Sprint 2 the Table

Appetites and Adventures

Wining and Dining at Food & Wine

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Sometimes you throw it all out the window.

The Food & Wine Festival coming to your town is one of those times.  I ate red meat for the first time since October, inhaled sweets, and sampled more bourbon than I knew existed.  Needless to say it was quite the weekend!

Yup – I brought a snack to a food festival.

When I picked up my schwag, I was excited to see that I made the brochure!  This pic is from a volunteer opportunity at a local farm during last year’s festival.

Can you tell which one is me?

I remembered why I quit eating red meat (omg – the tummy ache!), and why I quit eating so much sugar (my sleep quality was soooo bad).  Not that I’m complaining.  I loved every moment of it… but I look forward to returning to clean eating this week!!

I took full advantage of the education opportunities and the ridiculously expensive 3 day pass.

The first class was the “History of the Southern Cocktail.”  The panel was impressive and I learned a lot.  For instance, ice was actually a sign of aristocracy in the South in the 1800s.   Due to the heat and the fact that freezers weren’t yet invented, ice was more expensive than meat or dairy.  It had to be transported from the North!

The traditional drink of the Kentucky Derby, the Mint Julep, was packed to the brim with ice to ensure Derby attendees knew who was part of the upper crust.

We sampled two drinks:

  • Chatham Artillery Punch – lemon, sugar, bourbon, Cognac, Jamaican rum, and sparkling wine
  • Crusta – bourbon, Cointreau, Angoustura bitters, Marischino liqueur, and lemon (SO good!)

My second class of the day was “How to Taste Blind.”  The two sommeliers in the session picked out the wines perfectly!  I proved  – once again – that I have a terrible palate.

I picked the Sauvignon Blanc, but didn’t get the region or year (FYI – a greener color to a white wine indicated a younger age).  This was a 2009 from France. The reds were a 2007 Syrah from France and a 2008 Camenere from Chile.  I was way off on both!

This was just the first part of day 1!  I have lots more to share throughout the week!

Despite the indulgence, I did have a good workout week.  Post-Blend I took Monday off before diving into it.  It must have done my body good because I was able to run 3 miles straight through for the first time since January!  I have an appointment with an ortho to have my knee looked at next week… part of me thinks I could cancel, but better safe than sorry.

Saturday morning I knocked out a P90X Plyo workout… it left me a sweaty mess, but was the perfect thing to do before heading back to F&W Festival for day 2!

Workout Recap (5/7 – 5/13):

  • Monday – REST
  • Tuesday – This Pinned workout, Bis/Back, 100 push-ups
  • Wednesday – Shoulders w/ plyo, 3 mi run, P90X Ab Ripper X, 100 push-ups
  • Thursday – This Under 10 Legs workout, 2 mi walk, Legs/Core
  • Friday – Tris/Chest w/ plyo, 100 push-ups
  • Saturday – P90X Plyo, 100 push-ups
  • Sunday –  3 mile run

***

Rainy mornings should mandate a work from home day.

Have you ever done a blind wine tasting?

Have you ever thrown any food “rules” out the window for a big event?

Narcissism + WIAW

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Facebook is an indicator of narcissism.

Raise your hand if you’re in trouble…

According to a recent study, there is a link between the number of “friends” you have and narcissism.  The participants were assessed on the based on the Narcissistic Personality Inventory (NPI).  Who knew that even existed?!

The study wasn’t fully representative, but the theory is that a high friend count indicates you need excessive attention.

Clearly these people never played in a ~100 person roller derby league or went to grad school.  That’s like 50% of my friend count!

 

But I digress.  Today is the last  green themed What I Ate Wednesday!  Give my day of eats some attention, and then give Jenn’s blog some attention by clicking here to see what everyone chowed down on.

 

Breakfast:

I was in a rush, so I did a quick 15 min HIIT workout before breakfast… which left me starving.  I scarfed another Raspberry Barked Oatmeal To-Go (perfect in-a-hurry-meal), along with slices of the best grapefruit I’ve ever eaten.

