sterritt family tradition dictates that, when in maine, the annual l.l. bean pilgrimage to freeport is a guarantee. while on such a pilgrimage, we had some delicious fresh seafood at harraseeket lunch and lobster company. we love this type of dockside seafood restaurant found throughout new england and look forward to trying out new places on each trip.

the line was fairly long for lunch, but well worth the wait. your options included maine lobster, clams, shrimp, scallops and more in steamed, fried, or roll form. they even had a sandwich called the clamburger royale, which sounded exciting (ryan) and/or gross (gub). watching the fishing boats bring in the fresh seafood while eating outside on the patio was a great new england experience. harraseeket has been open for over 40 years and is definitely worth a visit if you are ever in the area.

check out the menu.

– ryan & gub

harraseeket lunch and lobster

36 main street
south freeport, me 04078
207-865-4888

we love the cardboard white buffalo we got as a wedding gift! it keeps watch over our kitchen record player and is also fun and eco-friendly. the company that makes them is called cardboard safari and is based out of charlottsville, va. other animals are available, including deer, moose, elephant, and rhino in white or brown cardboard. they also have some limited edition pieces, like a skull designed by noah scalin, of the skull-a-day project.

our white buffalo arrived in a flat box with assembly required. it didn’t take long though to pop out the laser-cut pieces, put together, and hang up our cardboard trophy. it’s definitely been a conversation piece with guests ever since.

we recently bought gub’s brother, cullen, a deer trophy for his dorm room. he moves into his new home at the university of south carolina this coming weekend. gub is still in shock that her baby brother is starting college!

order here.

– ryan & gub

we recently went to community q bbq in decatur and loved it! the food and atmosphere were amazing; we’ll definitely be heading back. with burlap on the tables, a large family-style table for eating, and food delivered on trays with checkered paper, you could easily forget you were in an emory shopping center.

we had pulled pork with mac n’ cheese and st. louis style ribs with hand-cut fries. the ribs were definitely some of the best we’ve had in atlanta! they were tender and smoky, yet not too flavorful or saucy. the meats at community q have a good smoky flavor. we’ve had lots of atlanta bbq recently and we’ve noticed that smokiness has been missing from most meats we’ve tried.

the mac n’ cheese was the best we’ve had! they use rigatoni pasta with sharp cheddar, monterey jack, parmesan and heavy cream and then bake it to perfection. to say the least, it’s amazing! the other sides looked great as well; the baked beans and collards in particular. they also use local and seasonal ingredients and sell a good amount of local produce. we picked up corn, okra, peaches and tomatoes during our visit, all of which have been amazing at home!

community q bbq is the best in-town atlanta bbq joint we’ve tried! there are certain meats or sides we crave from other bbq places, but we hadn’t found a nearby restaurant that excelled in all areas until now. the meats, sides, and deserts were all very tasty here!

community q cooks their bbq fresh every day; any leftovers go in the stew or to the local food bank. be aware that they often run out of items if they are busier than expected. arrive early or call ahead to guarantee your favorites are available.

on another note, we love bbq and we love live music, but we really don’t like them in combination. there’s nothing worse then going out for some bbq and not being able to talk because there’s a loud band playing. (hello sam’s bbq1 and maddy’s!) we appreciated the quiet, laid-back atmosphere and southern feel at community q bbq.

check out their menu.

– ryan & gub

community q bbq

1361 clairmont road
decatur, ga 30033
404-633-2080

on our maine trip this summer we drove through kennebunk and kennebunkport, which are both quaint, beautiful, new england coastal towns. although not big fans of the bush family, we did make a detour to see the bush compound. the estate was on a picturesque little peninsula that jetted out into the atlantic ocean. we were pleasantly surprised to see a windmill on the property.

– ryan & gub

we recently went to the planetarium at the fernbank science center and had a ton of fun! leaning back in those angled chairs brought back memories of elementary school field trips.

the planetarium offers adult and children programs from thursday through saturday. there is also a saturday morning program called the night sky, which takes you through the current constellations, planets, etc. in the night sky. shows are $4 for adults and $3 for children, students, and seniors.

after the planetarium show, we explored the fernbank science center. it was free and totally worth a visit. the diarama’s were amazing and the highlight of the center was the real apollo 6 capsule on display. we were quite impressed!

the fernbank observatory is also free and open for public observations on thursday and friday nights from 9 to 10:30 pm. an astronomer is on hand to position the largest telescope in the southeast and to answer questions. we definitely want to check this out sometime.

for a fun, inexpensive outing, consider the fernbank planetarium, observatory, or science center.

