I lived close to Atlanta about 25 years ago in another life. It was OK but this California girl only lasted a couple of years before she had to get her liberal backside back to the west coast right quick.
Still, it was fun to be in Atlanta once again. It was beautiful then and it's beautiful now. Great new additions are Centennial Park and The Georgia Aquarium which was outstanding. That's high praise coming from a longtime member of the Monterey Bay Aquarium.
One thing that hasn't changed in Atlanta...GRITS!!! If anything the grits are even better than I remember. How did I ever let grits get out of my diet?
Our first morning, jet-lagged and sleepy, we stumbled through the hotel cafe on our way to the trade show. There on the buffet table sat two chafing dishes, one with oatmeal and one with grits. Next to them sat bowls of brown sugar, raisins, cheddar cheese and pepper. The boss went for oatmeal with sugar and raisins and I went for grits with cheese and pepper.
Oh. My. God. I was in heaven.
After that I saw grits everywhere, grit cakes with gumbo, grits and grillades, fried grits with ham, grits and crawfish etoufee, Parmesan grits with shrimp in lemon-oregano sauce...
In fact my last meal was at The Sundial Restaurant at the top of the Westin Peachtree Plaza Hotel. I had Seared Maine Diver Scallops on Stone Ground Parmesan Grits, Caramelized Winter Squashes, Baby Arugula Salad, and Balsamic Butter reduction.
Tomorrow I'm goin' to the store to git me some grits!
grits, grits and shrimp, atlanta, sundial restaurant
Grits have been a long time staple in the Schilling household. I wish I had known you were in Atlanta, as I would have had you pick up "real" grits instead of "instant". Yum! Grits all around!
ReplyDeleteI checked two gourmet grocers yesterday and they were both "temporarily out" of grits. Mighty suspicious if you ask me. I'll let you know if I find the real thing.
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