Tag Archives: Staycation

Marietta Art in the Park!

It was a gorgeous Labor Day, so, I headed up to Marietta for a fun Staycation day!IMG_3039I cannot lie, it was very hot. There were a lot of artists. Every kind of art you can imagine. IMG_3030There were lots of fun things for the kids to do too.IMG_3036Do you see the boy on the roof? His mom was so cool, she just said “get down” and to her friend, “he will figure it out.” 

Then, of course, there was the King of Pops, only one vendor this time.IMG_3031The balloon guy was there too.IMG_3049

It was all around the Square in Marietta, very cute area. IMG_3044Lots of cute restaurants and homes in the area. Very close to the train tracks. IMG_3056

I think it would be interesting to explore when there isn’t a festival going on, a great Staycation.  Let me know if there are other things to see in the area! 

AJC Decatur Book Festival, it was crazy!

IMG_3004I have been to a lot of Festivals in Decatur but this was my first Book Festival. It was packed! There were books galore! There were books for everyone, young and old and everyone in between. Oh and you won’t believe who was there.IMG_3018That is right, Spidy was there. There were food trucks and of course The King of Pops, and balloon animals and hats.IMG_3013I wanted to get this posted so you could make it tomorrow.IMG_3011

IMG_3021Let me know what you think! Have a great time.

Quest for the Best – FAJITAS – Eduardos Mexican Grill

Eduardo’s Mexican Grill is off of LaVista Road behind the Red Lobster in Tucker. (Near Northlake Mall)

Eduardo's 1Cheese dip good, not a huge fan of the salsa. I am not sure if it was an off day or if I just don’t care for it. I have been here before and I don’t remember the salsa not being good but hey I will go back and let you know. Now, onto fajitas, Eduardo's 2Plenty of onions and green peppers, the chicken is well seasoned, but you know and can see, the chicken has been grilled and then cut, so, a little dry. It would have been really good it had a great flavor base. It is a cute family business that I will enjoy going back to try some other things. Eduardo's 3I wonder if family businesses or chains for that matter want to listen to criticism or input, what do you think?

Saving Some Money (Shopping tips)

It is always fun to save a few dollars here and there. Here a a few tips. Grocery tips in Atlanta; Kroger has manager’s specials on meat, they either have it in the same section, or they have a special section.HamburgerThis is a pound of low fat hamburger, usually $5.99, so I saved $2.00. I know you think that’s not much but it really adds up. Because then I saw my favorite potato chips, Utz Potato chips, with like an Old Bay seasoning on them, delicious! Utz's Potato ChipsThey were 50% off! Oh, and get a Kroger card, yes they track your purchases but you can save so much, and you get points to save ten cents per gallon off of Shell gasoline.

Then at Publix (this is in Atlanta, where Publix has competition) they will be having huge BOGO sales this weekend for labor day. You don’t have to buy two of the item, you can buy one and get it for half price. I live in a very small house and don’t have a lot of extra room. 

Then at Mercado del Pueblo, you can’t beat their prices on their produce, well unless you go to Buford Highway Farmer’s Market.IMG_1744Let me know if you have some money saving tips! Love to learn more….

Quest for the Best – FAJITAS – Taqueria Los Hermanos

IMG_2980This is my favorite Mexican restaurant in Atlanta. They have four locations, Tucker, Lilburn, Lawrenceville and Suwanee. I have never tried their fajitas because everything else on their menu is so good, until this week….TLH FajitasThey didn’t disappoint me with their fajitas either. The chicken was tender and well seasoned and this chicken was cut before it was grilled, leaving it super juicy. The cheese dip was great also.TLH Cheese dipIt has the jalepenos chopped and on the side so you can dump them in or not. These fajitas are very good. I would rank them in my top three. 

I have always gone to the Tucker restaurant but this one was their Lawrenceville Taqueria. Service was outstanding and the food is excellent. Have you been there? Let me know what you think.

Quest for the Best – FAJITAS – La Hacienda

IMG_2869After the last Quest fail, I had to get back out there and try again. So, my neighbor, Will, told me about this pretty new mexican restaurant, La Hacienda, so, we went there today. Whew, it was very good! Attentive waiters, great decor, zippy service good overall experience. I do apologize for not taking more photos because the exterior is really tasteful and cute. 

IMG_2870Obviously, I ordered the fajitas, and this was a plateful with everything cooked (not just a garnish) The guacamole was great! Beans and rice very good. Chicken was really good. They have so many great looking entrees on their menu, I will happily return for more. 

