Simply Buckhead January/February 2013

January/February 2013 Issue 14 • free

Your Guide to Living Well in Atlanta

The Collectors, Clubs & classes Issue

collective

souls

From vintage cars to Louis Vuitton bags to exotic birdcages, explore the treasures of some of Buckhead’s most obsessive collectors.

Get a Hobby!

28

cool new things to try this year

A Buckhead home you have to see to believe All Hail to Hal’s

Bridal Special:

24 pages of great wedding ideas inside

“A Banking Relationship With Lasting Value”

“We have been able to grow our antiques business by providing our clients one of the largest and most diverse selections in the city. Founded in 1996, Parc Monceau offers an eclectic mix of 18th-century to mid-century furniture, art, and accessories. Designers and collectors come to us for “unexpected” items that deliver excitement and an unmatched level of enduring quality and value.

We like working with Georgia Commerce Bank because of their excellent customer service and responsiveness. As a veteran of the antiques business, I recognize value when I see it — and that is what we have with Georgia Commerce Bank.”

— Barry Hutner, Owner Parc Monceau Antiques

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Jared enjoys travel, private aviation, sailing, and fitness

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January/February 2013 | Simply Buckhead

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Different by design Advertising executive Joanne Truffelman injects her trademark pizzazz into an unconventional Buckhead home

Contents /// COVER STORY

/// DEPARTMENTS

59

13 LETTERS

get a hobby!

Get to know Buckhead’s biggest collectors, coolest classes and most enticing clubs. Then join them.

Joanne Truffelman leans against the 108-foot bridge leading from her home to her guesthouse.

Photo: Sara Hanna

39 SIMPLY ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

15 SIMPLY NOW 47 SIMPLY DELICIOUS 27 SIMPLY STYLISH 69 SIMPLY HAPPENING

/// FEATURES

22

TRAVEL NEAR: Plains—Keeping presidential history alive Celebrate Presidents’ Day in Jimmy Carter’s hometown

24

TRAVEL fAR: Solo in the City Explore New York on your own

44

Very Funny After 30 years, The Punchline in Sandy Springs has the last laugh

48

“I had no idea what it would become—I just thought my mom might read it or something.”

– Buckhead’s Jessica Graves on creating her blog, “The Love List,” page 36

Prime time Hal’s is where Buckhead’s old guard goes for steak Photo: Caroline Fontenot

January/February 2013 | Simply Buckhead

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Your Guide to Living Well in Atlanta

Serving Buckhead, Brookhaven, Sandy Springs, Vinings, Decatur and Virginia Highland january/february 2013 | ISSUE 14 P.O. Box 11633, Atlanta, GA 30355 www.simplybuckhead.com For advertising rates call: 404-538-9895

/// BEHIND THE COVER Publisher

Joanne Hayes Editor-In-Chief

Allison Weiss Entrekin Creative Director

Alan Platten Creative Production Assistant

Sandra Platten Chief Photographer

Sara Hanna www.sarahanna.com Senior Account Executives

Robbin Gordon Cheryl Isaacs Associate Editor

Giannina Smith Bedford

Vintage car collector Bruce Cusmano might have a future in modeling. He needed very little direction as we shot him with four of his most beloved cars—a black 1959 Jaguar XK 150; an off-white 1970 Mercedes 280 SL; a silver Porsche 911; and a 1989 white Porsche 928. Cusmano tried new poses before we could ask, swapped his sweater for an eye-catching blazer while we were busy between shots, and suggested camera angles that would best capture his cars’ grilles (“to a collector, the most important part of a car,” he told us).

His instincts paid off, landing one of his photos on our cover.

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January/February 2013 | Simply Buckhead

Producer: Allison Weiss Entrekin Chief Photographer: Sara Hanna

Contributing Writers

Kate Abney Wendell Brock H.M. Cauley Carly Cooper Jennifer Bradley Franklin David Goldstein Curt Holman Catherine O’Connor Hough Hope Philbrick Olivia Putnal Kelly Skinner Graphic Designer

Michael Baker Copy Editor

Ellen Glass Legal Counsel

Scott I. Zucker

We welcome all contributions, but we assume no responsibility for unsolicited material. No portion of this publication can be reproduced in whole or in part without prior written permission.

Copyright © 2013 by Simply Buckhead®. All rights reserved.

Printed by Walton Press, Inc. Distributed by Distributech, Network Communications, Inc., and Distribution Services Group.

Simply Buckhead® is a member of the Buckhead Business Association.

find us online Read Simply Buckhead online at

www.SimplyBuckhead.com with click-through capability Facebook facebook.com “Like” or “Friend” us at Simply Buckhead Magazine Twitter twitter.com Follow us @SimplyBuckhead

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Kelly Skinner Kelly Skinner fell into writing (and asking questions) early on, scrawling her first fairy tales in crayon on any and all available surfaces. Raised by the beach in a household brimming with boys, stories were her favorite escape—and still are.

She graduated from the Grady School of Journalism at the University of Georgia, studied art history in Italy and went on to hone her storytelling skills through work as a waitress, followed by an adventure-filled stint on the Appalachian Trail. Now, happily settled in Decatur, the writer and editor has developed a repertoire of food writing, profiles, travel stories and wedding articles. When not interviewing people like William Shatner, Norah Jones or Thomas Keller, Skinner spends her time reading, doing yoga and dunking fries in dipping sauces at Leon’s Full Service.

She is currently the blog editor for SweetJack and her work has appeared in such magazines as The Atlantan, Redbook, Skirt!, Get Married Magazine, Atlanta Gay Weddings, Blush, South, Lifestyles, Boxx and JEZEBEL. In this issue of Simply Buckhead, Skinner pens our cover story, “Get a Hobby.”

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January/February 2013 | Simply Buckhead

S I M P L Y B U C K H E A D ® | J a n ua r y / F eb r ua r y 2 0 1 3

Letters from our tweet hearts and facebook fans!

Follow us @SimplyBuckhead and on Facebook

We love that our Lobby Lounge is featured in the current issue as a great place for a glass of wine!

–@RCBUCKHEAD I wanted to thank you so much for your consideration of Pasta Vino for publication in Simply Buckhead. Your photographer [Sara Hanna] was delightful; also, she took the time and care to “get into it.” Please thank her for us. It was really good for us to take a look at who we are and where we want to go. Thank you.

–Nancy Powell, owner, Pasta Vino I want to express my appreciation for the number of art features in Simply Buckhead. I find the interest in art within the Buckhead community highly encouraging. People must not forget the importance, both historical and spiritual, of art to humanity, and your publication does a fine job promoting it. Thank you.

–Ronnie Beets, www.artbeets.com I was able to find a copy of the magazine at Binders.

Actually, I grabbed several copies! You guys do an excellent job on this magazine!

–Joshua Goodling, director, PGi I wanted to write a quick note and let you know that the latest issue of your magazine is “Simply” fabulous! … Just flipping through the digital version, I am super impressed. Each new issue just gets better and better, so congrats for that!

–Melanie Mueller, owner/designer, Mel Boteri Love the artwork your designers do for the cover of the magazine. You’ve got a talented team!

–Katy Gillis, fitness consultant We’re looking at the November/December issue now and WOW, it looks AMAZING! The article is absolutely fabulous. We really do love your publication … Everything looks great. I love the highlighted food sections.

–Lauren Heflin, marketing director, Castle Painting

@SimplyBuckhead, love the new issue of Simply Buckhead as always! They are flying off the shelf at Newk’s!

–@NewksBrookhaven Check out the November/ December 2012 issue of @SimplyBuckhead with a feature on DDG’s Board Chair Bronni Karatassos.

–@ddgcharity @SimplyBuckhead Thanks for the @10PackAtlanta writeup!

Great publication.

–@CaraWeaver10 @SimplyBuckhead @CureChildCancer Can’t wait to see! Thanks for your support.

–@CGlavine Thanks to @SimplyBuckhead for covering #suicideprevention and @AFSP_ATL! Honored to be included in the new issue!

–@AnnaRuth Wow, was at Jolie Day Spa on Thursday and picked up your gorgeous magazine. Bravo!

–Phyllis Wallace via Facebook @SimplyBuckhead, came across your magazine while on a trip to Atlanta. Enjoyed reading it!

–@jennifer10010

/// LETTER BOX ///

Tell us what you think! Send your comments, compliments and criticisms to editor@simplybuckhead.com. All letters will be considered for publication and may be edited for length and clarity.

/// EDITOR’S LETTER

W

hen I was little, my mother started a music box collection for me.

When she and my dad went on trips, she’d bring one back for me; if I spotted one at a store, I could usually talk her into buying it. I can still picture those music boxes sitting in rows on my shelf: There was a snow globe that played Christmas carols; a figurine of a small girl holding a rabbit (how have I forgotten the song Photo: Sara Hanna it played?); two clay doves sitting atop a box that played Für Elise. I don’t collect music boxes anymore, and I’m not even sure where my childhood ones are, but every time I hear Für Elise, I instantly picture those two doves and my old bedroom in Winter Park, Fla. Collections are funny like that: They capture a piece of your history and, as a result, your heart. That’s why I think one of the most fascinating stories in this issue of Simply Buckhead is Kelly Skinner’s piece on six local collectors. Vintage car collector Bruce Cusmano describes each of his automobiles like it’s a person— complete with contradictions, oddities and charm.

(We liked him and his cars so much, we put them on our cover.) Darlene Smith, perhaps our city’s foremost collector of Louis Vuitton products, is in the middle of building a massive closet in her luxury Buckhead condo specifically to showcase her high-end duds.

And Kris Hoppe? Interestingly, this world traveler doesn’t collect something easy to transport, like coins or stamps. She collects birdcages, happily toting them onto planes as her carry-on items, much to the amusement of her fellow passengers.

As 2013 cranks up, maybe it’s time for you to start a new hobby, like collecting something that has meaning in your life. For that matter, maybe it’s time for me to do the same. My bedroom shelf has room for a few music boxes … and it would be good to hear Für Elise again.

Here’s to a year of new beginnings.

Allison Weiss Entrekin editor@simplybuckhead.com

January/February 2013 | Simply Buckhead

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January/February 2013 | Simply Buckhead

E V E N T S | L O C A L S A L U T E | T R AV E L

Simply now

travel near

Plains: Keeping Presidential History Alive, Page 22

“Plains is a town of 635 with 13 churches, but there’s a lot of history here, too.”

Interns from the Atlanta-based Carter Center carry the former president’s insignia during the annual Peanut Festival in Carter’s hometown of Plains, Ga. Photo: Courtesy of Plains Hometown office

January/February 2013 | Simply Buckhead

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/// FEATURED EVENT ///

Atlanta’s largest film festival celebrates Jewish culture The Cake Lady showcases the work of Buckhead-based producer

Left: Atlanta Jewish Film Festival moderators kick off the event. Above: Fay “Cake Lady” Tenenbaum delivers one of her cakes to a fan. A film about her debuts at this year’s Atlanta Jewish Film Festival.

T

he Atlanta Jewish Film Festival returns this year with two locations catering to Buckhead moviegoers. The 22-day cinematic exploration of Jewish life expects a crowd of more than 30,000 patrons this year. Film aficionados can once again count on riveting work by talented filmmakers from across the country. Viewers can visit theaters around the city, including Tara Theater in Lenox Hills and the Lefont Theater in Sandy Springs, to catch the hottest films the festival has to offer.

A Buckhead-based producer even has a featured documentary playing in this year’s event. Longtime AJFF board

member and first-time filmmaker Adam Hirsch produced a captivating film in 2012 entitled The Cake Lady. Hirsch is excited about the film’s Atlanta debut.

“We’re thrilled to bring The Cake Lady to its home audience,” he says. “We’ve had great success in film festivals across the Southeast, but this one is really special to us because it is right in our backyard.” The film documents 89-year-old Atlantan Fay Tenenbaum as she attempts to outrun the harsh reality of Father Time. Tenenbaum, known by many as “the Cake Lady,” recently moved into an assisted living community and, although she is working with

a much reduced kitchen, she continues baking her delicious cakes. She bakes for neighbors, policemen, firefighters, mechanics, and anyone else the grandmother believes needs a cake. She even finds a way to hand deliver the legendary delicacies to deserving cake lovers around the city. Hirsch heard of Tenenbaum through a friend, and after just one meeting, felt her story was worthy of a documentary.

“This woman is an inspiration to all. She’s battled a tremendous amount of adversity in her life, and yet she continues to smile, laugh and keep right on baking.”

– David Goldstein

Atlanta Jewish Film Festival Jan. 30–Feb. 20 Opening Night at Cobb Energy Centre Visit www.ajff.org to purchase tickets and review the 2013 lineup.

Lefont Theater 5920 Roswell Road N.E. Atlanta 30328 404.255.0100 www.lefonttheaters.com Tara Theater 2345 Cheshire Bridge Road N.E. Atlanta 30324 404.634.5661 www.regmovies.com

/// free event ///

Cold-weather Concerts

Musicians entertain audience members with free concerts at Heritage Hall in Sandy Springs.

If you’re reminiscing about the free outdoor concerts of spring and summer, Heritage Sandy Springs’ newest concert series might help rid you of the winter blues. The free Heritage Winter Classics concert series takes place indoors at the newly renovated Heritage Hall. Take refuge from the winter chill in the rustic elegance of the 3,000-square-foot building surrounded by historic gardens while listening to the soothing sounds of live music. Performing on Jan. 20, the Franklin Pond Quartet is composed of talented Atlanta Symphony Orchestra musiHeritage Hall cians, including violinists Jun-Ching Lin and Carolyn Toll Hancock, cellist at Heritage Green Daniel Laufer and violist Paul Murphy. On Feb. 17, Kaleidoscope (formerFranklin Pond Quartet Jan. 20, 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. ly the Michael O’Neal Chamber Singers) takes the stage for “Songs for Kaleidoscope All Seasons,” exploring the ways poets and composers have interpreted Feb. 17, 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. the seasons of the year. The performance will include a wide variety of selections, from Renaissance motets to settings of popular standards 6110 Bluestone Road like “Summertime” and “Autumn Leaves.” The music, libations (beer and Sandy Springs 30328 wine are available for sale) and cozy indoor venue might even make you 404.851.9111 forget the frosty temperatures outside—at least for a little while. www.heritagesandysprings.org – Giannina Smith Bedford

January/February 2013 | Simply Buckhead

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SI MPLY now

Jan 31 Mar 17...

events

/// FAMILY-FRIENDLY ///

Written and directed by Jon Ludwig

Children learn about public demonstration tactics used during the Civil Rights Movement.

Photos: Atlanta History Center

Black History Month takes “Center” stage A winter to remember at Atlanta History Center

Watching over the insect citizens of Bugville is the superhero, Mighty Bug! But he isn’t the only arthropod with an eye on the town. Can Mighty Bug defeat the evil Scorpiana and save Bugville?

Find out in this comic book style adventure!