This fruit was so sweet I couldn’t believe it wasn’t an orange or maybe an Ugli fruit.

Lunch:

Again with the busy theme, I ate lunch on the road.  Literally – I was driving with my knees with a cell phone in one hand and my burrito bowl in the other.

Safe, I know… at least is didn’t try to take a picture!

I wish I had gotten a pic because Willy’s is the only Mexi-rito chain I have seen that offers tofu.  Vegan tofu burrito bowl, FTW.

Snacks:

Random, but yummy:

  • Cashews
  • Squash sticks dipped in marinara
  • TJ’s Sweet Potato Chips + Eggplant Garlic Dip (sooooo good!)
  • Grapes
  • Beer… it was a pre-tennis snack! 🙂
  • Rick’s Picks Mean Beans – spicy pickle green beans

Dinner:

A quick post-tennis veggie stir-fry served with apple slices, and seed bread over a bed of mixed greens.

In my quickie stir-fry:

  • Yellow cauliflower
  • Squash and zucchini
  • Collard greens
  • Onion
  • Garlic
  • Nutritional yeast
  • Liquid aminos
  • Thyme
  • S+P

Dessert:

One of these Chewy Granola Cookies from the freezer.  I love a low-sugar quickie dessert.  I may have had 2.

***

In the theme of narcissism…. it’s the last time I’ll post my weekly vote plea.  A nomination as a “Best Healthy Eating Blog” for the 2012 Fitterati Blog Awards on FitnessMagazine.com blew me away.  I know I’m never going to reach the 1000+ vote mark, but I’d be honored if you felt inclined to click here and vote for me. 🙂

What is your favorite burrito-chain order?

Let’s talk Facebook… do you believe the theory?  How narcissistic are you?

Monday Mentions

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In typical fashion, I spent the weekend on the go.

 

Between the summer-ish weather and having to sit in the office all week, I couldn’t get enough of the great outdoors.  All of the St. Patrick’s festivities and running events made it feel like spring festival season!

Here’s a little highlight reel:

 

1. Dining Out Vegan

I’m still rocking the vegan thing and have gotten some cool meals.

 

 

The first pic is from the best Thai restaurant in Atlanta – Panita Thai.  It looks like a shack from the outside, but the food is incredible.  I ordered my eggplant-tofu dish “Thai hot.”  Cindy, the owner/our server looked skeptic but did as requested.  That may be the last time I order something THAT spicy… but my ego I ate it.  Cindy was impressed.

 

The bottom 2 pics are from ONE Midtown Kitchen.  The service-level was absolutely incredible.  Chef Drew VanLeuvan created a custom appetizer and entrée for me.  Or server, Bernadette, even brought out apple slices and asparagus stalks for me to munch on pre-dinner since I couldn’t eat the bread sticks!

My app consisted of roasted apples with ginger sorbet and roasted cabbage.  The entrée that Chef created was an asparagus salad with pickled strawberries, orange segments, toasted hazelnuts, sugar snaps, micro greens, and a balsamic reduction.  It was a lot of apples and asparagus, but it was fantastic.

Note: Chef Drew is leaving soon to start is his own restaurant.  Sad news for ONE, but very exciting for the talented chef.   I’ll be frequenting his new spot (and ONE, of course).

 

2. Baking Bender

The baking bug hit me.  I made Sarah’s Sweet Potato Soda Bread (with just a little creative recipe-license – sooo good), a new oatmeal thing (recipe coming tomorrow!), and my Chewy Granola Cookies.

Who says you have to be running to carb-load?!

 

3. Summer in the Winter

Technically this is still winter.  Atlanta didn’t get that memo – it was in the 80s all weekend!  Some dude in the condo across from me was in the pool (see evidence below).  I went on a long walk in the park with a friend on St. Patrick’s Day.  As you might imagine, we saw many entertaining things.  The pic below is some sort of photo shoot that was happening.  Doesn’t it look like the guy is photographing her butt?!

