this weekend is the 12th annual kirkwood spring fling, which is one of our favorite festivals in atlanta! besides being located around the corner from us in historic kirkwood, it is also the first festival where gub sold her craft goods, so it holds a special place in our hearts.

the spring fling features a 5k race on saturday morning, a kids area from 10am-4pm, an open air artist market from 10am-8pm with tons of crafty vendors, beer, food trucks, and live music, as well as a tour of homes and a bbq cook off.

admission to the festival is free and is once again located at bessie branham park. tickets for the tour of homes can be purchased at the festival or at local kirkwood businesses.

on a side note, we designed the volunteer t-shirts this year and think they look great! the design is up above in the header for your viewing pleasure. also be sure to check out photos from 2010 when our home was on the kirkwood tour of homes.

– ryan & gub

kirkwood spring fling

bessie branham park
2051 delano drive ne
atlanta, georgia 30317

artist market
saturday, may 17th, 2014
10am until 8pm

tour of homes
saturday, may 17th, 2014
sunday, may 18th, 2014
12pm until 6pm

5k race
saturday, may 17th, 2014
8am in downtown kirkwood

bbq cook off
saturday, may 17th, 2014
12pm until 4pm

live music
saturday, may 17th, 2014
bessie branham – 11am until 7pm
downtown kirkwood – 8pm until 11pm

we recently tried the new atlanta bbq restaurant called smoke ring in castleberry hills. i have to say it was very impressive and might give community q a run for it’s money as the best bbq inside the perimeter.

the atmosphere was great, which is a huge part of the bbq experience in my opinion. it was rustic, yet modern and clean. there was reclaimed wood everywhere, vintage chairs & bar stools, drinks in mason jars, and old chandeliers made with edison bulbs and vintage baskets. it also featured a huge open floor plan with plenty of seating, unlike fat matt’s and community q. in the middle was a very inviting gazebo-type booth, we’ll have to sit there next time. there was also outdoor seating with great views of downtown atlanta.

now on to the food. we tried the spare ribs, beef brisket and crispy brussel sprouts, which were amazing! the ribs weren’t quite as good as community q, however they were still great. they featured a dry rub and were smoky, but not too overwhelming. the sliced brisket was top notch! i even liked it more than fox bros brisket, which is saying a lot. their cajun boiled peanuts and homemade pork rinds were also very tasty and highly recommended. as far as sauce goes, they had a tangy red, sweet red, grainy mustard (made with sweetwater 420) and a white sauce, so all of your bases were covered.

another perk of smoke ring was the full liquor bar. they had a good looking selection of bourbon, draft beers, moonshine and craft cocktails, including a boiled peanut martini, which sounded interesting!

check out the full menu as well as more information on chef jordan wakefield and his goal of creating a unique georgia-style bbq.

we will definitely be heading back to smoke ring!

– ryan

smoke ring

309 nelson street sw
atlanta, ga 30313
404-228-6377

last time we were in north carolina i was able to find yuengling bbq sauce. food lion carried a few varieties made with different yuengling brews. there was regular (lager), honey (black & tan) and hickory smoked (porter).

unfortunately, i only grabbed one bottle of the regular sauce to use while on vacation. it was quite tasty, but i have yet to find any more since being back in atlanta. i guess the line of sauces is pretty new and only available in certain markets. next time i’ll get more than one bottle!

– ryan

on a recent trip to athens for a friend’s wedding, we made a visit to white tiger. we actually hung out with owner ken (& melinda) at the wedding reception the night before. this little gem of a restaurant is hidden back in the historic boulevard district in an unassuming 100+ year old building. white tiger captures the good, easy, comfortable feeling of athens, ga. we love it!

we hit up the all-you-can-eat sunday brunch, which was quite amazing! it was $12 and included coffee and orange juice. the best part of this delicious buffet was the smoked pork! who said you shouldn’t eat bbq with your breakfast?

besides smoked pork, we are big fans of white tiger’s pimento & cheese. check out their menu for all they have to offer.

we will definitely head back to white tiger on future athens adventures!

– ryan & gub

white tiger

217 hiawassee avenue
athens, ga 30601
404-373-5507

with warmer days on the horizon, what better time to look at patio dining options in atlanta. here are 10 of our favorite local restaurants to enjoy outdoor eating and drinking in the spring or fall!

be sure to leave comments with your favorite in-town patios as well!

– ryan

leon’s full service (downtown decatur)

131 east ponce de leon avenue
decatur, georgia 30030
404-687-0500

•leon’s has one of the nicer in-town patios! this old service station in downtown decatur has been converted to a restaurant with a little courtyard patio for outdoor dining. they are known for their pub frites and great selection of ol’ timey cocktails. they also have lots of tasty draught beers, wine and a pretty sweet outdoor bocce ball court!

sun in my belly (kirkwood)

2161 college avenue ne
atlanta, ga 30317
404-370-1088

•sun in my belly is mainly known for their top-notch brunch. you’ll be thinking about their honey glazed bacon and stuffed challah french toast for days! what you might not know, is they also offer classy southern dinners and adult beverages. plus, all of this can be enjoyed on their street-front patio or open-air garden porch. they are the premiere kirkwood restaurant and also walking distance from our house, so we are big fans!

victory sandwich bar (inman park)

280 elizabeth street ne
atlanta, ga 30307
770-676-7287

•victory sandwich bar offers amazing little sandwiches (you’ll want two) and great sides (hello fancy nuts and spicy ramen noodles), which can be enjoyed on their outdoor patio in inman park. they also have cocktails (frozen jack & coke slushie), beer, wine and a brand new decatur location.

