A SCIENTIFIC FOOD STUDY

Stacey and I have been having this conversation/conducting this scientific study for about two months now. It is a very complex and intricate food study. It required some really deep thinking on our part. It also required us to eat a lot. Because of the complicated manner in which we came to our conclusions we don't expect the average person to completely grasp the results of our study.
But, we will try to explain it to you.

About 4 years ago Stacey and I were at a food event and ran into the the guys who ran the kitchen at The Feed Store. The Feed Store is in our south side neighborhood and has been open for 5 or 6 of years at that point. So when Stacey and I came across The Feed Store booth at this event we were kinda surprised as we never saw them at other food events.

We had been at this event for hours and had had our fill of food and drink by the time we came across The Feed Store booth. We were on our way out, but we had to stop to say howdy and confirm it was in fact the same restaurant in our neighborhood.
There were two chefs manning the booth. Peter was the Executive Chef and Cooper was the Sous-Chef de Cuisine. We ask if they were in fact the Feed Store in Collage Park ? "yes" they were. Pete quickly added that they were the new chefs. He said he knew that the old Feed Store sucked and told us he and Cooper had fixed that. We told them we never thought it sucked, told them it was hit or miss, but it never really sucked They told us about some of the dishes they were cooking, they seemed pretty excited, which made Stacey and I excited about trying the Feed Store again.

So we did. It wasn't long before we bellied up to some really good food It was like having a new restaurant in the neighborhood. And we hit it hard for a long time. Most times we didn't even see a menu. Usually Cooper came out and told us not to order that he would cook for us. I bet every time Cooper saw us walk in he thought to himself let's see what I can get the Hartleys to eat this time.

So that's how it was for a long time. Then Cooper left the Feed Store for Restaurant Eugene. Being considered the best restaurant in town by many, this was a good move for Cooper. But, Cooper wanted to cook. On line, in the kitchen, in the middle of all the chaos from a slammed front house. And he wasn't getting to do that at Restaurant Eugene. So his next move was Livingston. Not sure how long he was there, but not long ago, four or five months ago, Peter went to work as the executive Chef for a huge wing and beer chain. So along comes Cooper, back to the Feed Store. Top Dog. Head Chef. With a big ole new tattoo.

So, Cooper has just come out with a new menu there at The Feed Store. It is not completely new, there was lot's of good stuff left from Peters menu. But, I'm sure Cooper was eager to get his own menu out. It's a good menu and it was a important part of data for our Scientific Food Study.

So this is how our food study went. It's complicated so try and follow. What happened was this. I had a hundred dollar gift card for Rathburns. Everybody knows Rathburns. One of the hottest restaurants in town. He actually has three restaurants in Atlanta. Anyway we had that and we had another gift card for about the same amount at another one of Atlantas best restaurants, Holman & Finch. So this is what we did. Read carefully, it gets complicated.
What we did was one night we went to Rathburns for dinner, the next night we went to Holman Finch for dinner and on the third night we rose form the dead. Just kiddin we didn't rise from the dead we went to The Feed Store for dinner. This is where we came to the startling conclusion of our food study. We concluded that the meal at The Feed Store was as good as and in some cases better than both Rathburns and Holman & Finch.

Which led me to the conclusion that if you have yet to dine at The Feed Store your stupid.

LOCAL THREE

BACK IN OCTOBER I WAS INTRODUCED TO THE GUYS AT LOCAL THREE KITCHEN AND BAR. A VERY NICE LADY WORKING WITH LOCAL THREE THOUGHT MY PAINTINGS WOULD BE A GOOD FIT FOR THE IDEA BEHIND THE REHABBED DINNING ROOM. WELL ONE THING LED TO ANOTHER AND I ENDED UP BUILDING TONS OF STUFF FOR THEM.

THIS HERE BAR WAS AN OAK TREE THAT FELL IN THE ATLANTA AREA. WE HAD A GUY SLICE US TWO PIECES THAT WERE EACH 4" THICK, 12' LONG AND ABOUT 40" WIDE. WE CUT OFF A PIECE ABOUT 14" WIDE FROM EACH AND I JOINED THEM TO MAKE A THIRD PIECE. I FINISHED THEM AND NOW THEY ARE THE BAR AT L3.

THE THREE PIG PAINTINGS ARE MY WORK AS WELL AS ALL THE TABLE TOPS YOU CAN SEE. THERE ARE MORE YOU DON'T SEE. I DID ABOUT 30 TOPS FROM ANTIQUE PINE FOR L3.

