The Weekend Review: March 22-25, 2012

The Weekend Review: March 22-25, 2012   

“Right On?” or “Right Off?”

The weekend that just passed was totally BANANAS for me and my crew. First of all it was my favorite cousin/sister's birthday so she made her way down south to celebrate it ATL style. I'm a new transplant to the "A" myself (just moved here from the DMV July of 2011) so I'm still impressed with all the flavor that Black Hollywood is known for. I love the people with their southern charm & hospitality, the fantastic nightlife and the gorgeous men and women. I already have the love of my life, but seeing the women here definitely made me step my game up. Tiny waists and bubble butts are the rule rather than the exception; ATL ladies are definitely hitting the gym! And the fellas are keeping it tight as well. So I needed to show my cousin a fabulous time and expose her and my other out of town guests to some hot spots and eye candy. As usual, my favorite city didn't let me down. We partied like rock stars from Thursday to Sunday!! Here's what we found hot:

Thursday 3/22:

       Wet Willie's:  2450 Piedmont Road NE #106 Atlanta, GA 30324

 Actually, I have to confess that I went to Wet Willie's Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday!! Sounds like a cry for help right......or for rehab.  Wet Willie's is definitely addictive! For those of us who frequent South Beach, Wet Willie's is a staple; a "must go" every trip. So when my guests discovered there was one right here in Buckhead, they went crazy. Of course I had to give them what they wanted (“poor me” right?) We know the high octane frozen drinks that are synonymous with the name are something special ( pina colada/call a cab mix is my boo), but the surprise was how delicious the food was! It was much better than the food in the South Beach location.
We had the wings in the Thai spicy sweet chili flavor as well lemon pepper, the Fried Fish Fingers with Fries, a Shrimp Po Boy and the Pina Colada Shrimp. All were fresh, hot and expertly seasoned: scrumptious! The Pina Colada shrimp were a work of art though. They were golden fried, coconut shrimp on skewers which were standing upright in a fresh cut pineapple ring: excellent presentation and taste. So, if you haven't gone to Atlanta's little slice of South Beach, you should definitely put it in your rotation. The beautiful weather, large patio and delicious food & bevs gives us local Atlantans a taste of vacation, and guests exactly what they're looking for. Wet Willie’s is “Right On!!”
        

     Vanquish:  1029 Peachtree Street Atlanta, GA 30309

"WOW!" Enough said.......................................................................................................................
Thursday nights at Vanquish are HOT, if my experience there on last Thursday is any indication of the regular party climate.  First of all, the décor is crazy sexy cool.  It features “snake skin” couches and metallic tone “leather” arm chairs.  Both bars featured wildly exotic painted backdrops with sexy ladies and tigers. My favorite was the one with the beautiful lady in red sitting in a tufted leather wing chair with a tiger sitting regally at her feet. Throughout each backdrop painting there are ornate iridescent markings which give the paintings a somewhat burlesque vibe.

 Kenny Burns more than earned his pay and reputation as “Hype Man” Extraordinaire. He kept the jam packed club energized and krunk! The crowd responded to his “insanity” by “rocking out” to what has to be the best music mix in the city. My feet were howling in my 5 inch wedges but when I heard Chris Brown and Rhianna’s smash hit “Birthday Cake,” I didn’t care!!! And I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the fabulous crowd. The stars were definitely out in Atlanta! NFL great, Jerome Bettis was in attendance looking pretty darn good if I may say so. The New Jersey Nets were in our great city in preparation for their Friday night game against the Hawks and a couple of them made their way over to party as well. Singer Brandy, in town for an event she was hosting with Monica, was also in the house all hugged up with a mystery man. Of course Atlanta has its local celebs as well that come out and play when the lights go down. Jazze Pha was out and about looking dapper and being his regular friendly self. I love this guy. Vanquish is officially my new favorite club in The “A!!”  Definitely “Right On.”

Friday 3/23/12

     Ocean Prime: 3102 Piedmont Road NE Atlanta GA 30305

I wanted to show my friends that I know how to do something other than club and drink so I insisted they go to Ocean Prime. Not only does it have a very elegant and tasteful inside décor and a super sexy patio that is large enough to accommodate many, but it offers incredible food and outstanding service.

