Wedding and Family Honeymoon Musings

Flowers in front of Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden where our wedding and reception was held.



Walking into our reception.



View from our room at Loew's Royal Pacific Resort where we took our family honeymoon - we will take our official "just the two of us" honeymoon later this year. See the roller coasters in the background? We definitely recommend this place, especially if you have kids. The service and activities, as well as the pool, were amazing. It was definitely worth it to stay on the club level, as unlimited soft drinks, coffee and tea, breakfast, snacks and early dinner were all included. It was really awesome not to have to worry about parking, and to be able to walk back to the hotel to take a break, then return to the parks for more time in the evening.



Entrance to Harry Potter area of Universal Studio's Islands of Adventure. Love this place!

When you stay on-site you get in 1 hour early to Harry Potter and Express Passes too - basically we never waited more than 15 minutes for anything other than Ollivander's Wand Experience - and that was SO worth it!



Potter fans delight!



Yay for butterbeer - and they have frozen butterbeer too! It was kind of like cream soda with a marshmallow cream topping.



Ducks in the hotel pool - so cute!



Islands Dining Room inside the hotel.



Soup.

Although we took advantage of the "free" food offered on the club level as much as possible, we did dine at several restaurants including Islands Dining Room in our hotel. The food we had there was good, although just as expensive as expected at a resort restaurant.

Dumplings.



Mahi Mahi salad.



Fish & Chips.



Tasty nachos and Grilled Chicken sandwich at Bula Bar & Grill at the pool.

In addition to tasty food and excellent service by the pool (setting up your chair, bringing samples of smoothies) they had fun games for kids every hour on the hour. These included water balloon toss and find the rubber ducky. They also had movies by the pool every evening. We truly had a wonderful time and would recommend any of the Loew's properties at Universal Studios.

One evening we ordered take out from the Orchid Court Sushi Bar. The sushi was much better than I expected - a nice change from the typical American fare served in the club room.

Brunch at Parish Foods and Goods

Beignets - a nice touch for Parish's Sunday Brunch.

After a full bachelorette weekend back in March I took a couple of my bridesmaids to Parish Foods & Goods for Sunday brunch. We must have been hungry because I neglected to photograph anything other than the complimentary beignets, which were quite tasty. I also had the Shrimp & Grits, a worthy version with a poached egg on top - I love poached eggs. My friends seemed to enjoy their selections as well - French Toast, which I tasted and the American Breakfast. This was my first time eating in the dining room, although I've eaten in the cafe downstairs several times. I definitely enjoyed it and hope to have the chance to return soon.

Sonny's Place

Turkey Sharma.

Soon after Sonny's Place opened, we tried it for lunch on a weekday, looking forward to a great spread of a Middle Eastern buffet - boy do I miss the Cedars which used to be on Lenox! The place was almost empty and we enjoyed talking with the manager, who was very friendly. The food we tried was good, although I was a bit disappointed with the falafel, which was rather dry to me. Also, it was disappointing that the lunch buffet had very recently been discontinued before our visit. Still, I really enjoyed the hummus and the turkey "sharma" - which must be akin to the usual lamb/been "schwarma" as well as the fresh tasting salad. I'd like to go back and try more here although I was also very excited about the fact that Sonny's originally offered breakfast all day. According to their website, that seems to have changed and salads, sandwiches and Middle Eastern specialties dominate the menu.

Sampler Patter.

San Pellegrino Almost Famous Chef Competition - Southeast Region

Winner Elizabeth V. Freer from the Culinary Institute of Charleston. Her Rabbit Two Ways really impressed the judges!

I previously blogged about my experience judging this event here. However, as the result of wedding-madness I am just now getting around to blogging about the entire event including all of the dishes we judged. This was such a fun event and I was thrilled to be asked to Judge along with some of Atlanta's "top chefs"!

First I was allowed to observe the chefs at work.

Then time for tasting. Here we are all hard at work judging!

Bourbon-glazed Bacon Wrapped Pork Tenderloin with Southern cornbread dressing and haricot vert AKA green beans.



My personal favorite: Stuffed Pork Tenderloin with Mole Scented Demi served with Purple Potato Tostada and Agave nectar glazed jicama and Calabaza.



The winner: Rabbit Two Ways: Sweet Braised Rabbit Ravioli (yum!) with Pecan and Spice Encrusted Tenderloin served with Baby Spinach and Grilled Radicchio Saute with Cinnamon.



