Deep fried, powdered sugary, beignet goodness…
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Monthly Archives: April 2012
Sisters Creole
Since I can’t make it to Jazz Fest this year in New Orleans…I decided stuffing my face with some authentic creole food was almost as good. Sisters Creole opened in May 2011, and their fresh take on classic creole food is a welcome addition to Athens’ eclectic food scene. Housed in the former Williams Grocery in the old Whitehall Mill community, the spunky sister trio have brought some new life to this part of town and some “Louisiana spice!”
can’t decide what to get!
my assistants for the day Katie and Claire
1920s grocery store turned creole heaven
chalkboard menu
Sisters Creole features all of your New Orleans favorites: Shrimp and Oyster Po Boys, Shrimp Creole, Etoufee, Red Beans and Rice, Jambalaya. They also have homemade sides that are a must: sweet potato tots (topped with cinnamon, sugar, and salt OMG) and potato chips with homemade ranch for dipping. Their sauces are also homemade- cocktail, tartar, and remoulade. We couldn’t make it to dessert this round…but next time for sure! Sisters is famous for Bread Pudding with whiskey sauce, cheesecake, lemon pie, pecan pie, and praline yam cake.
photo by sisters creole
shrimp creole, italian salad, and french bread for dippin’
homemade potato chips and ranch
sweet potato tots, slaw, and beet salad
success!
This family business is built on grandma’s recipes and a few new ones thrown in the mix. Family owned restaurants are my favorite; you can feel the warmth and love when you go inside…Big smiles greet you at the register and they’re happy to offer you a suggestion because they know and love the menu well. That’s what we found here- three sisters having a ball, cooking and serving up the food they grew up with. Can’t wait to go back!
Sunday funday photo
photo by Ryan Hines
Shrimp Boats- Darien, Georgia
Record Store Day
“If you ever get lonely, just go to the record store and visit your friends.”
Happy Record Store Day!
A relatively new holiday, Record Store Day began in 2007, by Eric Levin, Michael Kurtz, Carrie Colliton, Amy Dorfman, Don Van Cleave and Brian Poehner as a celebration of the unique culture surrounding over 700 independently owned record stores in the USA, and hundreds of similar stores internationally.
On this day, independently owned record stores across the country come together with artists to celebrate music. Special vinyl and CD releases and various promotional products are made exclusively for the day and hundreds of artists in the United States and in various countries across the globe make special appearances and performances. For more info visit Record Store Day.
There’s something so cool about records…that crackling noise they make when they get going, the trippy album art, and the fact that they are a physical representation (rather than digi) of the music we love. Almost all of the records I own are used, either hand me downs from my parents (btw-thanks parents for your sweet taste in music), or purchased used from a record store/vintage store. Whenever I listen to one, I always think about who listened to that one before me, and why they loved that particular record, and why they eventually gave it up. They obviously take up a lot of room, case in point below (our record collection), and storage space is a precious commodity, but I don’t think we will be getting rid of our stock anytime soon.
Listening to records is an activity in itself, but the passing down of records ritual is pretty cool too. I remember going through my grandparent’s attic and discovering vinyl heaven by accident; I was actually looking for my mom’s and aunts’ clothes from the 70s, but was happy to have stumbled upon boxes of records instead. It must have been some holiday because most of the aunts were present and we all sat around talking about the records, where they got them and what shows they remember going to when they were younger. I remember my mom talking about how much she LOVED the Doobie Brothers and which of their concerts she had gone to back in the day.
My dad is also a huge music fan, went to many a concert, and passed on his affection for rock ‘n’ roll to me as a child. My favorite song at the age of 5, The dogs of war by Pink Floyd. Later once I discovered MTV I became obsessed with Peter Gabriel‘s Sledgehammer and Robert Palmer’s Addicted to Love. When I was in college, he started handing down a few records at a time with stories in tow. I think most of the Jimi Hendrix stuff I inherited was his. When he gave me Electric Ladyland, he told me about his favorite Hendrix show: May of 1969 in Tuscaloosa at the Memorial Coliseum- soooo jealous.
poster from the show courtesy of Randy Coleman’s blog Tuscaloosa Beach Music
There are over 700 records stores that participate in Record Store Day and hundreds of similar stores internationally. There are two stores in Athens that participate each year: Wuxtry Records and Lo Yo Yo Stuff. Damn the man! Save the Empire!
