I think most blogs have some sort of celebration for their one-year “blogiversary.” I, however, totally missed the milestone. It only occurred to me because of two things: Petit Le Mans came and went (more on that in tomorrow’s Tuesdaygram) and I attended Taste of Atlanta last weekend, which I recall blogging about last year.
I made my third trip to the annual food festival with my trusty Taste of Atlanta partner in crime Leiza and brought rookie Melissa along for the ride.
Leiza and I are now pros at Taste of Atlanta. Here are the rules we’ve established to a successful Taste of Atlanta experience: get there early when parking is plentiful and supplies are high, bring your own bottle of water, make a recon lap to find your favorites and any freebies, don’t bother with chain restaurants, always take portion size in to consideration when making your picks, don’t buy more tickets (you’re full, you just don’t know it yet).
Right away, two of our rules clashed, but anything that is free overrides all other rules…. especially if its Chipolte! Seriously, free chicken taco? Yes, please. And thank you for having tofu tacos for Melissa too.
And we might have broken another rule, but we’re pros remember, and pros know that Honeysuckle Gelato is the shit, so you don’t pass that up on your recon lap, especially if there’s not a line. Spiced Pumpkin for me Peppermint Bark for Leiza. Oh goodness, that pumpkin was good enough to fork over the $6.99 they want for a pint at Whole Foods.
I did make another pick before we finished the the initial recon lap (but we were almost done): Pork Tenderloin and Logan Turnpike Grits. Wowza. It tasted as good as it looked. I even convinced Leiza to get some on our way back to commence our second lap. The cherry orange compote on top was a nice sweet taste. Thank you 1 Kept. I will be visiting your establishment soon.
We might be getting too good at Taste of Atlanta, because I’ve started to go back to the same places. My next two bites were repeats from 2012.
Apple Bread Pudding with Whisky Sauce from Gordon Biersch. PS Gordon: I noticed you dished out smaller portions than last year…
Then some Creole Shrimp and Grits from Max Lager. What can I say, I’m a sucker for grits.
And this, do you know what this is, do you know what I spent my last ticket on?
A SHAM! It’s not often that I bite into something and cough. But that’s what happened with this so-called “red velvet brownie with cream cheese icing.” The flavor was alright, but it had the texture of something that had been frozen and not quite thawed. Unmercifully chewy. At least it only cost my one ticket.
And… we may have gone back to Honeysuckle for more gelato. This time Browned Butter for Leiza and Salted Caramel pour moi.
Through all of this dairy and meat, rookie Melissa was able to find solid vegan choices. The Indian restaurants generally had a vegan offering, like this mini uttapam from Chai Pani. I belive “uttapam” means “swirly vegetable potato bread” in Indian.
I declare us winners and still champions of Taste of Atlanta.
Adventures of a Hungry Redhead 
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