The 2018 Little Five Points Halloween Parade

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Yesterday was the 18th annual Little Five Points Halloween Parade in the Little Five Points neighborhood of Atlanta, GA.

The parade route started at Austin and Euclid Avenues and continued up Euclid Avenue to Moreland Avenue. I arrived and grabbed a spot at the McClendon Avenue and Moreland Avenue intersection, across from The Corner Tavern. Below is a gallery of photos I captured from the 2018 Little Five Points Halloween Parade.

My favorite images are below (I especially loved the Thriller ambulance and the Zombie librarians from DeKalb County Public Library).

A full gallery of the images from the Little Five Points Halloween Parade is at the bottom of this post.


A GrantMeFood Dinner with the "1912 Paris" Theme

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Last weekend, I attended a GrantMeFood dinner with the theme of 1912 Paris. It was my second GrantMeFood dinner (I blogged about my first experience here), and it was, again, fantastic. Chef Grant and his wife Ria made everyone feel welcome and did an amazing job preparing, cooking, plating, and hosting.

On the menu this time:

Course 1: Gougères au foie gras with blackberry gel & hazelnut

Course 2: Beef tenderloin with dill crème fraîche, horseradish, capers & zest

Course 3: Celery velouté with celery leaves, smoked morels, and lemon oil

Course 4: Summer vegetable tarte (a play on ratatouille) with eggplant, zucchini, squash, roquefort, truffle, tarragon & red pepper pureé

Course 5: Duck (72 hour prep) with caramelized onion broth, field pea & mint pistou, earl grey ash, and pea shoots

Course 6: Chocolate soufflé with basil sabayon

Some photos I captured at this dinner are below.

Ria serving the beef tenderloin with dill crème fraîche, horseradish, capers & zest.

Detail of the beef tenderloin.

Celery velouté with celery leaves, smoked morels, and lemon oil

Ria serving the summer vegetable tarte (a play on ratatouille) with eggplant, zucchini, squash, roquefort, truffle, tarragon & red pepper pureé.

Ria serving the summer vegetable tarte.

Detail of the summer vegetable tarte. So yummy!

Prepping the plates.

Grant and Ria plating the tarte.

The tarte is ready to be served.

The tarte is served.

Another angle of the vegetable tarte.

Serving of the duck (72 hour prep) with caramelized onion broth, field pea & mint pistou, earl grey ash, and pea shoots.

Another view of the final serving of the duck.

The duck was the star of the evening.

Getting ready to put the chocolate soufflé into the oven.

Chocolate soufflé out of the oven.

Grant and Ria putting the final touches on the chocolate soufflé.

Grant and Ria putting the final touches on the chocolate soufflé.

Chocolate soufflé with basil sabayon ready to eat.

If you are interested in tasting incredible food in a warm, friendly atmosphere (and don't mind the serendipity that's involved with interacting with other strangers/like-minded foodies around Atlanta), I highly suggest checking out the GrantMeFood website and signing up for his mailing list (some dinners sell out very quickly as there are only eight spots at the table), following the @GrantMeFood Instagram account, and liking/following the page on Facebook.

GrantMeFood: An Atlanta Area Supper Club

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Last month, I had the pleasure of attending an Atlanta-area supper club called GrantMeFood, hosted by chef Grant Stevens. Here is how GrantMeFood bills itself on its website:

GrantMeFood is an Atlanta area supper club that unites a group of strangers in our home for an evening filled with incredible food and interesting conversation. We combine global cuisine with a farm-to-table approach to take you on an adventure of flavor and texture that'll change your life. Ok, maybe it won't change your life, but we promise it'll be fucking tasty.

Grant, in collaboration with his wife Ria, opened up their lovely home for an amazing four-course tasting menu. 

An amazing setting to host eight strangers around the dinner table.

Prior to arriving to the dinner, I emailed Grant asking if I could take a few photos of the dinner preparation and as the dinner was being server. Luckily, Grant responded in the affirmative.

