Bicyling, Brunch and Blogging

On a beautiful fall Sunday morning, my husband and I went on a bicycle tour of Atlanta with a company by the name of Bike Tours of Atlanta. This was an amazing way to see the city in which we live! The ride was a ten-mile ride from 10 a.m. - 1 p.m. The website describes the ride, which was titled Heart of the City tour as being for those "who practice a high energy lifestyle." This tour did include several hills and inclines so you do need to have somewhat of a good fitness level. Our tour took us through Sweet Auburn, home of Dr. Martin Luther King, Cabbage Town, downtown Atlanta near the Fox and Underground, the historic Oakland Cemetary, Little Five Points, Inman Park and Decatur. Along the way, we would stop and our guide, Mike, would provide tidbits of historical information (and a chance to get a drink and rest!). We got a discount through Groupon (http://www.groupon.com/). If you like to save money while trying new things and places to eat, it's a must. Daily deals are offered for activities, pampering, restaurants, etc. Doing this bike tour was something really different and unique and perfect for out of town guests who want to uniquely experience Atlanta. There are three types of tours, catering to different fitness levels. Check them out at http://www.biketoursatl.com/.

Since this blog is primarily for dining experiences, let's talk about where we ate lunch. After biking through Little Five Points, we decided to make that our pitstop. Little Five Points is one of the premiere neighborhoods in Atlanta for people watching, unusual stores and pretty darn good restaurants! Probably the most well known restaurant in this area is the Vortex, which is known for its hamburgers. However, there is usually a wait and no outside seating. Instead, we made our way across the street to the Brewhouse Cafe (http://www.brewhousecafe.com/). As I mentioned, it was a gorgeous fall day, so we sat on the porch. We took advantage of the $25 for two brunch., which included a pitcher of Bloody Mary's or Mimosas. Selections included a crab cake benedict, eggs benedict, corned beef hash and more. I went with the egg white omelet which was loaded with fresh spinach, portobello mushrooms, tomatoes, asparagus and feta cheese. My husband went for the chipolte bacon breakfast sandwich. (fried egg, pepper jack cheese, chipolte bacon and tomato and avocado salsa). YUM all the way around!

Not bad for a Sunday!

Ruth's Chris Steak House

Being treated to a "dress rehearsal" at the newest Georgia location of Ruth's Chris Steak House was a treat! We have never dined at an upscale steakhouse before. Mainly because when we eat out, we like to eat things we normally don't cook at home or can't do to lack of skill! We typically don't go out for steak.

At Ruth's, we started with a Crabtini (pictured). It was a martini glass filled with jumbo lump crab meat. It was delicious. Based on our server's suggestion, we shared a tomato and mozzarella salad. I wouldn' t recommend that choice. The tomatoes were flavorless. For the price, everything, including the produce, should be the best. The steaks, the reason you come to Ruth's Chris, were good, very good. I had a petite filet and my husband had the T-bone. The steaks arrive on sizzling, 500 degree plates. My side was asparagus with a side of pretty flavorless hollandaise, and Mike got the creamed spinach, a first and probably last for him. He's just not a creamed spinach type of guy.

The bottom line: The food was good. The service was great. But the prices will keep me away. If I'm going to drop approximately $200 plus on dinner, it's definitely got to be for something I cannot get at home... a good steak doesn't fit that criteria. It's nice to have a high-end restaurant on this side of town, and if you entertain clients with a nice fat expense account or don't mind dropping that kind of money, give it a try. Ruth's Chris is located on Chastain Road in the Embassy Suites Hotel. Now, they do serve lunch and the banquet manager confessed it wasn't even close to as expensive as the dinners. I'd be willing to try lunch, but unless someone else is picking up the tab, forget dinner.

Update-Izumi

I love this place. I have always received fantastic service, and I've never been disappointed by the food! We went there this past Friday night with another couple. The owners, Carmen and On, have been talking about new seafood items on their menu. Carmen brought out a whole lobster, flash fried, for us to try. OMG! I've never had lobster prepared that way and it was amazing! And for $14.99, how can you go wrong?

Pictured is a new appetizer they are getting ready to roll out. It's ahi tuna, salmon with citrus vinaigrette and mango, I believe. She let us try it in exchange for naming it. We came up with East Meets West Damn Good. Go to Izumi... ask for Carmen and ask for East Meets West Damn Good...

SNEAK PEEK- Pure Taqueria, downtown Woodstock

Once in a while, there are some really cool perks to my job, and this was one of them! I received an invitation to the soft opening of Pure Taqueria, located in downtown Woodstock near the Right Wing Tavern. There's been so much talk about this restaurant (first location is in Alpharetta), and everyone in Towne Lake and Woodstock has been antipating the opening of Pur for months now.

