drink

London, Day One!

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Hello there! It’s me, Phillip Davis again, husband to the amazingly uncommon, Kelsey V., who is the owner of this lovely blog website. It sure has been a little while since my last guest blog, and so, it is time to do another one! 😀

Kelsey and I have, of course, been doing some more traveling since we both have been having the urge to take some trips here and there since after the pandemic, and this lovely trip was one we were planning on doing a few years ago before the pandemic. So, what we decided to do, with the help from Kelsey and her side of the family, was to surprise Kelsey’s mom, Tori, and take her on a trip to London to celebrate her retirement! And, it was also really cool that Kelsey’s Birthday would fall during our time across the pond, so we had much to celebrate over there, for sure. So, without further, ado, let’s do this!

Due to the time difference between Atlanta, GA and London, which was a 5-hour difference, we decided to hop on a red eye flight through Delta Air Lines. We were supposed to take off around 5:30p.m. Eastern Daylight Time to arrive in London around 6:30a.m. British Summer Time (BST) the very next day on Saturday, July 6th, however we were delayed about 2 hours or so in Atlanta due to weather in the area and a minor fuel delay. Once the Atlanta weather subsided and our Boeing 767-400ER aircraft was fully fueled for the 8-hour night plane ride to London, we were on our way! What seemed like 8+ hours felt only like 2 or 3 hours because we were just so excited to get there! Oh, and the food on the plane was pretty good, as well! We could choose between a pasta dish or chicken, and since this was an international long-haul flight, drinks were included, as well! Thanks, Delta!

  • Our Delta B767-400ER that would take us “across the pond!” Relay For Life logo on the plane!
  • My usual drink choice from Sweetwater Brewing Company! 🙂
  • My pasta dish with tiramisu and quinoa on the flight back home. I didn’t get a picture on the way there since I ate my dinner rather quickly, ha!

We landed at London Heathrow International Airport around 8:30a.m. London time with some shuteye on the airplane. A few airline movies and music later, we felt a little bit jet lagged, but not too bad. Kelsey, Tori, and I got our luggage and went through immigration and customs, and shortly thereafter, met and hugged Kelsey’s brother, Clark, at the terminal’s arrivals and departures area! Since Clark lives in Chicago, he took a direct flight to Heathrow and arrived a few hours before us. So, what was 3 travelers became 4 when we met up with Clark!

Need I say more!?

Clark set up a shuttle service for us to get to the Moxy Hotel in Stratford, which is about a 15-20 minute London Tube train ride into London city. The Stratford we stayed at is East from London, and Stratford-upon-avon is West of the city. I thought they were one in the same, but they are not! Anyways, our shuttle driver was very kind and showed us some of the important landmarks throughout London and explained some other tips and tricks about navigating the huge city!

  • Jet lagged Phil!
  • Stratford, London!
  • The Moxy Hotel in Stratford!
  • Mamma Tori so excited to get on the London Tube for dinner!
  • The Elizabeth Line train we took for dinner on Day One!
  • The amazingly uncommon, Kelsey V, and me on the tube!
  • Tori and Clark excited for dinner on the tube!

Once we got to the hotel and checked in, we all decided to take a nap before our dinner reservation over at Dishoom in Shoreditch. Dishoom is a very popular Indian cuisine restaurant in London, and we ended up going to a location close by to the hotel and took the Tube to get there (see train pictures above)! It was INCREDIBLE! I had a chicken curry dish, Kelsey and Tori split a shrimp Indian dish with rice and curry beans, and Clark had a more traditional chicken dish. After dinner, we went over about a block away to a little alleyway that had multiple dessert shops on it. Kelsey and I headed on over to a little place called The After School Cookie Club Cookie Bakery where we ended up getting an ice cream cookie dessert while Tori and Clark got some ice cream at the dessert shop next door. Click on the pictures below for captions!

After our dessert, we took the Tube back to the hotel and sat down in the hotel lounge to have some drinks and the “cheers” to my lovely Kelsey’s Birthday and Mamma Tori’s Retirement. While drinking and hanging out, we 4 played one of Kelsey’s and my favorite card games called, “What’s The Point,” which was a game we found when we went to Albuquerque, New Mexico last year at that bar, Outpost 1706 – Downshift. The three of them won at least a round of card play each, but not me, haha! After a few rounds, we all decided to put on our night caps (or should I say knight caps) and head to bed. After all, we were still pretty jet lagged.

