Eating my way through Atlanta

If you were at all concerned that I haven't been getting enough to eat lately, you can rest easy. I've been eating my way through Atlanta and loving every bite.

Let's start with dinner last night. We ate at a charming, quaint French restaurant called Anis Bistro & Cafe. Even though it was located in the heart of Buckhead, it had a casual, cozy feel that was very welcoming.

I started off with the Salade Maison, mixed organic greens with goat cheese and olive tapenade.

I almost ordered salmon but remembered my new adventurous eating philosophy and ordered one of the specials. Broiled black bass served over squash, pearl onions, and Florida rock shrimp. It was fabulous!

The evening didn't end there. Our host family suggested we go out in Virginia Highlands, one of their favorite areas in Atlanta. After walking around the neighborhood and scoping out the bar and restaurant scene, we ended up at Noche. It was a tapas bar that is famous for their sangria (I've been craving one all summer)!

It really was one of the best I've had. Hello, glowing eyes!

MA and I took full advantage of the tapas dessert menu. I love being able to try little tastes of several different things. We ordered 3 mini desserts to split between us. 

We chose tiramisu, almond creme brulée, and heath bar cheesecake. They were all pretty phenomenal!

Breakfast this morning was a mix of Arrowhead Mills Almond Squares (MA bought these at Harry's Farmer's Market-essentially Whole Foods under a different name-yesterday, and I think I like 'em better than the French Toast Squares) and Kashi Go Lean finished off with 1/2 sliced banana, PB & Co Smooth Operator, and skim milk.

MA and I were feeling a very vegetarian lunch today. I found a restaurant on Urban Spoon called Cafe Sunflower that I really wanted to try. It was rated the best vegetarian restaurant in the South, and Candle 79 was rated best in the Northeast, if that gives you any idea of how good it is!

Out of curiosity, we split the soy chicken nuggets as an appetizer. It came with a side of honey mustard and bbq sauce for dipping. For any vegetarian skeptics out there, you need to get your hands on this dish! 

I went with the black bean quesadilla, which was also filled with brown rice, corn, sun dried tomatoes, spinach, and cheddar cheese. It also came with a side of organic mixed greens and blue corn chips and salsa.

I loved that veggies (not cheese) were the dominant filling in this quesadilla.

I made Mary Alice take a pic of her meal too. She ordered the orzo eggplant lasagna. It looked amazing and was stuffed with tofu ricotta!

Even though I'm not a vegetarian, I love vegetarian restaurants and a good vegetarian meal. My favorite part about it is how much creativity is used when creating dishes! I would never get bored eating at a place like that every day!

We loved Virginia Highlands so much that we went back to walk around after lunch. We ended up stopping for gelato at Paolo's.

I got a mix of amareno, meringa, and zabaione (kind of like a custard). They were all delish but the amareno was my favorite (remember my cherry obsession as of late?). It was so refreshing on such a hot day. It was better than most of the gelato I had while in Italy last summer!

So clearly, I've been eating really well. I've been loving the Atlanta foodie scene and being able to try so many great restaurants.

Right now I'm resting up and am going to a Braves game later tonight! I may not always know exactly what's going on, but I've always loved the atmosphere at baseball games-they're just fun.

Life Lesson of the Day: Life is more fun when you're spontaneous. This is always something I struggle with, because I'm such a planner and love organization, lists, and schedules (all good things, but they shouldn't control your life). However, most of my favorite memories have been totally unplanned and spur of the moment. Sometimes it's ok to just let go and live a little!