Category: Featured

Emily & Dave were married at St. Simons Island at the Lovely Lane Chapel. Y’all, talk about a sweet Southern setting.

On Jan. 29, 2011, the couple pledged their love to one another. Before walking down the aisle, Emily struck a pose with her bridesmaids in the adorable gazebo outside the chapel. It’s the oldest standing Church building on St. Simons Island. If you can’t make it there for a wedding, the chapel is open to the public for Sunday worship.

http://www.epworthbythesea.org/chapelnew.html

There’s something about the leaves changing that reminds us of Athens in the fall. The home city of the University of Georgia is an arborist’s dream. Which is perhaps why Jessica & Matthew decided to get married there around this time last year. Doesn’t Jessica look like a Greek goddess in the light captured by Blume Photography. This stunning couple said “I do” at the University of Georgia’s Chapel followed by an elegant reception at the Classic Center in downtown Athens on Nov. 20, 2010. Happy early anniversary y’all!

Market Street Cafe is an ideal spot for drinking and mingling. Now open in the Prominence Building at the corner of Lenox and Piedmont in the heart of Buckhead, Pretty Southern was privileged to attend the Grand Opening celebration benefitting the Special Olympics hosted by the owners John Metz of Aqua Blue , Robert Schmitz and Tom Digiorgio. Market Street Cafe runs off a simple premise of fresh food made to order including salads, wraps, soups, sandwiches, “main plates” and of course they’re open for breakfast.

If you don’t work in the Buckhead area and can’t make it to Market Street Cafe during business hours it’s no biggie because this place also caters! For more visit The Market Street Cafe’s website.

We’ve covered Atlanta’s Best Bartender and shown off some local flavor from the 10th Annual Taste of Atlanta. We just had to share more of the amazing food shots our steller photographer Kevin Patrick captured. From escargot to tacos, donuts and happy faces we bring you a few memorable moments from the 2011 #TasteofAtl. If you were blessed to attend this two-day foodie heaven, what were your favorite dishes? Who were some of the restaurants that stood out to you? These are just a few of our faves.

We had a blast at Taste of Atlanta. For more of our photos, check out Kevin’s photo stream (for media out there, we’d be happy to share our photos with you as long as you give credit to Pretty Southern). To read more about this stellar event, check out our Tweets on @Pretty_Southern. Thanks for coming along with us on our culinary extravaganza.

The 10th Annual Taste of Atlanta lived up to the hype of the city’s ultimate street festival. On top of having the participation of more than 80 Atlanta-area restaurants, beer, wine, cocktails and libations, and the contest for Atlanta’s Best Bartender, Taste of Atlanta had even more indulgences. There was every radio station in the city, a sanctioned food fight for the kids, chef demonstations, food trucks and much more bringing us into foodie heaven. We could write all day about the deliciousness we experienced at Taste of Atlanta, or we could let these yummy photos speak for themselves.

The savory smell of tangy, saucy ribs from Jim ‘N Nick’s Bar-B-Q wafted down from their giant BBQ pit. Jim ‘N Nicks is a true Southern business with locations in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Tennessee and both the Carolinas. Their cole slaw recipe (which can be found here) was even featured in Bon Apetit magazine. Their magic ingredient is apple cider vinegar. Be on the lookout Alabama fans because Jim ‘N Nicks is opening a location in Tuscaloosa soon.

Speaking of Southern grown business, check out Sweetwater Growers from Canton, Ga. They are growing all their own herbs in North Georgia then infusing their blends into quality olive oil. Garlic, rosemary, basil, cilantro, chive, crushed red pepper and even habanero varieties of EVOO are available at your local Whole Foods. Their farm is also the vendor for fresh herbs to other grocery store chains throughout the South. We’ll be cooking up some of their recipes this fall here on Pretty Southern.

For those of y’all out there looking to purchase local gifts this holiday season, Sweetwater Growers has a great selection of gift boxes. Instead of bringing a dish to share to your festive gathering, gift the host and hostess something they can use for later.
That’s all we’ve got for now. We’ll have another helping of Taste of Atlanta tomorrow.

This year Taste of Atlanta offered up another dose of cocktail competition. We’ve got to give big props to Tyler Nelson of Leon’s Full Service for winning the title of Atlanta’s Best Bartender. The 2011 Barcraft competition (sponsored by the newly formed Atlanta chapter of the United States Bartenders Guild) hosted qualifying matches then narrowing it down to Nelson and Arianne Fielder of Ormsby’s to compete for the honor.

This was a great way to introduce a fine liquor uncommon in most bars to a bunch of Southern foodies. In this Iron Chef-style approach to creating an excellent drink, two bartenders presented their offering to a panel of judges.

Their cocktails could be of any concoction as long as they included one ingredient, Fernet-Branca. Fernet (Italian pronunciation: [fɛrˈnɛt]) is a type of amaro (a bitter yet aromatic spirit). Imagine Jägermeister without that bit of sweetness, or a savory version of Pimms. Like its English consort, Fernet is made from a number of herbs and spices. Fernet is usually served as a digestif after a meal but may also be served with coffee.

The flavors vary according to the brand of Frenet, but usually include myrrh, rhubarb, chamomile, cardamom, aloe, and especially saffron, with a base of grape distilled spirits, and coloured with caramel colouring. Ingredients rumored to be in fernet include codeine, mushrooms, fermented beets, coca leaf, gentian, rhubarb, wormwood, zedoary, cinchona, bay leaves, absinthe, orange peel, calumba, echinacea, quinine, ginseng, St. John’s wort, sage, and peppermint oil.

Oh, and it’s strong! Frenet contains 45% alcohol by volume. It may be served at room temperature or on the rocks (with ice). For her cocktail, Arianne created what she named the “Caribbean Hay Ride” using Frenet-Branca, 12-year old aged rum, pumpkin butter, fresh apple juice, and Bitter End Moroccan Bitters. “There wasn’t any cinnamon up here so I had to use the bitters for the flavor component,” Arianne stated.

To polish of her drink, Arianne infused whiskey-barrel oak smoke into her recipe. She then covered the drinks to let them soak in the smoky goodness before presenting it to the judges. Her drink came in second to Tyler’s but for this chilly fall weather we highly recommend trying your own version of the Caribbean Hay Ride.