My invitation allowed me and a guest (my husband) to experience Pure before it opens to the general public on September 7. We were treated to an appetizer, dinner entree, dessert and drinks. For each course, the waiter would present all the choices written on pieces of paper. We then randomly selected our choice. For the appetizer, we picked the cheese dip with chorizo and poblano peppers. It was served with warm tortillas and was amazingly good! I could have eaten that as a meal in itself! Definitely plenty to share! For the entrees, we each got to pick from the "hat." I chose tacquitos (pictured), and my husband picked the fish tacos. Unlike some tacquitos I've had, these were light, not greasy, and wonderfully flavorful. The tacquitos were accompanied by guacomole, sour cream and cheese. The fish tacos consisted of lightly fried tilapia with chipolte aioli and salsa to put on the tacos. We made excellent random choices! And we got lucky on the dessert pick- flan. But this was flan like I have never had- cinnamon apple! Sounds kind of weird but it was so good! There were specs of cinnamon in the flan with spiced, warm apples on the side. The drinks... oh the drinks, were tasty. They have a fairly extensive selection of margaritas, and I did my job and tasted a few of them.

Here's the part that really makes Pure unique. There is a rooftop bar with couches, chairs and a restroom! Very much like Cinco that I wrote about earlier. There was live entertainment, cocktails and a full moon. Perfect night! Pur is destined to be a BIG hit in Woodstock, and hopefully, this will drive more businesses to open downtown.

Let me know what you think!

http://www.puretaqueria.com/

Hit Rocky's Pizza and Hot Dogs-Towne Lake

Rocky's Pizza and Hot Dogs recently opened next to WOW Fitness. Of course my first thought was, "Do we really need another pizza place?" No. But what we do need is a place that serves really good pizza with high quality ingredients and that's reasonably priced. Rocky's is that place. My office tried a variety of what Rocky's offers including the White Pizza (pictured), a Margherita Pizza, hot wings, a Greek Salad and a Caesar Salad. Yes, there was plenty left over! For lunch, you can get a cheese slice for $1.49. Add one of the many small salads Rocky's offers for $2.79 - $3.79, a drink, and you're eating for under $7. Rocky's offers a wide variety of specialty pizzas including a buffalo pizza, bacon cheeseburger, and garden fresh veggie to name a few. The cheese is 100 percent real, high grade (Grande) cheese. And as the name states, Rocky's also offers Red Hot Chicago, all beef hotdogs in eight styles, including Chicago and Naked. I would say Rocky's is more of a carry-out place as there is limited seating, but there are a few tables outside, allowing patrons to take advantage of the upcoming Fall days! Rocky's does deliver within a limited area, and the next time we decide to "do" pizza, I'm calling Rocky's!

http://www.rpdelivery.com/
(678) 445-3399

Hit with Smart Ass on the Side... Metrofresh, Midtown

Yes, another Midtown eatery, and honestly, I never would have found this place had it not been for a big ole coupon on Groupon. If you have no idea what a Groupon is, check it out at http://www.groupon.com/. They have some great deals. Back to Metrofresh. It's located on Monroe Drive, very close to Piedmont Park. Their premise is fresh food fast. Every day, there's a new menu based on what's available "fresh." You can get soup, salad, sandwiches and at dinner time, they have a few entrees. They serve wine by the glass or bottle (always a plus to serve wine!) Part of my lunch that day included a mixed green salad with goat cheese, mango and blueberry (pictured). Absolutely fantastic! It's counter service and they had two menus, one that was generic with prices on it i.e. salad, soup, sandwich, and one with actual food on it. I found it to be confusing so when I asked the dude, and yes, he was a dude with 'tude, to explain it to me, he said, "Well, you speak, I listen, we exchange currency and I produce food for you." Smart Ass. Being so close to Piedmont Park makes Metrofresh a perfect place to get a picnic lunch, even with a side of Smart Ass!

http://www.metrofreshatl.com/

Hit! Marietta- Red Sky

If you enjoy the tapas dining experience, this a must on your list of places to hit. Red Sky is located near the intersection of Johnson Ferry and Roswell Road in Marietta. Upon recommendation, I made reservations and I'm glad I did as there were two large birthday parties. We ordered a bottle of wine and perused the extensive tapas menu. Most of the plates were in the $5-$7 range, which is very reasonable. The first thing we ordered was the Buffalo Calamari. It was good in flavor, but the calamarie was rings only (true calamari to me includes rings AND tenticles) and a bit heavy in the breading. Going a little lighter, we then tried the grilled asparagus with manchego cheese and a balsamic reduction. I could have eaten several more of that plate! Then we ordered what became my favorite for the evening... marinated Ahi Tuna. Outstanding! We followed that with Seared Tenderloin Carpacio and finally, Lobster Egg Rolls (pictured). And even though we had several items, there were so many more that looked interesting, warranting a return visit! Every Friday and Saturday night, Red Sky has dueling pianos- very entertaining and a great way to end the dinner. This will surely become one of our new favorite places!
http://www.redskytapas.com/