LOCAL THREE WAS RESTAURANT JOEL IN SEPTEMBER 2010. NEXT THING YA KNOW IT IS L3 AND THE ORANGE GLASS TILE WALL JOEL HAD INSTALLED HAD TO GO. THE ORANGE TILE WAS BEAUTIFUL, BUT IT WAS THE SIGNATURE PIECE OF THE JOEL DINNING ROOM. SO I COVERED IT WITH SALVAGED MATERIALS. SHUTTERS, ROOFING TIN, OLD LUMBER ECT. AND MADE IT THE SIGNATURE PIECE OF THE LOCAL THREE DINNING ROOM.

A BAR CRAWL IN OLD SAN JUAN

Stacey and I have been to San Juan, Puerto Rico. maybe a half dozen times. We like it there. The rooms are cheap, the beach is always nearby and the restaurants are good.

Last time there, we took a taxi to Old San Juan and did a little "bar" crawl.

Stacey and I had mapped out some spots to visit in Old San Juan for our latest trip. We had rented a studio cond across the street from the beach and only about 15 minutes from Old San Juan. We were there for a wedding, but Monday we were free and we wanted to find a few places we had read about. Places to eat and or drink. Old restaurants and hotels we found in magazines and travel books. Places we hoped would not be full of tourist.

We were to meet up with niece and husband Monday a.m. but we had no luck getting them on the phone. Not being able to reach niece on the phone and knowing that niece had danced with the label of "BLACK" the night before at her brothers wedding, we thought she might be hurtin.
So we headed off to a near by spot for a Bloody Mary. It was the worst restaurant and the worst BM I have ever had in my life. The reason we went to this place is cause the day before I looked in the front door when we walked by and thought it might have a nice view. This is what we got for a view. We were able to sit in that window and have a bad drink. With that view. Not bad.


We continued to reach out to niece and husband and finally they called and said "where are you?". We said "at the Hotel El Convento in Old San Juan come on and meet us". And they did. Good times.

Stacey and I were walking through Old San Juan trying to find a tapas bar we had read about. We had read how good and authentic the food was. Just like a tapas bar in Barcelona. When we found the address it was at the Hotel El Convento. When we ask about the tapas bar we were informed it was not open until 5 p.m. It was about 1 p.m. so we ask where we might get a drink and the bellmen told us the bar in the court yard was open and he showed us the way.

This was an awesome place. To start with some guy was playing a classical music on a piano.

We looked around and saw no one. Just the guy playing piano. We walked toward the bar as the bar tender showed up. We ask if he was open, he said he was, we ordered drinks and ask about the hotel we were in. Bar tender handed us a pamphlet, told us to go sit and he would bring our drinks.

Looking through the pamphlet we learned that Hotel El Convento was once a convent.Built in 1651. In 1995 15 million dollars were spent on a renovation. It still looked old to me. Which was a good thing. It had been beautiful restored. Click here and read about all the changes the place went through Between 1651 and 1995. We sat in the bar in the courtyard surround by balconies about 4 stories tall. There were trees in the court and tons of vegetation. We actually met the lady who's job was to take of the plants. She was very proud. The 4 stories of balconies accommodated the guest rooms. Outside each guest door were 4 chairs and a table. Looked like a nice place to have a morning coffee or afternoon cocktail. I really want to go back and spend a couple nights in this hotel. I bet is it haunted with old nuns.

After a couple beers in the courtyard bar we headed out to find La Mallorquina. Founded in 1848 La Mallorquina is advertised at the oldest restaurant to operate nonstop in the same spot in America. Some how we knew we wanted to have a drink here. We had read about it some where. We were greeted by a lovely man who was about 90 years old and 4' tall. He invited us in and he told us about the two lunch specials. We sat at the bar took in the oldness of this place. Straight out of a Humphrey Bogart movie. We had a drink and decided to split one of the lunch specials just to check out the food. It was good. Rice and pork wrapped in a banana leaf. With black beans of course. We had another drink.

We learned the third spot we wanted to visit was no longer open so we though we would walk a while. Old San Juan is great to look at, but soon one feels crowded by all the tourist. So we ducked into the local brew pub.

Thank you, I know smart move. But, a totally different atmosphere. Everything was new. Big open kitchen and they were getting ready for a busy night. There were 3 chefs and they were all hard at work. We did a tasting of about 5 beers. Good stuff. We then left for a meal at Varita.

Varita is one of three restaurants owned by Chef Wilo Benet. I did not know this, but he was on one of the Top Chef series. The place was real cool to look at and the food was good. I had a huge piece of roasted pig. We had lot's of different food and it was all good.
check it out here.

Here are some photos Stacey took. It was a good trip and I can't wait to get back and check out those restaurants on the beach.

