Chapter 2~

I've been in such a cool space lately! For the first time in months, things are honestly progressing on the up and up for me. I FINALLY have a place to live, and will be able to get my things out of storage for October. I have a job that I love, that challenges me in all of the right ways and actually supports me in my personal life. And while the transition is still a tad rocky, I'm doing well enough that I got to spend a week in New York City last week with some of my best friends on the planet. Even better, my current job will afford me the ability to do that more often, and travel elsewhere more easily! I'll finally be cooking at home again!!!

With that, I'm finally going to be able to bring a direction to this blog. At least once a week, I'll do a new recipe for y'all and the story that accompanies it. When I travel, I'll tell you about the amazing local products I find. And while I study for my sommelier certifications- well, you'll get an earful on how goddamn tired I am of drinking goddamn French wines, no matter how delicious they are. (Seriously, I love French wines now, but studying them makes me want to slam my head into their stupid limestone-laced terroir.)

It's a new chapter, and I can't wait to start writing it!

Middle Eastern Eating

To accompany my fascination with food, I follow a lot of chefs on social media, and constantly keep my ears to the ground for local and national food news. That being said, I also drink a lot and occasionally forget details or entire places and recipes I want to try, and that will occasionally end with me trying a place I had forgotten about. It becomes a weird, fun game of pseudo-dé ja vu. And I really win when it turns out that what I've tried is a pet project of acquaintances of mine!!!

Story time. I had never tried Shawarma before. Hell, I had only ever heard about it because of the Avengers movie. I have woefully little experience with middle eastern cuisine- my family, being career military, is not necessarily as open minded about that particular region. My first encounter with anything resembling that style of food was through a chef I used to work with in a Spanish restaurant and they let him do more Moorish-style cuisine. I learned about sumac and harissa, and was interested, but I didn't know where to find more stuff like it.

Now, a few nights ago I was jonesing for some tacos. I was also feeling incredibly lazy, and didn't want to go too too far for them. But as 8pm drew closer, and tacos steadfastly refused to appear, I hauled myself off the couch and ventured out into the Atlanta evening. I headed to Krog Street Market, knowing of a "Mex-Tex" restaurant there called Superica, but I wanted to check out the various other stalls to see if there were more enticing options to be had.

When I got there, half of the market was already closed for the evening. Lucky for me, the few stalls that weren't already closed were the more food-focused! No tacos, though. I was about to give up and just nab a sandwich from Fred's Meat and Bread (my second fave sandwich place), when Yalla caught my eye. Both Fred's and Yalla are projects of Chef Todd Ginsberg and his partners. I've accidentally been following Chef Ginsberg's career with my stomach ever since I first encountered him at Bocado. He's always headed kitchens with really solid menus, but I have to admit- Yalla is my favorite so far.

I ordered a Chicken Shawarma Pita, and was given a monstrous pocket half the size of my head. And it was LOADED. Chicken, spices, hummus, pickles- so many delicious things the pita literally couldn't hold the weight. As I chowed down, hummus and sauces tore through the bread and dribbled on to my hands. Usually, with something that large, I don't finish my meal. I pack it up, politely infer I'm saving it for later, and wind up throwing it out blocks away from the establishment. With the Shawarma, though... I couldn't get enough. I used a fork to shovel everything that had fallen out into my face. I licked my fingers and hands clean. And when the last bite was gone, I knew I could never go back to basic, boring pita sandwiches again, and tacos found themselves totally demoted in my pantheon of favorite foods. I have no idea how authentic Ginsberg's Shawarma is to "real" Shawarma. Frankly, I don't care either. I am now firmly in the "happy pita" camp.

Up in Smoke

August in Atlanta is a beast. Humidity hangs in the air, making frequent showers a necessity. Cicadas rattle through the trees in the hot sun, and storms breeze in and out in mere minutes. It's the last screams of summer, before the whole city starts to cool in September.

This summer back home has been great. I have finally begun to strike a solid work- social life balance. Granted, I'm still hanging out with cooks, but who else would I ever want to hang out with? I had the pleasure of introducing a friend of mine from California to a group of motley industry folk a few nights ago, at a proper southern pig roast! Twenty or thirty of us cycled in and out of this party throughout the night, and it was such a perfect example of southern hospitality.

For starters, we had SO. MUCH. FOOD. Our menu consisted of a 45lb pig, at least a dozen steaks, 2 whole chickens, corn on the cob, smoked potatoes, massive zucchini, oysters, and charcuterie out the wazoo. Someone brought salad, but the poor thing lay neglected on the table the entire night. Beer and conversation flowed, and paper plates were ignored in favor of just ripping the feast apart by hand like Vikings. Smoke perfumed the air, and strangers bonded over the picnic tables. Stories were shared, and true to the climate, the skies opened up for a brief downpour (Thank god for covered pavilions!). It was really energizing to be around such positive people just having a great time. It was the perfect end to my summer.

Now I'm getting ready to start working at a new place- a restaurant I have revered for years, and can honestly say I'm proud to work for. I'll be serving tables, but this won't be like other restaurants I've waited at: this is one of the greatest restaurants in the southeast (if not the country). This is my food nerd dream career step! So cheers to perfect closures and new beginnings! This fall is going to be fantastic.

Recycling

Last night, I meandered the streets of Atlanta at 1am for the first time in over a year. Heat lightning crested in the sky, and a quick sprinkle wet the asphalt and released that perfect warm, humid smell. I looked around, and streets that used to be littered with garbage and junkies were now quieter, cleaner. I passed the Masquerade, and a neighborhood that used to scream dirty now was dressed in gentrification. It was strange to see.

In many ways, I have been feeling like I wound up exactly where I left off when I left Atlanta last August. Same job, same friends, same very awkward encounters with people I was in no way prepared to see. But my walk last night reminded me that really, I'm not the same person. While I did go back to my old job, I'm on track for bigger and better things. I have way more patience for myself (and my cooking) than I've ever had. I'm in the midst of my own revitalization, much like Ponce City Market is helping my favorite city grow.

I still have a lot of my old bad habits. But I've made some better choices. And now, I'm exactly where I need to be to keep improving, keep moving forward, and make my mark in my chosen career path.

Venturing Forward

I'm not one to profess any sort of belief in fate. In fact, the idea of it, from a logic standpoint, is just downright silly. But occasionally coincidences stack up just enough to make me curious if the universe is trying to tell me something. And, being that I have a tendency to be a bit dense, sometimes it takes quite the smack upside the head for me to get it.

My week in Atlanta was an incredible whirlwind of reminiscing and reminders of why I left in the first place. The Food and Wine festival was an absolute blast, and every aching muscle and drop of sweat was worth it. It really brought attention to the sense of community amongst all southerners (be they Carolinian, Georgian, or anything else) that I've been missing so much. And then my world got an extra little shake up that solidified things for me. So I'm going back south.

Now, I am going to try to move to Nashville, but there is a very real possibility that I will be back in Atlanta for a few months before that happens- a lot is up in the air. But beyond that, I am finally ready to take advantage of some of the opportunities I pushed aside because I thought I couldn't hack it. I'm finally wearing my grown-up shoes, and I'm ready to create the life I want. Unfortunately, my wine studies may wind up taking a back burner, since the sudden move is going to utterly drain my meager savings, but I have a much better game plan for moving on, and moving forward. California has been an eye-opening, wonderful chapter, and I am finally ready to live for me again and not spite or misguided altruism. And this time, I am not getting waylaid by my tendency to take others emotional well-being on as my responsibility!