Wuxtry has been an Athens staple for years. It is included on the Athens Music Tour because of its been around since 1975 and has an impressive list of now famous employees… including R.E.M.’s Peter Buck, the Olivia Tremor Control’s John Fernandes and Brian Burton, AKA DJ Danger Mouse.
Lo Yo Yo Stuff has over 30 years in the mail order biz and are now located next to the 40 Watt. Check them out!
One of my other fav record stores- Renaissance Records in Birmingham, AL.
Anybody else have any favorite records or record stores?
Charleston is the bee’s knees
Condé Nast Traveler readers have just named Charleston, South Carolina as the #1 city in the country (out of 10). Pretty impressive seeing as most of the competitors are larger cities like San Fran, Seattle, Boston, etc. I too love Chucktown….what’s not to love really? There is so much to explore- gorgeous homes, gardens, FOOD, interesting shops, bars, music, history, coastline… Here are some of my favorites in Charleston.
This is the Nathaniel Russell House located near the High Battery. It’s a gorgeous example of a Federal style town home and interprets the lives of the Russell family, who were part of the wealthy merchant elite. The home is set within formal gardens and decorated with period antiques, and the highlight is it’s flying staircase in the middle of the home. If you love the decorative arts- this house museum is a must see!
ornate vestibule door
flying staircase
Also called the Holy City, Charleston has many different churches within the city’s downtown. Because of the low rise cityscape, the steeples of these churches can be seen from a significant distance. My last trip to Charleston, my group and I decided to leave our maps behind and follow the steeples around town. This was a fun way to explore the city because each church has a unique architectural style, and by walking to each steeple we were able to enjoy the different neighborhoods as we went.
The Unitarian Church in Charleston
Amazing homes and gardens everywhere you walk…
cast iron details abound
Stopping by my relative’s house- John Rutledge House Inn
Charleston became even more prominent during the plantation era when cotton became king. Today there is an abundance of Antebellum homes still standing and well preserved. One of the most interesting homes from this period is Drayton Hall. It is located just outside of Charleston, but definitely worth the drive if you have any interest in architecture, historic landscapes, or plantation history. This property is owned and operated by the National Trust for Historic Preservation and it is strikingly different from most historic house museums on view today. Rather than being restored back to its period of significance, it stands as an artifact; having survived American Revolution, the Civil War, the earthquake of 1886, hurricanes like Hugo, and urban sprawl. It is considered by most, the crown jewel of Palladian architecture in the South.
Drayton Hall
ceiling detail
mantle detail
stair detail
Other sights of interest…The Aiken Rhett House, The Old Slave Mart Museum, Battery Park, and the Gibbes Museum of Art.
While sightseeing takes up most people’s time in Charleston, don’t forget to do a lot of eating and maybe some bar hopping. One of my new fav’s here is Fuel Cantina located on Rutledge Avenue. This Caribbean inspired cantina is perfect if you are on a budget and want to go somewhere the locals hang. I love adaptive reuse projects and this is an excellent one! The chef at Fuel, Justin Broome, wanted to create a new restaurant using an older building, and found a 1950s gas station turned fish market that was perfect for him. He rehabilitated the building, keeping the 1950s aesthetic and historic fabric, while adding open-air porch seating behind the building. Fuel has an eclectic and nostalgic vibe and serves up excellent Caribbean inspired dishes incorporating local ingredients whenever possible.
Fuel Cantina
Another popular spot is Closed for Business on King Street. If you consider yourself a beer aficionado, you need to go here. With 42 taps and counting, they pride themselves on offering unusual, one of a kind beers from South Carolina and beyond. They also feature a Southern inspired pub menu using local ingredients.
Closed for Business
Another excellent restaurant highlighting low country fare- Hominy Grill. If you have more money to burn and love a traditional steakhouse, check out Hall’s Chophouse.