  • Ahhh, refreshing!
  • Classic Margarita!
  • I still have yet to beat them in a game! 😀

I will be back on Kelsey’s blog site here for London, Day Two soon!

Love, Phillip!

nrw – kurt’s euro bistro

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phillip and i have had a busy summer season, so you can imagine we were quite grateful for a recent weekend with nearly no plans. it was two saturdays ago, and i’d just returned from a scrapbook supply mission at our local hobby lobby. when i asked phillip what he wanted for dinner, he suggested we go out. i considered this idea for a moment and then, like a ton of bricks, the perfect place came to mind. we piled into the hyundai, made a left out of the neighborhood, took a right on the main drive, and within minutes pulled up to kurt’s euro bistro.

i’ve passed this unassuming spot countless times by now but never given it a try. we have become creatures of habit and tend to eat at the same (and very good) restaurants, so it just felt like the right thing to do to try something new. plus, my neighbor ellen had mentioned it was a good spot, so off we were!

we arrived a little after seven and lucked out that there was a high top available in the bar area. the hostess politely advised we make a reservation next time, as they get busy quickly on the weekends. so, we settled into our chairs, and our waitress brought us some waters while we took in the ambience. dark woods, low ceilings, pint glasses as far as the eye can see; and even though i have never been to europe, i definitely got those vibes.

we weren’t in a hurry so started with some beers and their pretzel and, of course, some beer cheese. my weihenstephan weiss was perfectly wheaty and chilled and paired nicely with the doughy yet light pretzel. the beer cheese was rich, and i think i liked the mustard dip most. if dinner was going to be anything like this appetizer, it was also going to be good (spoiler, it was).

so many of their dishes sounded delicious, but phillip and i both kept things simple and ordered a skillet with a bratwurst and sauerkraut. for barely ten bucks, there was a ton of food! the kraut was tender, the brat was juicy and flavorful, and that spicy ketchup just made everything sing. a bite alone or altogether, i was satisfied regardless.

wait, i almost forgot about the spatzle! i wasn’t hungry enough for an entire schnitzel entree, but that spatzle seemed irresistible. luckily, you can order a side of it, and i’m so glad we did. that pasta was buttery and perfectly finished with a little sautéed crunch. i am certain i looked very ladylike as i stuffed my face with forkfuls of it. 🙂

all in all, kurt’s is a lovely spot. they have indoor and outdoor seating, an intimate and well-stocked bar, welcoming staff, and a menu that’s not too big but not too small. i look forward to our next meal here (which will hopefully be soon).

thx for the memories, asheville

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to celebrate my birthday earlier this month, phillip and i decided to enjoy a getaway weekend just a few hours northeast in asheville, nc. phillip hadn’t been, and it feels like a lifetime ago since i visited for a bachelorette weekend. so, with really no reason not to go and a junk ton of breweries ready to welcome us, to asheville we went!

we were a bit parched from our travels, so after dropping our luggage, we hit downtown by foot and started taking in the city. it was a bustling thursday night, and eager to up our own energy, phillip’s eye was caught by double d’s coffee & desserts bus. what a lovely, unexpected surprise to begin our adventures!

i mean, how can you walk by this and not stop. 🙂 phillip ordered an iced mocha, of course, and i tried their unsweetened peach tea, which was perfectly refreshing on a warm summer evening. there were plenty of tables and benches around, so we sat back and relaxed as we enjoyed this little oasis plopped right in the middle of the city. i highly recommend you put this bus on your list!

caffeinated and ready for more, we strolled down to wicked weed brewing. this place seems like an asheville staple to me, and instead of sitting in the main dining room, we walked downstairs to find a couple stools at a hightop. there were lots of folks with their doggies nearby, and i noticed throughout our trip that all of asheville seems to be pretty pet-friendly. perhaps next time grace can join us!