 

 

4. Cheerleading

The Publix Marathon & Half Marathon were this weekend.  I rolled out of bed early to cheer on fellow bloggers Heather, Lindsay, Lee, and Tina.  It was my first time cheerleading a race, and I was surprised at how much fun it was to spectate and encourage the runners.  I somehow missed Heather and Lindsay.  Tina waved and she powered by in her hot pink socks… I was busy stuffing my face like a fat kid with a muffin and missed the pic.  Fail.

I did get Lee!  She claimed she was struggling, but she looked fantastic!

 

 

5. Refuel

Refuel brunch without running is totally acceptable, right?  I joined the runners for brunch at Stone Soup Kitchen.  Heather found this gem – they had several vegan options, all delicious.  Heather and Kirk (her husband, who also ran) ordered Vegos Rancheros that looked to-die-for.  I had a tofu scramble with green peppers, red onion, jalapenos, mushrooms, arugula, and red hot sauce.  It was SO good.  I also had a side of grits, but discovered that vegan grits aren’t my favorite.

 

L to R: me, Tina, Lee, Kirk, Heather, Lindsay, and little Clara

 

You may have noticed the coffee.  The caffeine break is officially over. 🙂

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The workouts were pretty good this week.  I was missing my weight workouts.  CrossFit means I don’t have the time or energy to do both most days.  Friday and Saturday I decided to skip the CrossFit and return to my trusty weights. I was shocked to find during Saturday’s P90X Chest/Tri workout that I could actually do more push-ups!

 

 

The BodyRock videos continue to get better and better.  I love that they are adding “bonus” rounds and using some weights now!  That makes some of these solid 30-45 mins workouts.  It may seem like I slacked on the push ups, but between BodyRock ad CrossFit I got my fill. 🙂

 

Workout Recap (3/5 – 3/18):

 

***

There’s something about this weather that makes me believe I shouldn’t have to go to work tomorrow.

Did you run a race the weekend?  How did it go?

Does it feel like summer where you live?  Are you happy about it, or missing a true winter?

 

Defining a Good Weekend

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Define a good weekend.

 

For me, it means a relaxing 2 days filled with friends and good food.  Throw in a hair cut and some killer workouts and I’m a happy girl.

Confession: I didn’t do a good job of eating clean… but I did do an excellent job of eating delicious. 🙂

 

1. A+ Restaurant Dining, Vegan-Style

A family friend was passing through town and treated me to dinner at Empire State South.  This is one of Hugh Acheson‘s restaurants.  The Executive Chef, Ryan Smith, was recently nominated for Food & Wine’s Best New Chef).

The win happened when I scored a custom vegan meal thanks to the sage advice of Heather and JL, and the talent of Chef Smith.  Knowing ESS to be meat-heavy (their charcuterie is amazing), I called ahead to make reservations and ask if they could accommodate a vegan diet.  They could, and did!  It was better than previous meat-filled meals I’ve had there!

First, the wine: 2004 Angelo Sassetti “Pertimali” Brunello di Montalcino.

 

2004 was a great year for Brunello and this was no exception – light and plummy, with a little earthiness on the end.  Perfect with my veggie-based meal!

First custom dish of the night was an app that I couldn’t get enough of.  This was a dish of seasonal mushrooms, fried wild rice, pickled sunchokes, roasted and pickled beets over a schmear of peanut puree.

 

My main was equally good.  There is no way I can remember it all… but it was a roasted brussels dish with farro, mustard seeds, carrot, pea shoots, roasted garlic, and a ramp jam.

 

2. Dessert Happened (second helpings happened too)

Dinner at mamma’s house with mixed company meant 2 berry pies were made – one vegan and one “regular.”  Both used a vegan pre-made pie crust, mixed berries, and an oatmeal-granola topping.

My vegan pie had xylitol mixed in to sweeten it, and the other had butter and regular sugar in it.  No one could tell the difference. 🙂

 

3. Cheap Affordable, Delicious Wine 

This wine was a hit at mom’s dinner party.  The Epicuro Aglianico is an el cheapo bottle from Trader Joe’s.  Well, originally it’s from southern Italy but you know what I mean.   This is the best under $10 bottle of wine (it’s $4.99) I’ve had in recent memory!

