Pretty Southern

Category: Featured

Featured

  • Amazing Ammazza

    Eclectic, funky, and oh-so-tasty, Ammazza is a welcome addition to Atlanta’s historic Old Fourth Ward. And this joint truly caters to its neighborhood. Just a stone’s throw from Sister Louisa’s Church, Noni’s, and other late night hot spots, Ammazza is open until 2 a.m. on the weekends catering to hungry pizza lovers.

    The definition of “Ammazza” can take on several different meanings in colloquial Italian. It’s an exclamation which can be taken both in positive and negative connotations. It’s not-so-pretty translation means “to kill” or “slay”; although it’s positive exclamation means a pleasant surprise such as “oh my!” or “gooddness”. Ammazza’s proprietor Hugh Connerty recounted a story of walking through Italy while formulating his game plan for the restaurant, he would hear local guys shouting at a woman if they liked the way she looked.

    A local Atlanta lady with Italian roots sent a nasty-gram to Ammazza before its opening denouncing the restaurant because of its negative connotation. She is certainly missing out.

    Ammazza graphic designed by Matt Ketchum

    Ammazza sources their meats from Spotted Trotter and goodness we’re glad they did. If y’all order the Magherita pizza, then add bacon. Each slice has about an inch of crisp bacon topped on the fresh mozzarella, tomato and basil. Oh, and Ammazza makes all their own cheese in-house daily, in addition to their dough. They’ve got a good thing using the finest fare available in Atlanta.

    A fully stocked bar in the dining room offers a wonderful cocktail list, as well as an additional ordering point so y’all don’t have to get back in line out front. After ordering, pickup your own plates, napkins, utensils, etc. before finding your table. Servers circle about to provide assistance where needed. The dining room with it’s copper lights glowing against deep green walls provides a cool yet romantic ambiance.

    A cannoli is a great way to end a meal at Ammazza

    DJs are spinning nightly, but before the party goers head out for the night, Ammazza is very kid friendly. There’s even a concoction on the menu called “Glitter Pizza”. And the desserts offering is oh so sweet, including cannoli and a flour-less chocolate cake.

    For more information, check out Ammazza’s website. Also, Like them on Facebook and Follow them on Twitter. While y’all are at it, Like Pretty Southern and Follow us on Twitter too.

  • Margaret Mitchell’s Great Love

    “Gone With The Wind” was 1,037 pages which took its author, Margaret Mitchell a decade to write. Then it took 517 pages to correctly document the life and times of this great Southern writer and the romance between Mitchell and her husband, John Marsh.

    In “Margaret Mitchell & John Marsh: The Love Story Behind Gone With the Wind,” biographer Marianne Walker researched thousands of papers containing correspondence from the Marsh husband & wife team. Letter to family, friends, business associates, and even fans were unearthed to properly tell the tale of this power couple from their start to an untimely finish. Miss Walker’s effort to research the true history behind the Marshes life together comes to fruition in this biography.

    For every writer is only brilliant once someone believes in her talent. Heaven cast Mr. John Robert Marsh of Maysville, Ky., to play the editor, lover, business manager and most devoted husband to Margaret Mitchell. the South has ever known. The reader becomes enamored with the fascinating tale which began in Atlanta during Prohibition times. It’s thought the first time John Marsh lay eyes on Margaret “Peggy” Mitchell in a speakeasy he instantly became enamored with her.

    Then she strung him along while dating many other men and eventually ended up marrying his roommate, Red Upshaw. But it was an ill-fated marriage, as Peggy was truly meant to be with John. He was by her side throughout her tumultuous early 20s and gave Peggy her typewriter which would berth her famous work. On that day, he said to her “Madam…I greet you on the beginning of a great new career.”

    “Gone With The Wind” sold more than 30 million copies, which makes Margaret Mitchell not only the greatest writer the South has ever known, but also one of the most popular authors in the world. And with such great popularity comes equal responsibility. After giving birth to their labor of love, the Marshes took on the burden of maintaining the copyrights in more than 20 countries because at the time the publisher refused to do so. The Marshes were pioneers in the foreign copyright industry right out of their own apartment in Atlanta. And Walker does a fantastic job of touting all their trials and tribulations. Because above all, John and Peggy’s love for one another never faltered. Publisher’s Weekly calls Margaret Mitchell & John Marsh: The Love Story Behind Gone With the Wind “… a moving love story of symbiotic union that lasted 24 years.  A remarkable piece of detective work.”

