A Sweet Day

Any day that starts with a scrumptious cupcake as a prelude to lunch can't be all bad. Sure enough, the rest of the day lived up to my high expectations.

The day I speak of was last Saturday. I went on a day trip to Memphis with my husband and friends. Our goal for the day was to eat our way through the city with some shopping interspersed to reduce the likely onset of guilt and gluttony.

First stop was the cupcake shop, Gigi's. (Photo above is the display case. I'm fighting the urge to lick my screen right now.) I'm definitely an ardent fan of the treats from Cupcakes on Kavanaugh in Little Rock, and it will always be a little extra special to me because it was where I first tasted a truly "gourmet" cupcake. It was a eye-opening moment to take in the mountain of rich icing atop a moist gem of cake goodness. I would list Gigi's as a solid runner-up in the gourmet cupcake category if I were making such lists. Just like Cupcakes on Kavanaugh, the cake part itself lacks a little in the homemade flavor and texture, but the icing makes up for it in both quantity and quality. It's superb. Thanks to friends with a willingness to share (and cupcakes giant enough to make sharing possible) I was able to sample Chocolate Malt, Milk Chocolate, Wedding Cake and Scarlett's Velvet. While they were all good and the Malt would please any malt fan, Scarlett's Velvet was my favorite. It was the most moist and the icing atop wasn't quite as starkly sweet. That said, there wasn't a bad bite in the bunch as you can see from the photo of the aftermath. (Photo at right.)

We made a few shopping stops (I highly recommend Fleet Feet on Poplar to the runners/walkers out there) and headed out to The Avenue at Carriage Crossing in Collierville. Memphis is a city that has very defined areas where it's safe to be after dark. Just driving across the city, we saw a number of runners out soaking up the sunny spring day. Some probably could run with no more distraction than a neighbor's puppy wanting to play; others made me wonder how comfortable it would be running while packing heat. Either way, I could appreciate the beautiful weather and I'm even more appreciative of living in a reasonably safe enough town to step out my door and go for a run without having to dress like Laura Croft.

Anyway, The Avenue is an open-air shopping district that is made for beautiful spring days like this one. We stopped for lunch at Crescent City, a cajun cafe. Overall, the service was a mix of disinterested waitresses and one waiter hustling back & forth from the kitchen. The decor and atmosphere was relaxed and the location easily accessible. Of the items we ordered, the one standout was the Crawfish Dip, with excellent fresh tortilla chips. All the dishes had a spicy hot kick that was good but not overpowering. We also had an obligation to sample the Beignets as part of our eating across the city mission and were satisfied with them enough to push through more shopping afterward.

Our last food stop of the day was at Firebirds Rocky Mountain Grill. I've visited the restaurant before but my friends had not and were eager to try something new. While the food isn't what I'd call absolutely superb, it's a good bit better than the average casual dining fare. Since I've been on a bit of a seafood kick lately, I really enjoyed the grilled grouper I ordered. And the absolute last dish on the menu I'd have ordered, the Buffalo Meatloaf, turned out to be edible! It was good enough that I recall thinking "if meatloaf tasted like this, I'd actually eat it, and maybe even go so far as to make it myself." So yes, it was some pretty spectacular meatloaf to make me reconsider my dislike of it from childhood. Throwing the warm, rustic atmosphere into the mix, dinner at Firebirds made for a excellent way to relax at the end of a hard day of eating, shopping and strolling around on a gorgeous spring afternoon.

From Boutique to Beef

I've come to a conclusion about boutique hotels; I'll be sticking to a true boutique and avoid the attempts by chain hotels to imitate the boutique style and experience.

A couple of weeks ago, my husband and I made a trip to Atlanta for the weekend. After hearing good things for a number of years about the W hotels chain, plus seeing their website touting their "Whatever, Whenever" service and trendy upscale style pushed us over the edge to give them a try. This was one case of a website with polish & ideals that don't translate over into the real world. Stepping off the elevators on our floor it went from all glittered t-shirts and uber-cool style to something that in its previous life was not the W Hotel. The Wow Suite we had booked didn't quite "WOW" us as we walked in, but the square footage was generous. Downsides we discovered quickly were the three light blubs that were out, the shower curtain that would blow in on your while you were taking a shower and the safe that wouldn't unlock. For the caliber of hotel this is presented to be, it should be walk-in shower and the amenities should be in fully functioning order. While we were there, we found the advertised "Whatever, Whenever" service was only available if "whatever" you wanted fit within their small parameters. Food in the restaurant was overpriced and I suspect not much more than heat & eat food service items; for the price, it was seriously lacking in quality. Having said that, it wasn't all disappointments. The room was incredibly quiet, which I value highly. The multiple views were pleasant, and the balcony would be more enjoyable if the city wasn't busy living up to it's Hot-lanta nickname. Mostly, I'm glad we got the room at a good rate.

Then there was the food. Oh my, was there ever the food! I'll start at the bottom of the barrel with Atlanta Fish Market, which by no means would normally be at the bottom of most barrels. With a very large selection of very fresh seafood, it was hard to decide what to eat. The most notable item we had was the buffalo shrimp appetizer. I'm not a buffalo-wing kind of gal, but this was good. Good enough to inspire ideas to take home and try later. I also had some of the best scallops here I've ever had; they're nothing like the rubber pucks most restaurants serve.

