bright colors & simple graphics. i like it! (near the atl airport)

-ryan

i’ve been doing some work this week at the georgia convention center, which i had never been to before. there are these crazy space-age, giant pillars along the entrance to the grounds. it was much more grand than i expected.

i took these photos with my new phone. i’ve been super impressed with the picture quality, although i haven’t printed any photos yet.

– ryan

i recently worked in the w hotel in downtown atlanta and got to see an amazing sunset from the 27th floor. i had never seen one from such great heights, especially over a downtown setting. i took some photos with my new phone and they look awesome! it shoots super wide photos, so be sure to check out the larger versions.

– ryan

what started out as a goal to write a blog post every day for a month quickly turned into an entire month without any posts. well, we hope to get back into the swing of things with regular updates and postings.

here’s one…

i enjoy all the graffiti and murals found along dekalb avenue and that part of town and recently saw some new (at least new to me) artwork on the building next to eyedrum. there are obviously different artists and styles working together there. i was told the building is split into various artist spaces, some of whom probably worked on the wall art… way better than the beige blotches the neighborhood associations make when covering up graffiti & art.

i am diametrically opposed to the beige blotches.

– ryan

we recently went to community q bbq in decatur and loved it! the food and atmosphere were amazing; we’ll definitely be heading back. with burlap on the tables, a large family-style table for eating, and food delivered on trays with checkered paper, you could easily forget you were in an emory shopping center.

we had pulled pork with mac n’ cheese and st. louis style ribs with hand-cut fries. the ribs were definitely some of the best we’ve had in atlanta! they were tender and smoky, yet not too flavorful or saucy. the meats at community q have a good smoky flavor. we’ve had lots of atlanta bbq recently and we’ve noticed that smokiness has been missing from most meats we’ve tried.

the mac n’ cheese was the best we’ve had! they use rigatoni pasta with sharp cheddar, monterey jack, parmesan and heavy cream and then bake it to perfection. to say the least, it’s amazing! the other sides looked great as well; the baked beans and collards in particular. they also use local and seasonal ingredients and sell a good amount of local produce. we picked up corn, okra, peaches and tomatoes during our visit, all of which have been amazing at home!

community q bbq is the best in-town atlanta bbq joint we’ve tried! there are certain meats or sides we crave from other bbq places, but we hadn’t found a nearby restaurant that excelled in all areas until now. the meats, sides, and deserts were all very tasty here!

community q cooks their bbq fresh every day; any leftovers go in the stew or to the local food bank. be aware that they often run out of items if they are busier than expected. arrive early or call ahead to guarantee your favorites are available.

on another note, we love bbq and we love live music, but we really don’t like them in combination. there’s nothing worse then going out for some bbq and not being able to talk because there’s a loud band playing. (hello sam’s bbq1 and maddy’s!) we appreciated the quiet, laid-back atmosphere and southern feel at community q bbq.

check out their menu.

– ryan & gub

community q bbq

1361 clairmont road
decatur, ga 30033
404-633-2080

we recently went to the planetarium at the fernbank science center and had a ton of fun! leaning back in those angled chairs brought back memories of elementary school field trips.

the planetarium offers adult and children programs from thursday through saturday. there is also a saturday morning program called the night sky, which takes you through the current constellations, planets, etc. in the night sky. shows are $4 for adults and $3 for children, students, and seniors.

after the planetarium show, we explored the fernbank science center. it was free and totally worth a visit. the diarama’s were amazing and the highlight of the center was the real apollo 6 capsule on display. we were quite impressed!

the fernbank observatory is also free and open for public observations on thursday and friday nights from 9 to 10:30 pm. an astronomer is on hand to position the largest telescope in the southeast and to answer questions. we definitely want to check this out sometime.

for a fun, inexpensive outing, consider the fernbank planetarium, observatory, or science center.

– ryan & gub

fernbank planetarium

156 heaton park dr.
atlanta, ga 30307
678-874-7113

we spotted another pbr mural on the side of the graveyard tavern in east atlanta village. just when we thought we had seen them all, another one pops up.

be sure to check out the paintings in our june post, when we first started noticing the hand-painted ads around atlanta.

– ryan & gub

we have a new upcoming concerts section on our blog! here you’ll find a comprehensive list of shows worth checking out at the various venues in and around atlanta. no more flipping through a bunch of weeklies and websites to find out what good concerts are around the corner. this is your one stop shop! the upcoming concerts button can be found on the top left of our site under contact.

there are some great shows on the horizon. we are excited about dom, who opens for ratatat at the the masquerade, best coast at the drunken unicorn, lcd sound system & sleigh bells at the the tabernacle, and the classic lineup of guided by voices playing their only southeast reunion show at the the buckhead theatre. here are some other great shows that aren’t sold out yet:

best coast – fri, sep 10th – drunken unicorn – $12 – 9pm – tickets

titus andronicus – mon, sep 20th – the earl – $10 – 9pm – tickets

jamie lidell – wed, sep 22nd – the earl – $15 – 9pm – tickets

wavves – thur, sep 30th – drunken unicorn – $10 – 9pm – tickets

ratatat & dom – fri, oct 1st – the masquerade – $20 – 8pm – tickets

lcd sound system & sleigh bells – wed, oct 6th – the tabernacle – $32 – 8pm – tickets

school of seven bells – mon, oct 18th – the earl – $12 – 9pm – tickets

guided by voices – sat, oct 23th – the buckhead theatre – $26.50 – 9pm – tickets

– ryan

we heart peaches and boiled peanuts from our nearby roadside produce stand! david’s produce & specialties has the feel of an old general store and offers all sorts of southern goodies. they sell locally-grown organic produce, including great heirloom tomatoes and shelled peas, as well as homemade sweets, preserves and sauces. the homemade layered cakes are supposed to be amazing, although we haven’t tried them.

– ryan & gub

david’s produce & specialties

3561 lavista road
decatur, ga 30033
404-325-0709

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