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

an exercise in color.

– ryan

an exercise in color.

– ryan

an exercise in color.

– ryan

not too long ago we tried pallookaville fine foods for the first time. it’s the new corn dog joint in avondale estates from jim stacy. you may recognize jim from his get delicious! show on public broadcasting atlanta, his appearances on the tonight show, or from his corn dog wagon around atlanta.

if you’re a fan of corn dogs, you’ll love this place! you pick the meat; from beef frank, polish kielbasa, italian sausage, or all three. (there’s even a pickle option for vegetarians.) you also pick the batter; from golden cornbread, jalapeño or cheese. the corn dogs are freshly dipped & fried per order and are 100% delicious! i went with the fryinstein to sample all three meats, but will probably just go with the beef frank next time.

pallookaville also has poutine tater tots or fries (with actual cheese curds), fried pickles, boiled peanuts, handcrafted sodas, shakes (including adult shakes), egg creams, cocktails (included spiced cider options) and many other treats. to say the least, they have plenty of tasty delights to choose from.

here is the menu for a more detailed list of their delicious crafty foods. for a limited time, they have a cadbury scotch egg, which consists of a cadbury egg, funnel caked with pine street bacon, bacon whipped cream and salted caramel!!! sounds delicious!

we will definitely be heading back to pallookaville!

– ryan

pallookaville fine foods

17 north avondale road
avondale estates, ga 30002
404-500-1785

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

we spent a nice sunday afternoon at the peachtree dekalb airport playground watching the airplanes and helicopters take-off! afterwards we hit up bruster’s for some ice cream, which the kids clearly enjoyed!

– ryan & gub

for gubby’s birthday, we had some cake with the kids before heading out to try the kimball house, the new restaurant in downtown decatur by the brickstore and leon’s full service owners. it’s in the old train depot across the street from the dq. the food was delicious, as were the cocktails! we are excited there’s a fun new place in such a beautiful old building.

check out their menu!

– ryan & gub

the kimball house

303 east howard avenue,
decatur, ga 30030
404-436-1825

there is a new crepe & coffee shop in inman park called julianna’s. it’s in the basement of a 110+ year old home and features a quant little setting for some caffeine and sweets. besides crepes, julianna’s also serves dancing goats coffee and sells local goodies, including handmade soaps from mama and local jams & jellies!

i wouldn’t say it was the best crepe i’ve ever had, but julianna’s has a super cute atmosphere and is a great option if you are craving some sweets!

– ryan

julianna’s coffee & crepes

775 lake avenue ne,
atlanta, ga 30307
404-436-1825

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