Ham Bar Southern Art and Bourbon Bar

Last weekend we visited Atlanta.  We rolled the dice on a place to stay and booked a Hotwire room in Buckhead.  The gamble paid off.  We stayed in a very nice four star room at the Intercontinental for $78/night.  The room had a beautiful marble bathroom with a garden tub and separate shower.  The view from one of the chairs in the room was straight down Peachtree Street toward Piedmont Road.  The hotel also had a new restaurant Southern Art and Bourbon Bar replacing Au Pied du Cochon.  I think that is the spelling.  French is not my forte.  I visited Bourbon Bar with a friend and we picked up a couple of ham selections.  We tried to order Col. Newsome's Ham from Princeton, KY but was informed that it was no longer on the menu and the above menu was the correct one.  Well, now there were only two Kentucky hams instead of three on the menu.  Who knew that their bar menu would be filled with not one but two of Kentucky's well-known exports bourbon and ham?  Well, it was named bourbon bar not ham bar.  We picked two hams.  One we liked and one we didn't.  I decided at the outset of this blog that I would only blog the positive.  So the ham we liked was the La Quencia.  It was a wonderfully soft prosciutto that was not too salty.  One of these days I am going to learn to take photos with my iPhone without taking the shadow of my own hand...I also have a photo of the ham bar but it was difficult getting the lighting right because it was lit up in a dark room.  Maybe I will charge my "real" camera before my next trip.  If there is any place that you can get away with looking like a tourist with your camera, it is a hotel bar or restaurant.

While in Atlanta, we also had croissants and donut holes from Henri's bakery; tuna sandwiches from Five Napkin Burger in Midtown (okay, we didn't exactly get burgers), sushi at Gekko, and fresh, calorie-controlled food at Seasons 52.  All of these restaurants were family-friendly enough to tolerate our little ones.  Booths are highly-recommended for two year olds who don't want to be treated like a baby and put in a high chair.  Being able to block the escape route of an adventurous, curious two year old is also key.  I realized that I had tuna at all three of these restaurants.  Paducah is too far in from the coast and a little too isolated for me to reliably get tuna. 

Di Fratelli in Paducah, KY

On June 9, 2012, we went to Di Fratelli for a belated birthday dinner for Scott.  It was only a month late.  Such is life when you have two children: one two years old and one three months old (now four months old).   Di Fratelli has a typical downtown Paducah decor with add-ons.  Exposed brick walls are a must for a downtown Paducah establishment. My office building even has an exposed brick wall.  The add-ons for Di Fratelli are beautiful cherry paneling and a walk-in wine room.  The tablecloths were black with burgundy colored napkins.  Seems like the napkin color is great idea for an Italian restaurant that serves red sauces.  On Saturday nights, Di Fratelli has a soprano sax player not visible from the main dining room but pleasantly distant enough so as not to be too overwhelming.  As you can see from the above photos, we had calamari, veal marsala, and a wonderful chocolate raspberry pie.  To my knowledge, it may be the only place in town to get veal.  You certainly can't get it at a grocery store or the butcher's shops that I have visited.  This is definitely a classic Italian meal but with a twist--rice instead of pasta.  The calamari also had a twist.  It had banana peppers mixed in.  I have to say this may be my favorite Paducah restaurant.  Maybe it is ambiance with the updated cherry paneling and the proximity to only two other sets of diners instead of being surrounded.  Or maybe it is because they are the only game in town for veal.

Lexington Farmer's Market

We love going to Farmers' Markets. This is in Lexington, KY.  Because I was traveling to a wedding, I didn't buy much but I did buy a strawberry rhubarb sorbet.  It was delicious.  Not sure if sorbet should be on the menu before 10 a.m.  It was garnished with an orange pansy and a piece of mint.  I asked if the pansy was edible and the sellers said, "Yes."  After trying it, I would now say, "No," if someone asked me.  I think it tasted like grass or some sort of weed.

This picture is of what I consider the traditional part of the farmers' market fresh fruits and vegetables. 
Some of the more interesting tables were stocked with olive oil (from Italy), honey, milk, and cheese.  Last weekend the longest line was for fresh strawberries. 

While strolling around, several musicians serenaded us.  A lady at another booth asked me to sign a petition to allow small farm animals like goats to be kept in yards (hopefully they aren't trying to keep them indoors) within the city limits.  I declined to sign the petition as I am not a Lexington resident.