The curators of January 2011’s river of stones, Fiona Robyn and Kaspalita, have offered to collect stones into a book. These want some polishing, but here are the ten I’m considering submitting. The order reflects my preference.

A river of stones: stone #24

forgetfulness
sits in the mug
left on the desk

A river of stones: stone #27

broken tiles
fit together
more tightly
than do those
perfect squares

A river of stones: stone #12

Clear ice is exacting.
Freezing must be slow.
Water must be flat.
A slow, slow, slow thaw
and a slow, slow, slow freeze
fly in the face of modernity.
Everything must be now.
Right now.
Except clarity.
That takes time.

A river of stones: stone #8

Somedays the world shrinks out of necessity
to a puppy at your feet gnawing on her bone.

A river of stones: stone #13

Snow keeps its modesty
between the footsteps
of passers-by.

A river of stones: stone #29

the next season's flash:
leaves flipped up immodestly
by a soft cool breeze

Skipping stones across a month: stone #31

Some race their ripples and
dance across the surface sending
patterns against far shores,
while those less artfully tossed
succumb to their own weight
(although with a satisfying plunk).

A river of stones: stone #7

The storm’s coming when the chickens spread out,
searching for breached worms,
then gather tight between the wind and fence.
Checking the scratched earth,
the squirrels scurry with one eye upward.

A river of stones: stone #18

Empty bird nests in empty trees
wait on the return of modesty
to cover bare limbs
and bared passions.

A river of stones: stone #6

all these traffic cams
showing cars, crowds, all-way stops
should occasionally
just every once in a while
switch over to a bird’s nest

2/6/2011

3/5 stars

Return to Eden has a good balance of ingredients and pre-made items. Any store with rennet (vegetarian) as well as kefir and yogurt cultures receives the benefit of any doubt. Their prices often are on-par with Trader Joe's and YDFM, although occasional items are obscenely more expensive (e.g. almonds, broccoli seeds).

Return to Eden's bulk section seemed better than Sevananda's to me. Items seemed fresher, although I am not the most objective judge. That the smaller bins were more full may have influenced my opinion. That there *was* oatmeal in the bin also may have influenced me. The honey selection is unfortunate.

I tend to twitch whenever faced with "natural" cures and other unsupported claims, but these areas felt minimized here.

The bad part? The "fresh" ginger was moldy. And not in an intentionally fermented sense. Don't rely on the produce. Eggs? Um…

Yelp tags: Health Markets Grocery

2/6/2011

2/5 stars

grumblegrumblegrumble…

Ok, we've tried this location a few times. Today was the end. This review does not reflect on the Westside location. There are quite a few reasons why the other dozen or five dozen or so burger places in the immediate vicinity of this location no longer are complaining about Yeah! Burger.

First impression today? The door handle. The freakin' screw isn't tight. By "isn't tight", I mean that the door handle pulls out a full inch. In many ways, this is a trivial consideration. It's one that makes many point at "yelpers" and laugh. This was just foreshadowing. If a location of an "up and coming chain" cannot manage to keep their door intact… Does not bode well for the upcoming price.

Afterwards, well… We ordered a side of gluten-free onion rings. We were served a 50/50 of GF onion rings and fries. Um. Oops. Not too bad in itself, except that none of the above was completely fried. The fries were as limp as Kit, and the onion rings were undercooked. The puddle of oil underneath was rather reflective. Hence the frying was far too cold (and yes, Nathan S. is my wife, and I'm more forgiving).

My fully gluten-o-rific burger with bacon marmalade and intentional fungus was fine. We're spoiled by game and really free-range meat, so the burger itself was just fine. Not a big deal for us, which probably reflects well on Yeah! Burger, but also not remarkable. The meat itself is worth the price. The sides here are *not*. My burger overall was ok. My wife's GF bun fell apart, unlike the other Yeah! Burger location on westside.

This makes me sad. Some of the people who work at this location absolutely rock. The end result, however, does not. The ridiculous flood of burger joints means any expensive burger joint must be a cut above. This location is not. It may be someday given the owner's efforts in reaching out to customers, but not so far.