Hazelnut and Herb Crusted Rack of Lamb with Star Anise Scented stone ground grits and ratatouille tart.



Lemongrass stuffed airline breast with wasabi and beet mash potato and stir-fry. Spicy and interesting!



Lemon Pellegrino Pressure Braised Short Ribs with Smoky Gouda Grits and Seasonal Succotash.



Seared Duck Breast with buttered cabbage, ginger-butternut squash puree, mustard-chive spaetzle with braised leg.



Roasted Rabbit Roulade with Sweet Tea Polenta and Collard Greens with Pan Jus.



Awaiting the big announcement!

Williamson Brothers Bar-B-Q

Lots of logs needed for all of this BBQ!

After a wonderful hike at Red Top Mountain State Park, we were hungry and ventured to Williamson Brothers Bar-B-Q in Marietta. The restaurant has several other locations, including Douglasville and Canton. At once we were given the opportunity to try the "all you can eat" deal, which was quite a deal - I believe it was around $10 - $11 for all of the riblets, chopped pork and sides you could eat. It was pretty funny that they brought out one onion ring at a time, although I will admit it was a pretty large onion ring. Overall the meal satisfied our hungry tummies but was by no means outstanding. The chopped pork was tasty as were the baby back ribs that Cal ordered separately (not available with all you can eat) and the pies were a nice finish. However, when I'm in the mood for BBQ I'll head to Fox Brothers any day! I also want to try Heirloom Market BBQ very soon!

Pork-a-cookin'.



Chopped pork and Brunswick stew. The stew was, disappointingly, too sweet.



Chocolate and Key Lime Pies.



Ribs with fried okra and mac & cheese.

Sufi's

Tasting of butter, feta, mint, olives, walnuts, cucumber and radishes they serve with the delicious bread.

From top: Sufi's special eggplant, eggplant mixed with yogurt and onion and stuffed grape leaves. We also tried the yogurt mixed with beets. All very good!

I was so pleased to hear that Sufi's, a Persian restaurant, opened ITP not too far from my office. Although it was still cold when we visited, we sat on the heated patio, which was quite enjoyable. Our server took really good care of us and, despite making a mistake with our appetizer, she quickly made up for it by bringing the correct item at no charge. The appetizers were all excellent and you could make an entire meal out of the dishes, many of which include yogurt or eggplant. The salads look interesting as well - something to try next time. I love saffron - the aroma is so unique and really just makes your mouth water, so the rice was definitely a hit. Although I was really excited about the pomegranate/walnut/chicken combo of the Fesenjoon, I found it a bit dry and thick. Next time I'd like to try the beef in tomato sauce or the ground beef kabob.

Fesenjoon - chicken with walnuts and pomegranate. I loved the flavor but the dish came off a bit dry. I'm not sure how this happened since it is in a sauce but I think it has to do with the chicken being a bit overcooked and walnuts being in the sauce. Still very tasty. Love the saffron rice!

I believe this was baklava cheesecake.

Muir Glen Tomato Dinner at Aria

Favorite dish of the night - Tomato Panna Cotta with Tomato Sorbet. Sugar Cookies with Tomato Jam on the side.

I was invited to a fabulous tasting event at Aria, sponsored by Muir Glen. The organic tomato folks asked Chef Gerry Klaskala to create a tasting menu featuring their canned tomatoes. These are definitely not your average canned tomatoes, some even hold the "reserve" label. In addition to the delicious dishes pictured below, hors d'oeuvres of grilled cheese with bacon and tomato, bruschetta with tomato, blue cheese and prosciutto and tomato burger sliders were offered along with Bloody Mary's.

My favorite had to be the dessert, followed closely by the lamb dish with tomato and eggplant ragout. At the end of the meal we were given a Reserve Kit with tomatoes to take home. The fire roasted tomatoes have become a favorite of mine, especially for spaghetti sauce and lasagna. Yum! Thanks Muir Glen!

Chef Gerry Klaskala

Tomato tasting. Love the fire roasted!

Fire Roasted Tomato & Shrimp Bisque.

Ditalini with Squash, Tomatoes and Reggiano Parmigiano.

Spinasse Ragu with Anson Mills Polenta.

Oak Grilled Lamb with Tomato & Eggplant Ragout.