The 2017 Atlanta Food & Wine Festival theme was #KnowTheSouth. Which featured dishes and drinks from the southern states and even The Virgin Islands. Day 1 kicked off with a roof top event for the media called the 1st hour last hour. It was not only a great opportunity to network with fellow journalist but also meet the staff who put this event together. There several events called “Learning Experience” throughout the day from learning how to make cucumber salad to various wine-o-logy classes. Presenters from southern restaurants or bars shared knowledge about their respective topics. Southern Living sponsored a SoulFood session using an eggplant recipe from the 1st African American Cook

Some of the MVP’s in my world are locally family owned restaurateurs. Paul Gagliano has been operating Seafood & ChickenBox since 1972. His brother Paul worked along with him until he retired in 2016. But for 45 years they have been frying hand battered chicken and seafood in the Birmingham area. I ate at the CenterPoint location almost 10 years ago and stumbled upon them again in their newest location in Trussville, Alabama. The chicken was still just as mouth watering & flavorful as it was when I first tried it. The secret to their chicken is homemade topping called Goo. They top all the meats with the special seasoning. You can request it with extra Goo or no goo at all, but it is the Se

The Mediterranean diet has long been publicized as healthy as much of the food is made with fresh ingredients and grilled. The cuisine at Eli’s Jerusalem Grill is no different. They’re very popular for lamb, chicken and beef Sharma, humus and kabobs. However, the owner Eli made a chicken schnitzel that literally melted in my mouth. Don’t get me wrong, I did enjoy the other popular items, but when I can get my favorite food cooked healthy, it really made my day. Eli’s Jerusalem Grill not only serves plates but they also have sandwiches from sharma to Falafel. If you are unfamiliar with fafalel, it’s very similar to hush puppies but made with chickpeas and it is delicious. Eli’s has 2 locatio

Whenever people want to see some juicy gossip or a scandal play out, they always say let me grab some popcorn. The next bag of popcorn you must not only grab, but will be hard to put down is G.H. Cretors popcorn! OMG, The Mix was hands down my favorite flavor because it’s combination of buttery caramel corn and cheddar cheese. What better flavor profile than salty and sweet! With ever bite, it got better & better! In fact, I didn’t even start this blog until the bag was totally empty. I even pushed my diet back by a day so I wouldn’t feel guilty for eating the entire sweet treat. All of the kernels were nice size, packed full of flavor & evenly mixed. I really believe the maker had to put

If you’ve been wanting an over seas trip, but haven’t gotten around to it, you can take your international food journey right here in Birmingham, Alabama. We have such a rich and diverse culture when it comes to the ethnic food cuisine. The most amazing part is many of the local restaurants serve very authentic dishes. Now, I literally stumbled upon Masaman Thai Kitchen Restaurant being curious in Vestavia and trying to get back on the main highway. Omg, when it comes to Thai food I could literally eat there every single day. Initially I was unsure since most Thai restaurants uses a lot of curry and I was like “no thank you” until I tried the varieties at Masaman. I am now a changed woman.

The Atlanta Food & Wine Festival was an incredible event where winemakers, breweries and restaurants from the southern region gathered to show off their southern eats. Each restaurant was paired with a beverage from their representative state. The 3 day event started with a” preview party” at The Stave in Atlanta and that’s when I fell in love at Little Rock, Arkansas! Chef Scott Rains from Table 28 made the most incredible, melt in your mouth, warm, addictive “Salted Molasses Pudding Cake.” Now I am a clean comedian, but at that moment, it took a second to keep it clean after the first bite, In fact, it was good delicious that I stood in front of Chef Rains and ate another sample. After my