The clientele appears to be your typical pseudo-environmental weenie (hey, look, I eat out at a "conscious" restaurant while driving my SUV and throwing trash out the window). That also makes me sad. This Yeah! Burger misses out on educational opportunities. The other location likely also does, but the experience is smooth enough that I don't notice. I'm fickle like that.

Yelp tags: Burgers Gluten-Free

2/6/2011

4/5 stars

I'm leaving another star for the future. It will be earned. Sugar-Coated Radical compares well to the two Meilleur Ouvrier de France chocolatiers I've tried.

I haven't been to their store. Yet. I've had their chocolates at another store (Urban Cannibals in EAV). And in the car. And at home.

My summary: Goodness.

No, really, goodness. They recognize the sources of their chocolate. They also recognize that chocolate has flavor that need not be eclipsed by the ganache. The balance of flavors in a well-salted "bark" of chocolate, coffee, and bread speaks volumes. There are times when you want to mix hot chocolate with your coffee and baguette, but that would be so extremely decadent that you never would do so. The Radicals' chocolate lets you do just that without feeling sickeningly bourgeois. Yes, it *is* sickeningly bourgeois, but you don't feel it. That's the balance.

By words, the radicals are not afraid of extreme flavors. We had a wonderful combination described to us that pushes many boundaries, but these radicals know how to balance extreme flavors with excellent technique. Anyone who has seen Jackson Pollock's student work recognizes how skill in classical technique reflects into skill in extremes. I hope to try their extremes shortly.

Are they expensive? Oh, no. Maybe this year, but shortly they'll be considered typical. Their socially conscious sourcing will buffer them against the upcoming cheap-chocolate shortage ( http://wallstreetpit.c… ). I was good and didn't rail against the absurdity of "fair trade" labels for cocoa and coffee (see http://www.sweetmarias… for an alternative), but the sugar-coated radical before us seemed quite aware that there's more to a source than an official label.

Yelp tags: Chocolatiers and Shops Bakeries

2/13/2011

4/5 stars

I tried this location when it was Octane, but the feeling was off. The coffee was, of course, quite good. Now that this location has its own feel, I could see myself visiting often if I were related to Emory. It's comfortable. That was missing (to me) in the previous incarnation. I can't entirely say why. The tables and seating seem more friendly now. And I like Octane (on Westside). Steady Hand has its own feel even being this young.

The coffee isn't worth mentioning. It's perfectly executed. At this level, there's not much else to say. I now am wondering why Sweet Maria's doesn't carry more Bolivian beans. I'm more of the chew-on-my-coffee type, but their drip coffee method is correct. The water's not too hot, and they don't rush . Each cup is brewed via a bitty Chemex. It's not the bar o' plastic filter holders. It may *become* that if they take off simply because of volume, but still the beans are well-sourced, well-roasted, and well-prepared.

Why not five stars? *shrug* I'm a press-pot guy. I really do like chewing on the dregs. And I expect Steady Hand to grow upward, so I want to give them the room.

Also (and I'm hiding this at the end): Sugar Coated Radical used their espresso mix in a yummy. I didn't try it (long story), but I suspect it follows her excellent style of emphasizing the chocolate with related flavors.

Yelp tags: Coffee & Tea

2/20/2011

3/5 stars

I was told by a few people that this year's was far better than last year's, so there's hope of progress. This was a vendor fair with a few amusing asides. Given the free ticket (yup, another one), I was able to taste quite a few brews I've hesitated buying. I'll likely buy one of them (Midas) now and know better than to buy the others.

There were four beers I didn't recognize from the shelves at Hop City out of all those available. sigh. I wish they had coordinated with the brew-your-cask-off competition or had homebrewers sampling. There may be nasty legal entanglements with that, though.

I somehow didn't notice the beer running short, yet I stayed until 7. I did notice the *water* running out very early. Makes rinsing out the tasting glass rather difficult. The cheese in the VIP area was a very welcome palate cleanser while it lasted.

