Healthy living. I rode down to catch some of that ocean glow perfecto. While you’re making a living don’ t forget to live. From the twilight zone to dusk, make my day with a “cheers!” What’s your flavor? A double scoop of palm tress in the middle of winter are selling me today, and that’s a loaded gun. It’s a fact, kiss kiss. I made no resolutions for the New Year. “The habit of making plans, of criticizing, sanctioning and molding my life, is too much of a daily event for me.” — Words from Anaïs Nin somehow fit me like a glove. There is surely nothing other than the single purpose of the present moment. Take the journey and enjoy it for whatever it brings. Can you hear me switching lanes? I can see the vibration in the side view mirror.
Filled to the brim with couples, Galleria shoppers and fashionably dressed girls-night-outers, the Grand Lux Cafe gives off a gilded glare – both from the actual 30-foot-high ceilings and a spacious dining room that feels more palatial than cavernous (the resturant comes wrapped in embossed gold Mylar). But the tone here is serious, sober, weighty – service is snappy and personal; booths are deep and romantically dim, lending a comforting aura to the dining experience. This feels like “luxury dinning.” The expansive menu rides the line between fine cuisine and nouveau comfort food, with an overarching Asian influence. This is an encore on encore on encore of another vicarious experience of opulence! –>Inside Story
First of all – I’m totally loving this whole bar hopping thing oppose to a club. Second – I’m loving this Sawyer Park place! Sawyer Park is an upscale sports bar on the East end of Washington Ave. The decor is an elaborate sports theme highlighted by chandeliers made from empty beer bottles. It even has a private room where middle aged men can be found playing fantasy baseball. This is the spot to be if you want to watch the Downtown Skyline…absolutely sicking! I’d like to say that the dress is “casual” but thats an understatement. I’m all for wearing nice velvet shoes and dress shirts. However, if they do notice anything silly about your clothes, the doorman will stop everything and ask that you “please fix yourself, sir.” I love a good doorman.
+ The weather was perfect – the crowd was a mix of young whippersnappers and older professionals. A lot more Polo and Brooks Bros than the typical Washington bar can stand to allow in – actually a fresh relief from the bedazzled crap you typically see. The one problem you may run into at this place is parking, I definitely suggest VALET!!! This place reminds me a lot of Pulp Fiction, not really the appearance, but the theme. It’s a sports bar with club/lounge-like tendencies–you’ll catch loud tunes and dolled up folks. Oh, Sawyer Park, I love you so. Houston make me proud.
Sawyer Park Sports Bar
2412 Washington Ave
Houston, TX 77007
Marquis Phifer
Carrabbas in Houston. Phenomenal. No wait. AT ALL. It started off crowded!! Like, can’t breathe crowded. Thank God we had a room set aside just for us. Another perk of my friend Terry Thierry being good acquaintances with the owner. The staff was very attentive. It was pretty busy for a Saturday afternoon. For one, the food is amazing. We had the bruschette to start, and it was fantastic. The bread was crispy and delicious. The goat cheese and tomato was rich and perfect on top of the bruschette. An amazing start to a good meal. The second backdrop was of stuffed shrimp and pasta, paired with ice cold Heineken’s. We finished with some coffee and a tiramisu. Overall, everything was great. Carrabba’s is delicious and well worth a visit for dinner if you’ve never been there. I promise that you will leave impressed.
Carrabbas Italian Grill
3115 Kirby
Houston, Texas
Marquis Phifer
Jovel, what? Brandon, what? Look, where? Hold up don’t turn your head. Just slowly turn your head. 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3,…2…1. Listen. No! Listen. Pearl is my FAVORITE SEAFOOD HOUSE OF ALL TIME. Phifer is not feeling sea sick–enjoying the luxury of bromances and nickel and dime prices a la $5 Thursday Specials (I only want to fly first-class desires, you’re my limousine). Who him yes me–I’m game tight on a Thursday Atlanta night, see it all through the platinum french frames with the french name in the same night. We like the breeze flow straight out of our lids–cause we cool like dat [x7]. We dined on crab, I said crab for five ones (I am not the meat & potatoes type of guy). All 5 everything. Bring a friend! We gon show you how we party.
Pearl Restaurant & Lounge
253 Peters St
Atlanta, GA 30313
Marquis Phifer
Grilled salmon and broccoli, Pearl Restaurant & Lounge
I don’t understand why it’s so difficult to confirm what’s for dinner. No! I don’t want dacquoise. I want the BEST economically priced seafood on the market. Am I reaching for the stars here? Not really. And yes you are right, Phifer does not play homemaker and I do not cook! I– I don’t know why but it takes too much preparation, and I get minimal thrills being in the kitchen. But then there is my favorite seafood spot in Atlanta–Pearl. It’s small, intimate, and a very low key seafood lounge. The owner knows I on a first name bases, and the kitchen staff knows us from dining heavy on their $5 Thursdays; crab and shrimp are on the menu–it’s Cheap & Chic. I recommend anything grilled (salmon and sauteed shrimp) with any side. I don’t mess with the fried family so anything dipped in grease you are on your own! Definitely check it out next time you’re in the Castleberry Hill area. (It’s other alas is Baltimore Seafood & Crab (to-go counter has a separate name but same restaurant).