 

4. New Hair

Getting my hair cut/colored is my favorite thing in the world to do.  This is shorter than I’ve ever had it… I’m still shocked every time I look in the mirror!  Holla to the rockstars at Lava Hair Studio.

Karen (stylist-wizard) and me

 

5. Romance Rekindled

Don’t get too excited.  I’m talking about my love-affair with Dulce Vegan, a local vegan bakery and cafe.  It’s on the other side of town… meaning it’s a whole 15 minutes away and I’m usually too lazy busy to drive there.

 

Between CrossFit and softball practice yesterday, I made the trip and indulged in a helluva TLT – tempeh “bacon,” arugula, and tomato with chipotle aioli on house-made millet bread.  It was as delicious as it sounds.  Especially that bread – OMG.

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CrossFit has been SO much fun.  Totally intimidating, but fun.  I leave workouts starving – an increased appetite must mean I’m working hard!  I’ve amped up my protein shakes and become religious about eating every 2 hours.  They preach the paleo diet, which I’m not into… I’ve even been craving MORE carbs since starting.  Good or bad, I’m feeding my body what it wants!

 

Workout Recap (3/5 – 3/11):

  • Monday – CrossFit, This Pinterest workout (5x)
  • Tuesday – CrossFit, This BodyRock, 100 push-ups
  • Wednesday – CrossFit, This BodyRock (weighted part 2x), 100 push-ups
  • Thursday –  Yoga, This workout, 100 push-ups
  • Friday – Tris/Chest, 100 push-ups
  • Saturday – This BodyRock (with 20 reps on weights)
  • Sunday – CrossFit, Softball practice, Bike intervals

***

I didn’t have to change my bedroom clock for daylight savings time… because I never changed it last fall… 

What is your definition of a good weekend?

Do you crave more carbs depending on the type of exercise you do?

 

Pop Quiz

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My inner high schooler is showing.

 

I used to LOVE taking quizzes.  The ones people would pass around in school or MySpace or email… I took them all.  To the point where it probably annoyed people.  

When I was tagged for this quiz on Claire’s blog, I got unnaturally excited.  Thanks Claire!

 

The rules:

  1. You must post these rules
  2. Each person must post 11 things about themselves on their blog
  3. Answer the questions the tagger set for you in their post and create 11 new questions for the people you tag to answer

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11 Things About Me

1. I sit on a Swiss ball at work.  The desk chair hurts my hips!


2. My co-workers think I’m weird – for the Swiss ball and for the random foods I bring for lunch.  Sorry, no Big Macs for me.

3. I haven’t had more than a few bites of meat in 2012.  I’m not a vegetarian because I love to try new things and don’t want to feel restricted… but I do have a plant-based diet.

4. 2 years ago I ate about 3-4 burgers and 1 steak a week.  Since the end of 2010 I haven’t had more than half of a burger or a bite of steak (with the exception of my 2 weeks in Italy… when in Rome Florence!).

 

5. I have the a terrible memory when it come to names or events, but I can rattle off recipes and statistics like nobody’s business.

6. In high school I went through a phase where I only work men’s XL shirts and Birkenstocks.  Those pictures have been burned.

7. I’ve been going to the same hair stylist since I was 15… despite the fact that I now have to drive an hour to see her.  Karen and Lava Hair Studio are the best!

 

8. If I could have any job, I would develop recipes/new concepts for restaurants.

9. Yes, I really do 100 push-ups nearly every day.  No, I don’t do them at once – sets of 3!

10. Red wine is my weakness kryptonite.   Specifically, Italian reds.  I would even choose it over cookies.

Which leads me to #11…

11. Just like Claire, if I had no other ties or commitments and unlimited funds I would move to Italy and never look back.  I might do it anyway.

 

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Claire’s 11 questions were in list form: “Tell me about your 11 favorite foods (restaurant, grocery store, or homemade).”