known very much as a beer town, asheville has lots to offer in this category, so we wasted no more time. we both ordered a flight, grabbed some pretzels and yellow mustard, and took a seat. it was not too long before we were chatting with the folks at the other end of the table, getting their stories. you just never know who you might meet! we were lucky enough to get to know chase and tiffany over the course of a few more hours and a couple more rounds of beer. they are a pleasant couple from ohio and vacation to asheville every year, so we lucked out with our own tour guides! and although it was their last night in town, they shared with us the inside scoop on all their favorite places that we had to try during our visit. spoiler alert! everything they recommended was incredible. 🙂

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louisville – day 1

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like many folks these days, our plans have been canceled or rearranged, and while some days we might feel down about it all, others you just have to make your own happiness happen.  phillip and i did just that this past weekend with a quick getaway to louisville, ky.  it was a good halfway point to meet up with my dad (who drove up from alabama) and my younger brother clark (who flew down from chicago).

phillip, clark, and i got in around lunch, so after we dropped our suitcases at the hotel, we took a walk to the highlands to try out el taco luchador.  this spot was recommended by my friend sara, who lived here for several years, and is bright and fun, serving up delicious food and beverages.

round one was a couple of coronas, of course, while clark tried the frozen watermelon margarita.  clark said his drink was tasty and only made better with an order of chips and queso.  apparently, the only way they serve queso in chicago is fundido-style which, although good in its own way, cannot quite compare to the runny, mouthwatering white queso you find at mexican restaurants in the south.  i think clark was in heaven with each bite!

cheers!
queso for everyone!

as for the tacos themselves, we all three tried the baja fish taco and declared it the uncontested favorite.  between the perfectly battered filet and crispy cabbage, it was a taco that would satisfy any taco-lover in town.

baja fish tacos & the al pastor taco.

also tried (and devoured) were the al pastor, carnitas, and chicharron tacos.  they, too, were a tasty trio, and for me, the chicharron was so perfect and tender that i had to order a second!

the carnitas & chicharron tacos.

later that day, milo rolled into louisville and, inevitably, it was time to eat again.  if you’ve ever been on a trip with my family, you know the plans largely revolve around food.  surely we aren’t the only ones?

we wanted something good but not too fancy and soon settled on trying feast bbq.  how did we decide on trying feast?  i’d be lying if i told you it wasn’t because of the bourbon slushies they prominently feature on their site… 🙂  also, it was a short drive from the hotel.

doesn’t clark look thrilled, lawlz?
phillip was thirsty, lol!

dad had the brisket sandwich, which he rated as an 8 out of 10.  i feel like that’s saying a lot seeing as how he has lived in the south over 30 years now and has tried his fair share of brisket.

clark went for the pulled pork sandwich with a side of sweet potato fries.  he commented that it all was perfectly satisfying.

phillip and i were in a sharing mood since we were still full from lunch, so we munched on the simple salad (gotta get some greens, somehow, some way) and crispy mac & cheese balls (which, in our opinion, didn’t need the overpowering horseradish sauce at all).

simple salad.
crispy mac & cheese balls.

overall, we ended our first day in louisville two for two.  not a bad start!

Coming to America – Day 1

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Hello, my name is Aunt Cindy, and I am Kelsey’s aunt from California.  I am honored and a little scared to be a guest writer on her blog.  I recently flew to Pittsburgh from Los Angeles to meet up with my brother Gary (Kelsey’s dad and a former guest blogger) and my nephews Kyle and Clark for what I have named the “Coming to America” tour.

Our mother Goldie Despot came to America from the then Yugoslavia (now Croatia).  Her father Grgo (George) and Uncle Stipan (Steve) had arrived in America and were working in coal mines outside of Pittsburgh.  George sent for his children one-by-one; my mom Goldie was 11 and traveled by herself on a ship to New York.  She stayed on Ellis Island for several days and was then put on a train to Pittsburgh where her father was to pick her up.  My mother lived at different times with her father in Harmarville and uncle and aunt in Brownsville.  She grew up in these areas, went to school, and learned to speak English without an accent.  She eventually moved to California, married, and had my brothers and me.

My mother took us three kids on a train to Pittsburgh in 1965.  We all have memories of that great adventure.  My mother kept in contact with a few of her friends and cousins in Brownsville, but since she passed in 2001, no one has been in contact with them.  Gary decided he wanted to go back and visit and found a few relatives, so the new adventure began.

