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Be still my beating heart. The restaurant that taught me what fresh New England seafood is all about is coming to Atlanta - just around the corner from my office. Yes, Legal Sea Foods, that 50+ year-old institution begun by a nice Jewish family in Boston, is expanding to the A-T-L. Joining franchise locations in  Florida and the D.C. area, the 9,000 square-foot restaurant will anchor the still-under-construction  Hilton Garden Inn adjacent to the Georgia Aquarium - and no, whale shark nor beluga whale is expected to be in the menu. If I were one of the Alaskan King Crabs, I might be nervous however. I have such fond memories of going to the Chestnut Hill Legals when I was at Brandeis, from the ‘men only’ dinner my dad and I shared when he drove me to Waltham from Savannah for my freshman orientation week to the ‘impress the girlfriend’ dinner where my meager credit card limit had already been exceeded, resulting in a hasty sprint down to the mall to retrieve some cash from an ATM. I can already taste the steamers, chowder and  yes, the belly-included fried clams.  The only negative - opening is not expected until NEXT winter. I’ll be biding my time until then.

Tags: aquarium, atlanta, Boston, hilton, legal sea foods

The whole city feels like ‘hot coals’ - we hit 97 yesterday. Uggh.

Tags: atlanta, Photography, red

Two violaceous turaco’s perched in the aviary at Zoo Atlanta on a recent visit.

Tags: atlanta, birds, Photography, Zoo, zoo-atlanta

I’ve meant to blog this earlier, but wanted to rave about the amazing performance Amy and I attended a few weeks ago of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra’s rendition of Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana as well as Szmanowski’s Symphony No. 37. We enjoyed dinner at the nearby Veni Vidi Vici with our friends Laura Najarian (second bassoon) and her husband, John Warren, who was sitting in with the clarinets for this performance.

The nearly hour-long Carmina Burana was amazing. The 200+ voice chorale was so powerful, so rich and so intense that this well-known piece was really transformed into something I’d never heard before. This was the finale of the ASO’s 2007 season. I hope Amy and I can get to a few performances next year even with baby number two in the house.

Tags: atlanta, atlanta_symphony_orchestra, carmina_burana, Music

Yesterday was a fabulous day. Yes, I am a year older, but it was really nice to hear from so many friends from near and far. The day began on a high note with Sam singing ‘Happy Birthday to Daddy’ from atop our bed. Soooo cute, I tell ya! To cap the day, Amy begrudgingly went along with my idea for dinner at local gourmet spot Quinones , which turned out to be a three-hour extravaganza that had to be one of the best dinner’s I’ve had in the A-T-L (the Dining Room at the Ritz or the now-defunct Seeger’s runs a close second). And Amy LOVED it! The room is far more intimate and romantic than parent restaurant Bacchanalia upstairs - with softer settings, real linen tablecloths, lovely pink water glasses, and a generally much less uptight wait staff than Amy and I had experienced in the two dinners we’ve had upstairs. So if we can find an excuse, we’ll head back again! There’s the cute touch of the stools for the ladies’ purses, the very comfortable banquette where we sat, and then, of course, the seemingly unending stream of beautiful tastes of heaven that the kitchen sent to our table.

The service was also stellar - including the lovely touch of the maitre’d calling me on my cell a few minutes after we left and thanking us for being such nice guests, hoping we return, wishing us luck with baby no. 2, etc. You just don’t see that sort of personal attention too often. It may have been that business was slow - over the course of the evening we were only one of four tables occupied in the venue - leaving at least another ten or so four-tops open. One complaint, though - the odd couple who sat down next to us with the gentleman wearing shorts and a really ugly Hawaiian shirt seemed out of place - then again, the last time we were at Bacchanalia someone sat near us wearing running shorts. I guess folks just don’t dress up, even for the most expensive restaurants in Atlanta.

Anyway, for those interested in the gory details, here is the breakdown of the ten-course tasting menu (with eight accompanying wine pairings).

• Amuse Bouche of Spring Onion Soup with Marscapone and Fine Herbs Profiterole; Prosecco with Creme de Cassis 
• Sweet Corn Custard with Roasted Porcini Mushrooms & Maine Lobster Salad; Gessami, Gramona 2005, Penedes
• Slightly Cured North Georgia Rainbow Trout with D’Avignon Radish & Preserved Artichoke; Sancerre ‘Les Baronnes’, Henri Bourgeois 2004, Loire Valley
• House-made Gnocchi with Roasted Morels, Summer Truffles & Chicken Juice; Marsannay Blanc, Domaine Charles Audoin 2004, White Burgundy
• Maine Halibut with Succotash of Hot House Tomatoes, Fava Beans & Maxibel Pole Beans; Chateauneuf-du-Pape Blanc, Les Sinards, Perrin & Fils 2005, Rhone Valley
• Breast of Moulard Duck with Spring Onions, English Peas & Straight-Neck Squash; Saint-Joseph ‘Offerus’ J-L Chave 2004, Rhone Valley Syrah
• Star Provisions Dry Aged Lamb Loin with Young Carrots, Local Rainbow Chard & Hakurei Turnips; Fisher Coach Insignia, Cabernet Sauvignon 2001, Napa Valley
• Sweet Grass Dairies ‘Constant Bliss’ Cows’ Milk Cheese with Candied Pecan
• Summer Melons paired with Summer Melon Sorbets in Honeysuckle Soup
• Warm Rhubarb Cobbler with Blueberry Ice Cream; Rosa Regale, Brachetto d’Acqui, Banfi 2006, Piemonte

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Tags: atlanta, birthday, dining, Food, restaurant, review

If only Atlanta weather could stay like this all year ’round! The weekend has been so beautiful. Mild, almost crisp mornings, not too hot in the afternoons. Amy says it’s like Aspen in the Summertime. Of course, we’ll be seeing the 90s here soon enough. These photos summarize what this time of year is all about - Sam working in the garden, Dad marinating some flank steak and grilling it up along with super-fresh asparagus and squash, and just-planted tomato plants in all their fuzzy glory beginning to bloom. 65 days and counting till we have some fresh goodies for our salads. Yum!

Slideshow of this photoset can be found here on Flickr. 

Tags: atlanta, Food, gardening, grill, sam

We got a late start to the day (Sam chilled in his crib for well over an hour after waking up) and decided to stick close to home. So Amy, Sam and I headed to ZooAtlanta. Some of the photos can be seen here below, or see the slideshow on Flickr here.

Tags: atlanta, birds, Photography, Zoo

Sam and I spent a good part of the day Sunday hanging out at the Zoo while Amy was playing a gig. We had an absolute blast - check out the slideshow here.

Tags: atlanta, grantpark, Photography, Zoo

Sam helps out by watering one of our hydrangeas. It’s his fave thing to do.

Tags: atlanta, gardening, sam

Sam and I spent the Sunday before last at one of our favorite spots - the Georgia Aquarium. We were there very early, and beat the crowds. On top of that, we managed to watch as the sea lions were fed - they were amazing. Sam nearly took a nap in the quiet of the main tank viewing room, but didn’t succumb in the end. Full gallery is here.

Tags: aquarium, atlanta, georgia_aquarium, Photography, sam, sea_lions