Baxter Bark Twice

Do as I say, never as I do

Archive for the ‘Food & Drink’ Category

« Previous Entries

Interview of the Week: Me

Posted by AllieB on November 6, 2014

This is the one where I couldn’t think of my own material so I copied something I’ve seen on another site…

Today’s post is borrowed from The New Potato and follows the list of questions they give to the actors/designers/foodies featured on their blog. Have they featured me? They have not. But now I will be prepared if/WHEN such an event occurs. I didn’t like some of their questions, so I made up a few of my own. I call this “Interview of the Week” – my first ever! – and my first guest is me because who else.

From start to finish, what would be your ideal food day?

Breaky: 2 cups of earl grey tea and a cranberry scone from the bakery dude who comes to the Tribeca Farmer’s Market every Saturday…I’d probably also toss in pancakes from Bubby’s and brown sugar-glazed bacon.

For lunch: Shake Shack – Shack Burger & cheese fries.

Dinner: pizza, pasta, steak…pizza from Keste* or Spunto; pasta from Bianca or Max; steak by moi – a ribeye or similar coated in salt n pepper cooked in my cast iron skillet with sauteed spinach and the pepper jack mac n cheese from Whole Foods on the side.

Snacks: cheese dip from Jalisco, burrata from John Dory Oyster Bar, choc chip cookie from Levain; veggie slice from Fellini’s with Italian dressing for dipping…

I’m hungry.

*ATLiens: Don Antonio by Sarita is a Neopolitan pizza place on W Paces Ferry in Buckhead where STG Trattoria used to be – it is operated by the same owners who run Don Antonio in New York, who also own Keste. In other words: GO TO HERE. Go now and get the Burrata Roberto pizza.

How do you always start your day on a good note?

I’ve started making smoothies every morning and they are GOOD, like, get-me-out-of-bed-on-cold-and-rainy-mornings good. Also, sometimes I wake up and lie in my bed for a little while, looking at the river and just contemplating life/my outfit for the day, and I’ll see a big cruise ship go by – I have two thoughts: 1. How cool that I can see this from my bed and 2. SUCKAS

What’s your drink?

Actually, I was at The Standard East Village a couple weekends ago and my eye automatically went to the spicy marg – I saw ‘tequila’ and ‘jalapeno’ and ordered it w/o further thought, then K pointed out it was also “topped with red wine.” What. These are not two drinks I would normally think to have together – in succession, sure, but not simultaneously – and turns out it is delicious.

Hey AllieIt’s now called “The Allie” they just have to reprint the  menus

What are your vices?

I eat too much kale.

What’s always in your bag?

Vaseline and Rohto drops.

Words to act by…

I’ll defer to Pinterest on this one

Three words to describe social media…

I love/hate/love social media.

Do you Tweet?

Yes, I am on Twitter, but I only use it to share a new link to BBT (as many as one person has clicked thru – I have a massive and devoted following), and to retweet stuff I like. I have not had an original tweet since October 9, 2012, and I think we can all agree I really went out with a bang:

twitter

wow is right.

If you’re a Twitter-er you should follow Samir from Buzzfeed – he will make you laugh.

Million Dollar Idea? 

So, we all use Snapchat, right? I want Snapchat to have a function where it links to your Spotify and shows the name of whatever song you’re listening to onto the snap. I need it to access what’s going on INSIDE my phone instead of only picking up ambient noise. Por ejemplo:

wiz khalifaSee? Not just a selfie in the elevator bank (embarrassing), it’s like, “hey guys I’m here and I’m listening to Wiz Khalifa what are y’all listening to?” For the record, this went to only like 5 ppl in my Snap contacts…well, and now the millions of BBT readers. Either way, I am not trying to steal Snapchat or copy it, I just want to build on top of its gazillion dollar platform, is all. Everybody wins!

Mr. Snap: have your people call my people.

Favorite kind of workout?

The kind of workout I hate least is Flywheel. I did a new class on Tuesday: SLT (Strengthen-Lengthen-Tone). I’ve never been so sore: I’m walking like Frankenstein and every time I stand or sit or cough I cry a little. It’s like Pilates Reformer, I think – I’ve never done Pilates – but there’s a cardio aspect, as well. I don’t know, if you’re really interested read about it here. Bottom line: it was HARD.