With the confusion about what brews where where, and with running out of water, I'm not sure I'll be buying tickets next year. A trip to Hop City is more economical, predictable, and still pretty fun. But they want to continue growing and improving, so we'll see. I did have a blast at the carnival, though, even after us married fuddy-duddies stayed back and let the singles go mingle.

Yelp tags: Festivals

2/27/2011

5/5 stars

I am so utterly flattered to have a Yelp event custom-made for *me*! Or at least it felt that way even before I met the people of Batdorf & Bronson. Now I *know* it was custom made for me.

I remember reading many vehement discussions about establishing a "consumer class" membership to the Specialty Coffee Association of America. I was a poor grad student, so I was only reading then. The push to open membership to us home folk was difficult, and Mike Ferguson was a champion for the idea on the SCAA board. I honestly had forgotten about much of that until *MEETING HIM TODAY*! WOO-HOO! Then as now, he's a voice for us lowly "pro-am" consumers, and he's Batdorf & Bronson's business development director right here! (Little late edit: I didn't recognize him. This came up while we chatted. And all y'all know *I'm* not the one who started up a conversation. He invited me to look around the roasters when he saw me peeking.)

And then the roasters and brewers… Many of those who went on the tour may not have realized what they offered. Aaron Shively opened their cupping sessions to the public, even when they're experimenting with roasts. That shows both confidence in their own abilities and an honest interest in the community at large. I'm looking forward to visiting one when I can (possibly teaming up with Heather N's husband for courage). Jason Dominy showed his hard-core, award-winning brewing method. The other brewers (I apologize for not catching names!) also were excellent and very, *very* open to explaining their methods and their reasons.

Being this open is, um, not entirely common; many people want to keep their magic to themselves.

I loved being able to compare a single origin Yirgacheffe in two utterly different ways. They're right that this roast via an espresso brew would make an amazing cappuccino. I tend to prefer a really, really light hand on my Yirgacheffe and Harar roasts, but I also roast only for myself and can risk screwing up my tiny batches. I expect the espresso brewing, however, would only work this Full City (-ish, I'm splitting hairs) roast.

Another little thing that I didn't hear otherwise mentioned: B&B supports Coffee Kids ( http://www.coffeekids.org/ ), a charity working to improve the lives of coffee-raising families through health care, education, and even microloans.

So this Yelp event accomplished perhaps one of the most difficult aspect of these events: putting people in contact with each other. Other cool coffee bit of which I learned indirectly today: http://atlantadisloyal…/ , a card that encourages trying many different coffee shops. Love the idea…

On the non-coffee side: Imperial Fez's pastries go wonderfully with a fruity coffee. Maison Roberts is Maison Roberts: well-executed chocolate work that's appropriate for a wide range of tastes. They're well-known for that, and this is what you'd expect. The little plain cookies that weren't eaten up served as pretty good palate cleansers between coffee tastings, too.

Yelp tags: Local Flavor

2/27/2011

5/5 stars

Oh, I over-stuffed myself. Spent more than intended, but how couldn't you? Moose with a helping of Trekker (though no squirrel), Ethiopian, BBQ, salads, cookies, and more. And it was all made with care. There were somewhat known caterers serving food along side college clubs. Wonderful.

Lines were really long, but look at the positive: People in Atlanta want good food! When I first heard the registration numbers, I assumed only 10%-20% of those would turn up, and it'd mostly be the typical tribes with their on-line snarking. Nope. All sorts came out. People where there to support their friends, try new food, or just to see what's up. I don't handle crowds this size well unless I'm involved, but that just means I need to get off my ass and help.

Definite props to the venue and its rent-paying customers for letting this crowd in after hours. The location and time were excellently chosen. The venue's easily accessible. People could eat then head to nearby party places, or just hop up on the interstate and head home.

So this is in the 4-5 range rounded up for being an amazing first outing. I wanted to round down to give room for growth, but the negativity demands rounding up. There are little issues, of course, but this was planned and executed in a **month**! There were fewer issues than many yearly events.

Funny how none of this food made my stomach slightly upset, but eating at more expensive, inspected restaurants or events tends to be a crap-shoot (pun intended).

Yelp tags: Festivals Local Flavor