Wednesday, June 19th – Arrived in Pittsburgh

Gary and Kelsey drove to Pittsburgh from Atlanta and picked Kyle, Clark, and I up at the airport.  Here are a few photos of Gary and Kelsey’s driving adventure.

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We left the airport in the rented minivan and, thanks to the Neuwirths (friends of the Alabama Andrich family), we were ready to video this awesome sight as we came out of the tunnel into Pittsburgh.

After we checked into our hotel, the Springhill Suites Pittsburgh North Shore, we enjoyed tasty appetizers of crackers with three different flavors of easy cheese and whiskey shots in the boys’ room.

the first of many “kelsey eating” photos.
a cute bunch.
yumm-o!
pour me another, bartender!
only the finest.

We set out to find something to eat and walked in the light rain to Mullen’s.  We ordered beers and other things to drink.  I spotted a Black and Tan on the menu.  I love a Black and Tan and this one was made with Yuengling Beer, which we on the west coast cannot get.  It was delicious!  Looking at the menu, the Pittsburgh Wrap caught my eye.  The menu said it was the #1 best seller, and I have to agree!  I loved it.  Grilled steak tossed with cheese sauce, coleslaw, and French fries.  My plan was to share it, but only a small portion went to Kelsey for a taste – I ate everything!  I never had French fries on a sandwich but have to say these French fries were not the usual boring fires.  I don’t know what they did, but they were delicious.

aunt and nephews reunited!
black and tan!
yes, bar food.

Kelsey went with the pierogis (which are filled dumplings of Central and Eastern European origin, made by wrapping unleavened dough around a savory or sweet filling and cooked in boiling water or pan-fried).  Kelsey and I were both looking forward to these, as they are not common in Atlanta or the South Bay area of Los Angeles.  Unfortunately, they were pretty firm without enough butter and, ultimately, very disappointing.  Clark had the chicken wings and enjoyed them very much.

After dinner we were all pretty worn out, so we walked back in the rain to our hotel for a good night’s rest.

old fourth distillery

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after a yawn or two and some time in the backyard for grace, i begin each weekday morning with a cup of coffee, my computer, and the fun, entertaining fox 5 news team.  they’ve become my regular news crew ever since i started working from home last spring, and it wouldn’t be a good start to my day if they didn’t catch me up on all things weather, traffic, and politics related.

one of my favorite segments is with paul milliken and his drop-ins to interesting attractions around the state.  of the many places i’ve seen paul go, his recent visit to the old fourth distillery caught my attention so that i planned a get-together there myself!  a couple saturdays ago phillip and i met up at the distillery with mercy, kris, tommy, kaley, eric, and claire.  it wasn’t quite tour time (which, by the way, they prefer you reserve online before arriving), so we let the bartender fix us a couple of cocktails.  i enjoyed the refreshing blackberry bramble, phillip and kaley loved the frozen lemonade, and tommy sipped on his gin and tonic.  what better way to begin a distillery tour than with some of their finest spirits?

the top of the hour arrived, and our tour guide wrangled us all together.  one thing to mention about the distillery is that it is quite compact.  the bar area can handle probably 10 people comfortably, and the work space really was probably no more than a thousand square feet.  makes for an intimate setting!

you can take your cocktails with you during the tour and enjoy it between nuggets of distillery education and shots of alcohol.  now, i’ve been to plenty of breweries in my day, and for the most part, once you understand one brew process, you get the general idea.  however, before coming to the distillery, i knew nothing about these processes.  i was incredibly intrigued as i learned about how this distillery came to be, what types of ingredients you can use, and what different boiling points mean to it all.  by the end of our hour together, we were experts on heads, hearts, and tails and what makes all these spirits so tasty and special.

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i personally enjoyed the gin the most, likely because it didn’t have as much potency as the vodka and was infused with tons of different spices and herbs.  the lawn dart was one of the crowd favorites, and mercy enjoyed the bourbon so much that she took a bottle home with her.  when its been aged for such a while and when the next batch won’t be available until the fall, she figured it was a pretty excellent souvenir.  i agree!

mercy and phillip loved the frozen lemonade, especially with a bourbon floater!