The title of this particular dinner was "The Hangover Cure," and the following was on the menu that evening:

Course 1: Duck fat latke, tarragon and meyer lemon creme fraiche, quail egg, caviar

Course 2: Rabbit poutine with rabbit espagnole and fresh cheese curds

Course 3: "Ketchup and Mustard" - Pork cheek capaletti with pink peppercorn pork consomme,  wasabi and mushroom agnolotti with shitake and saffron broth

Course 4: Roasted banana cream, lemon and black poppy seed meringue, kiwi-matcha panna cotta

Below are a few photos I captured of Grant (and Ria in the background) preparing the finishing touches on the above courses:

And below, a few photos of the courses served that evening:

What was remarkable about the event was not just the incredible food that Grant and Ria prepared for the random selection of guests that attended, but the amazing conversation that our group had over the course of the evening. What was supposed to be a dinner that lasted from 7:30PM to 9:30PM ended up being an incredible evening where we talked and connected on various topics until past 2 o'clock in the morning! 

If you are interested in tasting incredible food in a warm, friendly atmosphere (and don't mind the serendipity that's involved with interacting with other strangers/like-minded foodies around Atlanta), I highly suggest checking out Grant's website and signing up for his mailing list, following the @GrantMeFood Instagram account, and liking/following the page on Facebook . 

 

The 2016 Atlanta Dogwood Festival

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This weekend I attended the Atlanta Dogwood Festival at Piedmont Park. On Saturday, I participated in the Mimosa 5K race with a few friends. It was a lot of fun—and my first time drinking mimosas after a race.

On Sunday, I came back to stroll around the park, see the artist/vendor booths, and watch the dog frisbee competition. Below, a few photos from the 2016 Dogwood Festival.

 

The 2015 Red Bull SoapBox Race

This Saturday, I went to watch the 2015 Red Bull Soapbox Derby in Atlanta, GA. About 2,000 feet of North Avenue were blocked off for the event, with ~1200 feet devoted to the race track.

After capturing a few mundane shots of the cars in the competition, i decided to shift gears a little bit and go for some panning shots of the soap box cars to show the motion/speed as they came down the hill.

Harry the Hawk, mascot of the Atlanta Hawks, began the festivities by running the course with the American flag during the singing of the "The Star-Spangled Banner":

Shortly after 12PM, each of the 40 soap box cars had a chance to go down the race course solo, competing both on fastest time and best skit/performance prior to the race downhill. 

The team I was rooting for was the Ramblin' Wreck, a superb replica of Georgia Tech's Ramblin' Wreck (a restored Ford Model A Sports Coupe). Unfortunately, the Ramblin' Wreck popped a tire after the landing from the ramp along the course. Nevertheless, team Ramblin' Wreck pushed their way to the finish line, as seen here, much to the delight of the crowd:

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles may not have posted the best time in the tournament, but they had a fantastic skit (and great enthusiasm within the confines of the soap box):

A Red Bull endorsed vehicle about to head down the course. Notice the nifty suspension gear:

A wide angle view of the crow and the team called "Firefighters" making their way down:

Team "We Never Ride Dirty":

Team Chariot, which did not finish (DNF) the race. Less than a second after I captured this photo, the chariot wrecked:

Team Rollergirls Downhill Devils has an amazing looking car. Bonus points go to the detail, such as the blue shoelace and the curvature of the frame:

This is Team Yongsa's Dragon Breath, and they were incredibly fast, if this photo is any indication. Out of the 40 participants, they had the best (or second best) time overall (under 33 seconds):

Team Uber Atlanta had a beautifully minimalistic design of their car that finished in the top ten overall: 

Left shark makes an appearance:

Team Because Racecar (aka, team swag/mustache):

The Big Wrench:

When I first saw this car racing downhill, my first impression was a grill on wheels:

Empire Cocktail Crafters:

At the end of the race. Are you NOT entertained???

Bonus photo as I was walking on North Avenue. This dog wins some kind of Sartorialist award for best fashion/haircut.

The 2015 Atlanta BeltLine Lantern Parade

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This Saturday, I went to see the Atlanta Beltline Lantern Parade. Having gone last year (but without my dSLR), I thought I would capture a few photos of the festivities. There was great music, food trucks, and hundreds of people (and some of their pets) either carrying lanterns or wearing them. Overall, more than 20,000 spectators came out to see the event.