404.873.3391

Don’t let the kids be sidelined by the cold this season. Liven things up at Atlanta History Center with the celebration of Black History Month in February. The museum is rolling out a new family-friendly event entitled Struggles and Strides: The Early Fight for Civil Rights, where children and parents will learn about the AfricanAmerican battle for equality spanning from the Great Migration to the fight for Civil Rights.

The program includes live character performances from integral movement leaders, ranging from W.E.B. Du Bois to Martin Luther King Jr.

The dynamic routines will be complemented by interactive storytelling discussing African-American progress throughout United States history.

Children will be able to put their personal stamp on the program by building relatable crafts. Admission is free for members and included in the price of general admission for non-members. General admission is $16.50 for adults, $13 for seniors and students, and $11 for youth ages 4 to 12.

– David Goldstein

Struggles and Strides: The Early Fight for Civil Rights Feb. 23 11 a.m.–4 p.m.

Atlanta History Center 130 West Paces Ferry Road N.W. Atlanta 30305 404.814.4000 www.atlantahistorycenter.com

www.puppet.org 1404 Spring Street NW, Atlanta, GA 30309 Limited FREE Parking • MARTA Accessible Advance purchase is highly recommended as many shows sell out quickly.

Season supported in part by: Fulton County Arts Council, City of Atlanta Office of Cultural Affairs, Georgia Council for the Arts.

Children participate in an interactive portion of the Struggles & Strides program.

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January/February 2013 | Simply Buckhead

Spend a day or evening on the Town!

Discover over 40 shops, services and restaurants.

Town Brookhaven is truly your one stop shopping and dining destination with a blend of interesting boutiques, delicious restaurants and useful services.

www.townbrookhaven.net Conveniently located on Peachtree Road adjacent to Oglethorpe University.

If it has to be special, it has to be Charles Willis!

Visit us at 465 E. Paces Ferry Road or www.charleswillis.com 404.233.9487

January/February 2013 | Simply Buckhead 

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The Buckhead Heritage Society Presents: Buckhead’s 175th Anniversary Celebration

Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow In Partnership with the Buckhead Business Association

March 1, 2013 7:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m.

The Buckhead Theatre Charlie Loudermilk and Sam Massell, Honorary Co-chairs Caroline and Boyd Leake, Co-chairs Tickets are $150 for Buckhead Heritage and Buckhead Business Association Members and $175 for Non-members. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit www.buckheadheritage.com.

Proceeds from the event will benefit Buckhead Heritage and the creation of a Master History Plan for the community that will map out how to integrate historic sites and stories into the Buckhead Collection—a system of new parks, trails, and green spaces envisioned for the community and spearheaded by Livable Buckhead, Inc.

Gold Sponsors:

Margaret and Hank McCamish

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January/February 2013 | Simply Buckhead

Media Sponsors:

S IMP LY n ow

Local Salute story:

Carly Cooper

Weaving a Better Path Chloe Gallaher is co-director of communications and a founding executive member of Atlanta Dance Marathon.

Dancing for the Kids Buckhead resident helps Atlanta Dance Marathon raise funds for Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta On March 2, 2013, Lenox Park resident Chloe Gallaher and nearly 200 others will dance for 13.1 hours in an effort to raise money for Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta (CHOA). This annual event (now in its second year) is called Atlanta Dance Marathon, and Gallaher is its co-director of communications.

“Dance Marathon allows you to live out your civic duty,” she says.

“By doing Dance Marathon, you can make a difference by dancing for those who can’t, and provide better health care for the children in this community.”

Dance Marathon originated as a college movement, which is how Gallaher learned about it. When she graduated from the University of South Carolina, where she

helped grow Dance Marathon to be the largest student-run philanthropy in the state, she contacted CHOA in search of volunteer opportunities. In 2011, she became a founding executive member of Atlanta Dance Marathon, helping the organization raise $34,000 for CHOA in its first year.

This year, Atlanta Dance Marathon is aiming higher with a goal of raising $50,000. Gallaher and the other participants will gather at Callanwolde Fine Arts Center and talk, laugh, eat, dance and play games—anything except sit—to show their commitment to the cause.

To learn more, participate or donate, visit www.atldancemarathon.com

Decatur-based re:loom employs the homeless to make goods from upcycled materials Decatur resident Lisa Wise is on a mission to reduce homelessness.

She’s been executive director of the Initiative for Affordable Housing (a nonprofit that helps local homeless and low-income families secure housing) for 20 years, and two years ago she decided to take further action to help homeless women and children get back on their feet. Enter re:loom, which she describes as “a movement to weave a better life.” Based in Decatur, re:loom hires homeless people in the metro Atlanta area to weave home goods—such as rugs, place mats, table runners and change purses—from waste materials.

These items are then sold online and at festivals, including the Chastain Park Arts Festival and the Inman Park Festival, with the proceeds supporting employees’ salaries and benefiting the Initiative for Affordable Housing. This winter, re:loom goods will also be on sale at the Trinity School Spotlight on Art event Feb. 4-9.

Right now, re:loom has 10 employees. All are full-time and receive benefits. None of them knew how to weave before joining re:loom, so

Neighborhood Watch Brandon Neighborhood Association celebrates its first year of enhancing the Buckhead residential area Established in late 2011, the Brandon Neighborhood Association is dedicated to protecting, preserving and enhancing the areas surrounding Buckhead’s Brandon Elementary School.

A little over a year since its inception, the nonprofit has 316 residents who volunteer for committees such as Membership, Public Safety, Communications, Land Use and Events.

One of its first accomplishments was getting the proper city ordinances and financial support to install a sidewalk on a dangerous section of Moores Mill Road between Howell Mill Road and the YMCA, says Eric Ranney, Brandon Neighborhood Association’s first president.

Doug Healy recently took over for Ranney, signing on for a two-year

Initiative for Affordable Housing Executive Director Lisa Wise models one of re:loom’s newest product lines.

Wise trains them and teaches them more transferable skills, such as collaboration and project management. Volunteers fill in the gaps where needed.

Angela, a Decatur resident and re:loom employee who asked that her last name not be used, lost her nursing job and her house in Hurricane Katrina. She says re:loom has helped her pay the bills and take care of her son while she figures out her next step.

“I never knew how any of this stuff was made before,” she says. “[With re:loom], I get to be creative while learning skills like customer service.”

To volunteer, donate materials or apply for a job at re:loom, visit www.reloom.org or call 404.299.9979.

As president of the Brandon Neighborhood Association, Doug Healy has made his community a priority.

term after leading the Membership Committee last year. He says the organization has already set up ongoing security patrols, worked with developers to improve pedestrian access, planned a social gathering and hosted a town hall meeting of sorts with a presentation by the Atlanta Police Department. The association is also researching partnership opportunities

with other civic organizations.

“Participation in organizations such as Brandon Neighborhood Association helps build strong neighborhoods and civic life,” Healy says.

For more information, or to join Brandon Neighborhood Association, email Beth Beskin, Vice President, at ebeskin@gmail.com.

Annual dues are $350.

January/February 2013 | Simply Buckhead

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TRAVEL ne ar

Above: Former President Jimmy Carter and his wife, Rosalynn, are frequent visitors to their hometown in south Georgia. Top Right: The September Peanut Festival features a parade through town. Below: The former First Couple helped restore the Plains Inn, which has seven suites decorated in themes from different decades of Jimmy Carter’s life.

Visitors can arrive in style on the SAM Shortline of antique train cars.

All photos courtesy of Plains Hometown office

Around Plains While you’re in the area, check out these nearby attractions.

Plains:

n The Civil War prison camp at Andersonville. www.andersonvillegeorgia.com n Americus, home to the lavish Victorian Windsor Hotel. www.windsor-americus.com n Get on board! The SAM Shortline of antique rail cars takes passengers from

Americus and Cordele into Plains. www.samshortline.com

Keeping presidential history alive Celebrate Presidents’ Day in Jimmy Carter’s hometown

T

he Presidents’ Day commemoration in February often calls to mind the likes of Lincoln, Washington and Kennedy—charismatic characters who have been relegated to history books. But Georgians have an exceptional opportunity to mark this holiday by connecting with living presidential history.

The tiny town of Plains in south Georgia is the birthplace and part-time home of Jimmy Carter, holder of America’s highest office from 1977 to 1981. Today, when he’s not globetrotting for peace or building Habitat Homes in Haiti, he’s often in residence in Atlanta, home to his presidential library and the Carter Center.

But he still makes time to get back to his roots, where he and wife Rosalynn just may be two of the locals you see dining at Dylan’s Diner or the Buffalo Cafe at the Old Bank. But if they’re in town, you’ll definitely see them Sunday in church.

“President Carter still teaches Sunday school here at Maranatha Baptist

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January/February 2013 | Simply Buckhead

Church,” says Ruth Sanders, head of the Plains Better Hometown Program that promotes tourism and activities. “You can go to his class, then stay for church, and when you come out, the Carters will take your picture. It’s quite an experience.” The church posts Carter’s teaching schedule on its website, so visitors can plan a weekend around his appearance.

Before Sunday, guests can check into the Plains Historic Inn, a 1900s structure where seven rooms are decorated to represent different decades in Carter’s life. Mrs. Carter selected many of the furnishings, and the former President helped with the building’s renovation, including refinishing stairs and woodwork.

Plains visitors can learn about Carter’s life with a visit to his old high school, now a visitors’ center that anchors a 77-acre historic site. The biggest attraction, just two miles from the center of town, is the farm where Carter grew up; the main house and outbuildings still stand.

feature:

H.M. Cauley

Another slice of history has been preserved at the Billy Carter Service Station Museum, an old gas station once owned by the President’s colorful brother that was turned into a museum in 2008 to house a collection of memorabilia from the 1976 presidential campaign and artifacts from Billy’s life.

While Presidents’ Day itself is marked quietly in Plains, the town hosts a variety of events throughout the year that draw crowds. The biggest is the Peanut Festival, held in September (the 2013 festival is Sept. 28) to celebrate the locally grown legume.

Though there isn’t a lot of bustle about Plains, that’s just what makes it a relaxing spot to visit.

“We’re a town of 635 with 13 churches,” says Sanders. “But there’s a lot of history here, too.” n Information about Plains is online at www.plainsgeorgia.com

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S IMP LY n ow

TRAVEL far

Bouchon Bakery 1 Rockefeller Plaza Manhattan 10020 212.782.3890 www.bouchonbakery.com Ça Va 310 West 44th Street Manhattan 10036 212.803.4545 www.cavatoddenglish.com High Line www.thehighline.org Sofitel 45 West 44th Street Manhattan 10036 212.354.8844 www.sofitel.com 9/11 Memorial 1 Liberty Street Manhattan 10006 212.312.8800 www.911memorial.org Times Square, located in Midtown at the intersection of Seventh Avenue and Broadway, is the heart of the city that never sleeps. Photo by Joe Buglewicz

Solo in the City Exploring New York on your own

I

t’s often said that you can feel alone in a crowded room. During a recent solo trip, I realized that it’s possible to feel independent, invigorated and yes, blissfully alone, in the most bustling “room” in the world—New York City.

My temporary home base was on the 23rd floor of Manhattan’s luxe Sofitel, with blackout curtains and a dreamy king-sized bed; it was the perfect respite from the rigors of walking endless blocks. Request a top floor, and you won’t hear any street noise below. It’s an ideal location, in the heart of Midtown. And since this section of the city is never completely deserted, it’s easy to feel safe in the anonymous company of other travelers walking the streets at all times of the day and night.

The city is dynamic, and though I’ve visited a number of times over the years—walking the Brooklyn Bridge and ferrying out to Lady Liberty—this trip I opted to see two newer landmarks. The 9/11 Memorial is a mustvisit. Give yourself time to walk the beautifully manicured grounds and take it all in.

The deep pools with infinitely rushing water bear the names of every victim of the terrorist

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January/February 2013 | Simply Buckhead

feature:

attacks and are a somber reminder of a dark period in the city’s ever-evolving history.

They’re also a reminder of the strength and resilience for which New York is known—a resilience that was once again tested by Hurricane Sandy, just two days after my trip. For a more lighthearted landmark, travel over to Manhattan’s west side and walk along the much buzzed-about High Line—1.45 miles of raised freight tracks (actively used from the 1930s until 1980) converted into a lovely walking trail which opened its first section in 2009 and its second in 2011. Sections of the path, which winds through Chelsea and the Meatpacking District, provide some green space in the midst of the city and offer seating overlooking the busy streets below.

Of course, at its core, NYC is a food city, offering every manner of culinary delights to please travelers. Ça Va from chef Todd English, right on the border of Hell’s Kitchen and Midtown, was a real highlight. I went there for breakfast, fueling up with a delicious, featherlight egg white frittata, speckled with bits of turkey bacon, tomato confit and bright green spinach, paired with freshly squeezed ruby

Jennifer Bradley Franklin grapefruit juice. There are plenty of decadent choices on offer, such as the brioche French toast with caramelized bananas and Nutella.

If you’re hoofing it around the city, you’re sure to burn off any superfluous calories.

A visit to Bouchon Bakery—Thomas Keller’s famed sanctuary of sweets—in Rockefeller Center is a must. The $3.50 splurge on a (very large) macaron might be the best money you’ll spend. I nibbled a pistachio confection as I strolled the bustling streets, heading south to Bryant Park. Of course I looked like a tourist, but in my sugar-laced fog, I hardly cared.

After one whirlwind day, I found myself zipping through the streets in a yellow cab around midnight. The unmistakable glow of Times Square came into view and, though I’ve visited before, I felt an almost magnetic pull. I got out and walked, strolling along some of the most iconic and recognizable blocks in the world. Surrounded by people— tourists, locals, dreamers—I drank in the sights and sounds of the city that makes dreams come true. Perhaps I was wrong— in New York, you can never be truly alone, which is, after all, part of its charm. n

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January/February 2013 | Simply Buckhead

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Simply stylish

home

Different by Design, Page 28

Joanne Truffelman’s modern Buckhead home— complete with a two-story guest house reached via an elevated bridge—is set on one-third of an acre on Lindbergh Drive.

“I didn’t see it as the most comfortable house, but I thought it was different and a great house to entertain in, which I love to do.”

Photo by Sara Hanna

January/February 2013 | Simply Buckhead

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SIMPLY stylish

home

Different by design Advertising executive Joanne Truffelman injects her trademark pizzazz into an unconventional Buckhead home feature:

A

Top left: Joanne Truffelman purchased the home in 1999 and added a lap pool below the outdoor bridge.

Top right: An ideal space to entertain, the outdoor patio has bubbling ponds and a reproduction of Brussels’ famous Manneken-Pis. Above: The indoor bridge leading to the master bedroom mirrors the outdoor bridge to the guest house.

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January/February 2013 | Simply Buckhead

Giannina Smith Bedford Photos: Sara Hanna

lthough New York native Joanne Truffelman was searching for an Atlanta home with a pool in 1999, an ultramodern residence with four ponds stole her heart instead. Hidden behind an iron gate on Lindbergh Drive, the 4,500-square-foot, otherworldly abode has three bedrooms and four bathrooms in a three-story main house and a one-bedroom, two-bathroom guesthouse reached by a 108foot bridge. Oh, and this isn’t the only bridge.

