A Concert and Late Night Atlanta Local Food

Missy Tippens

Last weekend, I got spend a fun evening with my middle child. He and I both love classical music, so this season, I bought a 4-concert series to the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. My son and I selected three performances for our series, and then for the fourth, I picked one I knew my husband would love (it was called Cirque de la Symphonie and involved acrobats, jugglers, etc. to help entertain him!) :)

This past weekend we got to enjoy Brahms German Requiem and also a world premier of American composer Jonathan Leshnoff's Zohar. Both were performed with the outstanding ASO Chorus (I usually choose concerts that involve the Chorus).

Before the concert, we ate an early dinner. But we ordered a small pizza that turned out smaller than we expected. My son probably could have eaten the whole thing. LOL

So afterward, I offered to feed him again. Where do you go at 11 pm in downtown Atlanta with a hungry college kid??

Delia's Chicken Sausage Stand!

Go now and check out their menu. You will be drooling. Then please come back. I have more to share!

This is the second time my son has taken me there, and I love it. They have such a cool menu. And organic, locally sourced, handcrafted chicken sausage made into a variety of dishes.

Here, he's eating the Chickie Philly Classic. It told him to eat up, because those green peppers were probably the only vegetable he'd have all week! (He's not my healthiest eating child.)

I went in the place thinking I would have dessert (saving that item for last). But I got sidetracked when I saw the sweet potato pancakes and chicken sausage links! Once I ate those, I couldn't even consider dessert.

And the real draw for my son? THE CAKE SHAKE. Milk and sugar and vanilla with...a whole cupcake thrown in!! Red velvet was his choice. These are so good! Next time you want to make a milkshake, toss in a whole cupcake, icing and all. You'll be amazed! (Yes, you guessed it. That's my recipe for this week.) :)

Next time you're in Atlanta, check out Delia's. There are several items on the menu I now want to try. One is The Double D Delight: a Krispy Kreme doughnut, sliced, grilled and filled with cherry cream cheese, topped with a chicken sausage patty. Oh. My. Stars.

www.missytippens.com

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The End of an Era -- Evans Fine Foods

Last weekend was my daughter's Parents and Family Weekend at college. So my husband and I spent Friday and Saturday with her. On Saturday morning we took her and some of our longtime friends to one of our favorite restaurants that we ate at while we were in graduate school.

Evans Fine Foods has been in Decatur, Georgia, since 1946.

I can't count how many bacon and cheese omelets I've eaten there! In fact, it's the place I first met my then-boyfriend's parents who became my in-laws.

Our friends, who live in the area, had heard a rumor that the place was closing. Sadly, our waiter confirmed it. (And I just saw this article today that shares the fact of the closing as well as the restaurant's history.) I was so sad to hear the news. I snapped this shot on the way out the door to remember by.

Since we now live an hour outside Atlanta, I hadn't eaten there in years. But Evans will always be a part of my history. In fact, I hope I'll hear that some group has come to the rescue and will keep the place open.

Do you have any restaurants that hold special meaning to you?

www.missytippens.com

More NYC Eats - The Counter

RWA 2015 was outstanding in so many ways. One of them being that we were in one of the largest cities in the world, with some of the greatest restaurants in the world. Like this one.

Welcome to The Counter, a great little burger joint in the heart of Times Square.

At The Counter, you can order one of their specialty burgers or build your own. At first I was tempted to build my own. But I could do that anywhere. Time to live dangerously and order the house specialty. In this case, it was called a Counter Burger.

I had already dug in before I remembered to take a picture.

Sharp provolone cheese, mushrooms, lettuce, tomato and onion strings piled on top of a 1/3 lb. burger and served on a brioche bun with sun dried tomato sauce. 

The only thing that could make it better was a side of sweet potato fries served with chipotle mayo.

When I ordered the fries, I was planning to share. However, it seems that everyone else at the table has ordered their own. 

And you notice how my burger was cut in half? I thought there was no was I'd be able to eat the whole thing.

Boy, was I wrong.

And those fries? I ate every single one of them, too.

Good thing this was the day of the Harlequin party so I could boogie off all those calories.

Yes, this was one of those unforgettable meals. One I'm not sure I even want to try to recreate at home. Because if I did, I'd eat nothing but. And let's face it, a girl can't boogie for three hours straight every night of the week.

What's your most unforgettable meal? 

Enjoying the Small, Local Places

Jan here, hoping you all had a good weekend! I heard a rumor Virginia shared a delectable recipe on Saturday. If you missed it, like I did, scoot over to her post (but then hurry back here!) Virginia's Saturday post

Wow! I'm going to have to try some of the Lilac Jelly. Our lilacs are just beginning to bud, so the timing is perfect.

You might be wondering what I was doing, since I was AWOL from the cafe.

Well, I did the most fun thing - my daughter and I took a quick road trip to Omaha :)

Now wait a minute, you big city types! Don't laugh! You can't fit the amenities of my beloved Black Hills in the same hundred square miles as a city, so for us, Omaha is the big time!

We had a great weekend. We met Carrie's friend, Sarah, and Sarah's other friend, Denise there (they're from Kansas), and we also met up with Sarah's Aunt Karen from Iowa. Karen and I attempted to keep the activities sane, and I think we succeeded!

The Deco XV

We stayed in this beautiful, recently renovated hotel in Omaha's Old Town, right across the street from...

The Orpheum

...this gorgeous theater. Originally constructed as a vaudeville theater in 1927, this lovely place underwent major renovations in 2002.

Here's a picture of the grand lobby. My camera couldn't do it justice!

And the auditorium itself is just as grand - too grand for my little camera. But if you want to know more about the theater and see more (and better pictures), go to their website: The Orpheum Theater, Omaha

Oh, did I forget to tell you what we did there?

Oh. My. Stars. What a great show! The cast, the singing, the sets, the costumes, the orchestra.... We had so much fun!

But what does one do in a city when it's time to eat? You sample the best local restaurants, of course!

To my shame, though, I forgot to take my camera when we ate. (I know, I know - any self-respecting food blogger always takes her camera to a meal!)

But I can still share our scrumptious meals.

Saturday night dinner was at an elegant place called Saigon Surface. Their website shows off some of their dishes: Saigon Surface. If you're ever in Omaha, make sure to try this place. You'll need a reservation (unless you show up at 5:30 on a Saturday night looking desperate and starving!), but it's worth the wait if you don't have one.

I had never had Vietnamese food before, but we guessed it was probably similar to Thai, which we all like. I had their Ginger Chicken Clay Pot. Yumm! And we were right - the flavors were similar to Thai, but with their own spicy zing.

After the show, we went to the hotel's restaurant for dessert (at home, it was WAY past my bedtime - but this is city life, right?) The restaurant is called The Zin Room, and they were more than willing to serve us some cheesecake. Carrie and I split a piece. Even with cheesecake, there's only so much room!

And then for Sunday morning breakfast, we wandered around the block from the hotel to The Culprit Cafe. I love - absolutely love - old world style bakeries, and this is a great one. I had a Frittata Sandwich with carmelized onions, swiss cheese, and cob-smoked ham on rustic boule bread. The Culprit Cafe

Forget any diet - I could live on those sandwiches!

Carrie and I also split a Cinnamon Roll, which was melt-in-your-mouth delicious.

And then the best surprise! The chef brought a plate of beignet "ends" to our table because he though we'd enjoy them.

(I actually think it was because of the three lovely 20-something ladies at our table!)

So now it's your turn! Tell us about your favorite local restaurant, or your favorite "big city" restaurant to visit - and be sure to include their website address if they have one!

We want to share in the vicarious pleasure, don't we?