 

This is actually really hard for me – it’s like choosing a favorite child!  In no particular order, here’s what comes to mind…

  1. These Chocolate Sea Salt Cookies
  2. Sweet potatoes protein shakes like this one
  3. The hummus from Top Flr.  It’s the best I’ve ever had.
  4. My mom’s Carrot Cake (made from my grandmother’s recipe)
  5. Flourless chocolate cake with sea salt and olive oil from La Tavola (with a glass of Amarone)
  6. This Zucchini Bread Oatmeal
  7. Sriracha (a.k.a. Rooster Sauce)
  8. Guacamole – extra jalapenos
  9. Indian food – I don’t care what it is, just pass it this way with extra spice on the side
  10. Gnocchi with shaved black truffles from one of Italy’s first Slow Food restaurants – Osteria dell’ Arco in Alba
  11. Pizza – specifically authentic Italian pizza from places like Antico Pizza

 

Now I get to tag!  It doesn’t say how many people, so I’ll choose 5 because I like prime numbers.

 

For my 11 questions, I would love to know:

  • What are your 5 favorite foods?
  • What are the 3 best things you cook/bake/concoct in the kitchen?
  • What 3 things you would do first if you were President of the United States?

***

This weekend I’m going to the Atlanta Underground Market again.  The theme is Bruch… which I think should always be the theme. 🙂

What are you getting into this weekend?

What are some of your favorite foods?  Do we share any of the same?

 

Raw-ish Vegan Jerky + WIAW

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All day yesterday I thought it was Monday.

Funny how now that it’s Wednesday, I’m feeling like Friday is not so far away.

This week has really been awesome – tons of cooking, which means I have LOTS to share with you.  More to come!

For now, lets cheers to chalkboard wine glasses, kick-ass workouts, being half way to Friday, and my friend Jenn’s What I Ate Wednesday.

 

Breakfast:

After last week’s hotel oatmeal ick, this more than made up for it:

Overnight oats in an almond butter jar.  Pure bliss.

  • Oatmeal
  • Unsweetened vanilla almond milk
  • Chia seeds
  • Pumpkin puree
  • Almond butter jar remnants
  • Cinnamon
  • Vanilla
  • 4-5 drops of vanilla liquid Stevia
  • A little TBA chocolate something crumbled in. 🙂

Lunch:

Another bit of amazingness.  Citrus Chickpea Cilantro Salad  with carrots atop an eggplant patty.

Recipe for this deliciousness coming tomorrow! 

Dinner:

You may be familiar with a little problem I have.  When I go out I sometimes get so excited about the meal that I forget to take pics.  This is all that remained of my post-workout dinner last night:

That WAS a side salad, 2 veggie tacos, a chips and salsa trio, and a Patron Silver margarita.  Whoops.

More proof that Taqueria del Sol remains my favorite intown taco joint.

Snacks:

Continuing with last week’s blogger recipes, I tried Gena @ Choosing Raw’s Portabello Jerky.  It was a fantastically salty, satisfyingly chewy afternoon snack.  Seriously – Gena is a genius.

My raw-sih version of Gena’s raw jerky is at the bottom of this post!

Lucky me was asked to taste-test a new cookie recipe for Cookie Underground.  I mentioned trying these veggie-based cookies at the Atlanta Underground Market here.

My test-kit included an original recipe and 4 alternatives for their Parsnip Vanilla flavor.  In my mind there was a clear winner.  Check them out on Facebook to read more!

Apparently I need to rename this blog dessert underground because my pre-workout snack was on of these vegan Granola Cookies:

At just 3g of sugar and over 1g of protein, can you blame me?  P.S. They freeze perfectly.

Last, there was a vegan, gluten-free post-workout dessert.