A WEDDING IN SAN JUAN

Ah, beautiful San Juan. Well kinda of beautiful if you don't look to close. It's the same so many places we go, someone needs to pick up the damn trash. Santa Domingo, Belize, Panama, St. John USVI and San Juan all suffer the same problem. At the resorts and hotels and all, things are nice, but once you leave those grounds usually you see trash everywhere. I don't get it???

Anyway we are there for a reason. Nephew is getting married. Their plans were for those invited and willing to fly to San Juan, meet at their hotel Sunday at 2 pm, where we would all board a small bus and drive about an hour, up into the rain forest. And that is what we did. It was by far the coolest wedding I have ever attended.

The drive was nice and it gave us a chance to see parts of San Juan we never get to see. As we drove down the coast we pasted hundreds of outdoor restaurants. Most were just four post, a tin roof and a big fire. Looked like all the food was cooked over this open fire and it looked like the offered BBQ and seafood. If I ever go back and have a car I will drive there and eat like a crazy man. I will try everyone of those restaurants.

We then were driven up into a rain forest. It is a national park. It was easy to tell we were in a different environ. It was wet, and green and lush and cool. The wedding was held on a stone bridge at the Grand Bath which was the large pool of spring water from the mountain top.

The Bride and Groom wrote their vows and I wish I could have heard them, but the water coming down the mountain was loud. It drowned them out. But, it was still a beautiful wedding.
The reception was fun as well. We ended up back at the beach near those shacks/restaurants I mentioned above. We had been on the bus awhile and everyone was ready for food. When we hit the restaurant snacks were laid out and I consumed about 15 of the best fried shrimp I have ever had in my life. We also had dinner and it was very good. Who ever picked this place did a great job. We drank, danced and party til dawn.

Still kickin

Stacey, aka Lil'Lady, keeps a calendar at work where she writes down what we do each week. Not a lot of detail, but the date, where, what and with whom. Since I have not been very good at posting blogs for the last few months I ask Lil Lady if she would send an email with what we have been up to for the last few months. I want to catch up and start posting a few times a week. I'm not sure too many folks read my blog regularly, but looking back on past post I realize how glad I am that I have written a lot over the last three years. It's a great way to look back and remember what we've been up to. I think I realized I'm writing for myself and Lil Lady most of all. I've keep journals for years and I now know this is just another journal. If others read and enjoy that's great, I love to share, but I'm writing no matter what. It's so much fun looking back at our busy lives. I look forward to 20 years down the road and looking back at all the fun we have had. And if you do read this blog you know we have fun. Whatever our short comings you can't say Lil Lady and I have not had a good time living life.

Now I need to decide if I want to go back and catch up. Do I want to go into detail about all we have done in the past three months or do I just want to touch on each event and move on to current events. These are some of the dates and things we have done lately.

9/10 = dinner at pratt and steve------ Pratt and Steve are our friends that live near us here in Atlanta. Our connections go back to Mobile. Stacey and I bought our house in Mobile from Pratts Mom and Dad. Over the years we have gotten to be good friends with all four. We see P and S a good bit here in the ATL. We eat at each others house and at restaurants often. They love to try new restaurants as much as we do. Further down this list you see we dined in Mobile with them. It's noted because P and S had a few bottles of special wine and want us to join them in cooking a meal to match the wines. It ended up we did it in Mobile at our cottage. It was fun, like I said we always have fun with Pratt and Steve.

So this is it for now. I have been stuck in this house for about a week now. It snowed very heavy and then with the temps staying below 30 all week it's been inpossible to drive. Tomorrow is Saturday and I'm getting out no matter what. Later I will touch on some of the things we have done on the list below. I will also try and stay current with my post.

9/11 = livingston for lunch, con fed of dunces

9/17 = party at feed store for peter leaving

9/25 = roller derby, pura vida dinner

10/7 = streak o lean

10/9 - dinner at keith and mikey

10/14= dinner at Muss Turner

10/16 = beekeeping class

10/17 - dinner at our house - butch, shawn, katie, marsha

10/23 = dinner in Mobile with Pratt and Steve - wine

11/6 - 11/9/ = san juan - jeff and emily wedding

11/10 - dinner at feed store for commercial

11/19 - dinner holman finch

11/20 - dinner rathburns

11/25 = thanksgiving in bham

12/1 - L3 party

12/7= tsh epgtc - walked to tavern for beers

12/4= high mus - salvadore

12/9 = dinner L3 peter/wife

12/17 = Jeffery 40th at Feed store

12/24-12/27 = Mobile Christmas