the Nation, a benefit event for Share our Strength, an organization dedicated to ending childhood hunger. Along with a live and silent auction, more than 50 of Atlanta's top restaurants housed tasting booths with their best food and wine. So when I say volunteer, I actually mean eat a ton of fantastic food without footing the $250 bill for a ticket. I worked with a well-known Atlanta photographer, who knew absolutely everyone and shot that gem of a picture above of me with Pano Karatassos, the co-chair of the event. Also, Jane Fonda appeared as a distinguished guest and most of my responsibilities consisted of following her around all night (further proof that the celeb gods are shining down on me).

After stopping by most of the tables at least once, I've compiled a Top Five List of Atlanta restaurants that I need to visit. I obviously lied here when I said I was going to stop spending money at great restaurants this summer, who was I kidding?

1.Woodfire Grill - Chef Kevin Gillespie (formerly on Top Chef) just seems so cool

2. Ted's Montana Grill - One word: Milkshake

3. Tuk Tuk Thai Loft

4. Bluepointe - I've already written about this place, but I desperately need to rediscover the chocolate/caramel parfait dessert featured at Taste

5. Spice Market

Celeb Sightings

I have an abysmal record of recognizing celebrities and pseudo-celebs in the real world. The last time I was in NYC, I found myself strolling along behind Jay Leno for minutes until I finally realized that all the smiles and stares of passersby were not, to my dismay, directed at me but at the owner of the significantly more voluminous head of hair in front of me. But for some reason, the celebrity gods have smiled upon me this year and thrown some very unforgettable stars in my direction.

In order of how much I want to date them (from most to least), here are the three most recent sightings. I've also included then and now pictures for your amusement.

Mark-Paul Gosselaar aka ZACH Freakin' MORRIS

He's seriously adorable. And his hair defies all laws of gravity. As Emory's 2010 Class Day Speaker, Zach (yeah, I really can't call him by his real name) reminded many of us why this guy was our first crush and reassured us that sixteen years after Saved by the Bell went off the air, he can still make us swoon.

Owen Wilson

See his signature above. I watched him write it, probably with a little bit of drool hanging out, at Emory's outdoor pool, where I've worked for the past few years. In Atlanta to shoot Hall Pass, Wilson fancied a bit of a swim and thought the best place to go unrecognized was at a college campus with students reading People magazine at poolside. He even used those little hand-flipper things. Definitely not conspicuous. Ranking him at number 2 was a close call, since he and Zach are equally hunky, but his downfall was that he wore a plaid shirt - I've mentioned how I feel about this - in 90 degree weather.

Ahhnuld Schwarzenegger

      

Sorry Arnold, you are a huge human being and your hand is bigger than my face, so you are number 3 on my list of dateability. But you did, as promised, "pump me up" during the keynote address at commencement, so you hold a soft spot in my heart. All politics aside, the Governator was an entertaining and fun commencement speaker. Parts of his speech read more like a comedy routine, and the most memorialized line will surely be his timely remark that "I was going to speak in Arizona but I thought I'd be deported."

I realize that had I not gone to Emory, and been present at work, Class Day and graduation - three things I really had little choice over whether or not to go - I wouldn't have come face to face with these celebs. So really (Dad, I hope you're reading this), that $200 grand was TOTALLY worth it.

Goodbye, Good Food

Got lots to catch up on, folks. I'm going to give a semi-brief overview of most of the restaurants I've visited in May, which I have lovingly dubbed "The Month of the Food I Will Not Be Able to Afford For Years After Graduation." Some of these places aren't even expensive, but due to my 'I'd rather travel than eat real food' attitude, I'm planning that most of my meals this summer will consist of Kroger brand oatmeal. And since I'm living with Casey, it will obviously involve heavy amounts of chocolate.

So this lovely month commenced with my birthday meal at TAP in Midtown. Props to this place for being open at 3:45pm, which oddly enough, is the time that most restaurants close between lunch and dinner. I admit that was my primary motivation for taking my parents here when they arrived for this in-between meal (linner? dunch? hmm...) but it turned out to be a great place to go. Dad and I ordered the Steak Eggs Benedict, which was fantastic. It had a flavorful mustard bearnaise instead of hollandaise and came with some roasted potatoes. I don't remember what Mom got at this point, which means it was probably too healthy to be memorable. I feel obligated to recommend that you avoid sitting on their outdoor patio when windy - although it was fun for me to watch a table fly off the ground and into a busy sidewalk, I doubt the pedestrians found humor in the situation.

Next, for my birthday dinner with friends, a group of 10 met up at Apres Diem, right next to Midtown Arts Cinema. Pre-dinner was a bit of a comedy of errors, since originally our reservation was at Park Tavern at 7pm. When I got a call at 4pm from Park Tavern's manager saying they had to cancel the reservation, I had a minor freak out being that it was Cinco de Mayo and few restaurants had open reservations for such a big group. But the manager pulled through and made reservations for us at Apres Diem, including a round of drinks and appetizers for everyone. He's got it figured out - to all men discovering the subtleties of how to make up for your mistake(s), I suggest offering free food and drinks as your first reconcilatory move. Long story short, absolutely wonderful night with great food and friends.

Onto the graduation celebrations! Half of our grad meals took place in Daytona Beach for my brother's big day, but we had a couple great meals when we came back to Atlanta. The parents and I dropped in to Osteria 832 in the Highlands, and we all ordered pizzas. I remember that I loved the bread basket, but that might have been the bottle of wine talking. Pizza was nothing to rave about, but was good and definitely hit the spot.

Okay, I saved the best for last. The top meal of this honored month was easily my graduation dinner at Nava, a restaurant that brings some much-needed southwestern flavor to Buckhead. I knew that it was going to be a great meal when our peppy waiter brought out the jalapeno cornbread. I seriously cannot stop thinking about this bread. I want it always. Next, I ordered Sangria and shared a slew of tasty appetizers with the fam - favorites were the Grouper ceviche and Jumbo Lumb Crab fritters. For my entree, I got the Carolina Trout (with some cactus on the side, naturally) which was absolutely perfect. My only concern with this month of heavenly food is that I'm basically asking for Mercury poisoning with the amount of fish I've consumed. Whatever, everyone says to die happy. Anyway, we all loved our meals and like everything else, the dessert was phenomenal (see below).

Also, I'll be staying in Atlanta at least through August so I've gotten an extension on my excursions through the city! All suggestions welcome.