IMG_2871Will got steak on skewers, it looked great. I am not sure why I didn’t try it. 

It was a very good experience and I will be back! If you have been let me know your thoughts.

 

Quest for the Best – Fajitas – Mi Cocina

Mi Cocina 1Mi Cocina is a Mexican restaurant in Midtown Atlanta, part of a chain out of Dallas. It started out on a bad note and didn’t improve much from there. I was seated outside and chips were brought out immediately. The salsa was very good, the chips were fresh but I do not think they were homemade. (Their website states everything is handcrafted and made fresh daily.)

So, then I sat and sat and sat and tried to get anyone’s attention. What made me so sad is how attentive the waiters were to all of the other people dining with them. The head waiter came over and asked if I had been helped, “no,” what would you like to order? Cheese dip and fajitas and water. Cheese dip came out right away.Mi Cocina 4Now see that lovely chip that came in the dip, it was stale. The cheese dip tasted like Velveeta, not that there is anything wrong with that but I think I just ordered the wrong queso. The fajitas arrived about ten minutes later.Mi Cocina 6The beans were good and so was the rice. The peppers were not cooked, this did not come out sizzling the chicken was bland and cold. There were some good cooked potatoes on top of the chicken. It was like they threw some spices on before they brought it out. The two tortillas they gave me were not fresh. It was just not good. The good waitress asked me how thing were and I said okay. Finally my waiter came and asked me. I said the peppers were not cooked, he said, yes they are just a garnish….So I told him about my quest for the best – fajitas, and of all that I have tried so far, these were the worst and explained why. He was super nice and offered to get the general manager. So I waited, 5 minutes, no one, so I left. 

On a good note, the parking was free because they were repairing the ticket taker! 

Let me know if you have had a better experience here.

Quest for the Best – Bone Garden Cantina (Spoiler Alert, no fajitas)

Bone Garden Cantina 1Bone Garden Cantina was on the Travel Channel, Best True Mexican Restaurants in America, so I had to go check it out. A little hard to find, but not really.

A lot of restaurants are charging for chips and salsa now, this is one of them. The salsa was excellent,Bone Garden Cantina 2 the chips had a little too much salt on them for me, but if you like salted chips you would love it. I ordered a chicken taco and pork tamale (my other quest for the best is tamales, just haven’t reported it yet.). The chicken taco was excellent, the corn tortilla was one of the best I have had. The tamale was very good but not the best. The pork filling to the masa was just a little off for me. They do not have fajitas, but I think they are more traditional. Overall an extremely great experience, my waitress was so great! She was really attentive. I say go there and check it out, food is worth it!

Please let me know what you think!

Quest for the Best – FAJITAS Don Pedro

IMG_2703Okay technically they are not called fajitas here, so I ordered the pollo asado, grilled chicken. Here’s the deal, this place is packed with Hispanic people and me, good sign. The service is super fast. The chicken is really super tender and must have been marinated. The skin is crispy and so good! The salsa bar is very good. The sides are good too. Don Pedro chicken yumOh the salad was really good, iceberg lettuce, which can be yummy. Yes that is cheese dip in the background, also very good but too much food. Oh and the Coke, hecho en Mexico. If you haven’t had one give it a try, very sweet and very good!Don Pedro CokeThis place is winner winner chicken dinner! 

Oh it is way up Buford Highway, right after Beaver Ruin. The conclusion is I need to try these small great mexican restaurants. 

Tomorrow I will let you know somewhere great I discovered!

Quest for the BEST – FAJITAS Tacos & Tequilla

T & T MenuIf I don’t find the BEST soon, I might just be burning myself out on Fajitas. Today it was Tacos & Tequilla. It is a lively place. Cool looking inside. T & T InsideI think they had a little trouble deciding who would be my waiter, but it was just a hiccup. So, I ordered queso and then the chicken fajitas and a lime and some jalepeno slices. I pour the jalepeno slices into the queso, and they were a little spicy, but made it really good! Out came the fajitas…T & T FajitasLots of onions and peppers and although the chicken was grilled and sliced, they were still pretty tender and juicy. This was very good, the best thing about these fajitas was the salsa. This is some great salsa. I am going  to continue the quest. The next restaurant will be a hole in the wall. I will report later. Let me know if you have any suggestions. 

Oh, they have 3 locations, Buckhead, Midtown and Cumming!