The Spence

So I went the other night with some friends to dinner at the Spence in midtown... some things were great, some not so much.... but to be fair - we were warned when we ordered it.  

Beet salad with Point Reyes blue cheese

 Also - I was happy to find out that Richard Blais really is present in the kitchen most of the time.   I always wonder in these restaurants with celebrity chefs - are they ever really around.  The answer here was yes.  Apparently he is usually in the place Thursday through the weekend...  And many of the folks who work there have been part of his crew since his first restaurant in Atlanta.

Bone marrow with eggs


I decided to have a culinary adventure when I was choose my meal.   The beets were delicious, which was a special treat since I never make them at home.   Too messy to tackle myself.   And I love that the beets were homegrown by a member of the kitchen staff.    The locavore element, without being the only draw to the restaurant,  was a welcome touch.   The marrow was new to me but was very rich and impressive on the plate.

Now on to what did not work so well.....

Berries, Berries, Berries!

The berry picking trip this past weekend was a huge success!   We got the past of the strawberries and some of the early blackberries and blueberries.   It really was too soon for the blueberries so that became tedious very quickly but eventually we got an almost full bucket.  It is addictive - the constant discovery of more ripe ones.   Like a treasure or Easter egg hunt.

I have heard good things about the blueberry farm in Social Circle but this time we went to Washington Farms in Watkinsville, GA because they have all three kinds that everyone in my group wanted to pick.   I don't think that they are organic but they are local and definitely very tasty.