I promise to share next week – I want to make one more batch to test with more soda.  Let’s just say they are silky in texture, impossibly chocolate-y, and inspired by a Cookie Underground concept. 😉

Raw-ish Portabello Jerky

  • 1 large Portabello mushroom
  • 1 tsp soy sauce
  • 1tsp apple cider vinegar
  • 1/2 tsp ancho chili powder
  • 3 drops liquid Stevia
  • 3-4 twist of freshly ground pepper

Mix all ingredients.  Slice ‘shroom into 1/2 inch thick sticks and marinate overnight in refrigerator overnight.

Place on foil-lined baking sheet and cook in 170 degree oven* for ~3 hours.

*Note: Gena had a dehydrator – check out her instructions for raw jerky details.  For those of us without… just set your oven at it’s lowest temp (mine is 170 degrees).  It’s raw-ish. 🙂

***

I’m really into vegan/low-sugar cooking and baking lately!  It’s fun to try different style and I love feeling so clean.

Have you tried vegan jerky?  Have you tried “real” jerky?

Do you feel a little the-end-is-near relief on Wednesday?

What I Ate in Maryland

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Travel can be an adventure in eating.

 

It can also be an adventure in finding workspaces with outlets, tables, cell phone signals… yesterday I worked all afternoon in a flatbread pizza place.

Barnes & Noble was closed for MLK (WTF?!  That’s like Starbucks closing – it just doesn’t happen!).  This meant that Starbucks was even more crowded than usual.  Flatbread it was.  I left the store having been cured of craving pizza for a while and smelling like an Italian mamma.

At least I had a wonderful dinner recommendation from Kimberly @ Grubarazzi to look forward to – Woodberry Kitchen.  They even celebrate Meatless Monday!

Side note: check out her blog – she makes some rockstar dishes!  

Goldeneye

 

Woodberry Kitchen in Baltimore is incredible.  It was a little dark for pics (I was ill-prepared in the camera department), but everything was delicious.  Don’t skip the Goldeneye drink.  It was stellar.  Say hi to Conner the bartender for me.

If you ever go, DO NOT skimp the CMP for dessert.  Malted ice cream, chocolate sauce, marshmallow fluff, and wet peanuts.  All house-made.  It was one of those “moment of silence” desserts.

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This is What I Ate Wednesday, not what I drank Monday.

 

 

Breakfast:

An adventure in hotel icky oatmeal.

 

I grabbed some of the hotel’s runny, mucus-like oatmeal and made it edible with a few mix-ins:

  • Double vanilla ice cream-flavored protein powder from home (really good, btw)
  • Peanut butter
  • Apple
  • Coffee

It was not Sweet Potato Pie Oatmeal, but by the time I got done with it these oats were not too shabby!

 

Lunch:

We ate at a burger place.  I had a salad and a sweet potato.  It was underwhelming… this is what was left when I remembered to take a pic:

 

Dinner:

I don’t care what Hollywood says, the Grubarazzi won’t lead you astray.  Thanks to another of her recommendations we dined like A-listers in a Vietnamese restaurant located in a strip mall.

 

The Saigon Noodle House doesn’t look like much from the outside, but their summer rolls and pho were ah-mazing.

Tofu Summer Role with peanut sauce and sriracha

Tofu Pho with Thai basil, jalapenos, and bean sprouts to garnish

Shrimp Curry (I picked around the shrimp)

Chicken and Rice Clay Pot… in an aluminum pot

 

Verdict:  Do NOT miss the summer rolls and the pho.  I could to skipped the other two dishes, but – to be fair – I picked around all the seafood/meat and didn’t get the full effect.

 

Snacks:

B&N-Starbucks-style.  Raspberry Oolong tea and the best KIND bar I’ve had to date – Dark Chocolate Cherry Cashew.

 

There was also some late-night chocolate that had to be eaten. 😉

***

I made the FoodBuzz Top 9 today with these Chewy (Vegan) Granola Cookies!!!  Thanks to everyone for the BUZZ and welcome to any new visitors!  Check out the Top 9 by clicking here.

Have you ever had pho?

What’s the best “bar” you’ve tried lately?  Have you had a KIND bar?

 

Cardamom Hill

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If you have been reading for a while, you know that I LOVE Indian flavors.