– ryan & gub

fernbank planetarium

156 heaton park dr.
atlanta, ga 30307
678-874-7113

on our quest of trying white wines from around the world, we found ourselves with a bottle of tokaji wine from the tokaj region of hungary. we had a bottle of the 2006 furmint sec from the királyudvar winery, which we found at candler park market. it was in the new arrivals at the market and had a nice write-up, so we went for it.

this tokaji was made with furmint and hárslevelű grapes and aged 6 months in 500-liter hungarian oak barrels. the result was a complex dry wine with hints of citrus. we enjoyed it very much!

– ryan & gub

our family in maine has an annual lobster boil every summer at reid state park. it’s always a blast with lots of seafood and fun in the sun! to prepare for such a large gathering, someone is always in charge of purchasing the lobsters and new england clams, aka steamers, from gendron’s seafood when it first opens. small lobsters are preferred, around 1 lb, as they are more tender than heavier ones. this summer, lobsters were only $4.75 lb, unfathomable to us southerners. we ate soft-shell lobsters, which did not require any tools to crack open.

on a funny side note, gendron’s seafood is actually located within a gas station. you can fill up your car while getting fresh live lobsters and clams! only in maine, right?

gendron’s also ships their seafood anywhere in the u.s., including hawaii and alaska. order here.

– ryan & gub

gendron’s seafood

1292 lisbon street
lewiston, me 04240
207-784-2646
800-896-2646

we spotted another pbr mural on the side of the graveyard tavern in east atlanta village. just when we thought we had seen them all, another one pops up.

be sure to check out the paintings in our june post, when we first started noticing the hand-painted ads around atlanta.

– ryan & gub

we have a new upcoming concerts section on our blog! here you’ll find a comprehensive list of shows worth checking out at the various venues in and around atlanta. no more flipping through a bunch of weeklies and websites to find out what good concerts are around the corner. this is your one stop shop! the upcoming concerts button can be found on the top left of our site under contact.

there are some great shows on the horizon. we are excited about dom, who opens for ratatat at the the masquerade, best coast at the drunken unicorn, lcd sound system & sleigh bells at the the tabernacle, and the classic lineup of guided by voices playing their only southeast reunion show at the the buckhead theatre. here are some other great shows that aren’t sold out yet:

best coast – fri, sep 10th – drunken unicorn – $12 – 9pm – tickets

titus andronicus – mon, sep 20th – the earl – $10 – 9pm – tickets

jamie lidell – wed, sep 22nd – the earl – $15 – 9pm – tickets

wavves – thur, sep 30th – drunken unicorn – $10 – 9pm – tickets

ratatat & dom – fri, oct 1st – the masquerade – $20 – 8pm – tickets

lcd sound system & sleigh bells – wed, oct 6th – the tabernacle – $32 – 8pm – tickets

school of seven bells – mon, oct 18th – the earl – $12 – 9pm – tickets

guided by voices – sat, oct 23th – the buckhead theatre – $26.50 – 9pm – tickets

– ryan

anytime we head towards the coast, we try to visit nearby lighthouses. they are always fun and fairly historical, plus they provide great views when you can climb to the top. last year we visited a few southeast lighthouses between a trip to hilton head island, sc and our anniversary trip to amelia island, fl.

the amelia island lighthouse was awesome! tours are offered on the first and third wednesday of each month and begin in a small museum with old photos and information on the lighthouse. the tour-guide, who happens to be the granddaughter of the last amelia island lighthouse keeper, gave an oral history filled with stories of growing up on the grounds. it was very interesting. we also walked around the lighthouse, although we couldn’t climb it.

next, we visited the st. johns river lighthouse on our way to st. augustine. the lighthouse was on a naval station, so we could only see it through a barbed wire fence. it was still worth visiting though, especially since we got to take our car on a fun ferry ride on the way.

we also went to the st. augustine lighthouse which was great! the black and white striped painting was one of the cooler designs we’ve seen on a lighthouse. we were able to climb to the top and get a great view of st. augustine and the atlantic ocean!

on a different trip to hilton head we stumbled upon the harbour town lighthouse. although more of a tourist attraction than navigational aid, the lighthouse does appear on navigational charts and has a light that can be seen for 15 miles. you can also climb to the top for a great view of the island.

– ryan & gub