Last but not least, Charleston is a great place to see live music . There are many talented musicians in the South, and one of my favorites to come out of Charleston recently is Old You. In 2011, they won the battle of the bands in Charleston, were named Up-and-Coming Act of the Year by the Charleston City Paper, and have shared the stage with national acts like the Futurebirds, and Robert Randolph and the Family Band.
More about the band: “Welding a clever mix of jazz, blues and acid rock to the boisterous soul-bearing of vocalist Young-Mi Feldsott, Old You constructs a sturdy yet sleek vehicle of sultry and emotive blues/rock. When put in motion, it sounds like a time warp from the ’60s to the distant future and back within one song.”
They do an awesome version of “White Rabbit” that even Grace Slick would be proud of.
Old You photo by db baxley
Charleston- a Southerner’s playground full of columns, culture, and culinary delight. No wonder Garden and Gun has its headquarters here… So if you have never been to Charleston- Go! If you have been, what are some of your favorite spots??
Sunday funday photo
Old DeSoto
Most historic preservation students at the University of Georgia go on a pilgrimage to Savannah, Georgia during the fall of our first year in the program. Our fearless leader, Professor Waters, recently returned from Savannah with his first undergraduate Introduction to Preservation class, and it got me reminiscing about our class’s trip in 2010.
Professor Water’s trip to Savannah is an absolute whirlwind; there of several days of house museums, lectures, and the notorious “death march” throughout the historic district squares, not to mention our “after hours” explorations. On one of our long days of historic district marching, we stopped at the Hilton Savannah DeSoto hotel to for a break. On my way into the lobby, this gorgeous, yet lonely tile grabbed my attention. I found out later, it was one of the original ornamental tiles from the Old DeSoto Hotel.
terracotta tile from the Old DeSoto Hotel
Savannah, like Charleston, is a model community for historic preservation, having some of the first designated historic districts in the country. The old DeSoto Hotel, was one of the significant casualties in Savannah during the early years of district designation. Hotel DeSoto opened in 1890 and was revered as one of William Gibbons Preston’s masterpieces. Unfortunately, the Hilton chain demolished the hotel in 1968 because it didn’t have air conditioning. They did save some of the terracotta ornamentation (like the tile above) and photographs from the original hotel, and these remaining artifacts are on display at the hotel’s entrance and in the lobby.
William Gibbons Preston was a Boston architect, but was responsible for some of the most remarkable Romanesque buildings in Savannah. Some of Preston’s other Savannah works include, the Savannah Cotton Exchange, Poetter Hall (former armory now a SCAD building), and the former Chatham County Courthouse.
Savannah Cotton Exchange
former Chatham Co. Courthouse Photo by Jim Steinhart © 2011
Poetter Hall Photo by Jim Steinhart © 2011
Sunday funday photo
spring snapdragons
Lovin’ some springtime flowers…snapped these strolling in the Cobbham Historic District. Happy Easter!
Discover Beijing’s hidden culture … before the bulldozers get there
Discover Beijing’s hidden culture … before the bulldozers get there – CNN.com.
Forbidden City
This is an interesting and poignant article on CNN.com about the Beijing’s struggle to save their architectural heritage while dealing with the city’s rapid growth. It is unfortunate when significant places are lost in the name of modernization, and Beijing has been dealing with the juxtaposition of the old and new in their city for years. The photos featured in the article are excellent if you haven’t been there to see these incredible sites.
I hope I can get there one day to see it before it has changed too much.
Automatic for the people
According to Livability.com Athens, Georgia was named the #1 music scene outside of Nashville, NYC, and LA. Woo hoo! Although most Athenians probably know about the music scene and history here, the Classic City is definitely worthy of this national recognition. I’m pretty pumped about the article, gives me some more support for my thesis…that pile of Athens info is getting rather large.