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phillip and kelsey do boston – day 1

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our summertime travels continued with a trip up to boston.  phillip and his sisters were born there but none had been back since, and since i loved the city the last time i came with my friend vinh, i was all in, no doubt about it.

we were up bright and early that friday morning and landed at boston-logan international airport around eleven a.m.  seeing as how our trip would total to barely 48 hours, no humongous luggage bags were necessary (shocking, i know), so we deplaned, grabbed some local transit maps, and hopped on the free silver line bus to south station.  as my father would say, “if it’s free, it’s me!”  about ten minutes later we exited and began to roam the city streets.  we couldn’t check into our airbnb for a few hours, and since we were hungry for some local eats, we asked a friendly bostonian for directions to the original cheers restaurant.  i mean, when in boston, where else would you go?

it was easy to find the restaurant, just a few turns away and a gathered crowd.  there was a slight wait due to the start of the lunch rush, so while we waited we did what every good tourist would do and took a junk ton of pictures.  aren’t they fabulous?  🙂

once our buzzer buzzed, we took the stairs down and crammed ourselves and all our stuff into a cozy booth.  the restaurant was coming to life right before eyes, the energy was tangible, and it was a great way to begin our visit.

like all great day-time vacations, we were not on the clock and were quick to order a couple of adult beverages.  phillip had a local dark something and i stuck with a standard wheat beer – you know, easing myself into things.  both were crisp and cold and quite refreshing.

in no hurry at all, we also ordered ourselves a little appetizer to munch on while we looked over the rest of the menu.  per the waiter’s recommendation, we enjoyed the spinach artichoke dip.  what a classic!  the picture may not be doing it justice, but this popular dish was nice and hot with fluffy gobs of whipped cream cheese, hearty artichoke hunks, gooey cheese, and tasty spinach.  a bite here, a sip there, things were off to a good start indeed.

pretty satisfied with the dip, we decided splitting an entree would be the way to go next, and the kitchen gladly served us our reuben on two individual plates.  this sandwich is such comfort food to me, and the only thing it needed was more thousand island dressing.  i can never get enough!

with full bellies and a second wind, we killed some time on the self-guided freedom trail tour.  the map directed us through boston common, over to the old south meeting house, and, for us, ultimately to faneuil hall.  it could not have been a better sightseeing day, as the air was cool and the cloud coverage was substantial – a welcome change from the stifling georgia heat!

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at last we received word that our airbnb was ready for our arrival, so we navigated our way through the financial district to our studio apartment for the weekend.  the space was just perfect for our two-night stay and ended up being a great, central location for all our adventures.

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the wedding chronicles | decision #20

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THE DRINKS

a lot of folks say there are three key things that make a great wedding:  the music, the food, and the drinks.  with the music already covered and the food chosen as well (more on that later), the beverage situation also had to be discussed with the reception venue.  now, i’m not saying that in order to have a great reception that alcoholic beverages are a must, but the general culture of our family and friends is that we like our drinks and we like to keep ’em comin’!  so the question on this one wasn’t “are we going to have drinks?” – it really was “what kind of drinks and how many shall we have?”

after deciding adult beverages were a must-have for the reception, for us it really came down to what we could afford.  now, i think we’re luckier than most in that we are getting exactly what we want as far as the drink menu goes, and the reason i say that is because alcohol can get expensive, and very quickly!  what you will find out if you haven’t already is that many venues have a drink (and also food) minimum, and that number is often higher than you’d expect.  some venues might have a reasonable beer and wine menu (which i think these days is more than enough for your guests), but the second you throw in hard liquor that cost can jump up, which is understandable if you think about it.  if your venue doesn’t offer beverage services, another option you might encounter that i think is intimidating at first but actually pretty cool is the venue that is byob.  the reason i say intimidating at first is because it might be hard to fathom how you will figure out how much booze to buy for your guests.  it’s never happened to me, but i imagine the bar running out of booze could be a quick buzzkill for any reception.  however, do not worry because there are several ways you can “calculate” how much each guest will likely drink and from there determine how much to buy in total.  i’ve even heard that if you buy, say, a case of beer from costco but don’t open it that you can return it.  well, that’s pretty awesome!

