On The Road – Atlanta
Checking in with my former home town of Atlanta
As someone who has on their Twitter profile (@ReedDailey), the quote, "Ready 2 travel but only in planes or trains." The biggest blow to me during this pandemic has been the fact that, for the most part, I have not been able to do one of my favorite things in the world, take an adventure. To me, adventures can be as simple as checking out a new part of town, getting on the train and learning about a new part of your city, or getting on a plane and exploring a new portion of the world. Thankfully and fingers crossed, we are getting closer and closer to the end of this whole thing and can get back to the old ways or define new ways, however you want to look at it.
So it is with that said, that I am thrilled to return to a city I long had considered home and share just how much the city has changed and what new gems it had to unveil.
Background:
What seems funny about Atlanta is that my life always pulls me towards it no matter how hard I try to run away from her. In the 90’s, I moved to Atlanta when my father took a job, and while at first I was a bit thrown off by southern culture, I quickly realized that warm weather, a bit more green, well everywhere, and darn great people can do to make you fall in love with a place. Then just as soon as I started to feel like I found my footing, I was back in NYC playing soccer and getting my degrees at St. John’s. Then when it came time to find my own place in the world, I found Atlanta to be a fantastic spot and lived there again for a number of years. Each time I lived in Atlanta, I uncovered new neighborhoods. From the sub-burbs of Alpharetta and Marietta to the city areas of Buckhead, Midtown, Inman Park, East Atlanta, and the list goes on. Remember when I said, Atlanta has a way of pulling me back. Well, I moved with my family to Chicago, and just as soon as the ink was dry on the mortgage papers, I was on assignment in Atlanta and found myself back in the city for work on a fairly regular basis. As all good things come to an end, so did that project and I was stationed on other assignments and life pulled me elsewhere, then the pandemic hit and I hadn’t been to Atlanta for over three years. The longest stretch in the last ~20-years of my life. So heading down there was a big deal, I was going to see friends and family and most importantly bringing my family and my daughter to experience Atlanta for the first time, with grand plans to eat my way through the city, share my old spots, and experience all the change throughout town.
When living in Atlanta the second time, my places were in the heart of Midtown and the up-and-coming upper West Midtown. As a result, restaurants, and bars were popping up left-right, and center. I had the absolute pleasure of exploring this thriving scene, getting to know staff, and getting to DJ at various establishments on a few occasions. Find my mixes at (Soundcloud.com/ReedDailey); yes that was a shameless self-plug. As anyone could guess the pandemic did a few things, it weeded out some bad restaurants, unfortunately, it also closed some of my favorites like Holman and Fitch and Georgia Grill, it created new opportunities for new restaurants to come in place of old ones, and it allowed for new folks to showcase their unique perspectives. Here are a couple of the highlights from one of my recent trips.
Hotel: The Whitley
Named after the founder of Buckhead, this hotel is located in the old Ritz Carlton footprint and while there are some remnants of the old guard, the hotel at large has been renovated with a fantastic bar area well set up to have a cup of coffee and read the new paper, have a drink and catch up on some SEC football, or reconnect with old friends. There is a nice size dining area that is well-positioned for breakfast and lunch. Rooms have been updated and while the physical footprint feels a bit small and dated compared to most modern hotels, everything else has been updated. Pool and gym are a complete miss and are stuck somewhere between the 80’s and ’90s but we came here to explore, not to work out and swim laps. The last thing I will say about the Whitley is what a strong staff. From the old guard of the Ritz that had zero interest in anyone under the age of 60 on the property, the staff was extremely helpful and accommodating to my family’s like mine, and never once was I afraid to spend time in the lobby with little ones.
Links: Website
Restaurant Overview: Two Urban Licks
The Set-Up:: If you have never been to Two Urban Licks, you must. What will probably go down as what I will classify as Atlanta 2.0 restaurant was one of the first spots to open up in a warehouse district in Little-Five/Virginia Highlands Area, is both massive in scale, and has one of the largest open pits in America. What is interesting is how fortunate they were that their location was right along an abandoned rail line, now very much known as the Beltline, so the ability to leave your meal and walk around or come in from one of the surrounding neighborhoods to the restaurant is about as easy as ever. Also, while looking up their IG account, I learned they have a 26-foot wine-on tap barrel well, which was the first in the country. Which is funny, I have looked at it for years, but never actually believe I had a drink there.
