Some o'that Southern Hospitality

When I planned this little weekend in Atlanta Georgia, I had the following things on my agenda:

Quality time with Cari and Josh (an awesome couple that Kevin and I met while in Capri Italy about 2 and a half years ago)
A little shopping
Veg out on the lounge at Cari's and listen to stories about being pregnant with twins
Some home cooking
See the wonderful local suburbs that Josh so badly wants Kevin and I to call home

Considering we had 3 full days to get all of that done, I thought - brilliant! We're good to go for a relaxing, low key weekend in Atlanta. We arrived on a Friday night. Cari and Josh took us out to a great little spot where we enjoyed some lovely pub grub. Later that night once we were back at home, we made loose plans for what we would do the next morning. Things were great. Relaxing and comfy.

Murphy's www.murphys-atlanta-restaurant.com

When thinking of good food, and southern hospitality, Murphy's would be just the place that comes to mind. What I love about this place is that on Saturdays and Sundays, a special brunch menu is on offer. Just my kind of thing- I love brunch! Josh was excited for us to try the 'biscuits', which to my surprise tasted just like a fluffy, but still crumbly plain scone, perfect with a little berry jam. We shared a basket of these wonderful warm treats while we waited for our brunch to be served. I ordered my usual while Kevin, a little more ambitious (and easily influenced by his mate Josh) ordered the Shrimp and Grits -

I stuck to my usual cafe brunch order: poached eggs, spinach and tomatoes with a soy 'no foam latte' on the side (better known as a flat white to Aussies). Perfect on this fabulous Atlanta morning. The coffee was good, and my dish was filled with fresh, quality ingredients.

I was pleasantly surprised with the portion sizes at this restaurant. Being Australian, you always hear stories about the crazy big servings on offer in American diners and restaurants. You'd especially expect this in the south right? Though I have been on the receiving end of mammoth serves in the US, my brunch this morning was perfect: 2 poached eggs, on a healthy portion of dark wheat bread, fresh sliced tomato, and wilted spinnach. No complaints from me.

Once we were done, we decided to go for a walk around the neighbourhood. Feeling comfortably full and happy with brunch, I thought to myself, 'I wouldnt mind stopping past a bakery and picking up something little for later'... Josh had other plans.

Battle of the Burgers www.battleoftheburgers.com

In a park close by to Murphy's, Atlantans were gathering around smokey barbecues and tented food stalls firing up their appetites to vote on some of the best burgers in the south. I was pretty excited to get to experience this. I've been to countless food festivals in my home town Sydney, and farmers markets all over the US France and Italy to name a few, but never ever had I been to a burger festival. I just knew that this was going to get interesting.

Einsteins www.metrocafes.com/einsteins/Home.aspx

This was the first burger tent we stopped at. A very vocal and enthusiastic young lady lured us over and handed us quarter burger portions, letting us know that this was definitely the best burger on offer, and we shouldn't pass up the oportunity to sample it. Kevin and Cari were stuffed and werent too keen on having anything else after our brunch session. Josh on the other hand was happy to sample, and encouraged me to do the same... What the hell - how many times do you stumble on a burger festival, right?

Kaleidoscope www.k-pub.com

Josh was ultra keen to try the burger at this burger stall and mentioned that Kaleidoscope were pretty well known for their burgers, so it was a must. I especially loved that it was one of the few stands who had specially prepared mini burgers, affectionately called Sliders in America. Sliders are a popular bar food, along with buffalo wings, cheesy fries and other southern favourites.

The Nook www.thenookatlanta.com

By this point, I was feeling pretty full, so walking on past the Nook was more for Josh than it was for me. Once I had a read of what was going on in their burgers, I was both curious about the flavours and worried that I might have a heart attack and die. Josh was happy to let me take a bite out of his sample...and I survived to tell the story, so it was definitely worth it.

Cypress Street Pint & Plate http://www.cypressbar.com/

As you could Imagine, there was no way I was about to put anything else into my system. I was full and there was nothing anyone could do about it. We were gearing up to head off and continue our little walk around the neighbourhood, when Josh spots the Cypress Street burger stall. With an entry named the 'ice cream burger', they definitely had my attention.