my overall suggestion in this regard to any couples planning their wedding would be to only do as much as you want and as much as is comfortable in your budget.  sure, what guest wouldn’t want top shelf this and barrel-aged that?  but if the feel of your reception is something more casual (think a backyard bbq with coolers of local brews) or unique (i’m still hoping i’ll get to go to a brunch reception with bottomless mimosas and bloody marys), then do you!  remember, your wedding day is a reflection of you and the things that make you happy, which might not necessarily jive with all your guests.  but at the end of the day, it’s not really about the drinks anyway, right?  😉

The Adventures of Kiwi Kyle | Part 5

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Over the past two to three years, I have broadened my horizons when it comes to wine.  Before then, I avoided the wine list mainly because there was a beer on the drink menu I wanted to try or because I knew nothing about wine.  My wife Kari would give me a couple sips of whatever she was drinking while we were out and about, so I came to know what I liked.  If I want a white, it’s Pinot Grigio, but if it’s a red, give me a Malbec.  When I learned New Zealand was known for Sauvignon Blanc and that there were a few wineries just a 45-minute drive from Christchurch, I decided to check out the local scene.

My Internet searching brought me to Waipara Hills and its iconic stone building set among the picturesque Waipara Valley vineyards.  I knew they offered samplings, so I approached the bar, eager to dive in with Dennis, the lucky (or unlucky) employee to take me in.  When he asked me what I was interested in trying, I replied, “What do you recommend?”  He came back with, “What do you usually drink?”  I answered, “If I want a white, it’s Pinot Grigio, but if it’s a red, give me a Malbec.”  Period, end of statement, no more to be said, but Dennis was looking at me, waiting to list off more wines.  Reading the expression on his face, I let him know I usually stay in my lane with wine, so I will literally try just about anything.

As such, Dennis started me off with a Sauvignon Blanc that had a very intense fruit/sugar taste, which was way more than I had bargained for.  I asked Dennis to turn it down in that respect for the next round, which he did with Gewurztraminer.  Now, I couldn’t pronounce the name if my life depended on it, but I came to learn rose petals, lychee, cinnamon, and ginger are characters commonly found in the New Zealand version.  This particular batch was stored in an oak barrel, and it was a wine I very much enjoyed.  From there Dennis poured a Pinot Gris and Gruner Veltliner, which were good in their own right.  At that point, I decided to end my wine tasting journey and asked Dennis for a glass of the Gewurztraminer and a cheese plate. I took a seat on the patio, took in the view, and did pretty much nothing for the next hour.

When Kari was in town the following week, we went to Terrace Edge Vineyard, which was just on the other side of the road from Waipara Hills.  Terrace Edge is a much smaller operation but was equally enjoyable and has an awesome slogan:  “A dramatic landscape captured in liquid form”.  Who wouldn’t want to try a wine from a place like that!  Jill the owner told us about all the different wines as we sampled them and how her family bought the vineyard on a whim in 1999.  Her son even studied viticulture in college and now runs the day-to-day operations in the vineyard!  In going to both wineries, the excitement Dennis and Jill had for their craft was obvious, and that’s one thing I noticed about New Zealanders during my time here:  They are very proud and passionate about being from New Zealand and sharing whatever it is they love (wine, glacier hiking, etc…) with visitors.

The Adventures of Kiwi Kyle | Part 4

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With my work trip coming to an end soon, I’m very much looking forward to getting back to Atlanta.  My family, my house, my bed, chicken tenders, etc…However, I will miss some things about New Zealand.  The traffic (or lack thereof), the pineapple lumps, and the coffee.  “But Kyle, isn’t the coffee in New Zealand the same as in the States?”  Well, yes and no.

In New Zealand, they don’t have the concept of drip coffee like we do in the States, as everything is espresso based.  When I ordered a coffee for the first time, the server asked if I meant a “long black.”  I said “Sure!”, having no idea what a long black was.  Well, after a little research on YouTube, I figured out what a long black is.  Check out this video so that if you ever find yourself in New Zealand you’ll know what a long black is right away!