There is also one inside the home serving as a suspended hallway of sorts, leading into the master bedroom.

“My real estate agent told me about the house and I’d seen it, and I said, ‘Oh, that eyesore? Oh, OK, I’ll look at it.’ To me it was an eyesore on this street, because Lindbergh doesn’t have homes like this. But [once I went inside], it was love at first sight,” says Truffelman, chairman of Buckhead advertising agency TG Madison. “I’m not one for creature comforts and I didn’t see it as the most comfortable house, but I thought it was different and a great house to entertain in, which I love to do.”

The chatty and energetic advertising executive purchased the white stucco home from

Iranian architect Kianoush Tehrani of The K.I.A Group, who lived in it prior to putting it on the market. Equipped with six balconies, the modern masterpiece showcases Tehrani’s signature style: white exterior, metalwork and repeating design patterns throughout.

Truffelman embraced the architect’s look and even incorporated one of his repeating designs—found above the home’s fireplaces and doors and in the metalwork of the two bridges—into her interior décor. “I call it ‘the key’ because it is a key design that is oriental and it’s all over the house, so I designed my rug upstairs after it—and my bed,” she says.

Truffelman may have loved the home, but she still wanted her lap pool. After troubleshooting a few scenarios, Truffelman and Blue Haven Pools installed a kidney-shaped body of water below the outdoor bridge, seamlessly blending it among the ponds, greenery and patio. “Part of it is built out of the ground and part of it is level, but I have a regulation 16-foot-by-32-foot pool,” Truffelman says proudly.

The stunning outdoor space is accented with a statue of a Chinese fisherman and a reproduction of Brussels’ famous Manneken-Pis.

“It was fun and a challenge to see what I could do with the house because it’s very, very stark ... so we had to warm it up.”

Left: One of Truffelman’s favorite hangouts, the media room’s eclectic decor includes a 1970s cylindrical piece in which she stores barware and a suede chair from House of Denmark.

The curved wall was custom fit with a wall unit that opens electronically to expose a television.

Below: Truffelman made no major changes to the home’s kitchen, which is still equipped with its original green SieMatic cabinets and cement countertops.

now opens electronically to reveal a 48-inch television. The room also features a glass chess table, martini-glass artwork by local artist Christian Waggoner and a ceiling that lights up with a starry sky.

All in all, the room is one of Truffelman’s favorite hangouts and a regular spot for entertaining. “It is a very unusual room,” she says. “The fact that the door [to the television] opens up, that is a fun thing,” she says. “That and the stars in the sky make the media room a fun room.” s

Truffelman also added several other design touches to the home over the years, doing most of the creative work herself. The daughter of a New York interior designer, Truffelman actually planned on going into the family business, but landed in advertising instead. “My avocation is almost interior design,” she says. “It was fun and a challenge to see what I could do with the house because it’s very, very stark; that extreme I don’t like, so we had to warm it up and decorate it and all that.”

Truffelman picked up much of her designer furniture and fabrics—names like Donghia Inc. and Jerry Pair—at ADAC’s showrooms. Her home also highlights a strong Asian element, owed to her travels.

Antique Chinese temple figurines welcome visitors on the main level, and shoji screens line the walls of the atrium-linked living and dining rooms. (The living room also features a green-and-white carpet that Truffelman patterned after the Coca-Cola curve—a reminder of her days working for the beverage giant.) The gleaming New Age kitchen is outfitted in dark-green laminate cabinets

by SieMatic and cement countertops.

The downstairs media room was one of Truffelman’s big projects. She commissioned In View Furniture to custom-build a wall unit to fit the room’s curved walls.

Press a button and a 7-by-3½-foot panel

Above: The living area features Asian décor elements, a rug Truffelman designed herself and framed metal art she picked up in Aspen, Colo. The balcony overlooks the pool.

January/February 2013 | Simply Buckhead

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SIMPLY stylish

home

Above: Truffelman’s Roman-style bed was inspired by a columned picture frame on her nightstand containing a photo of her parents .

Below: Truffelman’s Maltese, Truffles, loves riding up and down the cylinder-shaped elevator.

Bottom: Redone in 2009, the softly lit study is where Truffelman relaxes and catches up on work.

One of the most striking aspects of the media room isn’t the automated panel or the twinkling stars, however. It’s a circular elevator tucked in the corner that Truffelman added in 2007 to replace a spiral staircase leading to the kitchen. Step into the Jetsons-like cylinder and you might imagine time travel, but instead the easy-to-operate elevator glides passengers up to the kitchen or third-floor master bedroom. Truffelman says she decided to add the elevator because she found the spiral staircase dangerous to navigate. The elevator has also made luggage transport much easier. “I would pack my very heavy suitcases and get a cardiac arrest taking it down 36 stairs, four staircases,” she says.

Godspeed your way up to the master bedroom and you’ll discover one of Truffelman’s favorite retreats. Outfitted in mirrors and beige walls done in a faux suede finish, the master also has several prints of Venice, Italy. The European ambiance is bolstered by the room’s centerpiece: a custom Romanstyle platform bed by In View Furniture with columns and the “key” design at the foot of the platform. The bed was created to match a columned picture frame containing a photo of Truffelman’s parents. Above

the bed’s Avery Boardman upholstered headboard is an idyllic mural of the Tuscan countryside that Truffelman commissioned from Reinike Gallery on Miami Circle. “I didn’t want something stagnant over my bed; I wanted it to look like a window,” she says. A two-way fireplace adds to the room’s elegant feel.

Another of Truffelman’s favorite rooms is the first-floor study with Maya Romanoff metallic gold wallpaper and an abstract painting of a woman’s face by Gino Hollander. This calming space is where Truffelman enjoys lounging on her Hugo Collection chaises, reading, watching TV and cuddling with her Maltese, Truffles (and, when he isn’t hiding, her rescue cat, Moby).

Truffelman acknowledges that her home’s design is far from homogenous; from the European master bedroom to the modish media room to the soothing study, a wide variety of styles dwell under the same roof.

Add in an unlikely pool and a futuristic elevator, and you have a good sense of Truffelman’s eclectic tastes and her savvy, strongwilled personality. “I love unique things that showcase individuality,” she says. “Maybe it is indicative of my ‘independence.’” n

The Truffelman Tour Favorite place to shop for the home:

Favorite local galleries and artists:

Showrooms at ADAC

Reinike Gallery, Christian Waggoner, David Swann, Timothy Tew and Bill Lowe Gallery

“The ADAC showrooms offer the finest manufacturers of decorative arts with ultimate choices.” www.adacatlanta.com/showrooms Favorite Buckhead restaurants:

Canoe, Bistro Niko and Atlanta Fish Market “All three restaurants are consistent.

Canoe and Bistro have atmosphere and they have very varied menus.” www.canoeatl.com www.buckheadrestaurants.com/bistro-niko www.buckheadrestaurants.com/atlanta-fish-market

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January/February 2013 | Simply Buckhead

“I err on the side of contemporary art, but these [galleries] offer more of an eclectic taste with local and regional artists.” www.reinikegallery.com christianwaggoner03@gmail.com www.dswann.com www.tewgalleries.com www.lowegallery.com

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SIMPLY stylish

fashion

Left: Miller Brothers Owners Greg and Robby Miller mix casual and black tie in their East Andrews-area shop Photo: Chris Rank

Right: Neil Guffey and Don Guffey have made Guffey’s one of the most well-known establishments in Buckhead for more than 40 years.

Photo: Storyboard Life

distinguished

gentlemen Discover five homegrown Buckhead boutiques for men story:

I

Olivia Putnal

t’s typically a woman’s favorite pastime, but who says men can’t enjoy shopping too? These five timeless stores are the area’s most well-known havens for men’s threads.

Guffey’s

With more than 200 years of retail experience among six employees, including owner and founder Don Guffey and his nephew Neil Guffey, Guffey’s has been a go-to shop for more than 40 years. Touting the “best tailoring in the South,” the shop offers a professional ambiance and Southern charm apparent as soon as you walk through the door—a reputation that professional men in Buckhead have come to know and love.

Carrying designer names like Scarpe di Bianco, Ravazzolo, Italo Ferretti and more, it’s no wonder Guffey’s customers come back every season.

“It’s not about how much the customer buys the first time, but rather, how happy the customer is when he leaves, and that he wants to come back the next season and the next,” owner Don Guffey says.

H. Stockton

With a clientele it considers family, H. Stockton has been building its business since 1971. With four locations in Atlanta, including its most visited store in Lenox Mall, young profession-

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January/February 2013 | Simply Buckhead

als and outdoor enthusiasts alike can always find something to bring home. From Southern Tide T-shirts, Bobby Jones golf jackets and H. Stockton Collection fleece vests to Samuelsohn sport coats, Cortina Leather belts and Grainger McKoy cufflinks, the wide range of pieces makes for a diverse following.

“We try to welcome everyone as if they are walking into our own home,” President Pat Dye says.

Mel Boteri

After clients and colleagues near and far asked where they could find the perfect man bag, Mel Boteri partnered with Hideoki Bespoke menswear to extend her women’s handbag line to men’s Italian and Spanish leather briefcases, wallets, messenger bags and duffels. Her Buckheadbased online boutique now offers handcrafted and custom-made accessories for men, in only two to four weeks.

“Even the most conservative of men, who I wouldn’t have necessarily thought were into fashion, complained about how difficult it was

to find a really nice briefcase, messenger bag or weekend duffel. Through these discussions, I came up with five staple silhouettes for men,” founder and designer Melanie Mueller says.

Miller Brothers Ltd.

If a glass of scotch and a burger fresh off the grill is the way you like to shop, Miller Brothers has you covered. Nestled in the bustling East Andrews area, Miller Brothers Ltd. has set up shop in a quaint cottage, complete with a fireplace for cold winter nights, a patio with a grill for summer barbeques and a stellar men’s clothing and accessories inventory, including Tombolini, Peter Millar and Santoni. Since 1996, Greg and Robby Miller have not only been serving up burgers and whiskey on the rocks to clients, but also made-tomeasure service and a one-of-a-kind atmosphere that locals, young and old, have grown to love.

“We have classic roots, but strive to have unique merchandise that you can’t find everywhere. We pride ourselves on finding new lines on our buying trips,” co-owner Greg Miller says.

H. Stockton’s Lenox Square store offers something for every Buckhead gentleman, including an on-site tailor. Photo: H. Stockton Situated in the heart of Buckhead, Moda 404 carries contemporary men’s clothing and accessories with European flair.

Photo: Moda 404

Mel Boteri’s most recent line expansion and partnership with Hideoki Bespoke includes wallets, messenger bags and trendy briefcases for men.

Moda 404

It’s hard to believe that Moda 404 opened just eight years ago, and is now dressing icons like Cee Lo Green, Usher, Ludacris, Julio Jones and many more. Highlighting designers like John Galliano, Roberto Cavalli, Alessandro Dell’Acqua and Alpina vintage, Moda 404 showcases a sleek European vibe that helps men step outside the fashion box.

“My business partner, Kwassi Byll-Cataria, and I have mastered the art of taking the average Joe and turning him into a fashionable, modern man,” co-owner Lee Brockwell says. n Venturing out of our beloved Buckhead?

Head on over to west Midtown and visit Billy Reid and Sid Mashburn for more signature men’s looks.

Billy Reid 404.994.3144 www.billyreid.com

Sid Mashburn 404.350.7135 www.sidmashburn.com

Guffey’s 3340 Peachtree Road Atlanta 30326 404.231.0044 www.guffeys.com H. Stockton 3393 Peachtree Road N.E. Atlanta 30326 404.233.1608 www.hstockton.com Mel Boteri 3340 Peachtree Road N.E. Suite 1800, Atlanta 30326 404.259.9196 www.shop.melboteri.com Miller Brothers Ltd. 3207 Paces Ferry Place N.W. Atlanta 30305 404.233.8000 www.millerbrothers.com Moda 404 3145 Peachtree Road N.E. Atlanta 30305 404.869.3310 www.moda404.com

January/February 2013 | Simply Buckhead

33

S IMP LY ST YL IS H W EL L NESS

Left: Students flow through a sun salutation at Peachtree Yoga Center.

Right: A student steadies instructor Gina Minyard of Yoga Collective.

Below: Practitioners sweat it out at Bikram Yoga Decatur.

All yoga is not created equal Find your style at a local studio story:

Jennifer Bradley Franklin

W

hen someone mentions “yoga,” it could mean any number of things—from traditional meditative poses to styles with gymnastics-like moves. Simply Buckhead connected with a few local experts to help explain some of the popular styles practiced right in our backyard. The good news is that, no matter your fitness level or preference, there’s likely to be a yoga practice that’s just the right fit.

fringe benefits Anusara

Proprietor and instructor at Yoga Collective, a newly opened studio just off Cheshire Bridge Road, spritely Gina Minyard became the first instructor to bring Anusara yoga to Atlanta in 2006. The style takes students deep into each pose, working on alignment and awareness and offering an uplifting spiritual and philosophical focus, which varies by class. For instance, the theme for a recent class was grace, encouraging students give themselves grace to be present during class. The style is respected as a therapeutic practice with few incidences of injury. “Because of the alignment principles and emphasis on sequencing toward more advanced poses, students can expect a practice that is both safe and also rapidly advancing,” Minyard explains. The studio is intimate (20 practitioners is cozy), so each student gets plenty of gentle correction and specific encouragement.

Bikram

A 90-minute hot yoga class is a sweaty pursuit at any studio, but many enthusiasts might not know that “hot

34

yoga” can only officially be called Bikram if the instructor is certified in the style. Bikram Yoga Decatur is the only studio exclusively dedicated to Bikram within the perimeter. Each class is a series of 26 yoga asanas (postures) and two breathing exercises practiced over 90 minutes in a room heated to the exact specifications of 105 degrees with 40 percent humidity.

Studio manager Rebecca Rumpf notes that the style “tends to attract students who like consistency and the overall predictability of what they can expect when they walk into the class,” and that they often experience benefits such as weight loss, stabilized blood pressure, improved circulation, improved muscle tone, emotional balancing, stress management, thyroid regulation and glowing skin.

Vinyasa

One of the most popular styles of yoga, Vinyasa helps develop fluidity, grace and power in its students, since the poses are linked together in an almost constantly moving flow. “The transitions are made smoothly and consciously,” Peachtree Yoga Center’s

January/February 2013 | Simply Buckhead

director Graham Fowler explains.

“Every transition is initiated with either an inhalation or an exhalation.”

Each pose flows into the next and the transitional moves are as important as the poses themselves, just as tendons and joints are as vital as bones in the human body, according to Fowler. While the class itself can be both relaxing and challenging, this writer experienced a rush of energy and mental clarity following a recent class. n Yoga Collective 1085 Alco Street Atlanta 30324 404.636.0000 www.atlyogacollective.com Bikram Yoga Decatur 1549 Clairmont Road #206 Decatur 30033 404.329.1006 www.bikramyogadecatur.com Peachtree Yoga Center 6050 Sandy Springs Circle N.E. Atlanta 30328 404.847.9642 www.peachtreeyoga.com

When we say there’s a style of yoga for everyone, we aren’t kidding. Here are some fun, slightly more unusual, styles of practice.