SLT Soho“50 shades of fitness” LOL but 4 real those contraptions look like gurneys. Each class costs a month’s rent so not sure how often I’ll go, but it’s nice to pretend.

How have you contributed to the Greater Good this week? (BBT is not a place for political discussion, so voting does not count.)

I just made a donation to Atlanta Lab Rescue. And, unless you’re Mother Teresa, I’m guessing your karmic balance could use some padding, so please go to the Atlanta Lab Rescue site and donate $5 – literally, $5. You can all afford $5. It links right up with your Paypal so you don’t even have to register, and you can help save this dog’s life. (I can’t read the story again or I’ll lose it, but he needs your help!)

ALR is a 501c3 nonprofit and 100% of all donations are used for the rescue and care of these dogs. 

*PS none of you are Mother Teresa so let’s get going on the link clicking.

—

Ok. The End. Happy Thursday and hellooooooo to the Weekend. Goodbye, however, to Fall. It was nice while it lasted :(

foliage_best library in the worldFall foliage at my favorite library in the best city

Oh yeah – TGIT!

Posted in Arbitrary, Food & Drink | Tagged: , , , , , | 3 Comments »

Back to School

Posted by AllieB on September 4, 2014

It happened; it’s over. Summer’s done, and Fall is here. Fall means football – yay! #Gurley4Heisman; Fashion Week – booooo #neveragain; and, at least in NYC, the hottest weather we’ve had all year. Mother Nature, you’re doing it wrong. I was thinking the other day how much I used to love going back to school: finding out your teachers, what boys were in your classes, shopping for school supplies…I wish there was a working world equivalent; I bought a new Moleskine diary yesterday in an effort to reclaim some of the thrill, but Five Star 5-section spiral notebook it is not. Adulthood is the worst.

However, BBT was total weak sauce over the summer, so I can pretend like now I’m back in “school” and my “homework” is to post consistently. Preemptive disclaimer: I was not a straight-A student.

And now watch me exhaust this already tired metaphor:

Home Ec: I had a hunch that Chef Allie existed, and the proof is in the pudding: I’m legit. I finally learned how to chop opinions without going blind (pro tip (or tip I would’ve learned in Home Ec if it had been an option – silly feminists): put them in the fridge til cold, THEN cut – the cold counteracts the tear-causing enzyme or something I don’t know but it works) and now I can properly adhere to recipes because onions, it turns out, are in everything and skipping them can definitely affect the integrity of your final product. And god forbid you affect the integrity of your final product.

In the past week I’ve made Spicy Black Bean Stuffed Peppers (thanks, Pinterest) and Cilantro-Lime Grilled Chicken with Strawberry-Jalapeno Salsa (DomesticateMe is one of my favorites – even before I started cooking her recipes). See links + pics below…you almost can’t tell which is professional and which is mine, except for you totally can – sorry I don’t shoot my meals with a CanonMegaHugeProfesh Camera:

Spicy Black Bean Stuffed Peppers

spicy black bean stuffed peppers

I took the liberty of replacing corn with some avocado and adding more cheese (duh)

Cilantro-Lime Grilled Chicken with Strawberry-Jalapeno Salsa

cilantro-lime chicken with strawberry-jalapeno salsa

I grilled the chicken in my iron grill pan, and thanks to the marinade it was juicy and moist and all of those words that are good re: grilled meats but horrible in every other sense.

English: I am writing every day. I bought a paperback copy of On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King which has anecdotes and exercises and all sorts of things that will poof! make me a published author.

Free Period: I finally installed our Amazon Fire TV this week (credit: CharBaxMaines). The talking remote works incredibly well and now we are ready for the Polar Vortex which will be here from September – April. Joy.

hilary as abominable snowman

PSA: this is Hilary on a good day the abominable snowman, mascot of the Polar Vortex. Beware of the Beast.

I know things are going south when I start throwing the abominable snowman Hilary under the bus – we’re done! And I promise not to post anymore pictures of food I’ve cooked for a full month. But if you want to like message me about what’s coming up next in BBT’s Kitchen, by all means – feel free.

TGIT!

