Baxter Bark Twice

Do as I say, never as I do

Posts Tagged ‘get in my belly’

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It’s not a noodle, it is PASTA

Posted by AllieB on November 2, 2011

Prep your palettes, people, because this is gonna be a good one.

Last night, thanks to the charm and taste for truffles of Wonder Woman and Dani, I enjoyed one of the best meals of food I’ve ever had. Mirko is an Italian food chain that recently opened up in North Buckhead where Ribs, Etc used to be. I was a waitress at Ribs back in the day, btw, and was eager to check out the place that had taken over their landmark A-frame building.

Anyway, long story short, Sarah and Dani had been there a few times when Mirko, the owner and founder, took a liking to them. Sarah asked him, why is there nothing made with truffles on  your menu? Fair question – it’s an Italian restaurant, at least “truffle oil” should make an appearance, it seems. Mirko said, “Truffles! You want truffles! I make a delicious meal for you and your friends with all the truffles you want!” They held him to his promise, and, when I caught wind of the situation, immediately offered to attend. So, last night at 9:30, six girls and myself dined at the whim of Mirko.

To begin with: bread that, in the words of Laureo (who shall  henceforth be known as Lasso, you are welcome), “hugs your mouth,” wine, and an antipasti plate with two cheeses, two meats, artichokes, and olives. Delicious. I guess we didn’t get a picture of that.

Next: risotto with portabello mushrooms. Holy creamy goodness it was amazing. Then Mirko came around and shaved liberal amounts of truffles on top. I was trying to conserve stomach space and not eat the whole plate, but it was impossible because it was perfect.

Those big brown things are the truffles. Probably about $25 worth on that one plate.

He let us linger over that for awhile, then brought out the pasta: a cavatelli in cream sauce, and, again, lots of truffle shavings. When he served this, I asked him, “so what kind of noodle is this?” He looked at me like the lame, ignorant American I sounded like and responded, complete with vibrant Italian gesticulations, “IT IS NOT A NOODLE IT IS PASTA!” My b. Anyway, despite the thick cut of pasta and ostensibly heavy cream sauce, it wasn’t too rich at all. I could eat a bowl of this every day and be a happy girl. A fat girl with hardened arteries, but happy nevertheless.

At this point, my high-waisted jeans were starting to get a little distressed. Mirko could tell we needed a break, so he brought a new kind of wine (having consumed several bottles among us of some tasty Italian varietal) that he even decanted – oo la la. It was a 2003 Brunello di Montalcino, which, so far as I can tell, retails in stores for about $75, and probably twice that in restaurants. I think this goes without saying, but it was something of an improvement over my usual Trader Joe’s.

At this point Mirko and his friend, a young man who owns a dental practice in Roswell, had sat down with us. The Italians – they are very charming, no?

Next came the lamb. Regrettably, due to the carb fest I’d indulged in prior to this course, I was hardly able to eat a bite, but I could tell it was delish. There was a bed of quinoa with a potato cake made with peppers and onions then a lamb chop heavily seasoned in spices. The picture I have does not do it justice, so just use your imagination.

Last but most certainly not least: dessert. Dessert was a mixed berry tart served at a delightfully chilled temperature. Is this because it was frozen right before he served it? Mayhaps, but it was almost soothing after the hot, heavy previous courses. YUM.

Three hours after sitting down, the meal came to a close. I slept better last night than I have in ages: red wine + bread + pasta works better than any other sleep aid I’ve ever tried.

I should mention that not a single thing he served us, from start to finish, is on the menu at Mirko. So…if you go there, you will not be able to enjoy these delectable things. HOWEVER, it is still worth it. The prices are crazy reasonable – you can create your own pasta dish from 15 different kinds of pasta and 12 different sauces for under $11, and the fish and chicken entrees top out at $13. I’ve heard the Granny Apple and Sausage Ravioli is not to be missed. Oh, and their Italian house wine (always decent) is $20/liter. This place is kind of a no-brainer. What I can attest to is how perfectly everything was cooked and presented. Plus, he did a wonder on the gnarly interior that was once a rib joint.

Us + Mirko

So that happened. Should any other local restauranteurs be interested in making a delicious meal for me, I can promise you an all-star write-up like this one.

Top Chef: Texas starts tonight!!! I love Top Chef. Recent seasons have been decidedly lackluster, but I’ve got high hopes for this one.

Posted in Food & Drink | Tagged: , , , | 7 Comments »

Free Willy*

Posted by AllieB on July 13, 2011

It’s a scorcher out there today…I walked to Starbucks earlier to get a green tea lemonade, and in the 2.5 minutes I was outside managed to elevate my hair emergency to Code Red – glorious this is not.