    The last lines of the book have the most profound impact and will bring tears to the end of this biography. “He was there, with calm judgement, quiet admiration, whole souled devotion.” The love John Marsh had for his wife could not be summed up any better.

    More information about the biography can be found here. Have any of y’all read this powerful work? If so, please let us know your thoughts in a comment below.

  • Taste of Atlanta 2012

    More than 90 of Atlanta’s best restaurants and thousands of the South’s loveliest foodies gathered in Midtown for the 11th annual Taste of Atlanta. On Oct. 5-7, taste buds were rocked in the ultimate food lover’s experience. The block between Spring Street and 5th Street was taken over by folks wanting to sample the best cuisine their city had to offer. Plus the historic Biltmore building at the corner of 5th Street and West Peachtree provided a perfect backdrop for foodies to linger among the tents trying sushi, grits, chili, pizza and everything in between. Cooking demonstrations such as Clean Eating (food prepared by chefs Linda Harrell and Terry Walters of Les Dames d’Escoffier), Chopped Challenge: Facebook Face Off, Creative Loafing’s $20 Dinner, were just some of the dozens of events hosted by the city’s renowned restauranteurs this year.

    Seed's savory yet sweet crostini

    Seed Kitchen & Bar won first place for Best Taste on Saturday serving up an delicious crispy crostini with all the right flavors. The pimento cheese, smoky ham and fresh crisp apple served on a grilled toast point was the perfect dish for this fall afternoon. Seed is a newcomer to the Atlanta dining scene located slightly OTP in the Merchant’s Walk of Marietta. But chef/owner Doug Turbush certainly rocked palettes ITP this year at Taste of ATL. On Sunday, Best Taste went to Mi Cocina’s Ceviche – a delicious seafood cocktail swimming in lime juice and seasonings.

    Chocolate Fondue from The Melting Pot

    Those with a sweet tooth weren’t tooth weren’t left hankering for more. The Melting Pot was on-hand providing chocolate fondue drizzled atop fresh strawberries, pound cake and brownies (oh my!). Sublime Donuts was also on 5th Street right down the road from their shop serving up fresh pastries. And foodie’s were delighted to sample some of the first treats from The General Muir – a deli and bakery concept opening in 2013 down in Decatur from the same folks who brought y’all West Egg. Check back at PrettySouthern.com for more news on their progress.

    Big thanks to the ladies at Bravo PR and to Taste of Atlanta for letting Pretty Southern join them for this year’s event! Until 2013, we’ll leave y’all salivating. We sure are!

    Here's a napkin from Woody's Cheesesteaks to wipe your mouth!

  • True Southern Fandom

    One thing we all have for our teams in the South is passion. We’re passionate when we win, we’re passionate when we lose, and we’re passionate when schools we hate do the same.

    It isn’t rare for a loss, big or small, to ruin a mood, and sometimes the whole night or even weekend. Yes, it may sound silly, but you try finding a giddy Georgia fan on a Saturday night after the Braves lose a spot in the playoffs and the Dawgs get pounded by Steve Spurrier.

    And that’s just what happened during the Dawgs miserable last game (or wonderful, if you’re a Cards or Cocks fan) weekend of sports.

    I was at Jake’s cousin’s house that Saturday night, who cheers for Alabama with her husband, along with his uncle who kept reminding us he was cheering for N.C. State and South Carolina because he doesn’t care for any teams, really, so he cheers for the underdog, and Jake’s sister who went to Florida State but has since grown a bit out of her fandom. They were busy cooking and chatting while I was in one room, watching Aaron Murray flop like a flounder on the field and South Carolina’s defense act like they took beast mode pills before the game, and Jake in the other, confident his ‘Noles would pull out what should have been an easy win against N.C. State until the final seconds stole the No. 3-spot glory from the FSU nation.

    Top that with a huge Braves loss complete with beer bottles on the field and four errors by Atlanta the night before, and let’s just say, it was a quiet ride home to Smyrna.

    I was disappointed. There may have been some shouting and cursing during the Georgia-South Carolina game that caused the house Yorkie to growl at me. My head met my hands at least 94 times in misery. We lost. And we were just plain bad. Our football team was starting to look like we were confused pee wee boys playing the local high school team. It was shocking and depressing, to say the least.

    But I still went home that night a Georgia fan. I still drank a glass of water out of one of my several Georgia cups before going to bed. I still wore my Georgia pajamas to bed. I was still hopeful for the rest of the season and trying to figure out if I could make another home game this year. I was still proud to call myself a Georgia fan and graduate. And the vast majority of Georgia fans were too.