Drink highlights: We were there for brunch, I ordered a tequila sunrise and it goes the day started off right.
Dish Highlights: Salmon Chips (Smoked Salmon, Chipotle Cream Chees, capers, Red Onions). Seared Duck Breast and Confit Lge, Sweet Potato Puree, Spinach, Bacon Cider Gastrique
Restaurant: Forza Storico
The Set-Up:: The second location from the group, was a very upbeat almost European feel. Which was sort of crazy considering we are in the midst of the pandemic but that did not stop the place from being completely packed. Forza Storico is located in WestSide Provisions, across from JCT Kitchen. What was so interesting to me is just how different the vibe was from JCT and JCT bar to Forza. Both are super strong restaurants, Forza just had a more street-style vibe, like you were in the restaurant, but it might as well be like you were eating in a city center outdoor park area. Basically, it felt like Europe, ok, I said it.
Drink highlights: Espresso Martini (Pull Picture From Person Online)
Dish Highlights: Polpeete (Berkshire pork meatballs, mozzarella Sugo di Pomodoro, grana), Polo (grilled octopus, cannellini beans, Calabrian chili pesto, arugula)
Staff Highlights: The bar staff was super dialed in, they had a solid beverage menu, knew what they were doing, and highly recommended getting there a little early and grabbing a drink to two.
Owner/Staff: @il_pastaiolo_mike | @yeppasteve
Restaurant: Chattahoochee Food Works
The Set-Up:: Maura and I were one of the only people that we knew who lived over on the WEST West-Midtown in a place called Dupont Common. Don’t know it, watch any movie that has come out over the last few years and I promise you it features a house from this neighborhood. So when my brother told me we were going to a brewery in this area, I was like, where is this place, and I am not a big beer guy, so was like beer, really. So upon arrival, I realized that this is the food mecca with financial backers like Andrew Zimmerman and houses over 15 different mini food restaurants, DBA BBQ, Beer, a full bar, and a whole lot of room for the future build-out located in the heart of Atlanta’s Upper Westside.
Drink highlights: It was a hot day, I just parked myself in front of the Scofflaw’s Brewing and bellied up to the bar for a few drinks.
Dish Highlights: I headed over to Banh Mi Station for a traditional sandwich, straightforward, everything you would expect, dang good
Staff Highlights: Good luck, the place was packed, and getting your drink order is hard enough; good luck connecting with anyone.
Links: Website | Banhmistationatl.com | @banhmistationatl | Scofflawbeer.com | @scofflawbeer
Store Highlights: Sid Mashburn
The Set-Up:: If you follow me on social, read this site, you will know I am a massive fan of the brand Sid Mashburn and while some people head right to the bars/restaurant, I head there to check out what is new from the team. Now in this situation, I was traveling with C (4-year old daughter) and a big lesson learned, even if you pumped a four year old full of food and ice cream, she is still going to be bored when shopping for stuff that is not for her, so while I was excited to be at the store and check out what was new, this might have been the sorted trip and as a result, why I ended up connecting with the staff when they were in Chicago the next week.
Item Highlights: Chelsea boots, Tobacco Brown Suede Loafers, Camo Jacket, Sid Mashburn X WM Brown Silk Club Tie, and a custom Green Jacket, but don’t get it, I already did!
Staff Highlights: The whole team is great, just walk in and you will see why this brand has stayed onto of their game for the last 15-years
Sadly, I have a killer post on Sid and his WSID radio show, but thanks to the great GoDaddy Crash of 2021, I lost the whole post. Will try to re-create it for a Music Monday soon.
Links: Website | @sidmashburn
Atlanta will always be a special place for me. With new hotels launching throughout town, new areas popping up all across the West Side, and some of the best sporting arenas around, not to mention a brother with a backyard pool. Fully expect more Atlanta reviews from me in the near future! Till then, enjoy checking out some of these new restaurants and connecting with their incredible staff, because without them they are nothing. Till next time.
