we recently went to leon’s full service in downtown decatur for dinner. it’s run by the same people who own the brick store pub, another long-time favorite decatur restaurant of ours. we actually tried to go to farm burger, but the line was so long we ended up at leon’s where we were seated immediately.

we really enjoy the interior design of this old converted gas station. the round booths and old industrial lights help keep the atmosphere of a former petrol station. leon’s also has outdoor seating and a bocce ball court on the side of the restaurant.

leon’s has a great selection of draught beers, including brews from victory, avery, oskar blues, allagash, bell’s and other craft breweries. they also have unique infused liquors, including rhubarb infused myer’s white rum, pineapple infused inca gold pisco and bacon infused bourbon. we haven’t tried any of the infused liquors, but they sound excellent.

another specialty at leon’s is their pub frites, which are basically really awesome french fries with fancy sauces. boy are they tasty! the sauces include: garlic aioli, goat cheese fondue, masaman curry, smoked tomato mayonnaise, bacon & tarragon mayonnaise, cucumber-dill yogurt and a bunch more. the menu also offers a variety of creative and interesting meals. a noteworthy snack option is bacon in a glass for $5. we tried the mussels in a witbier & lemongrass broth and the white oak pastures grass-fed burger, which were both delicious.

if you’re looking for a night out in downtown decatur, definitely try leon’s full service. the food is very tasty and reasonably priced.

check out their menu.

– ryan & gub

leon’s full service

131 E ponce de leon ave.
decatur, georgia 30030
404-687-0500

check out our beautiful big red tomato! it was one of the last before our tomatoes were ravaged by the squirrels.

– ryan & gub

we are very excited about the ola podrida show at the drunken unicorn on july 21st in atlanta. our friend craig first introduced us to david wingo, singer/songwriter of ola podrida, after they met through mutual friends at film school. david has created the musical score for several great films, including george washington, all the real girls and great world of sound. he released his debut album, ola podrida, in 2007. we brought david to georgia to play at the hand.craft.it festival we curated a couple of years ago. we loved his performance and look forward to seeing him play with a full band.

now based in austin via new york, ola podrida’s latest album is called belly of the lion. u.s. tour dates include andrew kenny (american analog set) on bass, david hobizol on drums and colin swietek on guitar.

tickets can be purchased here for the atlanta show.

ola podrida will also be playing at cine in athens on july 20th. there’s a good article in this week’s flagpole.

– ryan & gub

we had brunch yesterday at le petit marché in downtown kirkwood. it’s a cute little market that features a food counter with breakfast, lunch and coffee items. besides homemade soups and build-your-own egg sandwiches, they offer award winning pb&j sandwiches. the peanut butter options include jungle banana, dark chocolate duo, cinnamon raisin, white chocolate raspberry and chocolate chip cookie dough. your jam choices are raspberry, strawberry and housemade golden fig. we went with the cuban panini and the biscuits & gravy brunch special. very tasty!

we are super excited to have such a great brunch option within walking distance from our house. we will be back soon for some pb&j sandwiches!

check out their menu.

– ryan & gub

le petit marché

1963 hosea l williams dr se no. 108
atlanta, ga 30317
404-371-9888
marchetsparks@gmail.com

we were able to find lots of yummy fresh blackberries & cherries at the store this week. the blackberries were not super ripe yet and ry was having me try bites of them together with the cherries. the combination of sweet and sour was so good we decided to make a blackberry & cherry cobbler!

we used the basic (add any fruit) cobbler recipe from the first paula deen cookbook & finished with ice cream.

– ryan & gub

blackberry & cherry cobbler recipe:

ingredients:
8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter
2 cups sugar
1 cup water
3/4 cup self-rising flour
3/4 cup milk
2 cups fresh sliced fruit (we used blackberries & cherries)

directions:
– preheat oven to 350 degrees
– put butter in deep baking dish and place in oven to melt
– clean and slice fresh fruit, place in a bowl and sprinkle with some sugar
– add the fruit, 1 cup of water and 1 cup of sugar to a saucepan
– bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring often
– mix 1 cup sugar and flour; add milk slowly to prevent lumping
– pour over melted butter in baking dish, do not stir
– spoon fruit on top, gently pouring syrup, again without stirring
– bake 30 to 45 minutes, batter will rise to top during baking
– serve with vanilla ice cream and/or whipped cream

we found these two half eaten tomatoes in the garden today. i guess the chipmunks have found a way under the fence…  what to do?
– ryan & gub

we just got back from a great trip to lewiston, maine. we’ll have more updates soon!

– ryan & gub

our tomatoes are turning red. we are very excited! our corn is also getting pretty big and we have baby bell and jalapeño peppers. we love our garden!

– ryan & gub

we are not wine connoisseurs by any means, but we do enjoy drinking it, especially whites. we’ve been trying to sample unique white wines from various regions of the world. after a recent splendid table episode, we decided to try an albariño. this refreshing white wine is made from albariño grapes and is mostly produced in the rías baixas region of spain.

we tried a bottle of 2007 fillaboa albariño. it was crisp with hints of peach and apricot, but not sweet like riesling or muscat. it paired well with seafood and fresh veggies from our garden.

if you’re a fan of white wines, this unique variety is definitely worth checking out. we thoroughly enjoyed our 2007 fillaboa albariño and have been able to find it at toco hills giant wines in atlanta.

– ryan & gub

we made fried green tomato BLTs for dinner last night and they were delicious! we used a tomato from our garden and had sautéed zucchini as a side, which was also from our garden.

to prepare, slice a green tomato and place on a plate or splatter guard. sprinkle salt on top and let the slices sit for a couple of hours. this will cause the water to drain out of the tomatoes for a better frying experience. pour off any excess water as it builds. when ready to fry, just dip a slice in egg wash and batter before frying in oil at medium heat. we used corn meal in our batter, but feel free to use flour.

– ryan & gub

fried green tomato recipe:

ingredients:
1-2 large green tomatoes sliced
bread, mayonnaise, lettuce & bacon (if BLTs are desired)

egg wash:
2 eggs, beaten
1/3 cup milk

batter:
1/2 cup corn meal
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1 tsp parsley

directions:
– clean tomatoes and slice
– place on a splatter guard and sprinkle with salt, let sit for a couple of hours
– pour off any excess water as it builds
– heat oil in a frying pan at medium heat
– dip tomato slices in egg wash and then in the batter
– gently place battered tomatoes in frying pan and fry until golden brown
– place on splash guard to let cool and drain the oil
– serve on toasted bread with mayonnaise, lettuce and bacon or with a dipping sauce