I seriously am going to make one of these at around 3 o’clock today – thanks, Martha!:

Ingredients

  • 8 cups chopped seedless watermelon (about 6 pounds)
  • 1/2 cup freshly squeezed lime juice (about 4 limes)
  • 2 tablespoons sugar, plus 2 tablespoons more, if needed
  • 1/2 cup vodka, (optional)
  • Mint leaves

Directions

  1. Working in batches, puree in blender watermelon with lime juice and sugar until smooth. Add more sugar, if needed.
  2. Transfer puree to a pitcher; add vodka, if desired. Cover; chill until ready to serve.
  3. Stir; pour into tumblers, over ice. Garnish with mint.

I found these on an interweb site called, “Why Teachers Drink.” BBT says: fair enough.

I think I sat next to the guy on the left my freshman year in Ecology 101. Or I probably would have, had I ever gone to class.  BOOM!!! To the person on the right – touché. And to the rocket scientist in the middle: fail.

Confession: I just had to goog “Ecology” because I didn’t know of what it was the study. You’ll all be pleased to know that I earned an A. GO DAWGS!

*It would have been more accurate to say “Free Willy’S” but then it wouldn’t be a double entendre with a reference towards the classic film and a lame 7th grade joke. Today is Willy’s Mexicana Grill 16th birthday. If you feel like putting in some effort, you can visit one of five locations at the appointed times, shake Willy’s hand and thusly earn yourself a free burrito.

  1. 11 AM at Roswell Road – Buckhead
  2. 12 NOON at Perimeter
  3. 1PM at Kennesaw
  4. I guess I kind of dropped the ball on the lunch times – you can still do dinner!
  5. 6PM at W. Paces Ferry
  6. 7PM at Howell Mill

Sweet. I probably won’t do it, but I thought I’d put it out there.So, I messed with some internal aspects of BBT, and it’s temporarily not showing up on Google. Lo siento. I think I fixed it…hopefully.

Posted in Arbitrary, Imparting Wisdom | Tagged: , , , , | 1 Comment »

Food Coma

Posted by AllieB on June 20, 2011

I am in one. Here’s why: over the span of 48 hours, Friday night – Sunday night, I ate at these places. Some places more than others, but at all locales food and booze was consumed….so, I think you’ll understand my slo-mo domepiece. I said on the way to dinner on Friday that I really ought to start taking pictures of my food/restaurant experiences so as to enhance the BBT experience. As you can see below, that went well.

Floataway Cafe: I obviously got the hangar steak.

Local Three: less food, more drinks…their Whiskey Sour Jell-o was kind of really delicious….sounds weird; tastes awesome

Treehouse: eggs benny; hoegaardens

Varasanos: the Carmelized Onion…YUM

Holeman & Finch: CAKE!!!

Casa di Baxter: homemade scones (I told you that Jordan can bake), two different kinds of bacon, berries-only fruit salad (you can keep your bananas), homemade sticky toffee pudding from the HF recipe…it is seriously the best thing I’ve ever put in my mouth that’s not made of steak or cheese or both.

Fellini’s: duh.

I sound like a total heifer…whatevs, happy bday to BBT! And if someone knows why I did not receive this as a birthday present, I am ready and waiting for whatever explanation you might be able to conjure.

It’s not a purse it’s a box, it’s not a box it’s a bag, it’s not a bag it’s a bottle of wine. It’s not a bottle of wine, it’s three bottles of wine, it’s not three bottles of wine, it’s three liters of wine. It’s not three liters of wine, it’s my purse. – The Hairpin

I’ll be back tomorrow with my head on straight. Meanwhile, LIKE BBT ON FB and think of some ideas as to what I can offer for a contest…like, “Like BBT on Facebook and get a chance to win [enter awesome prize here]” Thinking caps: ON. Gracias.

Posted in Arbitrary, Food & Drink | Tagged: , , , , | 4 Comments »

Get up offa that thang

Posted by AllieB on June 15, 2011

Tis a very good feeling to surmount the hump that is Wednesday.

Pippa’s single!!! Incidentally, Harry and Chelsey are in the latter part of their constantly on-again-off-again relationship, so mayhaps the rumors of the sparks that flew between them at the wedding could come to fruition…that’d be really weird. Their children would all be identical. My head kind of hurts even thinking about that – it’s not incest, is it? It almost seems like it’d be wrong. Whatever. I said this a couple of weeks ago, but I’m still marvelling at the length of her torso; it is, like, really really long. This pic is from a 5k she ran recently – her time was 25 minutes 30 seconds. My 5k PR is 20 minutes 17 seconds…BOOM. I may or may not have been 14 at the time.