Posted in Arbitrary, Food & Drink | Tagged: , , , , , , | 3 Comments »

Bad writing, fine dining, and kids that are rich

Posted by AllieB on August 22, 2012

I posted last week about the UGA student who wrote an allegedly satirical column on how to find that perfect husband in college. A lot of people hadn’t seen it before, and a lot of people had comments – is she serious, is this a joke, please tell me this is not real, etc. Ever the diligent journalist, I delved deeper and tried to ascertain just what exactly the author was trying to achieve. Turns out she wrote a follow-up article entitled, “Writer of ‘How to find perfect husband in college’ reveals true nature of column”, and now I really can’t stand her. She opens with:

To all who do not understand satire…

I quit reading after that, so I guess I’ll never know what she was trying to accomplish, and, frankly, I’m unsure I have the capacity to care less. The last thing a contested writer needs to do is condescend those who deigned to read her material. I’m not a moron, and I, for the most part, tend to catch on pretty quick, and it was in no way clear to me that she was being funny – and that’s me playing real fast and loose with the word “funny.”

Puppy break!

In light of my imminent departure, I’ve made a concerted effort to make the most of Atlanta and all of its delights. Read: I’ve been going out to eat a lot. I’m kind of embarrassed about that “bucket list” I posted several weeks back re: things I wanted to do before I left. Surely I know better than to announce plans of intention on BBT – they so rarely pan out, and then I look like I don’t follow through on stuff. Which, whether or not that’s true, would be a moot issue if I didn’t open my big mouth in the first place. I don’t prefer announcing plans to people – some might argue this would hold you to keeping them, others (moi) might say mind your own beeswax. So, about dining out:

Bistro Niko: Just a really excellent meal of food. I got the steak frites with both the bernaise and the maitre d’hotel butter (obviously) and it was nothing short of decadent. It’s a happening place, Bistro Niko is. Also, when I was younger my barometer of gauging a restaurant’s “cool factor” was the bathroom: the bathrooms at BN are pretty tight. BBT says: I liked it before, but – if I were sticking around – I could see it becoming a real go-to.

The Optimist: I’m sick of talking about The Optimist. It’s great, and if you haven’t been you should go, but can we please stop talking about it.

Big Ketch: I could likely survive a good long while off their hush puppies. I still haven’t had anything else on the menu. Do, however, beware of patrons taking a mid-meal snooze on the patio…this really happened, I snapped the pic myself. Man down; lock it up; where are her friends she’s passed out in her chair.

Grindhouse Killer Burgers: Hell yes. This place rocks – it is currently my favorite of the burger places. I got an Apache Turkey burger (pepper jack cheese, grilled onions, and green chiles), and it was awesome. I might go back again before I go.

Flip Burger: Meh. I’m kind of over Mr. Blais.

All of these places, of course, are listed on the spreadsheet with pertinent info.

Blog of the Week: Rich Kids of Instagram (credit: Lia)

Actual photo caption: Matching… #Ferrari #inmylivingroom #oneofushas2change #hamptons #NBD

 To give you just a little bit of perspective, this is my last Instagram:

 Actual photo caption: My two loves: 32 oz of beverage and a royal compact. Best gift ever @carriewyatt!

Suddenly my two loves seem…inadequate. At least I’m not a total d-nozzle; I, for one, am able to dress myself with the utmost confidence that I will in no way resemble my Ferrari. This guy’s totally bush league.

Hope you’re doing something happy on this happiest of hump days – I intend to.

Posted in Arbitrary, Food & Drink, Imparting Wisdom, Really? | Tagged: , , , | 7 Comments »

When the teacher becomes the student…

Posted by AllieB on July 9, 2012

Restaurant Spreadsheet: UPDATED. I made the new additions blue and the coming soon items yellow. I think I’ve got everything on there that should be on there – feel free to politely point out any omissions. I don’t know who’s going to take this over when I’m gone – Caro and K are generally (always) very in the know about this sort of thing, but I’m not sure they’d do it.