There’s a long and growing list of musicians that have called Athens home: B-52s, R.E.M., Widespread Panic, Randall Bramblett, Vic Chesnutt, Neutral Milk Hotel, Olivia Tremor Control, Elf Power, Pylon, The Drive by Truckers, Of Montreal, The Whigs, Packway Handle Band…the list goes on and on
With a long list of established musicians, Athens is home to some significant venues as well. Beginning with mid-century urban flight , historic theaters located in the urban core began to degrade as people shifted to the outskirts, and the big screen cinema followed. Many incredible theaters and venues have been lost due to disrepair or demolition to make way for “bigger and better” venues. Thankfully in recent years, there has been a resurgence in theater preservation. In Athens, Georgia we are lucky that most of our significant venues are still standing and celebrated. This post is dedicated to the venues that have set the stage for amazing performances by local Athens artists as well as those passing through. There are so many important venues in Athens; my list is just the tip of the iceberg.
The Georgia Theatre has a long history in Athens starting in 1889 as a YMCA facility. It has served the community as a Methodist church, Masonic temple, Sears and Roebuck, furniture store, movie theater, and finally a music venue. June 19, 2009, the Theater caught fire and the building was gutted. The Athens community and music lovers from all over came together to help raise money for the rebuild.
The Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation assisted theater owner, Wilmot Green in creating the Georgia Theater Rehabilitation Fund, making possible for the theater to accept donations for the rebuilding process.
- Georgia Theater Rehabilitation Fund
Local Athens brewers, Terrapin Brewery, released the Georgia Theater Sessions, a beer series dedicated to the Georgia Theater’s history. Funds generated by the sale of these beers will go to aid in the theater’s rebuilding.
- The Georgia Theater Sessions
After a two-year rebuild, the Georgia Theater is open and thriving. Located on the corner of Clayton and Lumpkin streets, the original theater was the first YMCA in Athens, and was an impressive Victorian structure with large turrets on the sides. The ground floor was retail shops, and the other floors were occupied by the YMCA.
Old YMCA building photo courtesy of UGA Hargrett Special Collections Library
When the Elite Theater moved into the building, they decided to bring the theater into the popular Art Deco style, losing the majority of the Victorian stylistic elements.
When the theater was rebuilt, the theater facade was restored back to its Art Deco roots (notice the paint around the commemorative plaque, it covers the entrance facade). It has been inspiring to see the community and local Athens businesses come together to support this Athens landmark. The Georgia Theatre continues sit on the corner of Clayton and Lumpkin streets and is listed in the Downtown Athens National Register Historic District as well as the Downtown Local Historic District. The Georgia Theatre is once again alive and well in downtown Athens, serving up rock and roll every week.
Georgia Theatre entrance
commemorative plaque
interior photo taken from balcony
original brick walls
- behind the marquee
- art deco ceiling at entrance circa 1920s as movie house
- Grand Re-Opening poster
Gillian Welch, one of my favorites, performing with David Rawlings August 14th.
The 40 Watt Club originated from an impromptu concert on Halloween in 1978. The show was held in a loft on College Avenue owned by Curtis Crowe, of the band Strictly American. A guest of the show dubbed the 40 watt name because they had nothing more than a single 40-watt light bulb to light the event; and with that an Athens legend was born.
poster 1981
This Athens, Georgia venue, along with others like CBGB and Whiskey a Go Go, helped catapult “New Wave” music onto the scene in the 1980s. The 40 Watt club’s first location was on Broad street across from UGA’s North Campus, in a small space above what was once a sandwich shop (now the upstairs of Starbucks). The 40 Watt moved several times, outgrowing each space, and in 1989, moved to its current location at the end of Washington Street downtown. The 40 Watt isn’t on the National Register (yet), but it is included in the Downtown Athens National Register Historic District.
40 Watt Club
The club has a hefty show roster of artists, spanning a variety of genres that have played the 40 Watt. Some of the notable: R.E.M., Radiohead, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Indigo Girls, Nirvana, Modest Mouse, Drive by Truckers, Run DMC, Smashing Pumpkins, Ween, Wilco, Widespread Panic, b-52s, Pylon, Love Tractor, Sonic Youth, and Salt n Peppa…this list also goes on and on. It remains a must go for music lovers everywhere.