woody’s famous philadelphia cheese steaks (midtown)

981 monroe drive northeast
atlanta, ga 30308
404-876-1939

•an atlanta tradition, woody’s has the best cheese steaks in town and a huge wraparound porch for outdoor eating in midtown! they also serve draft beer!

yeah burger (virginia highlands)

1017 north highland avenue ne
atlanta, ga 30306
404-437-7845

•does eating a warm bowl of homemade chili or an amazing local kale salad on a spring afternoon sound pleasant? well then head over to yeah burger in the virginia highlands to enjoy their patio! you’ll also find tasty burgers, craft cocktails, draft beer, milkshakes, crispy brussel sprouts and more at this fine establishment.

six feet under (grant park)

437 memorial drive se
atlanta, ga 30312
404-523-6664

•six feet under has the best rooftop patio in town with great views of downtown atlanta and historic oakland cemetery. oh, and they also have delicious seafood, draft beer and cocktails (including oyster shooters), if you’re into that sort of thing!

taqueria del sol (downtown decatur)

359 west ponce de leon avenue
decatur, ga 30030
404-377-7668

•taqueria del sol is a downtown decatur staple. they offer unique tacos & specials, strong margaritas and open-air seating in an old gas station! be prepared to wait in long lines for both lunch and dinner however.

urban pie (downtown kirkwood)

2012 hosea williams drive
atlanta, ga 30317
404-373-2778

•urban pie serves up awesome thin crust pizza with plenty of outdoor seating in downtown kirkwood! they also have beer and wine available.

fox brothers bbq (edgewood)

1238 dekalb avenue
atlanta, ga 30307
404-577-4030

•it might not be our favorite bbq in town, however fox bros is super close to our house and has a very nice patio! they offer lots of adult beverage options and tasty, albeit overly smoked, bbq as well.

los bravos (decatur)

2895 north decatur road
decatur, ga 30033
404-508-0404

•los bravos serves 32 oz draft beers, great margaritas and has a huge patio with oodles of outdoor seating! it’s the perfect mexican food option in the springtime.

i celebrated a nice birthday on saturday! i had a relaxing afternoon off followed by dinner at d.b.a., our new favorite bbq restaurant. besides having great ribs, their deep fried bacon is pretty ridiculous!

gub also got me these amazing vintage snow globes! they will look great in our collection!

– ryan

d.b.a. barbecue

1190 north highland avenue, suite b
atlanta, ga 30306
404-249-5000

i recently had d.b.a. barbecue for the first time, albeit take-out, and was quite impressed. i went with the dry spare ribs and they were amazing, easily up there with community q.

i really liked d.b.a.’s ordering options. you could go with spare ribs, baby back ribs, or rib tips and order them dry or wet. all of your bbq preferences were covered, which is nice for a change. i may have found my new favorite in-town rib shack!

– ryan

d.b.a. barbecue

1190 north highland avenue, suite b
atlanta, ga 30306
404-249-5000

the third annual collard greens cook-off was a blast! it was $10 to participate and you were given a piece of cornbread and a spork and were off and tasting. after trying all of the various greens, there were 15 participants in all, you voted by throwing your spork in the bucket of your favorite booth. we had a beautiful cool spring day, so it was perfect for such a cook-off!

participants included farm burger, no246, bone lick bbq (the bbq guy from p’cheen), home grown, ray’s in the city, the pullman, whole foods, as well as various neighborhood participants, including momma margaret ‘the collard green lady.’

there were lots of tasty greens and some interesting styles we didn’t expect to like. home grown’s was a little sweet and had sun dried tomatoes in it. although i didn’t like it much, gub was a big fan of this one. another booth had cold greens with a basalmic base. it wasn’t our favorite, but it was quite interesting to try. momma margaret’s were hot and spicy and quite good as well.

when all was said and done, we put our spork in bone lick bbq’s bucket. their greens were tasty with a nice kick, mainly from the home-cured jalapeño bacon added. we also tried pulled pork sandwiches from them, which were awesome! these guys have been doing bbq at p’cheen on monday nights for a couple of years and are opening up a restaurant on the west side in june.

we also caught a tomato growing workshop at the market. gub found it quite informative.

one quick note, the east lake farmers market has moved from the concrete parking lot at 2nd and hosea williams to the nice shaded area right next door. the natural environment is much more fitting for the farmer’s market, and is also a heck of a lot cooler from the shade.

we can’t wait for peachapalooza this summer!

– ryan & gub

east lake farmers market

2nd avenue and hosea williams drive
atlanta, ga 30317

saturdays
9am – 1pm
april – october

community q bbq now offers their amazing mac n’ cheese in a large take-away dish you can bake at home! it’s perfect if you plan on serving this tasty side at a later time. we are big fans of community q’s mac n’ cheese, so we are excited about this discovery.

– ryan & gub

check out the rest of their menu.

community q bbq

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

we had quite the southern new year’s day! we cooked some greens and black eyed peas, grabbed takeout from fox bros. bar-b-q, including their amazing fried ribs, and managed to stay in our pj’s all day. what a treat!

it was probably our best fox bros. experience to date. we aren’t the biggest fans of texas bbq, but you can’t go wrong with their pulled pork, ribs or various tasty side dishes, like the frito-pie! their mac n’ cheese has nothing on community q bbq’s though, theirs is a must try in atlanta.

here is the fox bros. menu.

– ryan, gub & clementine

fox bros. bar-b-q

1238 dekalb ave
atlanta, ga 30307
404-577-4030