On The Road - Washington State
48-hours in Washington ends up with a trip to the first-ever Starbuck finding a hole in the wall bar with one heck of a cocktail program.
We just got a fair bit of snow here in Chicago and for some reason, the snowfall sparked a memory of this bar and more importantly two cocktails I had in Washington, the state not the city. Thanks to the geotagging in Iphone photos, I flipped to my phone late last night after a few Green Egg Pizzas and some fantastic Vino to be blown away by the 40+ photos I rediscovered living in my phone from a quick trip to Washington and some fantastic cocktails with friends. But before we get there, let me catch you up on how we go there.
So given my phone tagging, this was circa 2019 in January and I had to get out there for a quick work trip, one of those quick 48-hour, multiple locations type trips. So we started off in Seatle for literally a land, check-in to the hotel, and leave in the AM type stays. So I went for a run that night and the next morning one of my better-planning teammates was like, you want to go check out the first-ever Starbucks and the Market. The answer was of course I do! Going to the first-ever Starbucks reminds me of a whole lot of Halo Pub in Princeton, there was worn-out food, a strong smell of coffee, felt nothing like the Starbucks of today, which beyond the reserve stores feel like fast food quantity over quality establishments. Ironically, I think I grabbed just a grande coffee vs. mixing it up, but hey, you like what you like.
So armed with piping hot coffee, 50+ emails waiting for me, thanks to the West Coast time zone, we said, we are only here for a few minutes, let’s walk through the market, and yes it is as cool as The Real World Seattle made it look years ago. But off on the road, we headed, up into the countryside of Washington. We were driving for a fair bit and had to jump on a conference call and found this great little dinner that had more hot coffee, all these pies to try, swag for days, and above all, solid Wifi. After this part of the story, the trip went into a sprint of crazy intense work stuff so let’s just fast forward to the good part, it is why you came here.
So we wrapped up our work obligations and went on the hunt for a drink and some food. We ended up in the cool little barn/warehouse-type food court that had its own brewery, bars, little food spots, and we kicked off the night by having a beer and just breathing after a long couple of days. After wrapping up beer and some quick bites, we started asking around where one could get a solid cocktail. Which lead us to head about a mile and half down the road to a little spot called the Sidecar Lounge. Now, if my memory serves me right, there was a large establishment and this was literally a sid bar that was carved out and might have been an old bank, and while my memory might be bad, just know, the bar was small, cool, had solid music, and strong cocktails. While my description of the Sidecar is not perfect, a quick google search and I was able to validate the following:
The Sidecar is was a mid-century-inspired lounge serving craft cocktails, inspired by seasonal and fresh ingredients, ranging from the turn of the century to today's latest styles in cocktailing. The Sidecar Lounge embraces the classic art of fine craft cocktail creations, invented in the United States in 1856, using bitters, juices, syrups, and infusions, prepared in-house with ingredients from local markets and growers. Our menu is a seasonally changing assortment that runs from the classics to the avant-garde. The affection for house-made ingredients is taken to another level here. Each day commences with crafting our own infusions, tinctures, and flavored syrups. You don't bring a knife to a gunfight and we promise we won't make your cocktail with juice from a can or concentrate. All our cocktails are made with hand-squeezed juices and fresh ingredients. We use only the finest spirits and a superior caliber of ice!
All right, back to the story. So we were sitting there talking to the bartender, and we asked them for a few recommendations, and here is what we landed on. Both drinks were fantastic and while I couldn’t find the exact menu from that night, I did find some other menus that showcased their cocktail program from past seasons.
Berried at Sea
Navy strength gin; I recommend Plymouth (Link)
Lillet (Link)
Raspberry and blueberry syrup (Just make it, watch here)
Salt
Absinthe (Link)
Blood & Snow
Reposado tequila (I recommend Nosotros (Link)
Grandeza orange liqueur (Link)
blood orange syrup (Just make it, watch here)
pomegranate juice
lime juice
So hopefully you enjoyed hearing a bit more about this journey. Sadly this bar closed, but I always enjoyed the experience, have a fun time with two friends with whom I was on the work trip, and am on a hunt for my next Sidecar style bar. If you end up trying to make some of these cocktails, don’t forget to hit us on the hashtag #DaileyBlend.
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