Hatha yoga teacher and yoga therapist Stacey Beth Shulman offers Curvy Yogini classes all around town for people of all shapes and sizes. www.curvyyogini.com

For yoga with a little edge (and a whole lot of rock music) Metal Yoga at Tough Love Yoga might be just your speed. www.toughloveyoga.com

If you want to slow down and really concentrate on deepening your poses, Yin at Red Hot Yoga uses props such as straps, blankets and blocks to assist. www.redhotyogastudios.com

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January/February 2013 | Simply Buckhead

SIMPLY stylish

tast e ma k er

lovin’ it Get acquainted with Buckhead’s stylish blogger, Jessica Graves of The Love List story:

Olivia Putnal

S

ix years ago, at the ripe age of 20, Jessica Graves began blogging about all the things she loves—fashion, art, music, food. Calling her blog “The Love List,” she used it to voice her unguarded opinions, never worrying about how they might be received. “I was in college and impatient to have my voice heard as a writer,” she recalls. “I had no idea what it would become—I just thought my mom might read it or something.” Unless her mom views it an average 4,000 times a day, Graves’ blog has wildly exceeded her expectations. This spring, she moved from Palm Beach to Buckhead and says she finds inspiration in the local arts and fashion scene.

Here, she talks candidly about her new hometown’s style.

Photo: Caroline Fontenot

How has your style evolved over the years and what’s your style like now?

My closet is pretty diverse. Admittedly, I’m lucky—I was able to dedicate an entire room for my closet.

Half of it is a color explosion! I still go back down to Palm Beach often, so I keep colorful dresses and fancy heels for my trips there, where life is more over-the-top. Ninety percent of the time, I’d describe myself as a tomboy in heels. I love button-down shirts and black skinny pants, and I live in my leather jacket. I don’t do fussy, in life or in dress. I love that cowboy boots and a Barbour are appropriate for just about anywhere I go here.

Who are your fashion icons?

Any locals?

I draw a lot of inspiration from the menswear world. Locally, I look to folks like Sid and Ann Mashburn. I often channel French Vogue Editorin-Chief Emmanuelle Alt. She’s always in a sleek blazer and skinny pants, which I live in as well. She looks sexy in a button-down and isn’t afraid of a high heel—I dig that.

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January/February 2013 | Simply Buckhead

Name three of your favorite clothing pieces.

A pair of beat-up cowboy boots that I got visiting my sister in Austin, Texas; a long necklace I often tuck under whatever I’m wearing that is home to my Gram Gram’s Daughters of the American Revolution pin and my Poppy’s “Fit to Fight” WWII Regiment pin; and my Billy Reid leather jacket.

What’s next for you? What are your goals for your blog?

To really focus on my voice as a writer and use the blog to continue helping propel me into the jobs I want. I’ve spoken with publishers recently about writing a book and have also discussed running a column with a couple of magazines.

I’m keeping myself open to whatever opportunities may come—if I can continue putting pen to paper for a living then I’m as blessed as can be. n www.thelovelist.net

A Day in Jessica’s Heels: Where We Can Find Her Shopping in Buckhead

A.Barclay 10 East Andrews Drive N.W., Suite 9 Atlanta 30305 205.908.5012 www.abarclaydesigns.com “Anna’s putting out these oversize cashmere scarves that I want to cuddle up in and never take off.”

KP MacLane 2870 Peachtree Road N.E., #188 Atlanta 30305 800.441.4174 www.kpmaclane.com “Katharine makes beautiful, well-cut polo shirts.”

Pieces 3234-A Roswell Road N.E. Atlanta 30305 404.869.2476 www.piecesinc.com “The most beautiful furniture store—owner Lee Kleinhelter is known nationwide for her impeccable taste.”

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Simply arts & entertainment

Comedian and Punchline Co-Owner Jamie Bendell strikes a pose on stage.

on stage

Very Funny, Page 44

Photo: Sara Hanna

“It’s a great compliment to Atlanta that performers say, ‘As long as I’m doing comedy, I want to keep coming to The Punchline.’”

January/February 2013 | Simply Buckhead

39

SIMPLY A&E

art vie w

Beyond Buckhead Local resident takes art around the world

S

usan Anderson may have hit on the secret to world peace: Give everyone a paintbrush and canvas. That simple model is the basis of her nonprofit, the ArtReach Foundation, that she started 13 years ago after learning of the atrocities in Bosnia.

“Three years after the war, I went to Sarajevo with an idea for a program to arm teachers and social workers with a tool they didn’t know about—art,” says the 66-year-old Buckhead resident. “Using art, you can change minds and culture, create dialogue instead of aggressive behavior.”

Anderson spent five years taking teams of art therapists and artists to Bosnia, where they set up programs that benefited 275,000 children. As word of her work spread, one opportunity after another presented itself, “like stringing pearls,” Anderson says. She has taken her outreach to Afghanistan, Lebanon and Jordan, and after Hurricane Katrina, to storm victims in the United States. At the request and funding of the Arkansas government, she set up art programs to help Katrina refugees

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January/February 2013 | Simply Buckhead

for 18 months. Through that connection, she was invited to discuss how art can be a diplomacy and communications tool with the Clinton Global Initiative in New York.

Anderson expanded the project to 14 states, and four years ago, she launched ArtReach Project America specifically aimed at returning military. Last year, she partnered with the Georgia Tech Research Institute to study the effectiveness of the program.

“If we can prove the arts help manage trauma and show there’s a definite change in stress, can you imagine how strong we can make the case for the value of arts?” she asks. “It will change education budgets and bring the arts back into the schools, which to me is an essential thing.”

Anderson herself knows the value of art as therapy. When she first moved to Atlanta 20 years ago as a single mom, she took a class at the Atlanta College of Art that was transformational.

“It was amazing how it helped me cope and lower stress,” she says. “I had a science background and never really made time for

Changing the world, one paintbrush at a time is the goal of ArtReach Foundation, the brainchild of Buckhead resident Susan Anderson. Photo: Sara Hanna

story:

H.M. Cauley

the arts, but that class made me an advocate.”

A few classes were the total of Anderson’s formal art training, though for years she ran Artistic Connections, a company that represented artists in Atlanta. But she’s found her calling in sharing art’s healing power instead of selling it.

“I easily could have stayed in my very comfortable Buckhead home and continued to live a life of lunches, tennis games and travel,” she says with a laugh. “But it wasn’t enough. My big dream now is to have an ArtReach training center in Atlanta and to write a book about the people I’ve met along the way. It’s been an amazing journey.” n

Reach out to ArtReach 30 Fifth Street, Suite 204 Atlanta 30308 404.264.9349 www.artreachfoundation.org www.artreachprojectamerica.com

January/February 2013 | Simply Buckhead 

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SIMPLY A&E

L it erary

Buckhead musician and teacher Warren Woodruff combines musical and magical themes in his story about a master conductor.

The magic of music Buckhead musician turns his passion into a first novel story:

I

t was one of those nagging ideas that demanded attention. After it sat in the back of a drawer for almost a decade, Warren Woodruff could ignore it no longer. The Buckhead musician and teacher turned a fledgling script into Dr. Fuddle and the Golden Baton, a novel about a tousle-haired conductor who uses music as a magical medium.

Woodruff, 48, puts the story on the same fantasy scale as The Wizard of Oz or the The Chronicles of Narnia, although one of his younger readers described it as “Harry Potter Meets Beethoven.” The imaginative tale is deeply rooted in and connected to Woodruff ’s passion for classical music.

“That came from my mother, originally,” says Woodruff, whose roots intersect several generations back with the famous Atlanta family of the same name. “She played classical albums day and night.

I also had a teacher who taught me the technical skills and artistic means to deliver these gifts to my students. Now, through the stories of the adventures of Dr. Fuddle, I can pass this beauty and harmony on.”

The novel grew out of “The Magic Piano,” a story Woodruff produced as a play in 1998. In it, the instrument turns into a time machine whose secrets are unlocked

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January/February 2013 | Simply Buckhead

H.M. Cauley

through music. The story languished until five years ago when Woodruff found a writing coach and devoted himself to turning it into a book. The project gained momentum in 2010 when Woodruff gave a 5-minute pitch to a book agent, who was enthralled by the concept.

“He saw Dr. Fuddle as a series of books, films, television programs, toys, products and Broadway productions,” says Woodruff. “It was the happiest day of my life! A team of investors instantly backed me.”

The book was published earlier this year by the California-based Story Merchant Books and has been picked up

by Hollywood. The film is in the early stages of production, but no firm release date or casting decisions have been made—though Woodruff pictures Robin Williams or Kevin Kline easily stepping into the lead role.

Until then, Woodruff, who earned a Ph.D. in musicology and piano from the University of Miami, devotes his energies to teaching referred students from ages 5 to 65 and keeping active on the Atlanta music scene. Atlanta Music Club hosted his first book signing in October.

“Writing this book is something Warren has always wanted to do,” says Linda Wickham, the club’s co-president and a friend since the early ’80s. “He’s

not only a wonderful writer, he’s also a gentleman who loves music.”

Sharing that love is going to take more than one Dr. Fuddle book, says Woodruff. “I’ve already begun work on a series of seven books,” he says. “It’s always been my dream to pass the torch of passion for great music to the next generation, and I can do it with Dr. Fuddle.” n

Finding Dr. Fuddle Woodruff will sell and sign copies of his book March 2 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at St. David’s Episcopal Church at 1015 Old Roswell Road, Roswell. Additional copies are online at www.amazon.com or www.drfuddle.com

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43

SIMPLY A&E

on stage

Very Funny After 30 years, The Punchline in Sandy Springs has the last laugh story:

Curt Holman Photos: Sara Hanna

A

funny thing happened in 1982 when Ron DiNunzio and Dave Montesano looked for a venue to open an Atlantaarea comedy club. A former country-western bar on Sandy Springs’ Hilderbrand Drive, just outside I-285, turned out to be the ideal location for a place that has made Atlantans laugh and attracted comedians from across the country for 30 years: The Punchline.”

“The building already had a kitchen, a stage and the right seating arrangement. Back then, Atlantans were only beginning to migrate to the outer suburbs,” says The Punchline’s current Co-Owner Jamie Bendall, who with Chris DiPetta bought the club from its previous management in 2004. “As it turns out, you couldn’t pick a place that’s more accessible to the way the city of Atlanta grew.

[Georgia] 400 was built, people moved up toward Kennesaw and up toward Duluth. If the city had grown south,” he laughs, “I guess things would’ve been different.”

Three decades and an estimated 10,000 shows later, virtually every famous comedian you can name has performed at The Punchline, from old-school icons like Richard Pryor and Robin Williams to new stars like Kevin Hart and Jeff Dunham. The walls and

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January/February 2013 | Simply Buckhead

ceiling of the club’s wood-paneled offices are scribbled with countless signatures of comics who’ve stepped up to The Punchline’s mic.

“We have signatures from almost the entire lineup of the first year we opened, including Jerry Seinfeld and Paul Reiser,” says Bendall.

While some of The Punchline’s guests have gone on to perform at arena shows, the club remains a proving ground for aspiring comics and a place where veterans can test out new material before playing stadiums or taping TV specials. Bendall says, “When you look at the list of who’s played here, it’s just amazing. Steve Harvey, Drew Carey, Ray Romano, Ellen DeGeneres—they’ve all stood on that same stage.”

An Atlanta attorney, Bendall has also performed stand-up since 1991. “When I was a young Emory student,” he recalls, “Jeff Foxworthy was performing on campus. As a young newbie who didn’t know my place, I went up, introduced myself and asked if he would be open to letting me do a few minutes before his show.” Foxworthy politely declined, but an encounter in 2011 provided one of Bendell’s favorite memories at The Punchline.

“Before a comedy benefit concert for the family of Royal Marshall, I got to introduce Jeff Foxworthy—at the club I own.”

A surprise-filled February 2012 appearance by two stars from “The Daily Show” provided another of his favorite nights at the club.

John Oliver of Comedy Central’s fake news broadcast was booked to play The Punchline, unaware that his co-star Aasif Mandvi was dining with relatives at a neighboring Persian restaurant. Bendall says, “We snuck him in, he surprised Oliver on stage and they had a great interaction.” Later that night, Oliver told Bendall, “For me, this club is like Yankee Stadium. It’s my Narnia.”

Atlanta comedy fans have far more opportunities to see live stand-up now than they did 30 years ago (see sidebar), but Bendall finds that The Punchline has enjoyed a consistent audience over the years. “I think the crowds have largely been the same, meaning the people who choose to go to a comedy club are perhaps a little different than your average person,” he says. “We get you hooked when you are looking for a good date night and we keep you regularly until your kids have games late in the day on the weekends. We get you back again once you’re an empty nester.”

Bendall passes all credit for The Punchline’s longevity and reputation with performers to the club’s good crowds. “That has nothing to do with myself and my partners who own it now or the people who owned it before or anyone who may own it later. It has to do with the people of Atlanta. It’s a great compliment to Atlanta that performers say, ‘As long as I’m doing comedy, I want to keep coming to The Punchline.’”

“We get you hooked when you are looking for a good date night and we keep you regularly until your kids have games late in the day on the weekends. We get you back again once you’re an empty nester.”

– Jamie Bendall Comic booked: Punchline Co-Owner Jamie Bendall has performed stand-up for more than 20 years.

finding the funny So many local bars book comedians that Atlanta’s stand-up scene can feel like a moving target. In addition to pubs like Virginia Highland’s Limerick Junction, which offers live comedy every Tuesday, several neighborhood clubs and theaters solely focus on getting a laugh out of you. Here are a few: The Atlanta Improv Comedy Club & Dinner Theater (56 E. Andrews Drive).

The franchise of comedy clubs, with venerable locations in New York’s Hell’s Kitchen and Los Angeles’ Fairfax District, opened a 4,000-square-foot Buckhead location in October.

The Basement Theatre (175 W. Wieuca Road).

Specializing in improv comedy, this Buckhead venue offers standup shows on Thursday nights.

Jerry Farber’s Side Door (3652 Roswell Road at the Landmark Diner).

Veteran Atlanta comedian Jerry Farber offers a cabaret-style show featuring stand-up comedy and live music in an 85-seat space adjacent to Buckhead’s Landmark Diner.

The Punchline 280 Hilderbrand Drive N.E. Atlanta 30328 404.252.5233 www.punchline.com

Sketchworks (3041 N. Decatur Road).

As an alternative to Atlanta improv theaters, this Decatur playhouse specializes in scripted comic sketches and short films.

www.brazilianwax.com January/February 2013 | Simply Buckhead

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January/February 2013 | Simply Buckhead

7:15:45 A

R E V I E W | W I N E | F O O D I E J O U R N A L | t a s t e m a k er | R E ST A U R A N TS

Simply delicious

restaurant review

Prime Time, Page 48

“Hal’s has built its cachet around its loyal clientele, old-school style, impeccable service and terrific food.”