Pearl Restaurant & Lounge
253 Peters St
Atlanta, GA 30313
Neighborhood: Castleberry Hill
Marquis Phifer
The name alone gives you a clue as to what you might find on the menu–this is definitely a Latino place; you can find meals from Caribbean, Latin America, and Spain all in one place. Me, I rather fly to all of the destinations previously mentioned–as I am often confused as being Eladio I discovered La Fonda Latina while attempting to waste time during a class or two; go to whatever restaurant in the area that happened to be in a Big Wheel’s reach. Consider this a connoisseur move for a cheap Mexican-style restaurant. That being said, I was happy to partake in a bean and rice combo, my lunch guest indulged in a quesadilla combination. With everything on the menu being simple, decently priced–the best companion for students of higher learning, and flavorful–so grab you–you–you–and your whole crew and get sloshed on all this culture that is mistakenly taken as mine!
La Fonda Latina
1025 Howell Mill Rd
Atlanta, GA 30318
Marquis Phifer
Over fourty of Altanta’s progressive culture curartors were selected and attended DJ On Deck: A Cultural Session–featuring existique taste from The Sound Table and a musical traverse as Dj Dimples streamed the event with live spinning music! An archivist crowd of credible influencers enjoyed culinary appetizers from Sound Tables Executive Chef Breenan Keenan, infused with the spinning techniques and remixed sounds of Atlanta’s originator Dj Dimples in a fine dining atmosphere; combining influencers to drive creativity and connectivity.
Details: The event housed a clique of 30 to 40 hand-selected key players in the Atlanta Metropolitan area;–the duration of the event was from 7:00 P.M. until 10:00 P.M–view post to engage in the selected night where we heard customized beats, food, and tasted Heineken product!
–>Inside Story
Live from Atlanta: Hello ladies and gentemen. It’s Friday afternoon, July 29th, 2011. As per I usually don’t say the date–but I’m feeling good from yesterday. In about 4 seconds Phifer is about to speak: Call your name two, three times in a row—ehh. Yall listening right. This is Luxury Blogging- rich & grandeur posts–and private dinner parties oppose to a ‘come all‘ party (looking like a dinner at Neverland in the Dynasty era).
The RX Club and Dean Marketing curated and executed Atlanta’s 30 Under 30 Dinner Party Presented By Heineken–“30/30” was an evening dining experience that brought together some of Atlanta’s youngest and most influential leaders in their respective industry–the dinner aimed to highlight and honor the thirty individuals under the age of thirty within the Atlanta Metropolitan area who were making their mark in various fields; held on the upper level of Straits restaurant (you know where I’m going with this)! Break out the green lights.
Some notable honorees included; Josh Powell of the Atlanta Hawks, Paris Kirk (A&R at DTP Records), Moses Davis (Marketing for Atlantic Records), Brian Patrick Davis (Concreteloop.com), Kodak Boi (Vibe Vixen), Nino Coreoleno (founder of FLI PELICAN), Joshua King of Fly Publicity, Nina Brown of Atlanta Alive, Nicole Garner of The Garner Circle, Fadia Kader, Matthew Verden, Jazzy McBee, Tahira Wright, Dalen Spratt, Josh Powell, Olori Swank, Renaldo Nehemiah, Aware from Greedmont Park and Miss Georgia ‘Kaylin Reque’!
–>Inside Story
Nothing draws a crowd like a crowd. Don’t let the funk pass you by. I don’t drive anymore, I’m just holding my i.d.–the passenger stallion. Young people are lost these days but the older ones dig me. They can’t clock my accent, I’m not attached to one city. It’s funny how Chardonnay can make our differences differ. We threw a party, yeah, we threw a party. People came over, yeah, we threw a party. Cheers to more than t-shirt time on Fridays nights. Wearing clothes is an overrated experience when you’re close to the beach. I’m just a girl, small bikinis are all I need on the ‘zero zero zero comma zero after zero’ quest to bring funds for my needs. We took the floor before the night was over. Not bad huh, for some southern kids? I may not have gone where I internded to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be.
–>Inside Story
Gaulart et Maliclet - Fast and French; a casual French restaurant serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Check with your server for weekly specials if you’re a newcomer. The best seat is front of house–bar style. It doesn’t differ much from the rest of the cafe’s high table communal seating, similar to diner counters but with escargot on the menu. Meals include your beverage from iced tea to french house wine. I chose the lunch special of the day: pesto pasta with goat cheese and a side of melon. My lunch date ordered the hot turkey and brie croissant. With great vegetarian plates and affordable prices, Fast and French is a local gem in the historic district of Charleston, SC.
Confession: This was my second attempt at Fast and French. The first smacked me in the face with a 20 minute wait in dreadful heat. As I left, an elderly passerby commented that it was the best spot in town, then tried her luck and placed a reservation. After Florida, I couldn’t resist giving it another try. –>Inside Story
Beach bod ready with vegetable medlies? Yes. I’m not known to carry conversations in the kitchen. But after seeing André Leon Talley make ‘Regal Baroque’ cake frosting swirls with Martha Stewart, I figured I’d give it a try. Now weekly trips to the farmer’s market for fresh locally grown produce has become a reaccurring theme. In most cases, fewer Americans meet their fruit or vegetable intake. Click here to find a farmer’s market near you to get on track. Thank me later. –>Inside Story