Ocean Prime is an upscale seafood and steak restaurant featuring an extensive menu of decadent beef and seafood selections, exotic salads and exceptional appetizers, desserts and other fine food items.  If you have never gone, I highly recommend it for amazing ambiance, service and food. We chose 2 appetizers, the Signature appetizer which is a jumbo lump crab cake with sweet corn cream and the “surf and turf” which is sea scallops and slow braised short ribs: succulent! One person wanted soup as a starter and opted for the lobster bisque sweet corn fritter: superb (I had to steal a taste!)  If you like to start with a fresh salad or to have one as your meal, my guests chose the Ocean Prime House salad: romaine, spinach, granny smith apples, goat cheese, walnuts and sherry mustard vinaigrette, as well as the shellfish cobb salad: shrimp, lobster, crab, bacon, bleu cheese, and gourmet dressing. I have to go back just to order the shellfish cobb salad. It looked delectable.  The menu offers many appealing dinner items so it’s always hard to choose just one. However when you dine with a group, you can always sample each other’s selections; and sample we did.  The Prime Feature is a superb dinner choice. It consists of blackened snapper, wilted spinach and jalapeno corn tartar. Any steak is a sensational choice, but my personal favorite is the 14 oz New York Strip. The steaks come with “accessory choices” (for an additional price) which are an excellent and unique twist to just steak with steak sauce. I like to accessorize my steak with the garlic shrimp scampi or crab meat; both are tongue tantalizing ways to enhance the flavor of their impeccable cuts of expertly cooked beef.  So check them out (because they are a definite “Right ON”) and please tell the GM, Greg Sage, that Felicia from Lounge Around Atlanta, and Miguel of Miguel Wilson Menswear sent you.

     Bottle Bar: 268 East Paces Ferry Road NE Atlanta, GA 30305

When it was time to party, “we called our crew and told them to call their crew to rendezvous at the (Bottle) Bar around 2” (had to throw a little Biggie paraphrase in there.)  I spent another Friday night at Buckhead Bottle Bar.  Yeah I know I can get a little repetitive and stuck in my lounging ways but if “something ain’t broke, don’t fix it” is one of my mantras. I needed to take my “out of town” guests somewhere that I know is consistently hot. Bottle Bar meets this requirement. Because I’ve shouted it out so much already, I won’t go into mad details here. If you would like additional information on it, please see my past blogs. But suffice it to say, that it didn’t disappoint me. My friends here from New York and DC had a blast. Buckhead Bottle Bar is still a “Right On.”

 Saturday 3/24

     Aurum: 915 Peachtree Street Atlanta, GA 30309

Today was the big day, my girl Dee celebrated her 22^nd birthday for the 22^nd time; you do the math. We were exhausted and badly in need of liver and kidney resuscitation from all the alcohol we had consumed over the last few days but we overcame and found our way to Aurum. This is another hot lounge that I have written extensively about in past posts so I won’t repeat myself. But we had a fabulous time. The music was great and it was packed. Every VIP was full and “us” commoners took our posts around the perimeter. There was barely standing room!!! The DJ kept it hot…….AGAIN so after doing a few Saturdays here, I’m feeling pretty confident recommending Aurum as your consistently hot Saturday “go to” spot. Once again, Aurum gets a “Right On.”

The club’s owner, Lloyd looked out for us and helped us to make my girl’s night really special. You know what you did and it was HUGE. So a big “shout out” to Lloyd and an even bigger “thank you” for setting it out for us.

Sunday 3/25

     SHOUT:  1197 Peachtree Street NE Atlanta, GA 30361

I wish I could say that we went to the early service at church and then to brunch at Lenox Grill…….but unfortunately, I cannot. Instead my SINsational crew went back to Wet Willie’s for a late lunch and then happened upon the hottest day party in the city at SHOUT. When I tell you people were stuffed into every nook and cranny in the place as well as its rooftop, outside patio AND standing outside; please believe me. It was crazy and unexpected.  I wondered if it was like this every Sunday. While maneuvering my way through the crowd however, I happened to run into someone big in the music game who told me that it was his party and its hosted once a month by him and a few of his associates. So maybe not; check it out next Sunday and see. Anyway, his next Sunday Day Party is April 29^th. I will keep you posted on exact times and details. We fell up in this one around 6pm and it was cranking. There was a $20.00 admission fee but I don’t think anyone cared because it was immediately obvious that this was the only place to be on a fair weather Sunday afternoon in the fabulous ATL.  Ladies who are looking for a summer time fling: Listen Up.  The ballers were out in full force. All breeds of motorized bling was parked outside front and center. When you got inside, you understood. The NFL really represented. Huge chests and pecs roamed and ruled the floor.  NFL Cutie Jason Allen was in the house posted up at an upper level VIP obviously enjoying the party. It was an incredible time to be had at SHOUT on Sunday and trust me, we had it!!! This spot was definitely “Right On.”

Well that ends my weekend review. Stay tuned for my next post which will feature 5 great spots for a 1^st date.