A martini at Hal’s “The Steakhouse” will brighten even the bleakest mood.

Photo: Sara Hanna

January/February 2013 | Simply Buckhead

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S IM P LY D EL I C IOUS

R E VIE W

Prime time Hal’s is where Buckhead’s old guard goes for steak feature:

Above: The filet mignon is definitive, a fat medallion of charred and buttery beef.

Wendell Brock Photos: Sara Hanna

I

t’s Saturday night at Hal’s “The Steakhouse” on Old Ivy, and though the place will be as crowded as a mosh pit before I leave, right now it’s just beginning to fill up. I can see this as I arrive at 6:30 p.m. sharp—with a reservation, thank you—and get whisked upstairs to a bland, cavernous, banquet hall-like room. This all happens in a flash, allowing me just enough time to look longingly at the downstairs dining room and piano bar, so inviting, so Manhattanish in its appeal, so half full. (Sigh.)

This is Hal’s, the Buckhead institution where insiders come for juicy $50 steaks, scotch on the rocks and cigars. When I make a point of suggesting to the hostess that I’d prefer to be in the more intimate downstairs nook, she tells me glibly that it’s a really busy night, lots of parties, and if the regulars don’t get their favorite tables, they’ll be miffed. Really, now? I don’t blame them. Suddenly, I feel a good deal less important than I normally do. Just give me a dunce cap to wear as I lurk at my loser’s table in a far back corner, waiting for my friend.

“Vodka martini. Straight up. Make it a Grey Goose,” I tell the server.

“Would you like the blue cheese-stuffed olives, sir?”

48

Above left: Hal’s regulars are treated as such, enjoying their favorite tables and servers time after time.

January/February 2013 | Simply Buckhead

“Why, yes, if it’s not too much trouble!”

And then in a heartbeat, something wonderful happens.

Before I can exhale, the drink is at the table, tall and fabulous as the Eiffel Tower, the olives resting on skewers over a very full glass. I take a sip. I breathe. My friend appears. We haven’t seen each other in ages. Suddenly, there’s warmth and conviviality in the air. The place has started to buzz. It’s party central. Yes, it’s good to be here! This table’s not so bad! Love Hal’s! Let’s have a steak. Let’s have two. After two decades, Hal’s has the ability to cast a magical spell, to change gray skies to blue.

Looking on the outside like a high-end strip joint topped with a Bourbon Street balcony, Hal’s has built its cachet around its loyal clientele, old-school style, impeccable service and terrific food. Owner Hal Nowak is a New Orleans native, and in his eponymous enterprise—with its shrimp rémoulade, oysters bordelaise and booze-soaked bread pudding— he has created Atlanta’s answer to Galatoire’s.

There may be better-known steakhouses in the city— Buckhead’s Bone’s and Chops among them—but Hal’s is the quintessential neighborhood joint, independent in spirit and driven by its clubby attitude and retro style.

This may be your grandparents’ favorite restaurant, but in an age where everything old is new again, it also boasts a youthful clientele that appreciates its straightforward food, strong drinks and speakeasy atmosphere.

I mean, really: You gotta love a place that offers escargot, chopped and Caesar salads, fettuccine Alfredo and trout amandine.

Charting a course of surfy apps and turfy mains, we were tempted by the gumbo and lobster bisque but opted instead for the oysters bordelaise (fried bivalves with a buttery garlic sauce) and cool shrimp rémoulade.

Both were competent and tasty but nothing to drive across town for.

The bovine, on the other hand, was divine.

My friend had his eye on the 12-ounce filet.

And so did I. I was big enough to accommodate him by ordering the New York strip, a “permanent special.” Both steaks came with a side—a rarity among Atlanta steakhouses these days. My friend wanted an extra side (sautéed spinach) with his mashed potatoes, and I wanted creamed spinach as my side.

So we got it all. When it arrived, we gave our perfectly grilled slabs of buttery mediumrare cow an A-plus. The one misstep was the weirdly over-the-top, whiskey-drenched

“This may be your grandparents’ favorite restaurant, but in an age where everything old is new again, it also boasts a youthful clientele that appreciates its straightforward food, strong drinks and speakeasy atmosphere.” bread pudding. My sweet tooth approved, but my friend dissed the visually unappealing dessert. He was right—a sloppy ending to a memorable evening. Hal’s can do better.

In the end, it must be said that this place is not inexpensive. Our tab came to $158 (for two starters, steaks, one à la carte side, two glasses of wine, one cocktail and a dessert). Not a complaint, but a point worth noting, as is the fact that last-minute reservations and choice tables can be hard to come by.

So listen, pal. Next time, I want the full experience: the downstairs Oak Room vibe, the mad-looking, piano-pecking vocalist, the escargot, the filet! That’s the romance and the charm of Hal’s. It’s what you expect.

It’s what you come for. n Hal’s “The Steakhouse” 30 Old Ivy Rd Atlanta 30342 404.261.0025 www.hals.net Appetizers and salads: $8.95–$23.95 Entrées and steaks: $23.95–$49.95 Bottom line: Atlanta’s own little Galatoire’s—with seriously good steak.

Clockwise from above: Seafood—like this gorgeous trout amandine—is a strong suit at Hal’s; the bread pudding swims in a pool of whisky sauce; Owner Hal Nowak; oysters come several ways, including bordelaisestyle with a buttery garlic sauce.

January/February 2013 | Simply Buckhead

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S IM P LY D E L I C IOUS

win e

Wine safari

Buckhead uncorks South Africa Above: Dornier Winery is located in South Africa’s Stellenbosch region.

Photo: Worthwhile Wine Company, LLC

Below: Justin Anthony pours some South African wines at 10 Degrees South and Yebo Restaurant & Bar that are not available at retail outlets.

Right: Inside Yebo Restaurant & Bar at Phipps Plaza Photos: Sara Hanna

story:

T

here’s more South African wine in Buckhead than anywhere else in the Atlanta area, thanks to two restaurants each pouring more than 50 different South African wines and multiple area retailers stocking several of the country’s labels.

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January/February 2013 | Simply Buckhead

Big Boat Wine Co. sells several South African wines—including selections from Doolhof Wine Estate, Dornier Wines, Morgenster Wines, Rietvallei Estate and Rooiberg Winery—to many area retailers including: your DeKalb Farmers Market – decatur 3000 E. Ponce de Leon Avenue Decatur 30030 404.377.6400 www.dekalbfarmersmarket.com Sherlock’s Wine Merchant – Brookhaven 4062 Peachtree Road N.E. Atlanta 30319 404.949.9945 www.sherlocks.com/brookhaven

Hope S. Philbrick

“The business perspective now is to focus on quality, not quantity,” says Lisa Allen, founder of Big Boat Wine Co., a wine wholesaler that seeks out small family-owned wineries and got its start by introducing South African wines to the Atlanta market. “South Africa’s wine industry has transitioned from being dominated by a handful of very large cooperatives to small estates.”

To appeal to consumer palates, “over the last few years, the South African winemaking style has focused on creating a smoother finish,” says Justin Anthony, the creative entrepreneur behind Buckhead’s two South African restaurants, 10 Degrees

Where to Buy…

South and Yebo Restaurant & Bar. Nowadays, “South African wines are very food friendly and good value because of the exchange rate.”

Both experts agree that Chenin Blanc is the jewel of South African vineyards. “South African Chenin Blanc is competing with the best French Chenin Blancs,” Anthony says.

While Chenin Blanc, sometimes also called Steen, is the most widely planted grape varietal in South Africa, “we also see great success with Sauvignon Blanc,” notes Allen, citing its overall quality, taste and value.

When it comes to reds, Pinotage is the quintessential South African

Sherlock’s Wine Merchant – Buckhead 3401 Northside Parkway N.W. Atlanta 30327 404.233.1514 www.sherlocks.com/buckhead

grape varietal. Recognizing that its funky, rustic flavor was an acquired taste, winemakers are taking a new approach to the grape and changing its reputation. “South African winemakers have made Pinotage more palatable,” Anthony says.

Adding coffee and cocoa extracts into barrels lends mocha notes and pushes forward fruit flavors while aging in oak barrels helps soften its tannin structure. Blending also enhances final results. “Syrah and Pinotage make a great combination,” Anthony suggests.

South African varietals and blends are available at a range of price points, from entry level to high end. Passports and jet lag optional. n

Tower Beer, Wine & Spirits – Buckhead 2161 Piedmont Road N.E. Atlanta 30324 404.881.0902 www.towerwinespirits.com Whole Foods market – Buckhead 77 West Paces Ferry Road N.W. Atlanta 30305 404.324.4100 www.wholefoods.com/buckhead

Where to Try… 10 Degrees South 4183 Roswell Road Atlanta 30342 404.705.8870 www.10degreessouth.com Yebo Restaurant & Bar 3500 Peachtree Road N.E., in Phipps Plaza, Atlanta 30326 404.467.4988 www.yeborestaurant.com

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S IM P LY D EL I C IOUS

foodie journal | Culinary News & Notes story:

Jennifer Bradley Franklin Photo: Courtesy of Starbucks

Bucking the Trend Buckhead Starbucks serves wine

S

tarbucks is known the world over for its strong coffee, icy Frappuccinos and pastries. However, Buckhead’s West Paces Ferry location is one of the first stores worldwide to offer a new “Evenings” menu of gourmet bites and alcoholic drinks; it was chosen because of its location and flexible seating options that accommodate intimate conversations and larger groups like book clubs. Rachel Antalek, Starbucks’ director of new concept development, says, “We hope to create an environment where customers can unwind and relax in the evening.”

Tapas-style dishes such as baconwrapped dates drizzled with balsamic vinegar ($4.95); macaroni and cheese with black truffle oil ($5.95); and

artichoke-and-goat-cheese flatbread ($5.95) are served on china plates.

Select beers and wines such as Alamos Malbec ($7 glass, $25 bottle), Erath Pinot Grigio ($9 glass, $32 bottle) and ruby-hued Rosa Regale ($7 for an individual split and a terrific pairing with the $6.95 chocolate fondue, also on the new menu) round out the evening experience.

Select stores across the country have been chosen for the “Evenings” menu, and more could be on the way if the program is well-received.

Starbucks Coffee Company 1200 West Paces Ferry Road N.W. Atlanta 30327 404.264.0120 www.starbucks.com

Light the Way

For months, Buckhead has been buzzing about Seven Lamps, the new restaurant from former One Midtown Kitchen Chef Drew Van Leuvan. The new tenant at the Shops Around Lenox offers a menu packed with creative American fare such as handmade mascarpone-and-chestnut-stuffed tortellini and a pretzel-roll sandwich filled with corned beef brisket, kim chee slaw and basil.

“I’m so thrilled to be opening a convivial-style establishment in Buckhead,” Van Leuvan says.

“Seven Lamps is a neighborhood restaurant whose energy comes from our passion for handcrafted food and drink.” The restaurant seems to have just about all mealtimes covered— lunch, dinner and late-night, along with a coffee program (serving locally roasted Batdorf & Bronson brews) and pastries. Brunch is also coming soon at the cozy 114-seat restaurant.

XOXO, EVOO

Oli + Ve 3263 Roswell Road Atlanta 30305 404.841.1012 www.oliandve.com

Great cooking at home is all about having terrific ingredients (a little skill in the kitchen also doesn’t hurt).

For those who geek out over fine choices, Oli + Ve might just be a ticket to nirvana. Opened in fall 2012 with a name shortened from “Olive and Vinney,” the Buckhead shop (they also have a Roswell outpost) carries 11 kinds of single-fruit oils, four specialty oils (White Truffle-Infused Oil, Toasted Sesame Oil, Roasted Almond Oil and Roasted French Walnut Oil) and 20 flavored balsamic vinegars. “Our oils come from all over the world and are set up from mild to medium to robust as far as intensity,” says co-owner Suzanne Davidson, who encourages shop guests to taste as they go so they’ll find just the right flavor. “Tasting this oil is much like wine tasting. Everything—from the country, the soil, the climate and when it was harvested—contributes to its taste,” she adds. When you stop in, make sure to pepper the store clerks with questions. You just might walk away with the recipe for a “secret” marinade, a favorite combination for a killer vinaigrette or even a surprisingly delicious drizzle for ice cream.

Pull Up a Chair

Chef Mark Alba and the team at Modern have been exciting Buckhead palates since they opened the second-story Tower Place restaurant in November. In the new year, Alba, formerly at the helm of Fifth Group’s revered Food Studio, will launch a chef’s table just off the vast kitchen. The ultra-private space will hold up to 20 guests. “I’ll be able to dedicate and focus my efforts, providing guests tastings of more exotic dishes—like foie gras and sea urchin—and a cozy, personalized meal,” Alba says. While diners look into the kitchen (via a wide window overlooking Modern the culinary action), they’ll interact with the 3365 Piedmont Road N.E. kitchen staff and sommeliers as both the bites Atlanta 30305 and the sips are tailored to their tastes and 404.554.1100 preferences. www.modernbuckhead.com

Seven Lamps 3400 Around Lenox Road Atlanta 30326 404.467.8950 www.sevenlampsatl.com Photo: Sara Hanna

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January/February 2013 | Simply Buckhead

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January/February 2013 | Simply Buckhead

S IM P LY D EL I C IOUS

tast emaker

Where his

heart is Restaurateur Christian Favalli reveals the stories behind La Grotta, the Buckhead restaurant that’s become his second home—and the exciting new eatery he’ll open this spring story:

Kate Abney

A

s one-half of the father-son duo running the front of the house at La Grotta Ristorante Italiano, the charming Christian Favalli has spent nearly his whole life at one of Buckhead’s most beloved dining institutions. In 1975 at age 5, Favalli moved from Bermuda to the States with his family when both his father, Sergio, and Chef Antonio Abizanda were hired to open the Bugatti restaurant at the Omni Hotel. Noticing a lack of quality Italian cuisine in the city, the two then opened La Grotta in Buckhead in 1978, where Abizanda serves as executive chef to this day, lovingly crafting Northern Italian cuisine for hordes of loyal devotees. (They opened a second location, La Grotta Ravinia, in Dunwoody in 1993 and sold it to new owners in 2009.) With the younger Favalli and his wife Kristy opening their first restaurant, Saltyard, at The Brookwood in May, we thought it was high time for a check-in. Here, Favalli offers his working wisdoms.

Photo: Sara Hanna

What’s the story behind La Grotta?

When [my father and Chef Abizanda] opened La Grotta, it was arguably one of the first fine dining restaurants in Atlanta, so it became ingrained in the city itself. It’s still a go-to for special occasions, meetings and romantic dinners.

What has given this spot staying power?

Consistency. There are so many places that have come and gone, but they’re flashes in the pan, based on trends.

La Grotta is based on the principles of consistent food and fresh, local ingredients. That’s how it’s always been done in the Old Country, if you will.

