we really enjoyed the ola podrida show last wednesday night at the drunken unicorn! they played a steady stream of hits from their two albums and left you wanting more. seeing the songs played by a full band was great as well, we had only seen david wingo play solo before. with a full array of instruments, the songs were loud and rocking. highlights were jordanna, your father’s basement, and cindy, which closed the night.

i picked up belly of the lion on soda bottle colored vinyl and also grabbed a cool split 7″ ola podrida put out with xoxo panda, aka her space holiday. the packaging for the split 7″ is really amazing, plus it’s on blue and white swirled vinyl. order the belly of the lion vinyl here before they are all gone, only 250 were pressed.

listen to some ola podrida songs on their myspace page.

– ryan & gub

i recently tried the brew free or die ipa by 21st amendment brewery. this beer is great! it’s a golden ipa, so it’s extra hoppy but also light bodied. it’s the perfect summertime beer for hop lovers, especially if you enjoy cascade hops. and at 7% abv, you really can’t go wrong with this beer.

check out our write-up on the hell or high watermelon for reasons why craft beer in a can is a good thing.

– ryan

21st amendment brewery

563 2nd street
san francisco, ca 94107
415-369-0900

we picked our first ripe cantaloupe and it was amazing! as a tribute, we gathered photos to show the life of our melon.

fyi, we learned that you can tell if a cantaloupe is ripe by lightly thumping where the stem meets the navel of the melon. if the stem easily breaks off, it’s ready!

– ryan & gub

have you ever noticed the statue at the corner of monument avenue and mcpherson avenue in east atlanta? intrigue got the better of me this morning and i pulled over to see what it was.

i found a little park with an upturned cannon marking the spot where general james b. mcpherson was killed in the battle of atlanta on july 22, 1864, exactly 146 years ago today. mcpherson was the highest ranking union officer killed during the american civil war. according to the wiki, “the spot is marked by a union cannon once placed at glenwood road and flat shoals road to protect the flank of the front line and return fire against the defensive positions built by lemuel p. grant.”

i had no idea the statue i see on the way to east atlanta village had such historical significance. i will definitely pull over more often when i see these historical markers.

check out this old photo of the monument from the atlanta history center album archives.

– ryan

mcpherson monument

corner of monument avenue & mcpherson avenue
atlanta, ga 30316

we wanted to remind you that ola podrida is playing tonight in atlanta at the drunken unicorn. entry is $8 and the doors open at 9 pm with ola podrida playing at 11:30 pm. you don’t want to miss this show!

– ryan & gub

whenever in maine, we try to visit the moxie soda shop in lisbon falls. moxie was the first mass produced soda in america and is still popular in the new england area. lisbon falls is known as the moxie capital of the world and is home to the annual moxie festival.

the old timey soda shop in lisbon falls is where you’ll find all things moxie, including shirts, stickers, pencils, frisbees and more. they also have sodas, candy and ice cream (even moxie flavored ice cream). not much has changed over the years, i can remember going to this same little shop as a kid and it looks exactly like my memories of it. plus it’s the same guy behind the counter, frank. we have a good amount of moxie gear from many visits and wear them quite a bit.

people generally love or hate moxie. i like it, but i only like it every few years when in maine. i’m not sure if i’d love it as an everyday soda. it tastes sort of like cream soda meets dr. pepper, but a little more medicinal. there is a mixed drink called a new englander made with moxie, the recipe can be found below.

when in maine, keep your eye out for the bright orange soda cans. you’re in for a true new england experience.

– ryan

new englander recipe:

1 part gin
2-3 parts moxie
a large slice of lime
a dash of worcestershire sauce

after recently trying an albariño, we’ve been keeping an eye out for other wines mentioned in last month’s splendid table episode. we found the 2008 la cana at the candler park market in atlanta. we spent a nice summer evening on our front porch drinking this refreshing wine. it went great with the chilled, steamed shrimp leftover from the beaufort stew at gub’s mom’s birthday.

the wine describes itself as:
“where the steep hillside vineyards meet the tranquil rias you’ll find groves of rush canes known locally as juncos which are as emblematic of galicia as the albariño grape itself. offering lush aromas of white peaches and ripe pears followed by flavors of pineapple and bright citrus the wine finishes on a crisp dry wine.”

– ryan & gub

we recently went to leon’s full service in downtown decatur for dinner. it’s run by the same people who own the brick store pub, another long-time favorite decatur restaurant of ours. we actually tried to go to farm burger, but the line was so long we ended up at leon’s where we were seated immediately.

we really enjoy the interior design of this old converted gas station. the round booths and old industrial lights help keep the atmosphere of a former petrol station. leon’s also has outdoor seating and a bocce ball court on the side of the restaurant.

leon’s has a great selection of draught beers, including brews from victory, avery, oskar blues, allagash, bell’s and other craft breweries. they also have unique infused liquors, including rhubarb infused myer’s white rum, pineapple infused inca gold pisco and bacon infused bourbon. we haven’t tried any of the infused liquors, but they sound excellent.

another specialty at leon’s is their pub frites, which are basically really awesome french fries with fancy sauces. boy are they tasty! the sauces include: garlic aioli, goat cheese fondue, masaman curry, smoked tomato mayonnaise, bacon & tarragon mayonnaise, cucumber-dill yogurt and a bunch more. the menu also offers a variety of creative and interesting meals. a noteworthy snack option is bacon in a glass for $5. we tried the mussels in a witbier & lemongrass broth and the white oak pastures grass-fed burger, which were both delicious.

if you’re looking for a night out in downtown decatur, definitely try leon’s full service. the food is very tasty and reasonably priced.

check out their menu.

– ryan & gub

leon’s full service

131 E ponce de leon ave.
decatur, georgia 30030
404-687-0500

check out our beautiful big red tomato! it was one of the last before our tomatoes were ravaged by the squirrels.

– ryan & gub

we are very excited about the ola podrida show at the drunken unicorn on july 21st in atlanta. our friend craig first introduced us to david wingo, singer/songwriter of ola podrida, after they met through mutual friends at film school. david has created the musical score for several great films, including george washington, all the real girls and great world of sound. he released his debut album, ola podrida, in 2007. we brought david to georgia to play at the hand.craft.it festival we curated a couple of years ago. we loved his performance and look forward to seeing him play with a full band.

now based in austin via new york, ola podrida’s latest album is called belly of the lion. u.s. tour dates include andrew kenny (american analog set) on bass, david hobizol on drums and colin swietek on guitar.

tickets can be purchased here for the atlanta show.

ola podrida will also be playing at cine in athens on july 20th. there’s a good article in this week’s flagpole.

– ryan & gub