 

Wednesday night I tried a much-hyped new Indian restaurant in Atlanta, Cardamom Hill (1700 Northside Dr.NW #A6, Atlanta, GA 30318, 404.549.7012).

The owner, Asha Gomez, is locally-famous for her underground supper clubs.  She wanted to share her food with a broader audience, thus Cardamom Hill was born.  I’m sad to have missed her Supper Clubs, but am excited to see where she takes the restaurant.

 

Cardamom Hill menu

 

They don’t have their liquor license yet, but they do keep some beers in the back to share.  Thus, I tasted my first Schiltz. It wasn’t as bad as I had imagined… though that’s not saying a lot.  They did have a Sweetwater IPA in the cooler that the server mercifully graciously brought me after I couldn’t handle anymore Schlitz.

 

 

The food was MUCH better than the beer selection. 🙂  I’m really kidding – it was great of them to offer my friend and I anything at all.

 

We started with a beautifully plated salad of arugula, starfruit, radish, cucumber, and papaya.  It was dressed in a tamarind vinaigrette.  Each item on its own was flavorful and fresh; however, my companion and I both felt it lacked something to pull it together.  I also thought it was slightly over-dressed (normally I ask for dressing on the side – my mistake!).

 

 

Our second app was on the house.  Beef and Potato Croquettes seasoned with ginger, garlic, and green papaya salad.  I nibbled on the potato part of the croquette (trying to stick to the veg thing) and wasn’t blown away.  I loved the (pickled?) ginger and garlic served with it.  I wish that had been used in a salad!

 

 

For my entrée I chose the Vegetable Trio, served with coconut rice.

Part 1 of the trio was Sweet Potato Verka sautéed in coconut oil with mustard seeds, shallots, and curry leaves.  It was absolutely fantastic.  A little oily, but honestly… that just made it better.  Perfectly balanced between the sweetness of the potato and the subtle heat from the spices, I could eat this dish all day every day.

 

 

As good as that was, Part 2 of the trio topped it.  It was a “Seasonal” Thoran, which is listed on the menus as a stir-fry but (as the waiter described) this more accurately identified as a soup.  A phenomenal soup.  The broth was just spiced enough with dried red chillies.  It contained bite-sized pieces of carrot, eggplant, potato, and tomato.  I’m not sure what sorts of other spices were in this, but whoa.  My friend and I agreed it was the best dish of the night.

Dear Asha, Please keep this on as an appetizer soup.

 

Lastly, I had a Beet Pachadi.  3 warm beets layered with housemade yogurt (ask for it to be left off to make this dish vegan) and mustard seeds, topped a curry leaf.  It was also good, just not quite as stand-out as the first 2 items.

 

My friend had the Braised Short Ribs with roasted coconut sauce, served over umpa (like fried polenta, but made from semolina).  It was nice… but I was happy I stuck with the veg.

 

 

We couldn’t pass up a traditional dessert.  I have no idea what this is called, but it was a warm coconut milk soup with toasted coconut, cashew halves, cardamom seeds, ginger, and rice noodles.  It was one of those dishes you keep eating but you’re not entirely sure you love.  The flavors were just so interesting!  We wondered if it would be better (albeit non-traditional) cold?

 

 

If you’re in the Atlanta area, I do recommend trying Cardamom Hill.  The service was solid and it has a lot of potential.  This isn’t the typical curry-laden Indian food many of us are accustomed to.  Dishes from the Southwest Indian state of Kerala are laced with interesting spice blends and not heavy on the heat.  It just enough spice to detect.  You know the balance of flavors much be great if I’m not begging for more heat.

Don’t miss the Vegetable Trio, try the dessert for fun… and do make sure to BYOB.  There’s no corking fee while they await the liquor license.

***

I just realized it’s friday the 13th!  Some people shudder, but 13 is my lucky number and this is my lucky day (knock on wood).

Do you like trying authentic food from different cultures?  Panda Express doesn’t count.

Who’s doing something fun this weekend?

 

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