You essentially grew up at La Grotta.

What was that like as a child?

Early on, my father constantly needed extra help. I started in the coatroom when I was almost too short to carry them; at age 10, I was washing dishes.

By 13, I bussed tables, then waited tables for years before eventually cooking professionally in the kitchen around 17. After college, I moved to Italy for two and a half years and cooked in several kitchens to get that back-ofthe-house experience.

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Did you always know you’d follow in your father’s footsteps?

My father was kind enough to finance my way through college. After four years at the university, we sat down and had that father-and-son conversation. When I told him I wanted to stay in the restaurant industry, not only did I learn some new Italian curse words, but I remember his quip to this day: “Do you know how much spaghetti I had to sell to put you through college?” That still resonates with me. But I told him this is where I wanted to stay. I understood that it was more than a career; it’s a lifestyle choice.

La Grotta’s Peachtree locale is as legendary as the restaurant; how did your father select it?

He was given an offer he couldn’t refuse, in a manner of speaking. But really, Buckhead was affluent, and almost all the clientele that visited him at the Omni were from Buckhead. After scouting several places, he knew it would be the future of Atlanta dining. The location lends part of the charm to the restaurant, not only because of its subterranean feel, but because it’s in a residential area, close to our regular customers.

January/February 2013 | Simply Buckhead

We hear you’re giving it a little refresher.

Yes, we’re tackling a pretty big renovation, the first in 13 years. We’re going back to The Johnson Studio, who helped us with our last redesign back in 1998, so they were a shoo-in.

Are they designing your new dining spot, Saltyard, too?

Square Feet Studio is, actually. It will be sort of a gastropub-meets-social house, and we’re spending a lot to dampen noise levels—because that has been a big concern with restaurants in Atlanta. There will be a really gracious, nice patio that will wrap around the building, with heaters and fans for extended use. Inside, there will be lots of reclaimed wood, industrial elements and subway tile, plus soft draperies and ‘punches of color.’ I’m a monochromatic guy, but [Square Feet Studio principal] Vivian [Bencich] convinced me. We’re super-impressed with the job they’re doing.

La Grotta’s food is rooted in tradition, so what will make Saltyard’s different?

My wife, Kristy, and I love to go eat at

places for just one dish—like Kyma for the octopus or Abattoir for the beef tartare. Sometimes, we’ll go to four restaurants in one night just to have a plate at each place. Kristy and I started thinking how cool it would be to have all these dishes under one roof. So we talked to friends and started putting together lists of all our favorites. We’ve created a pretty solid menu that will rotate seasonally when ingredients are at their peak.

Intriguing! So what’s on it?

It will be extensive—25 to 30 small plates ($4-$10), about five to eight bar snacks ($3-$5) and a few entrée portions ($18-$25) for those who want a traditional meal. The cuisine will be mostly Mediterranean, but have influences from all over the world. We want to offer great food at a good value.

This will be a place you come twice a week to have three small plates, a glass or two of wine, spend $25 a person, and walk out feeling not only satiated, but good about the experience. I don’t feel like we have that in Buckhead or Midtown now, and it’s an underserved niche we’re looking to fill. n

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S IM P LY D EL I C IOUS

featured restaurants A sampling of great eats in and around Buckhead by:

Catherine O’Connor Hough

n Leon’s Full Service 131 East Ponce de Leon Avenue Decatur 30030 404.687.0500 www.leonsfullservice.com A friendly and attentive wait staff greets patrons at Leon’s Full Service, a casual-yet-sophisticated gastropub that was recently named one of the top 50 bars in the country by Food & Wine. Inside, the large windows and earth-color palette create a relaxing vibe, while customers on the outdoor patio bask in the romantic glow of exposed light bulbs hanging in long rows. We recommend kicking off your meal with one of their prized and cleverly named cocktails (ever tried a “One-Eyed Jack”?). The locally and seasonally driven menu offers delectable options, like the beef brisket sandwich, served open-faced and topped with fried onions and black peppercorn gravy; and lighter fare, like the pan-roasted trout, served with a radicchio and wax bean salad topped with toasted pumpkin seeds and sprinkled with an apricot vinaigrette. We recommend rounding out your meal with a few of their satisfying small plates and sides, like the chicken sausage, served with charred scallions, ginger, baby bok choy, green curry and fried shallot pickles; the warm chickpea and cherry salad; or the famous pub frites, which come with your choice of two (from a list of 14!) unique dipping sauces. For dessert, the chocolate-Nutella candy bar with toasted hazelnuts and sea salt strikes the perfect sweet and salty balance.

n Surin of Thailand 810 N. Highland Avenue N.E. Atlanta 30306 404.892.7789 www.surinofthailand.com A trip to Thailand might not be in your plans for the immediate future, but thanks to Surin of Thailand, you can still enjoy some of the country’s best food without the jetlag. Framed photographs of Thailand decorate the bright yellow walls welcoming diners, including

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young families, couples and groups of 20-to-30-something friends. Start with the papaya salad served with Thai beef jerky and sticky rice, or the char-grilled chicken satay served with a cucumber salad and peanut sauce. Some of our favorites include the boneless duck, which is crisply fried and served with a combination of chili pepper-basil and soy-molasses sauces; the Pad See U noodles sautéed with egg, broccoli, garlic and Thai soy sauce; and the tangy chicken panang served with bell peppers, basil and a side of rice. For those in a celebratory mood, the 15-item martini list is a good way to kick off any special occasion. Service is friendly and efficient, and portions are generous—it’s a rare occasion that we leave without some leftovers to enjoy the next day!

n Jalisco 2337 Peachtree Road N.E. Atlanta 30305 404.233.9244 Mexican food is often at its finest when prepared in a simple, authentic and nofrills manner. Jalisco, the Buckhead gem that has been giving Atlanta families their south-of-the-border fix since 1978, truly exemplifies this unspoken rule.

Sitting unpretentiously next to a BaskinRobbins in the Peachtree Battle shopping center, it’s hard to imagine that the wait at this low-key restaurant can easily pass the 30-minute mark. Despite the tendency to treat complimentary chips and salsa like an invitation to a national eating competition, we recommend that you try your best to leave room for our favorite starter, the creamy nacho cheese dip. Popular entrées, like the chicken enchiladas filled with seasoned pulled chicken, lettuce and rice, and the chile relleno stuffed with flavorful beef and melted cheese, are delicious and satisfying. House specialties like the Mexican stew, a simmering concoction of chopped steak, peppers, onions, tomatoes and spices, and the carnitas dinner with pork tips, rice, beans, salad and tortillas, offer something for those looking to expand their horizons beyond the standard fare. Keeping in line with

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Spotlight n Alfredo’s Italian Restaurant 1989 Cheshire Bridge Road N.E. Atlanta 30324 404.876.1380 www.alfredosatlanta.com If you are looking for the kind of traditional Italian meal that has you scraping the sauce off your plate, Alfredo’s has you covered. The old-fashioned décor transports diners upon entering.

Whether you imagine you’ve walked onto the set of Goodfellas or into a family-run restaurant tucked away on a Sicilian street corner, you know one thing for sure: You are in store for the kind of meal that would give any Little Italy favorite a run for its money.

Joining the restaurant three years after its 1974 opening, owner Perry Alvarez maintains a loyal and attentive staff to serve third-generation Photo: Alfredo’s Restaurant customers of this beloved restaurant that prides itself on being a “home away from home” for diners. The menu of Italian standards has remained consistent over the decades, a testament to the quality of meals that keep customers filling the dining room on weeknights and crammed in the entryway on weekends. The crisply fried calamari with spicy Fra Diavolo sauce is a great way to warm up your palate. Entrée favorites include the Padrino (which means “Godfather” in Italian), a trio of tender, hand cut veal medallions (Francese, Marsala and Parmigiana); the light and fresh Snapper Casalinga, broiled in butter, white wine, lemon and capers; and the flavorful angel hair pasta served with sundried tomatoes, basil, pine nuts and butter, and topped with a light creamy garlic sauce.

Although the substantial portions do not leave much room for dessert (or for your belt to buckle), take our advice and squeeze in a few bites of the spectacular spumoni cake, which brings together chocolate, vanilla and strawberry ice cream with whipped cream, mini-chocolate chips and toasted sliced almonds, with a thin slice of vanilla cake; it doesn’t get much better than this!

the family friendly vibe, Jalisco serves beer and wine, but no liquor (sorry, margarita lovers!).

n OK Café 1284 West Paces Ferry Road N.W. Atlanta 30327 404.233.2888 www.okcafe.com Serving Southern-style comfort food for a quarter of a century, OK Café prides itself on being a “home away from home” for customers. The scores of hungry diners who wait in line to snag a table at this ’50s inspired diner clearly agree. With the distinguished honor of having served more customers than any other full service restaurant in Atlanta, OK Café has something for every taste.

Breakfast offerings run the gamut from standard fare—like sourdough French toast—to more elaborate concoctions— like the scrambled tofu with onions, green peppers, broccoli and water chestnuts. For lunch or dinner, we are partial to their blue-plate specials, like the meatloaf with Creole sauce, the country fried steak and the roasted turkey with gravy and cornbread dressing.

You will not be disappointed if you order one of its fresh vegetable sides like fresh kernel corn. If you have room, top off your meal with a homemade dessert— we’ve never met a brownie sundae we didn’t like and OK Café’s incarnation is one of the best. If you don’t have time for a sit-down meal, OK Café offers a take-away store where customers can choose from a variety of pre-made and ready-to-cook items.

n Bistro Niko 3344 Peachtree Road N.E. Atlanta 30326 404.261.6456 www.buckheadrestaurants.com/ bistro-niko Whether you’re in the mood for romance, power-lunching or a celebration, Bistro Niko is the perfect place for almost any occasion. The sprawling indoor space, with its high ceilings, mirrored walls and red wrap-around booths, oozes modern French charm while the outdoor patio overlooking the heart of Buckhead on Peachtree Road provides diners with an urban vibe. Lunches attended by the business and social sets dominate the afternoon scene, while early evening tête-à-têtes around the handsome bar and leisurely meals in the main dining room keep the restaurant abuzz long after the sun has set. Hors d’oeuvres, like the mussels “Gilbert” served in a sauce of white wine, shallots, cream and parsley and the crisped pork belly (a house specialty) encased in a mustard-flavored crust, win raves. Entrée standouts include the surprisingly tender hanger steak with French fries and your choice of three sauces (béarnaise, green peppercorn, or a mâitre d’hôtel butter) and the coq au vin (chicken cooked in wine), where rich flavors leave us cleaning our plate down to the final morsel. It may seem almost cliché to order crème brûlée at a French restaurant, but Bistro Niko’s creamy version of this traditional favorite is worth a visit in itself.

n Enat Ethiopia Café 1999 Cheshire Bridge Road N.E. Atlanta 30324 404.685.9291 www.enatethiopiacafe.com

Styled like a traditional Ethiopian restaurant with authentic art hanging on the walls and bright pink tablecloths covering each table, Enat Ethiopia Café transports guests to a country that few have the opportunity to visit in person. Owner Martha Kebede gave the restaurant its name (Enat means “mother” in Amharic, the official language of Ethiopia) to honor her mother’s legacy of generosity and hospitality. Eating at Enat Ethiopia Café is an experience in itself; rather than using silverware, diners take part in the Ethiopian custom of using a spongy flatbread called injera to scoop the food. The menu offers a variety of beef, chicken and vegetarian plates which are all based on recipes handed down from generation to generation and made using imported spices and herbs from Ethiopia. Choices include the yellow split beans cooked with onion, garlic, ginger and turmeric and served with a lettuce and tomato salad; the tender sautéed beef seasoned with onion, green pepper, fresh rosemary and tomato; and the curried chicken legs simmered with seasoned butter and onions and served with a hard-boiled egg. For diners looking for a unique way to end their meal, Enat offers a traditional coffee ceremony that must be booked one hour in advance.

n Bone’s 3130 Piedmont Road N.E. Atlanta 30305 404.237.2663 www.bonesrestaurant.com

highest rating for service and food for any steakhouse in America by Zagat, the restaurant’s oak-paneled dining rooms and expansive bar hum with patrons throughout lunch and dinner. To warm up for the main event, we like to start off with the popular lobster bisque that strikes the perfect balance between creamy and spicy, or the Bone’s salad of Boston lettuce, roasted pistachios, apples and Stilton cheese topped with a raspberry vinaigrette. It is nearly impossible to go wrong with one of their revered steaks; we are partial to the tender and perfectly seasoned 20-ounce bone-in rib-eye and the melt-in-your-mouth 14-ounce bone-in filet. Side items run the gamut from decadent (truffle butter mashed potatoes) to downright healthy (steamed broccoli).

Outstanding food and service aside, the chance to peruse their 1,000-plus-bottle wine list using their in-house iPads—allowing patrons to search by price, type, region and name—is an experience in itself. In addition to their expansive upstairs and downstairs dining areas, Bone’s offers private rooms for those wishing to experience a more intimate atmosphere.

Whether you are looking to impress, entertain, or just kick back and indulge, Bone’s Restaurant has you covered.

Regarded as one of the finest dining establishments in Atlanta, a reputation recently solidified when it received the

n Hearth Pizza Tavern 5992 Roswell Road N.E. Sandy Springs 30328 404.252.5378 www.hearthpizzatavern.com

When contemplating the “perfect meal,” a great slice of pizza and a cold beer easily rank near the top of our list. Judging by the nightly popularity of Hearth Pizza Tavern, we aren’t the only ones who are partial to the joy of this pairing.

Exposed-brick walls surround families and friends seated at wood-slatted tables and booths inside this taverninspired restaurant that also offers ample patio seating. To start, we like the perfectly crispy Brussels sprouts tossed with pancetta and Parmesan cheese and lightly drizzled with a balsamic sauce. Pizza is the centerpiece of the restaurant’s menu, which boasts 13 signature pizzas (as well as the option to create your own pie) made with homemade dough and cheese. Great choices include their version of the barbecue chicken pizza with cheddar and fontina cheeses, applewood smoked bacon, roasted red peppers, red onions, cilantro and a side of homemade sweet pickles; and the clam pizza (yes, clams!) with a combination of cheeses, fennel sausage, roasted cremini mushrooms, oregano and parsley. For those who prefer to forgo the pizza, the restaurant also offers entrée-sized salads, sandwiches and burgers. To wash it all down, Hearth has an impressive selection of top-notch beer and wine.

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January/February 2013 | Simply Buckhead 

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Collectors’ Items 6 local collectors reveal their treasures feature:

Kelly Skinner collectors Photos: Sara Hanna

Born to Sip Justin Amick, Wine Collector With a childhood rooted in the restaurant industry, it’s no shock that Justin Amick eventually found his own niche in the family business. The advanced sommelier and son of Concentrics Restaurants Owner Bob Amick received extended hands-on training at Trinchero Family Estates in Napa Valley, where he found his true calling in wine. “That’s my main passion,” the South Buckhead resident admits.