    If you want to lose faith in some of your fellow fans, however, it only takes a quick read through your Facebook or Twitter feed. We were ranked No.5 playing a team ranked No. 6 that is now ranked No. 3. We were undefeated leading up to that game. Our players and coaches gave us every reason to cheer for them leading up to Saturday, but whether they won or lost, my love for Georgia would have given me every reason to cheer for them anyway.

    “Mark Richt needs to go!” “Gene Chizik is an embarrassment to Auburn!” “Let’s egg Aaron Murray’s house!”

    This coming not from the teams’ enemies, but from their own fans. Seriously? SERIOUSLY??? These people may call themselves fans, but they aren’t true fans by any means. THIS IS SUPPOSED TO BE YOUR TEAM. And it isn’t just a handful of Dawg fans who have been dawging their own teams. Plenty of other Southern college football fans have done the same, which to me, is inexcusable and immature. A team is like your family. They can drive you nuts sometimes, but you’ll always stick up for them and cheer them on through the good and the bad. Bad mouth your own family? Why? Not only is that just plain stupid, it’s embarrassing. Yes, the Bulldog nation is ready for us to stay on top, win those big games and finally get another national championship under our belts. But we were SEC East Champs just last year – something South Carolina would have even loved to have been – and we have a talented team and talented coaching staff that made some awful mistakes on Saturday.

    Trying being a Georgia Tech fan right now, or a Virginia Tech fan, or even an Auburn or Arkansas fan. These teams have suffered embarrassing losses in copious amounts as of late and also have many of those same, so-called “fans.” Heck, I don’t care who you are, you can’t say that all people who call themselves fans of your team are true fans. I assure you there are far more “big Alabama fans” now than there were when the school was on probation. But we have no reason to say that our teams and coaches are wasting away and twiddling their thumbs because they just don’t care. They do. But they aren’t perfect, and we aren’t perfect in our own lives. Ever made a mistake at work? Of course you have. You think you can call plays over 90,000 drunk, screaming fans while millions at home watch better than they can? No. You can’t. Twenty-six years of being the coach’s daughter taught me bleacher coaches are the dumbest and the worst, no matter how smart they think they really are.

    Stay passionate, Southerners, but stay true. Don’t let your disappointment get in the way of your loyalty. True fans are just as proud to claim their teams when they win as when they lose. I don’t cheer for the Dawgs because they win. I cheer because I’m a Dawg and I know what that means in my heart and in my memories. You can have your opinions – every Southerner does – but please try defending your team when needed, not giving an offense to your enemies.

    [author] [author_image timthumb=’on’]https://prettysouthern.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/mug-shot-1.jpg[/author_image] [author_info]Katy Ruth Camp is a professional writer living in Smyrna, Ga. Katy Ruth grew up in a small town in north Georgia and graduated from the University of Georgia with degrees in journalism and literature. During college, she worked as a writer and game day assistant for the UGA Athletic Association. After college, she hosted a local media outlet’s high school football show for three seasons and won first place from the Georgia Sports Writers Association for football reporting. Her father, John Camp, was a UGA football letterman and high school football coach in Georgia for over 30 years. Read more on Pigskin Peaches blog, like them on Facebook, follow on Twitter, and check back weekly on PrettySouthern.com.[/author_info] [/author]

  • Taste of Atlanta Tickets

    We are so excited Pretty Southern has been invited to cover Taste of Atlanta again this year. This is the best opportunity to experience more than 80 of Atlanta’s premier restaurants. For those of y’all not on the media list, there are a few ways to get access into the events beginning Friday, Oct. 5, through Sunday, Oct. 8. The first option is to purchase a Scoutmob Hand-Picked All Access pass for #TasteofATL. The Taste of Atlanta team has hooked up a pretty decent package deal for 50% off tickets for both Friday AND Sunday.

    The all-inclusive Friday night Big Grill kick-off event will feature live music from Yacht Rock Schooner, cold beer, wine, American Spirit Whiskey cocktails and tastings from some of the city’s best chefs. Ford Fry (JCT, The Optimist, No. 246) Kevin Rathbun (Rathbun’s, Rathbun Steak) and Jay Swift (4th & Swift) will be lighting it up at Grills Gone Wild. Scoutmob has two ticket options:

    $60: 1 Friday Night Big Grill Ticket + 1 Taste of Atlanta general admission ticket for Sunday

    $75: 1 VIP Friday Night Big Grill Ticket + 1 Taste of Atlanta general admission ticket for Sunday. It’s the same deal as above except entry to the Big Grill begins at 6:30 p.m. for more chef-mingling time.

