Tired of driving around to every AT&T store in the metro area or waiting in line at the Apple Store for your new iPhone 3g?

Sure. We all are.

At least you can rest easy knowing that your Atlanta-area Starbucks aren’t going anywhere any time soon, at least not according to this map, despite the company’s recent store closings.

[Via Lori]

So, good news, if you’re into that sorta “stuff”, coffee and Apple products alike.

Here’s hoping you’re sipping a latte, reading this on your new iPhone now.

just in case you didn’t know, the uefa champions league final will be taking place in moscow this evening. this is, without a doubt, the biggest non-world cup soccer event, and for the first time ever will feature two english teams, manchester united and chelsea, in the final.

atlanta has one of the best soccer bars in the country - i am not making that up, because it was nominated by the us soccer federation for that honor - the brewhouse cafe on moreland in the heart of little 5.

the atmosphere there this afternoon for the match will be absolutely electric. if you like the beautiful game and can ditch work come join us. coverage starts at 2:00.

glory, glory man united!

Word on the street is the Jocks & Jill’s in CNN Center - frequented by people wanting to kill time and grab a bargain buzz before events @ Phillips Arena - is being replaced by Taco Mac. According to the Taco Mac website, however, the new location is situated in the Dome. Maybe it’s both?

Either way, I was going to say “can I get a woot woot?”, but I’d rather have a beer.

Maybe it’s a sign of the Daily Savings Times or a yearning for St. Patrick’s Day to arrive a wee bit (sorry) early, but I’m worn out this week and I’d much rather be drinking beer than working.

I have a few options:

1. Wait until the weekend for Monday Night Brewery’s Brewhaha
2. Wait for the Legislature to OK Sunday Sales
3. Give up and start boozing immediately

I’m not sure any of those three things will legitimately happen (for me), I’ll advocate the first and the last if you have the motive, means and opportunity.

Happy Tuesday!

Admit it.  You know Gladys and you want what she’s cookin’.

It was a great lunch but I may not need to eat for a day or so.

Stay warm (avoiding potential snow) and Spring forward this weekend!

got a tip from dave over at extraface via suggest-a-story that the vortex has stopped selling the southern favorite pimento cheese sandwich.

could it be true i wondered?

an email to vortex owner michael benoit confirmed that indeed the pimento cheese sandwich was dropped from the menu in november. according to benoit the pimento cheese was only being ordered by a few diehards and was the only item the vortex had to throw away.

benoit writes:

No one was more distraught than local celebrity, and man-about-town,
Lucky Yates (Dad’s Garage Theater, Good Eats, The Lucky Yates Show,
former Dames Aflame MC). He was definitely one of the diehards. But
even he has come to love some of the new additions to the menu,
including the Elvis Burger, the Double Bypass, the Fiery Italian Sub,
and the Quesadilla with chorizo added (that one’s a secret).

so there you have it. no more pimento cheese, but if you think the elvis burger might be to your taste you can check out the new menu at www.thevortexbarandgrill.com.

Can I, or can I not, get a Fat Tire in Atlanta?

Used to live in Denver, drank Fat Tire, loved it, lived it, but have kind of blocked it out in pain and frustration and overwhelming loss.

Someone mentioned Fat Tire today, and now I have a hankering. Help a girl out.

I’ve been to East Atlanta Village’s The Glenwood a few times now, but was waiting to have their brunch before writing a review. My first meal there was during the week it opened. I had a portobello mushroom burger. It was good, but not great. I was completely impressed with the service and the space itself, though. I spoke with the owner, Gabriel, who told me that he really wanted to meet the needs of East Atlanta, and that speaks volumes in a neighborhood where, at times, the servers are a little too cool to remember that they are supposed to be serving the customers of their establishments. The space is very pub-like, with dark booths, cellar-like stone walls, and a substantial wooden bar. Seating is very comfortable, even at the bar. I haven’t used it yet, but they also have a patio.

They have a great t.v., and seem open to patrons watching sports. I went there for the UGA/Bama game and dinner - a standard Philly cheese steak. I also tried my friend’s Carolina-style BBQ. Pretty good for a pub.

They had a large, warm crowd when I went there Friday night. I have heard locals complain about the loud music, but at 1 a.m. on a Friday night when they were playing Suicidal Tendencies, I had no problem with it. In fact, the music hasn’t been too loud for me any of the times I have been there, including yesterday, when we finally had their brunch.

Oh.My.God. The grits are fantastic! I had the Fried Oysters, served on a bed of baby lettuce, along with 2 eggs, grits, and a biscuit. For $7 - Nope, not kidding. Where else in Atlanta are you going to get something like that for $7? My husband had the shrimp and grits, which also included onions, mushrooms, and red eye gravy. Very yummy. We will be back for brunch.

The other complaint I have heard is that the Glenwood is too smoky, but rumor has it they are opening a non-smoking section after the new year.

One thing I am not too impressed with? Their incomplete website. I like to look at menus online.

Definitely check out their brunch, though. Note that on Sunday, they don’t open until 11:30 am, which is pretty late for old folks like me. That being said, there was no wait whatsoever, and it is a brunch worth waiting for.

The Glenwood
1263 Glenwood Avenue
Atlanta, GA 30316
404-622-6066

The Coca-Cola Co. plans to partner with United Resource Recovery Corp. (URRC) and spend $50 million to build the largest plastic-bottle-to-bottle recycling plant in the world.

The Atlanta-based beverage giant (NYSE: KO) said it has a goal of recycling or reusing 100 percent of its polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastic bottles in the United States. The 30-acre facility will be built in Spartanburg, S.C., and will be fully operational in 2009 to produce some 100 million pounds of food-grade recycled PET annually, which is equal to 2 billion 20-ounce Coca-Cola bottles. Over the next decade, the plant will cut the production of 1 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions.

This via the Atlanta Business Chronicle

At the same time, more folks will be surging into the market place (though not quite as drastically as with the “bloodbath” at Earthlink last week), as Coke announces pending pink slips for 125 employess. More info on AJC, which tells us most of the 125 will be made up of Atlanta based employees.

I think we might need to put Coke on some meds to handle the manic swings.

one of my favorite atlanta chefs, kevin rathbun, has been selected along with his dallas-based chef brother kent, to appear on food network’s iron chef america against two other chefs (access atlanta here).

all i can really say about that is if blue cheese, steak or onions are the secret ingredient my money is heavily on rathbun.

h/t to the blissful glutton.