Ween 40 Watt poster by Matt Leunig
Ween is another one of my favorites to see live, and they graced Athens with their presence at the 40 Watt in April 2011. Tickets went on sale in January for the show both online and at Schoolkids Records. Determined to get tickets, I headed downtown at 9:30 am to stand in the already long line to snag the coveted tickets. It was well worth it waiting in the freezing cold. Check the setlist.
had to share this video- love some Bowie
The Melting Point is one of the newer venues in Athens, compared to the aforementioned. It is however, housed in the old Athens Foundry from the 1850s.
This foundry forged the iconic University of Georgia Arch, the cast iron fences that surround the Univeristy’s North Campus, and the double-barrel canon from the Civil War, that never saw battle.
Sitting on the edge of downtown Athens, this industrial property was largely forgotten until the 1970s. It survived a brief stint as a motel in the 70s and 80s, and in the late 1990s a new developer came in to create a boutique hotel that incorporated the historic structures left on the property. The Foundry Park Inn was completed in 2001 and the Melting Point occupies three of the brick structures left from the old foundry complex, and serves as a music venue, restaurant, and special event space. The owners wanted to preserve a piece Athens’s industrial past, allowing the original brick and masonry to be seen in the new venue space. The Melting Point has excellent acoustics, and is a multi-level structure allowing fans optimal seating and standing room.
Tony Rice and Mountain Heart by Ryan Hines
This past January, Ryan took me to see one of his favorites, Tony Rice, perform with Mountain Heart at the Melting Point.
Mr. Tony Rice photo Ryan Hines
About halfway through the show, Tony was on stage alone with his guitar and he began talking about his time spent playing with Jerry Garcia. The two had met via David Grisman when Rice worked with Old and in the Way in the 1980s. While Rice gave a heartfelt shout out to his fallen friend, the room was silent. He then said this one’s for you and proceeded to play “Shady Grove” for us. It was a memorable moment; being in a smaller venue, so close to the stage watching one of the greats pay tribute to one of his best friends.
The Morton Theatre is a designated Athens landmark and community-based performing arts center; it’s also on the National Register of Historic Places.
The Morton Building
The theater is part of the Morton Building, built by Monroe Bowers “Pink” Morton, a prominent African American business man. Situated on the corner of Washington and Hull streets, the “hot corner” was the center of African American life in Athens. There were restaurants, a barber shop and the Morton Building that housed the offices of many prominent black professionals, a number of black-owned businesses, and the Morton Theatre.
courtesy of Morton Theater
The theater opened with a performance by classical pianist Alice Carter Simmons of Oberlin, Ohio Conservatory, attended by both black and white patrons. Then came Vaudeville and The Blues; it is believed that Louie Armstrong, Bessie Smith, Ma Rainey, and Blind Willie McTell graced the stage here. It became a movie theater in the 1930s and remained a meeting hall for the African American community. Sometime after the 1930s renovation, a small fire broke out in the projection room and the theater was shut down, however not affecting the rest of the Morton Building businesses.
The Morton family continued ownership until the 1970s, where it changed hands several times. It was finally purchased by The Morton Theater Foundation in the late 1970s, in hopes to restore the theater to its former glory. The foundation sought help for further renovation of the theater and the community came to its aid in 1987, when the renovation project passed as part of the Special Purpose Local Options Sales Tax (S.P.L.O.S.T.). The SPLOST included granting $1.8 million for the restoration of the theatre, whose roof had since caved in. The Morton Theater is currently owned by Athens-Clarke County, and managed by the Morton Theater Corporation, and is a popular community performing arts center.
Before the renovation in the late 1980s, the B-52s used part of the building as a rehearsal space, and after the renovation, R.E.M. filmed the video “The One I Love” here.
pressed tin ceiling in the lobby
In 2010, the Morton Theater celebrated 100 years in Athens, Georgia. It has and will continue to be a stronghold in the vibrant performing arts scene here.
Anybody out there have a favorite Classic City venue or show seen in Athens?? Do tell…
Em's on the road 