    Get your tickets from ScoutMob or from Taste of Atlanta and we’ll see you there on Friday!

    If y’all only want to go for one day of the event, check out Taste of Atlanta’s website for more details. Friday night general admission is $60 and goes from 7:30 – 10:30 p.m. However, with an upgrade for only $15 more to VIP status gets y’all in at 6:30 and more tasting tickets. Saturday and Sunday all-day passes general admission is only $25 and VIP is $75.

    Each Taste of ATL diner receives Taste Coupons which are used to purchase food from participating restaurants. Menu items are valued at 1, 2 or 3 taste coupons. A General Admission ticket includes 10 Taste Coupons, and the VIP Ticket includes 15 Taste Coupons. Additional taste coupons can be purchased: 10 taste coupons for $10 or 20 coupons for $20.

    So why is VIP so very important? VIP is a MUST for those of you who want access to the Wine+Beer+Cocktail Experience. It’s also one of the only areas at the event to cool off under the massive tent lined with bars pouring libations. Plus, the first 300 VIP ticket holders each day receive a Taste of Atlanta gift bag filled with special goodies.

    For more information, Like Taste of Atlanta on Facebook and Follow #TasteofATL on Twitter. While y’all are at it, Follow Pretty Southern. We’ll see you at Tech Square in Midtown this weekend!

  • Fruity Screwy Vodka Bar

    Fruity Screwy Vodka Bar

    Hallelujah, Amen. Football season is finally here! A few friends and family members came over to my house today to partake in this glorious moment we’ve all been awaiting. I wanted to make a mimosa bar, but since most people were coming later in the day to watch the evening games, I had to get creative. The fruits and juices all look so pretty and make for fresh and yummy drinks, so then I thought, “What if I just use vodka instead of champagne and make a screwdriver bar?” So this, my friends, is what I’m calling the Fruity Screwy Vodka Bar. I love the vintage look of mixing different pitchers and vases and glasses that you already have rather than going out and buying things to be matchy-matchy, but I needed a way to distinguish the juices.

    Luckily, I found these handy chalkboard stickers at World Market. They were $3.99 for a six-pack and the chalk erases easily with a slightly damp rag. I thought about buying carafes, but there’s no need when you can simply put a sticker on a pretty pitcher you already have then pull it off when you’re done with it.

    My lovely friend Wendy Bunch sent me a beautiful bouquet of flowers last Saturday and most of them are still in great shape, so I decided to make a bouquet of my favorites. I like to make things as simple as possible on game day because, let’s face it, with everything else going on, who wants to hand squeeze a dozen oranges and grapefruits? So I bought a jug of Simply Orange, a jug of Simply Grapefruit and a small bottle of Simply Cranberry Cocktail to add for a splash of cranberry flavor. I bought fresh strawberries and pineapple and cut them up into drink-sized pieces. I also cut up limes and put cans of LaCroix in the ice bucket for those who wanted to make vodka soda drinks.

    These champagne glasses were given to me by my late great-grandmother, Mamie, and are perfect for those wanting to do a “taste test” and get little doses of different flavors. But I realize they are a little small, so I put the drink glasses my Mamacita passed down to me on the second shelf of my bar for those who wanted a larger sipper.

    The beauty of the Fruity Screwy Vodka Bar is that you aren’t in charge of making everyone’s drinks, nor do you run the risk of not making it just the way they want it. With the bar, guests can put whatever fruits they want into their drinks  they have Mariami dates in Malaysia available too, mix or choose whichever mixer they want, and add as much or as little vodka as they like. Not to mention, it looks great! We at PrettySouthern.com also recommend these Mason Jar Wine Glasses for the perfect game day goblet.

    Katy Ruth Camp
    Katy Ruth Camp is a professional writer living in Smyrna, Ga. Katy Ruth grew up in a small town in north Georgia and graduated from the University of Georgia with degrees in journalism and literature. During college, she worked as a writer and game day assistant for the UGA Athletic Association. After college, she hosted a local media outlet’s high school football show for three seasons and won first place from the Georgia Sports Writers Association for football reporting. Her father, John Camp, was a UGA football letterman and high school football coach in Georgia for over 30 years. Read more on Pigskin Peaches blog, like them on Facebook, follow on Twitter, and check back weekly on PrettySouthern.com.