Well, I’ve figured out a couple things. First, my mom is a great cook. Second, when I was growing up, we had very large gardens tended by my dad, and the food quality of the groceries we purchased, I think, was higher. In that spirit, I present to you the locally-grown foods you should be eating right now if you live in Georgia (according to the Georgia Department of Agriculture):

• Apples are just starting to come into season
• Lima beans are almost gone. Get ‘em now!
• Pole beans are strong right now and rated a “buy”
• Blueberries are so over, but if you find local ones, they should be OK through the middle of the month or so
• This is when we eat the cabbage.
• You can now forget about cantaloupes
• Eggplant and grapes are hanging in there. Get the eggplant now, though
• Coninued muscadine profusion throughout the region
• Okra has begun it’s long, slow slip into nothingness
• Cry about the peaches, but rebound with Pears
• I heard the pecans are coming next month
• Sweet peppers and Irish potatoes have hatched a plan to be gone by next month to avoid the pecans
• Mid month marks the appearance of the peak sweet potato season
• Squash, tomatoes and watermelon will linger on for a few months, but their best times are behind them

You can keep up with the drama at the State of Georgia’s Department of Agriculture website.

While we still go out to eat more than we should, our dining requirements have steered us toward kid friendly establishments in our neighborhood. Thankfully,we live in the city and don’t have to go to Shoneys or Outback Steakhouse! You see, Intown restaurants know the magical combination that will keep parents coming back for more: good food, kid-friendly environment, and plenty of booze.

The neighborhood we live in is particularly well-suited for our needs. East Lake is adjacent to Oakhurst Village, a small area of Decatur with rapidly-shifting demographics. We’ve lived here since ‘99 (moved from Ormewood Park after we were priced out), and while many people have been “in the know” about East Lake and Oakhurst, this past winter and spring, “the shift” happened. Babies are literally *everywhere* as new families snatch up the last few remaining affordable homes. We have met people from all over the country who have moved to Atlanta — specifically targeting Oakhurst and East Lake — because of the buzz. The jump in prices has brought in the Yuppie contingent (I say that without a sneer because, well, even if I write for Metblogs and drink at the Earl, I’m still a formerly-Young, urban professional). The Universal Joint is almost always completely full. The latin-hip Full Devil Moon is a jumpin’ joint. Billie Goat’s Cantina packs them in for strong margaritas on the weekend. And while all of this is good for the affluent, unattached and transient, it can also be far from ideal for children. In the case of the UJ, the bar can be quite smoked-out, and Full Devil Moon & Billie Goat’s Cantina, while very kid friendly in the spirit and deed of the staff, can sometimes give off a very chilled vibe from the Date Night clientelle when your kid throws a chunk of tortilla across the room. Fortunately, a new breed of restaurant and a new set of traditions has taken hold in our neighborhood.

On Fridays, Mojo Pizza is the unofficial KidsNight of Decatur. Families from all around bring in their little terrorist, who proceed to run around the restaurant as maniacs while the parents partake in pitchers of draft beer. For the non-kid-aligned, the environment could best be summarized as hell. But to the breeders and adopters, it’s heaven: parents help keep even other peoples’ children from climbing into the pizza oven, video games occupy the bored pre-teens, and the staff, well-aware that a strand of spaghetti thrown in their general direction is not a threat, but a treat, are patient and friendly.

The Oakhurst Grill, which occupies the seemingly-cursed spot that once purveyed total crap like the Heaping Bowl (want parmesan for your pasta? $1.50, please!) and excellent, but before-its-time Beaufain’s, has finally managed to get it together and now seems to be the strangest of blends: a date-friendly restaurant that retains its total family vibe.

On Mondays from 5-7, kids eat free at the Oakhurst Grill. Beyond that, parents can purchase a bottomless glass of wine during the same period for a mere $8.00. The combination, while a bit odd-seeming, is a hit. I’m not sure if the restaurant likes the result or not, but parents certainly seem to enjoy the buzz (from the wine) and atmosphere (kids and couples). I’ve definitely seen couples stop dead in their tracks on their way in the door. In fact, I engaged one in conversation, and the woman commented: “the combination of kids and unlimited wine seems dangerous to me.”

Guess Where, ATL

It’s a group on Flickr where other Flickr member post mysterious and not-so-mysterious photographs from around the metro Atlanta area and the others try to guess the location. It’s a great way to make discoveries about the ATL and to have a little fun while at work (not that I do that).

Speaking of Flickr and the ATL, our city is very well represented on Flickr.

What’s Flickr? you ask. It’s Friendster meets Kodak — a social network and photo sharing site that is heads and shoulders above the rest.

Oh, and Flickr is what powers the sidebar photos on Atlanta’s Metroblog.

It’s time for the first-ever Vex Robotics (be careful, Flashy Flash “enthusiastic” music on site) FIRST Vex Robotics Challenge Championship Event.

See the Georgia Dome explode on April 21st through 23rd as nerdlies clash head-to-head with tricked out robots burning ten billion watts of power!!!

You don’t even need to pay. The event is free. Reserve your whole seat,but you are only going to need the edge!

Oh, and like any good nerd event, there’s a FAQ.

Why all the fuss? Stories about revitalized urban neighborhoods? Scrappy business owner does good for the community? No, it seems that Mulligan’s has made its mark by serving two of the most unbelievably amazing-sounding, artery-blocking, digestion-destroying, Mount-Everest-scale menu items outside of Scotland.

In fact, the items are so legendary that they have made urban legend site Snopes as confirmation to the question of whether or not Luther Vandross invented a hamburger served between two glazed Krispy Kreme donuts. But more legendary locally is the Hamdog:

… a hot dog wrapped in a beef patty that’s deep fried, covered with chili, cheese and onions, and served on a hoagie bun topped with a fried egg and two fistfuls of fries. (As Nicholas Lang, a professor of surgery at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, told an Associated Press reporter, “If you choke [a Hamdog] down, you might as well find a heart surgeon because you are going to need one.”)

You should probably read the whole writeup and see a picture of this beast.

It is not difficult to defend the dominance of Southern culture when one has such awesomeness as this for ammunition.

But seriously, this is getting some serious attention:

The Chicago Tribune: “In Praise Of The Luther Burger”
A Welsh View
CNN
CBS News
Google search for the Luther Burger
Google the Hamdog

I went with Atlanta blogger Travis to the band’s show at The Earl almost two years ago and it instantly shot into my top ten all-time greatest rock shows list between Psychic TV at 23 Parrish in Denver and Ed Hall at Midtown Music Hall in Atlanta (well, at least somewhere in the top ten. And that’s a ranking that comes from a guy who saw about an average of 4-6 bands per week all through his 20s.

Within moments of the show’s start, Travis and I were in the front row singing along and yelling like a couple of twelve-pack down shirtless rednecks on the Talladega overpass after the races. I held up my mobile phone to leave a recording of the sound on my buddy in Portland’s voice mail (as he does for me from time-to-time as a sort of “wish you were here” gesture) and the band took it from me and left him personal messages.

If you’ve never checked out Bettie Serveert, or you’re a longtime fan such as I, you should make the effort to damage your hearing, liver and lungs on a school night just to be a part of an amazing rock moment.

And one thing I want to note. Bettie Serveert singer and songwriter Carol Van Dijk is one of the only Europeans who can sing “R”s in such a convincingly American fashion that I was floored when I spoke to her and heard her fully Dutch accent. Only Mick Jagger and Carol can do those “R”s.