***ATLANTA RESTAURANT SPREADSHEET – JULY 2012***

I’m a little uncomf at the notion that I’m going to live in a place where I don’t know things and where I routinely get very lost. I am very well acquainted with Atlanta and where to go and what to do. I like to know stuff, and I’ve served as a resource for many who are too lazy to utilize the wonder that is Google friends – from where to dine to where to buy a top hat (Costumes, Etc.. off Cheshire Bridge), I tend to know what’s what around the Dirty. With NYC..not only do I not know much, I specifically struggle. I’ve never been able to wrap my head around where things are in relation to one another, like neighborhood-wise. When I visited Allison in Winter 2k10 I made a conscious effort to get hold of a map and try to sort out the neighborhoods. Fail. Every time we walked out her door, I instinctively turned in the exact opposite direction of where we were going. Then I’d try to figure out how to get back to her apartment – sure enough, off I’d go towards oblivion. I get that the Lower East Side is on the lower east side, and I also comprehend that the Upper West Side is on the upper west side, but I lose all sense of direction when I’m in NYC – up seems down and vice versa. Soo…wish me luck! The good news is that there are a lot of apps for NYC navigation, a few of which I’ve gone ahead and downloaded…always be prepared is not only the Girl Scout’s motto, it is also mine. I’m not a total moron, and I know people who kind of are who’ve managed to get around up there, so I think I’ll be ok…right? Seriously, wish me luck.

help.

I’m not going to really touch on the TomKat break-up because it’s not a break-up when a contract runs out and the two parties involved go their separate ways as was planned seven years previous, but I enjoyed this pop cultural gem: snippets of Joey Potter’s self-deprecating humor that are extremely applicable to her – Katie Holmes’s – current situation.

Dawson: “Here I am. Single, sandwiched in between two women who both dumped me. I am pathetic.”
Jen: “Hey, look at me, I’m dating a bible thumping hypocrite, okay?”
Joey: “Hey…my boyfriend may be gay.”

Well, not sure there’s any “may be” about it, but it’s still a totally cRaZy parallel. At least she got Suri out of the deal.

This week’s to do list:

1. go see Savages - WSJ really liked it, and they never like anything

2. sell my car

3. sort out/giveaway my clothes

4. make some money (babysitting?? petsitting?? I’m your girl. Call me.)

5. read fewer disturbing books so as to improve slumber – I read a lot this weekend and every book involved discomforting story lines pertaining to children. If you’re looking for a night rife with horrible dreams, then by all means check out The Neighbor by Lisa Gardner

XOXO

Posted in Arbitrary, Food & Drink | Tagged: , , , | 6 Comments »

For dudes, by dudes

Posted by AllieB on May 2, 2012

One thing I really appreciated during BBT’s prolonged hiatus was that, even though I’d gone by the wayside, people still sent me ideas/links/articles/pictures that they thought might be relevant. In many instances they were wrong, and the material wasn’t the least bit relevant, but with some they definitely were on point. RD: I’m looking at you. He sent me Bearings  “A Southern Lifestyle Guide for Men” (join me in my hypothermia-inducing nerd chills), and, while the subtitle was not my favorite, I came around after some browsing. Namely because they talk a lot about food.

1. A list of Buford Highway eateries. This is really helpful. While there are some veritable gems along the international corridor that is Buford Highway, there are also some very serious misses…and you wouldn’t want to accidentally go to the one that actually does serve alley cat in lieu of mystery meat.

2. A best-of restaurant list with sub-lists. Best Patio, Best Burger, Best Steakhouses, Best Breakfasts, Best BBQ…and more. Maybe I need to join forces with Bearings? Or, even better! I can do a female version…what would we call it…GRITS: You Are What You Eat…no, that’s no good. That doesn’t even make sense. Moving along.

3. This delicious recipe for Thai-Style Baby Back Ribs. Someone is more than welcome to cook these and then invite me over to try them.

Anyway, check it out…there’s a lot of interesting stuff: articles about wine, interviews with up and comers…I take back what I said about the nerd chills. This is legit.

And now, in other news……Eli Manning is hosting SNL on Saturday. The promos are great – I think it will be funny!

I’m not gonna lie, I’m pretty excited about The Avengers, opening this Friday. I don’t think I’ll go see it at midnight of opening day as Claire and I may or may not have done for the Hunger Games…….but I’m excited.

Another thing we may or may not have done is pose on the Red Carpet.

The other day my boss told me I look like Drew Barrymore.

Sure. Why not.

HAPPY WEDNESDAY! Go Braves! Go Hawks! Sports!!!

Posted in Arbitrary, Food & Drink | Tagged: , , , , , | 3 Comments »

« Previous Entries