One of the most pleasant surprises of our trip was the Marietta Diner. (Thank you Diners, Drive-ins and Dives.) We went there for lunch and when I walked in the door I was in awe. The cakes! The minimum height requirement for a cake in that display case was at least 8" tall. That was the smallest of the cakes, and there were so many to choose from. For a pastry nut like me, it was like a slice of heaven (get it?) Anyway, carefully choosing my meal from the novel also known as a menu was challenging with that much variety. I stepped out of my usual health-conscious mode and ordered the Monte Cristo wrap, which was fantastic. Next up... "One slice of the Carmel cake, two forks please." The waiter returns with seven layers of goodness, that's seven real cake sized layers with icing and caramel between them all. The single slice arrived on its side, covering the entire dinner plate, and stood up at least 3 inches. Enormous. How one person could ever consume this much cake and not spend the next 24 hours in a sugar rush I do not know. In an effort to provide those who read my blog with a complete experience, my husband and I gave it our all and tried our best to eat the whole slice. We failed this time, but we both have vowed to return and make another run at that cake. I do believe it was the best cake I've ever eaten, and I have no doubt it was the largest.

That wasn't the only "best" I had while in Atlanta. I saw a number of reviews highly praising Rathbun's, a local hot spot. From their website, I found Rathbun's Steak. Now you're talking to me. I'm a true Ruth's Chris fan and place their fillet as the barrier to match or beat, and I finally found a steak that does it. For a true piece-of-beef that is fork tender, juicy and requires nothing else on the plate to interfere with it's simply delicious taste, this is the place to get it. Beyond the steak, the Asian meatball appetizer is impressively light in taste. The mashed potatoes were very good, but I'd have preferred the macaroni and cheese use a bit stronger of a cheese. The deserts were all exceptional, including the black-bottom creme brulee. Rathbun's Steak and Marietta Diner are two places I'd tell anyone visiting Atlanta to put on their priority list. Both are busy so be prepared to wait, and with Rathbun's Steak plan to make reservations a bit in advance.

On our way out of town, we made a stop at La Madeline's for Sunday brunch. It's one of those places everything I've tried is good, and the quiche is exceptional. It's fortunate there's not one closer to my hometown or I'd really struggle to not make it a part of my daily route.

One of the reasons we went to Atlanta was to participate in the Lexus Performance Driving Academy. While I do post on here about the roads and the food along the way, the vehicle that gets me there is important too. The class gave us time at the Atlanta Motor Speedway in a Lexus IS-F. It's a beautiful piece of machinery that handles even better than it looks. Driving it for the day was a real pleasure and loads of fun as we put it through it's paces around the road course and in the autocross. I have to give Lexus a lot of credit, any event I've attended of theirs has been put together very well. No details are forgotten, and they treat their attendees very well the entire time. There's none of that feeling like cattle being herded through long lines or a lackluster attitude from any of the staff that I've seen at a few too many events. They do a fantastic job and I would highly recommend their events to any car enthusiast.

Cheap Seafood Ain't Good

My rule of thumb about seafood is this: if it's more than 100 miles inland, realize that most shrimp/fish/scallops/other seafood is not going to be really fresh. If you take that into consideration, your expectations will be adequately adjusted for the food you're about to consume.

The title of this post comes from the marquee at Who Dat's Cajun Restaurant in Bald Knob, Arkansas. I am inclined to agree with their assessment of seafood quality and have to give them credit for doing justice to good seafood. To say the portions are generous is an understatement and considering that, the $15 to $20 for most entrees on the menu doesn't seem overpriced. Most also include their food bar, which when added to the meals makes for more food than I can eat in one sitting. Everything I tasted was in single a word, flavorful. Many restaurants like to substitute heat for flavor and treat Cajun as label meaning "hot." That's not a real definition of all things Cajun. These guys get it. They understand that while heat has it's place, it's not a stand-in for good flavor and a disguise for poor quality. The gumbo was the best I've had anywhere and I can't honestly say I could identify everything in it. Sometimes I know it's better that I don't know the complete contents. Other things on the menu and food bar that were good included the fried catfish, hush puppies and blackened catfish. I'd expected the blackened fish to have more heat, as I've become accustomed to the whole "hot" in place of flavor versions most places serve. This was quite the contrary as it had a warm flavor but was not intensely hot. The seasoned rice (or any of their rice for that matter) was also a nice complement to about any dish. The one real surprise was the roast beef on the food bar. I'd rank it in the top 5 of roast beef dishes I've had, which I would have never thought to look for in a Cajun restaurant. The selection of deserts was plentiful and delicious as well, so despite having really no room left after all the feasting, I had to sample the Peanut Butter Pie and the Carmel Pecan Chocolate Cake. I certainly wouldn't send either of those back to the kitchen, they were a fine finish to a large but tasty meal.

With eager patrons lining up out the door before 6pm in this small town, I was glad I arrived early. As I was leaving I saw a framed copy of a magazine article titled "Ten Places Worth Driving For" based out of Little Rock. After seeing, smelling and tasting why it's on their list, I'm anxious to ask, what are the other nine?

My Rating: 4 Stars
Pros: Leaving here hungry won't be the fault of the restaurant, there's so much food available at every turn. Most everything on the menu is good, and there's plenty to choose from. Even the seafood adverse folks will find something here. Family friendly atmosphere. I could put the seasoning they use on several dishes in a bowl and eat it, it's that good.
Cons: Gargantuan portions, so big I couldn't make a real dent in my meal and that was after I chose to forgo 99% of the food bar. A little pricey for those with a light appetite, but if you're really hungry and have hollow legs, it's not a bad value. The shrimp are on the larger size and tend to have more of a prawn than shrimp taste; unless you're a fan of prawns, I'd steer clear of them.