I enjoyed a delicious and free lunch at The Ivy today because I am a Black Card Member aka a V.I.P. I got a pizza. Their pizza is awesome, as is the new pimento cheese sampler/salad, the Club sandwich, and they just added a bunch of salads and stuff, too. You should try it out – if you go there enough, you might even be considered for Black Card Membership……

While I’m distributing accolades about town, I should mention CamiCakes. (Katie – there’s also one in Jax!) I got Jordan a bday cupcake yesterday – I went with the “Classic Cami” which is vanilla cake with a truly awesome strawberry icing – and it was delish. There was a minor snafu when the gentleman ran my card for $2,700 instead of $2.70, but I told him Wells Fargo would deny that charge like Dikembe would a dunk and not to worry about it. We had a good laugh over the Dikembe comparison – he even did the finger shake at me. Good times!

I finally made a new mix cd. I’ve been listening to Girl Talk since before their concert in January and it’s getting kind of manic. I have no idea what’s on my new mix because I cannot get past the first two songs, which are “Chances Are” (that guy is hottt!) and “A Little Bit Stronger” from the Country Strong soundtrack. I’m not one for country or for singing along, but I have been belting out these tunes nonstop. This may surprise people, but I do not have a particularly melodious singing voice…less canary, more adolescent boy with bad allergies. I highly recommend both, but you can skip the movie, IMO.

That’s all for today; I’m going to get my fitness on. Thanks, People.com, for this motivating photo gallery – here’s a nice little preview for you, boys and girls:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Slackers.

Posted in Arbitrary, Food & Drink | Tagged: , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments »

Yes, Satan?

Posted by AllieB on June 9, 2011

There are still two weeks left of spring. That seems wrong, doesn’t it, given what’s going on outside right now – I’m pretty sure summer came in hot (wordplay!) like a month ago. Best learn to love it; we’ve got another 3-4 months to go. Captain Obvious is just trying to be helpful, so here are some things you can do to chill out:

  • go see a movie! I am beyond excited for the following films: Horrible Bosses, The Help, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II, Cars 2…what are YOU excited about?! Here’s a list of upcoming flicks (flucks…don’t worry about it; it’s an inside joke)
  • take a chill pill
  • go swimming! Either avail yourself to an apartment complex pool or someone’s parents’ house. OR you could hazard the murky waters of the ‘hooch…or drive a few hours to Burton/Rabun/Toxaway (LINDSAY I can’t wait!!!)…or go to the beach! The beaches of the Florida Gulf are ever so lovely (MIRIAM, very excited about this as well), but I will always have a special allegiance to the Atlantic Coast -Tybee, Pawleys Island, and even Cape Cod…
  • eat watermelon – either purely as fruit or as a vehicle with which to imbibe vodka. I’ve actually never done that and the only people I do see doing it are at Post apartment complexes and tend to have barbed wire/lower back body art…so maybe stick with the former.
  • do NOT go for a yog at high noon. I don’t know why I just did that. Sometimes I make poor decisions.
  • have a marg. Holy brain freeze, that looks phenomenal…AWD’s are a panacea for all weather-induced ailments.

MUY IMPORTANTE: thanks to your votes last week, Tex’s Tacos is one of the top five contenders for Best Food Truck in Atlanta. So now you need to vote - go to the link, click VOTE, and select Tex’s Tacos. Believe me when I say they deserve to win; I’d do just about anything for the carne asada…just about.

I’m getting borderline masochistic with this iPhone envy. Reason #352 why I need one: an App Shows Breast Implants Before and After. I mean, it’d be kind of interesting to see how things would turn out…obviously the app features a direct link to Facebook so you can upload your could-be-bod to your page, and “family and friends can weigh in on the new look.” That’s just dumb – I would immediately block the person who uploaded pictures of their fake fake boobs to tha Book…just email them. Duh.

Z3 has once again come through with BBT-worthy material – today’s gem: a coupon for half off at all Concentric Restaurants (One Midtown Kitchen, Two Urban Licks, Tap, etc) through September 1. You can print it out and carry it around on your person, or, if you’d like to join the rest of us in the new millennium, you can save the image to your phone and show it to your waiter. The coupon is for UNLIMITED use, which rocks. GO HERE for the coupon or just right-click on the image I’ve so nicely provided below.

 

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

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