Though he hesitates to call his eclectic wines a “collection,” the prestige and flavor profile expressed in his nearly 200-bottle selection of global grapes far surpasses that of the average connoisseur. “My collection is mostly Italian, French and Spanish—but it also includes bottles from places like Romania, Slovenia and Greece,” he says of the bottles he’s discovered through his immersion in wine. When he’s not working as the

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general manager and beverage director for The Spence, you can find Amick studying for the Master Sommelier Diploma Examination—a test only 197 have passed. And sipping his own wines, of course.

“I don’t have a big, fancy cellar,” he admits.

“My wines are always turning over. I’m more of a consumer. I enjoy several that get better over time, but besides that, I’m looking for wines I can enjoy today or tomorrow.”

Wine recommendation for Valentine’s Day: “You’ve gotta go with a rosé. I’ll probably drink R. López de Heredia Viña Tondonia Gran Reserva Rosé. They make beautiful rosés. Or a Muga Rosado, or a rosé of Nerello Mascalese from Sicily.”

Collecting tip: “Most of the time you should start your collection around wines you can afford and wines you can enjoy now.” He recommends stock-

Advanced sommelier Justin Amick pours a glass of 1991 Comte Armand Clos des Epeneaux Pinot Noir, a $200 bottle from his wine collection in South Buckhead.

ing up on bottles of Pinot Noir (“they have great aging potential, or you can enjoy the instant gratification of drinking a bottle today”), Châteauneuf-du-Pape (“these are wonderful wines in general”) and Rhône wines (“a tremendous value … they’ve experienced a lot of great vintages”).

Go-to spots for purchasing wine (when not buying wholesale): Winebid.com, Perrine’s Wine Shop (“The owner has a similar palate to me”), H&F Bottle Shop, pH Wine and Tower Wine— all notable, according to Amick, for their impressive selections.

Most valuable bottles: 1991 Comte Armand Clos des Epeneaux, Pinot Noir, Burgundy, France ($200); 1981 Château de Beaucastel Rouge, Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Southern Rhône, France ($200 and gifted to Amick by his father on his 30th birthday); and a 1999 Vega Sicilia Unico ($450). n

Artistic Union Jennifer Lauren and Rick Myers, Art Collectors Art has been an important element in Jennifer Lauren and Rick Myers’ six-year marriage. “Buying art together is a blast.

It’s fun to look and discuss. When we buy together, we enjoy together,” says Myers, founder and CEO of Talent Zoo and co-founder of Strongbox West.

The fun they’re having is evident in their traditional Underwood Hills abode, which features their 10-piece contemporary collection by North American artists. “I tend to gravitate toward traditional works with dramatic color and themes, often dark. Rick prefers much more modern, abstract work. He’s fond of sculpture too,” says Lauren, who has a Ph.D. in English literature.

Myers adds, “I’m all over the place. I like art from many walks of life and many places in the world. If I like it, I like it; and if I want to have it, I’ll make an offer.

The art just has to reach me in some way.”

Upon entering the couple’s home, guests discover art peppering the walls— a muted Terry Miura painting of a rural landscape hangs on one wall, while a jagged, momentous Clifford Bailey painting entices across the way. Lauren and Myers pride themselves on collecting artists who are mostly unknown; Bailey offers the most name recognition in a group that includes Danny McCaw, France Jodoin and Ken Auster.

Before they met, Myers had been collecting for years and Lauren was a selfdescribed “museum junkie,” yet art didn’t have a hand in how they came together.

Still, it’s become an essential part of their life as a couple. “I can see how collecting can easily become an addiction,” says Lauren. “We laugh sometimes and say we’d rather buy art than food, if we were ever pressed to choose.”

Above: Rick Myers and Jennifer Lauren pose beneath a painting by France Jodoin. Below: At the top of the stairs, a landscape by Terry Miura; to the right, a painting by Danny McCaw. Right: A Clifford Bailey piece entitled “The Symphony” (above) complements a painting by Ken Auster.

Top buying spots: It varies—Anne Irwin Fine Art, Pryor Fine Art, auctions, a collector, a show or perhaps from the artist directly.

Additional standouts: The couple has several limited-edition lithographs and photographs from artists and friends of Myers, like Jim Sheridan.

Most cherished or valuable piece: “The Symphony” by Clifford Bailey. The last estimated value around 2010 was $47,000. n

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For the Birds Kris Hoppe, Birdcage Collector

French Connector Arnaud Michel,

Arnaud Michel with his 195e Citroën 11 CV Traction Avant.

Vintage French Car Collector It’s the style, the sound, the acceleration and even the smell of the engines that draws Arnaud Michel, owner of Buckhead restaurant Anis Bistro, to collect beautiful old French cars. He has a total of five such cars, including three Citroëns from the ’50s, ’70s and ’80s—most notably his sleek white 1980 Citroën 2CV with gleaming red fenders. “It feels like a gangster car,” he says. “[The Citroën] is the most famous French car. It’s an old car, but it’s reliable and requires little maintenance.

It’s the best used car you can buy.”

Michel recalls falling in love with cars during his childhood in France (he moved to Atlanta in 1989). “I remember being in the South of France when I was 7 or 8 and being around the cars and engines and just loving it,” he recalls. Among his collection is a 1966 Vespa, a vehicle that strikes a sense of nostalgia in the restaurateur. “I actually had one of these when I was 16 or 17 in the ’80s,” he says. “I remember going everywhere on it—the South of France, Nice, all over France.”

Though car collecting often takes a back seat to his work at the restaurant and being with his family, Michel foresees a time when he’ll have a garage for his cars and will be able to attend car shows (which are typically scheduled on weekends, a busy time for a restaurateur). “I think it comes down to me

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really loving old things,” Michel says.

“I like knowing that something is fragile, but that if you’re careful with it, it will be there for a long time.”

Most cherished car: 1980 Citroën 2CV. “It’s so simple and easy to drive. It doesn’t go fast, but it’s comfortable and beautiful.”

Most fun car to drive: 1974 Alfa Romeo GTV. “I can downshift the gears. It has a lot of power. It’s fast.” n

With prop birds guarding each of her cages and tiny nests cozied up within, Kris Hoppe has developed a collection for her collection!

Kris Hoppe’s spacious North Buckhead home serves as a testament to her years spent traveling and livingabroad. The Hoppes (fittingly) have spent the majority of their married life hopping around the globe, living in places like Singapore, Brazil, Peru, Republic of Panama, Australia and London.

While visiting China, Hoppe noticed that in public parks there (and all over Asia), men would bring their pet birds with them and hang the cages from hooks overhead. “The cages would swing in the wind and these beautiful birds would chatter as the men sipped tea,” she recalls. “That’s where I first fell in love with birdcages.”

Her birdcages—40 of them from all over the world—are among the most visually arresting items on display in her home. Since purchasing her first (and most cherished) birdcage, a massive structure with heart-shaped latches she picked up in Malaysia, Hoppe has scoured the markets, roadside stands and antique shops of exotic lands in search of these wooden (and sometimes ironwork) structures. For instance, there was the gigantic Moroccan one she purchased in Sydney and had to maneuver across a busy intersection—a tricky endeavor given its size—in the midst of rush-hour traffic. Or the cage she stumbled upon at a roadside stand in Angkor Wat while buying film. In Katmandu, she purchased a “really unspectacular one” for about $5 that spawned a series of questions on the airplane as to why, how and where—which is one of her favorite aspects of the cage-seeking adventure.

“You’re meeting and connecting with people,” she says. “That’s what it’s all about.” n Most valuable cage: Hoppe assumes her intricate Indonesian cage with a tiny dragon statue on top is worth the most, but says the majority of her cages cost her less than $20 each.

Hoppe also collects: Old books.

Hoppe has two cats. And thus, no birds.

Louis Lover Darlene Smith, Louis Vuitton Collector

Above: Darlene Smith decked head-to-toe in Louis Vuitton and surrounded by a few of her favorite pieces by the designer: a golf bag, two hard-side luggage pieces, a hat box, a president brief case, a custom chess set and Louis Vuitton books. Right: Custom-made trunks and a watch winder by Louis Vuitton, flanked by a scarf, wallet and jewel case collaboration painted by Takashi Murakami for Louis Vuitton. Below: The label to a Louis Vuitton suit bearing Darlene Smith’s name.

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To say Darlene Smith likes Louis Vuitton is putting it mildly. The local entrepreneur and sartorialist’s Buckhead condo is home to more than 100 hard-side, soft-side and customorder luggage pieces by the designer, as well as some 100-plus shoes, 35 sunglasses, boots, clothing, furs, custom runway pieces, gleaming high-end jewelry and even a golf bag—all by Louis Vuitton. “I’m attracted to Louis Vuitton because they are the No. 1 luxury brand in the world,” she confesses. “I believe in the business and love the pride they take in their product.”

It’s a sentiment the brand has noticed as well—as one of Louis Vuitton’s top customers, Smith has reached VIC or “Very Important Client” status. She’s also an ambassador for the label. “This is my lifestyle,” she says. “I choose to represent the brand in all product categories.” With such a title, she has access to company limousines and receives frequent lunch invitations from Louis Vuitton salons around the globe. In turn, she’s also landed herself on an even more exclusive list, one that gave her entry to Louis Vuitton’s Paris fashion show this spring. “It’s a first-class experience with dinners, parties, museum and factory visits, shopping (of course), and visits to flagship stores,” she says. “You have a hostess and nothing is required of you other than to enjoy and take it all in. It’s a wonderful way to be thanked for being loyal to the brand.”

A consummate arbiter of fashion, it’s no surprise that Smith’s Louis Vuitton staples commingle with large collections of other luxury brands—Gucci, Pucci, Rolex and Cartier, to name a few—in a closet that’s organized by season, designer and item. “My personal style sense depends on the day and where I’m going,” she says. “I believe that you should always dress for the job you want, not the one you have.”

First designer piece: Fendi. “I had the purse, wallet and keychain. I was so proud.”

Other collections: Pens, including ones from Bentley, Ferrari, Louis Vuitton and DuPont.

Also, exotic cars like Ferraris, Lamborghinis, AMG Mercedes and Bentleys.

Most cherished Louis Vuitton piece: “My custommade Sac Louis white crocodile bag. This piece is only offered to a select few VICs. It took a year to complete, will never be advertised, nor reproduced for sale. Celebrities were not offered the bag, and most have no idea of its existence.” Her custom Louis Vuitton chess set and watch winder case are also favorites. n

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Auto Aficionado Bruce Cusmano, Vintage Car Collector Bruce Cusmano was raised by an uncle who was entrenched in the car scene; as a boy, he helped his uncle create a 1963 documentary about the Le Mans race called Va Voom I Love You. Now all grown up and the owner of Buckhead’s Metropolitan Artifacts, Cusmano has a dozen hand-selected European cars that he constantly rotates (he’s had 23 Porsches over the years, for instance).

Cusmano tends to stick to classic German, British and Italian cars from the ’50s, ’60s and early ’70s. “It brings me back to a period of time when I had nothing,” he reminisces.

Though he’s come a long way since he had to scrape together $450 for his first car (a 1954 Triumph TR2), Cusmano’s appreciation for the old has only increased with time. “It’s not only having the cars and driving the cars and fixing them,” he says. “It’s the people you meet that also like them and appreciate them … It’s not a status symbol.”

With four garages full of cars (his latest, a 1974 Alpha Romeo, was purchased from France, sight unseen) and plans for an old Ferrari next, Cusmano enthusiastically gets behind the wheels of all his cars. “I drive them in the sun, the rain, the snow. It’s an exciting collection that’s meant to be driven.

They’re meant for pleasure,” he says. Cusmano even organizes two rides a year in the North Georgia mountains with his classic car-loving friends or “aficionados,” as he calls them.

Cusmano loves that each of his antique cars has its own shapes, sounds and characteristics. “You have to work driving some of my cars; they’re cumbersome and cranky. Sometimes they don’t start. They’ve got quirky personalities,” he says. “You know, I started [collecting] so early on I was fortunate. I’ve been able to fine-tune what I look for in cars. It’s like driving a piece of art down the road.”

Most cherished cars: Black 1959 Jaguar XK 150 (his wife’s favorite); off-white 1970 Mercedes 280 SL (his 6-year-old granddaughter’s favorite, and the car he’s had the longest).

Claim to fame: Cusmano’s cars have been featured in movies and commercials, including a Georgia Lottery commercial. n

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January/February 2013 | Simply Buckhead

Above: Bruce Cusmano’s 1974 Alpha Romeo is on display in his Buckhead shop, Metropolitan Artifacts.

Below: Cusmano and his wife inside a 1959 Jaguar XK 150. “It’s a strong old car. My wife got a new Jaguar and she still likes this one better.” Bottom: A sampling of Cusmano’s rides: a 1989 Porsche 928 S4, a Porsche 911, a 1970 Mercedes 280 SL and a 1959 Jaguar XK 150.

cov er story clu b s & class es

get a hobby!

Discover your passion in 2013 Maybe you’ll have a Julia Child moment at The Viking Store, or you’ll find new purpose at a Metro Atlanta Sierra Club meeting. Perhaps you did inherit your grandfather’s knack for woodworking or your mother’s penchant for art. What better time to find out than right now?

As many local hobbyists can attest, when you live in a place like Buckhead, the dilemma isn’t finding something to do—it’s narrowing down the list of options.

Clockwise from above: Hang out during an aerial silk class at Sky Gym; every Fourth of July, the Atlanta Track Club puts on the popular AJC Peachtree Road Race; members of Buckhead Cigar Club meet at Buckhead Cigar inside Dantanna’s; learn how to throw pottery on the wheel or polish up on your handbuilding skills at MudFire.

With 2013 underway, let this be the year you finally take time for you; get involved, find a passion and tackle that thing you’ve always wanted to do.

Join the Club 10 local organizations for nearly every personality For: Do-Gooders

Buckhead Optimist Club 30 Members Meets: Wing Factory in Buckhead Fridays at 7:30 a.m.

Founded in 1981 Call or email Sue Frierson (404.261.0375, susanfspecfoods@bellsouth.net) to apply; $40 a month

404.261.0375 www.optimist.org

Marilyn Project, which debuted at MODA in partnership with the High Museum; right now (Jan. 22-March 9), look out for Shared Visions at the Hudgens Center for the Arts in Duluth.

404.783.8257 www.atlantacollagesociety.org

For: Crafters

Atlanta Collage Society 75 members Meets: Atlanta Artists Center in Buckhead six times a year Founded in 2006 Online application; $25 annual fee

For: Runners

It’s exactly what it sounds like: Droves of crafty Atlantans converge for a creative freefor-all, resulting in evocative final projects. Last year’s efforts resulted in the stunning The

Whether you’re an ultramarathoner or more of a part-time jogger, there’s a place for you at Buckhead-based Atlanta Track Club. There are multiple ways for you to up your running

Atlanta Track Club 10,000+ members Founded in 1964 Online application; $35 annual fee

quotient here—you can join a competitive team, volunteer for one of the 25 races the club puts on each year (including the Peachtree Road Race), or sign up for a specific training group. Besides multiple opportunities for finding a stellar running buddy, membership also garners you early entry to the Peachtree Road Race, free coaching assistance, free entry to the club’s low-key running events, access to social activities, discounts at boutique running stores, participation in the ATC Grand Prix series and the opportunity to join ATC competitive teams. Get ready to run.