The parade went through various historic districts of Atlanta along the BeltLine: Old Fourth Ward, Inman Park, and Virginia Highlands. I stood near the intersection of Monroe Drive and 10th Street (where the conclusion of the parade took place) to capture some of the photos:


Snow Storm in Atlanta

After the late January snow storm that crippled Atlanta, the city was better prepared for the "storm of the decade" as some media outlets were calling it. In fact, most business and schools came out and said they were shutting down for the day. The governor of Georgia issued a state of emergency for 45 counties across much of northern GA, including most counties in the metropolitan Atlanta area.

Based on my experience, the storm wasn't as bad as some people predicted. I went out for a stroll around my neighborhood this afternoon and captured the photos below. Most of the falling precipitation was falling ice rather than accumulating snow. 

My stroll took me across the major thoroughfares in Buckhead: Piedmont Road and Peachtree Road. The following photos show that the roads were well treated.

Ice-encrusted trees across the Hotel Intercontinental in Buckhead (Atlanta, GA).

Piedmont road at around 2PM. A car would pass once every couple of minutes. Most Atlantans stayed off the roads today.

This is the Piedmont Road/Peachtree Road intersection in Buckhead. Not a car in sight...

A car veers onto the on-ramp for GA-400, headed northbound.

Piedmont Road was deserted, but treated with salt/sand earlier.

A view of Twin Peaks and Farm Burger on Piedmont Road in Buckhead.

The bright peach state, covered by icicles, on February 12, 2014.

Atlanta Police making their rounds on Peachtree Road.

A lot of the businesses were closed. Here's a selection:

My favorite burrito place, Chipotle, looking empty.

All Caribou locations across Atlanta were shut down today. I was staying safe and warm, thank you, Caribou.

One of the few exceptions I stumbled upon, and where I warmed up for a few minutes, was this Kroger that was open on Piedmont Road. 

The Sovereign Building, the tallest building in Buckhead, seen across Piedmont Road.

The Southern Art menu is not decipherable under the ice/freezing rain.

A car in the Kroger parking lot, bracing the elements.

A treated Piedmont Road. 

Corner Bakery was closed too...

Along my winter stroll, I came across people who were doing the same. They were enjoying the weather, taking walks, shopping, or otherwise seeing what everyone else was up to in the neighborhood.

This poor man was hauling his luggage on Piedmont Road. He had about 3/4th of a mile to go to reach his hotel further up Piedmont Road.

What a capture! As I turned around, the man from the couple featured above, decided to do a "foot low five." 

Everyone, meet the adorable Molly. "She needs her daily walk."

Taking it easy...

An urban, wintry landscape, punctuated by a walker.

Since no one was on the roads, it was perfectly acceptable to walk in the middle of the city streets. In fact, it was probably advantageous/safer to do so, away from power lines that had accumulated ice.

When you can't drive, why not go for a bike ride as these two ladies did?

And a few more scenes from my urban walk:

An old truck idles on Lenox Road, across Lenox Square Mall.

Hello, inverted signs.

Lenox Square Mall was completely deserted. An eerie, but beautiful, sight.

An advertisement for an iPhone 5C on a wall of a MARTA bus station.

A local church.

"You and I need answers." How come this storm was so overblown, for example?

My last stretch of the stroll was on a local road, and I captured the following neighborhood scenes:

Park Avenue, iced. 

No construction on this afternoon.

This tree branch, weighed down by ice, blocked a portion of the sidewalk.

Icicles were common.

This. Old. House.

I framed this beautiful house against icy branches across the street. 

A juxtaposition: a cone, a tree branch, and my footprint.

"Good fences make good neighbors." One of my favorite scenes on my walk.

This winter storm largely spared the metro Atlanta area. Nevertheless, today made for a wonderful snow day for those of us who worked/stayed at home (which was most of Atlanta). I hope you enjoyed these photographs!

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All photographs © by: Eugene Buchko // eugene.buchko@gmail.com