For: Working Women

404.231.9064 www.atlantatrackclub.org

404.923.0296 www.atlantawomensnetwork.org

Atlanta Women’s Network 76 members Meets: 103 West in Buckhead the fourth Tuesday of every month Founded in 1979 Online application; $150 annual fee With the advent of Facebook, in-person networking has become a lost art, which is why this business network is a must-join for ladies looking to hone their hobnobbing skills, expand their social circles and connect with fellow businesswomen. In addition to card swapping and socializing, the club also helps working women advance their opportunities in Atlanta.

January/February 2013 | Simply Buckhead

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This active community organization meets once a week for breakfast at Wing Factory in Buckhead, where they enjoy socializing and planning for their event of the year—the Christmas tree sale at Phipps Plaza, benefiting local charities like Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, the Brookhaven Boys & Girls Club and the Simon Youth Foundation.

During the rest of the year, the club often links up with Optimist International to help with events like the Optimist International Essay Contest.

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Get Skilled 18 local classes to hone your craft Art Artists, unite! Buckhead is chockablock with artsy options.

Sam Flax regularly features workshops and classes in a range of media, including calligraphy with Emily Canter, a local illustrator, calligrapher and co-owner of Digital Tigers.

404.352.7200 www.samflaxsouth.com

Butcher Basics It’s carnivore heaven inside Pine Street Market, a quaint Avondale Estates butchery.

Besides a handsome selection of cheeses, sausages, bacon, cured meats and jams, this spot brimming with European charm also plays host to a few provocative classes. This month, the shop will hold its first-ever butcher boot camp ( Jan. 12, 19 and 26 for $350), where meat lovers will get in-depth training with three three-hour, hands-on butchering classes. On Feb. 2, sausage aficionados can join Nick, Rusty and Kyle (the shop’s butchers) for a $100 sausage-making workshop.

You’ll get the run-down on casing, cooking methods and grinding; then you’ll take home two pounds of your very own homemade sausage. Check the calendar for whole hog butcher classes later this spring.

404.296.9672 www.pinestreetmarket.com

Binders, likewise, is a breeding ground for in-the-know artists. Get inspired when you sign up for famed artist Elizabeth St. Hilaire Nelson’s two-day paper paintings workshop ($245) or internationally renowned painter Colley Whisson’s three-day modern impressionism in oil workshop ($450)—two of several options offered this spring.

404.237.6331 www.bindersart.com

Paper Source hosts free weekly presentations for curious paper fiends. Learn how to create snazzy wedding invitations and polish your hostessing prowess with unique demos.

(During the “My Sweet Valentine Crafter’s Night Out” on Jan. 24, nosh on snacks and sip wine as an instructor teaches you how to personalize a mini heart box, a special trinket pouch and handmade cards for a $28 fee.)

404.869.4051 (Buckhead) or 404.575.4400 (Virginia Highland) www.paper-source.com

Sewing takes center stage at Kai Lin, where the Atlanta Institute of Stitches & Crafts keeps its home base. Choose from a range of departments like Home Decoration; Knits & Purls; Man Craft; and Patchwork & Warmth.

Classes include LifeSkills 101 (for $20, you learn how to do things like sew a button) and HomeDec: 102–Table Linens (make your own place mats and napkins; cost is $30 not including price of materials).

404.408.4248 www.kailinart.com

Build your portrait portfolio at Atlanta Artists Center’s self-directed drawing group. A live model will pose nude or clothed (depending on the session) for three hours as you and your fellow artists sketch away. Come as often as you’d like; sessions ($10 for members, $20 for non-members) are offered daily. Membership is offered at $65 a year.

404.237.2324 www.atlantaartistscenter.org

Woodworking Things aren’t built the way they used to be, which is why you should learn how to unleash your inner carpenter. Get your shop in order and sign up for a few courses at Highland Woodworking, located in the heart of Virginia Highland. This February, learn how to build a bookcase (Feb. 12 and 13, $175); get schooled on relief carving (Feb. 15-17, $245); absorb the basics of bowl turning (Feb. 23, $95); and book a much-needed table saw orientation (Feb. 27, $25).

404.872.4466 www.highlandwoodworking.com

Join the Club 10 local organizations for nearly every personality For: Readers

Little Shop of Stories Book Clubs Approximately 15 members per club Meets: Little Shop of Stories in Decatur monthly To join, check the website for dates and show up for the next meeting; free Curl up with a good book, then meet with new friends to talk about it at this quirky Decatur Square bookshop. Hosting five different book clubs that meet upstairs in a loft-style space, the shop is an idyllic locale for lingering literary conversations followed by brews at Brick Store

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Pub. Groups are the Catchall Book Group (offers a little something for everyone), Guys Who Read (meets at the shop, then heads to Mac McGee to drink and discuss), Page Turners (sixth-, seventh- and eightgrade girls), Kids and Companions (kids ages 8 to 11 and an adult of their choice) and Not So YA Book Club (adult readers of young adult books).

404.373.6300 www.littleshopofstories.com

For: Southern Gents

Buckhead 50 Club 75 members Meets: American Legion Post 140

January/February 2013 | Simply Buckhead

near Chastain 11 times a year Founded in 1932 Requires a sponsoring member to join. Email Michael E. Moore (buckhead50club@gmail.com) for details; $150 annual fee

issues like education reform, as well as to host guest speakers like Georgia State Senator Hunter Hill.

Male bonding takes a charitable twist with this prestigious men’s club; the group’s mega-projects have included starting Buckhead’s trash collection. Boasting members from a range of backgrounds—including noted real estate broker Frank Farris III and former Fulton County Sheriff Myron Freeman—the club marks its 80th anniversary this year. Members gather to discuss philanthropic projects and social

Buckhead Cigar Club

For: Cigar Connoisseurs/

Don Draper-Era Mingling 50 members; 194 people on the waiting list Meets: Buckhead Cigar inside of Dantanna’s in Buckhead; there are no planned meetings.

Members can walk in whenever they’d like.

Founded in 2006 Membership is currently closed.

Email Mike Turentine (buckheadcigar@yahoo.com) to be added to the waiting list; $750 annual fee

It’s a long wait to join this local smoking club, housed within the cigar shop inside Dantanna’s at Shops Around Lenox. Originally, membership was open to the first 50 guys who got in and, at the moment, none show signs of leaving. Club members receive their own lockers, discounts on individual cigars and cigar boxes, and invitations to special events every quarter. The shop itself is notable not only for its selection of fine cigars, 300-square-foot walk-in humidor and dapper space, but also for being the only retail cigar store in town attached to a restaurant—which adds to the appeal. “It’s a great place where people can sit

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Pottery Have your own Ghost moment when you get comfortable behind the wheel at MudFire.

Unlike the bevy of sculpt-and-sip classes in the area, this Decatur studio offers members (there are a range of membership plans) one-on-one instruction when they need it—an hour or two here for handbuilding, an hour or so there behind the wheel. Members and non-members alike can take classes like Erin Furimsky’s threeday bold-surface workshop, which focuses on surface embellishment in pottery and sculpture through transfer techniques (Feb. 8-10, $325).

404.377.8033 www.mudfire.com

Chicken-Raising Dreamt of raising your own chickens but aren’t sure you’re cut out for keeping a coop?

The Chicks in the City Symposium on Feb. 2 teaches you about chick incubation, chicken health and chicken coop basics. The symposium takes place from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Oakhurst Church in the heart of Oakhurst Village and costs $60. Did someone say farm-fresh eggs at your house?

404.371.1920 www.wyldecenter.org/ classes/chicks-in-the-citysymposium

back, relax and forget about the worries of the day,” says Mike Turentine, shop proprietor.

404.844.0400 www.atlantacigarbar.com

For: Environmentalists

Metro Atlanta Sierra Club 8,000 local members Meets: Episcopal Church of the Epiphany in East Lake/Decatur the second Tuesday of each month. Check the website for additional activities.

National club founded in 1892 by John Muir; local club has been active for more than 25 years Online application; $15 annual fee

up your dinner party repertoire for all of your gluten-free pals with a three-hour, hands-on gluten-free gourmet class Jan. 26, where for $89, you’ll learn how to make savory dishes like gluten-free fettuccine with zucchini and Parmesan and toasted quinoa salad.

404.745.9064 www.vikingrange.com

Horseback Riding Riding boots and preppy jackets are totally in this winter … why not take advantage of the polo look and saddle up? Whether you’re a newbie or born to ride, you’ll find a welcome spot at the bucolic, 13-acre Chastain Horse Park.

Besides adult classes, there are countless options for school age and special needs children.

404.252.4244 www.chastainhorsepark.org

Cooking Atlanta is host to a range of fantastic cooking classes, and among the headliners are the ones at The Viking Store. Dive in headfirst with the comprehensive Viking University ($599)— six weeks of three-hour classes that range from knife skills and kitchen orientation to braising, boiling, poaching and steaming. It’s perfect for the newlywed and the veteran home cook alike. You’ll walk out with kitchen cred and a slew of reputable recipes under your belt—including ones for a killer beurre blanc sauce and a mouthwatering rendition of classic pot roast. The university takes place Feb. 18, Feb. 25, March 4, March 11, March 18 and March 25. Likewise, polish

Join fellow environmentalists for organized hikes, cleanup efforts, preservation projects and outdoor field trips. Put your passions to work by joining a committee and stay plugged in to the local green scene with up-to-date conservation news. Pop in for a Sierra Club 101 class at The Georgia Chapter Office in Decatur on Feb. 9 or April 13 and learn how you can get involved in their local efforts—like their AdoptA-Stream Program, through which they currently monitor Peachtree Creek in Decatur’s Medlock Park.

404.607.1262 www.georgia.sierraclub.org/atlanta

For: Consummate

Hostesses North Buckhead Home and Garden Club 50 members Meets: once a month in select members’ homes Founded: More than 25 years ago Email Gaylen Baxter (gaylenbaxter@gmail.com) to join; $25 annual fee Mix and mingle with likeminded Buckhead residents while the pros teach you home and gardening knowhow. Meetings are held at a different member’s Buckhead home each month and include

Trapeze Even if you’ve tried every fitness craze out there— Zumba, Pilates, TRX— this is the only one that’ll send you sky-high. Take your dance and yoga routine to the roof with aerial silk classes at Sky Gym. Using silk sheets hanging from the ceiling, you’ll twist, spin and climb (remember that rope in gym class?) several stories above the ground. Choose from a broad group of classes and intensity levels— rock-solid yogis will do well in a suspension fitness class (practice all of your favorite poses while wrapped in a silk hammock); rhythmic souls will likely gravitate toward aerial dance.

Feeling more Ringling Bros. than ballerina?

You can try a cirque arts class too—perfect for all you contortionists and Water for Elephants devotees. Your first class is $19; afterward, drop-ins are $29.

404.309.9696 www.aerialsilksatlanta.com n

hands-on projects and advice from home and gardening gurus, with topics ranging from interior design to pruning to landscape maintenance.

Upcoming meetings: Feb. 21–Kathleen Homer, interior designer from House of Home, will discuss integrating trends with personal style; March 14– Katy Rigsby, horticulturist, will talk about pruning and gardening.

404.257.1832 www.nbca.org/garden.htm

For: Social Drinkers

Scotch Club Meets: {three} Sheets in

Sandy Springs the third Wednesday of each month Founded January 2013 Reserve a spot by emailing info@threesheetsatlanta.com; free Starting Jan. 23, {three} Sheets launches a sleek Scotch club where local imbibers can sip and puff select cigars. The club’s first installment will feature the Macallan Single Malt. All interested parties are welcome to attend. Each event features hand-selected scotches. The club’s first installment, for instance, will feature the Macallan Single Malt.

404.303.8423 www.threesheetsatlanta.com n

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As we celebrate our 3rd Year in Publication, we’d like to Honor and Benefit our Major Charity Partners.

Thursday, January 31, 2013 from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m.

Atlanta Decorative Arts Center 349 Peachtree Hills Avenue, NE Atlanta, 30305 Amazing Silent Auction, Artists’ Displays, Signature Cocktails, and much more!

Artists provided by Atlanta Foundation For Public Spaces/ Peachtree Hills Arts Festival

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January/February 2013 | Simply Buckhead

RSVP for this Complimentary Celebration

by January 25 to rsvp@simplybuckhead.com

S I M P LY BU Z Z | S I M P LY C H A R I TA B L E | S I M P LY S C E N E

Simply happening Spotlight Buckhead’s 175th Birthday: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow March 1, 7 to 11 PM The Buckhead Theatre 3110 Roswell Road N.E. Atlanta 30305 404.843.2825 www.buckheadheritage.com

Happy birthday to Buckhead!

Our beloved community celebrates its 175th birthday in grand style with a gala at The Buckhead Theatre. Kicking off at 7 p.m., the event is hosted by the Buckhead Heritage Society and Buckhead Business Association and sponsored by—who else?—Simply Buckhead. It’s only fitting that an evening commemorating Buckhead’s founding in 1838 takes place at a location that itself is a big part of our history—the Theatre sits at the intersection of Peachtree, Roswell and West Paces Ferry Roads, which was the epicenter of the rural settlement that became Buckhead. Attendees will take a trip back in time, thanks to a photo retrospective of Buckhead’s history. They will also enjoy live entertainment from The Atlanta Allstars while clinking drinks and noshing on heavy hors d’oeuvres. The event’s two honorary co-chairs are Atlanta businessman Charlie Loudermilk, the owner of the Buckhead Theatre, and former Atlanta Mayor Sam Massell, the founding president of the Buckhead Coalition.

Tickets are $150 for Buckhead Heritage Society or Buckhead Business Association members and $175 for non-members.

Proceeds benefit the Buckhead Heritage Society and the creation of a Master History Plan for the community, which will map out how to integrate historic sites and stories into the Buckhead Collection—a system of new parks, trails and green spaces being spearheaded by Livable Buckhead Inc.

Above L to R: Buckhead Business Association Board Member Barry Hundley; Officers Catherine Cattles and Brian McGuire; Event Honorary CoChair Sam Massell; Buckhead Business Association Board Member Ricardo Barraza; and Buckhead Heritage President Wright Mitchell in front of the Buckhead Theatre.

Photo: Ross Henderson Photography

Left L to R: Event Host Committee Co-Chairs Thornton and Lori Kennedy and Event Co-Chairs Caroline and Boyd Leake with The Storyteller, a sculpture

by Frank Fleming in Charlie Loudermilk Park, which shares the story of the beginning of Buckhead.

Photo: Ross Henderson Photography

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SIMPLY happening

simply buzz n The Plains of Mars: European War Prints, Part Two Dec. 8-March 10 Michael C. Carlos Museum of Emory University 571 South Kilgo Circle Atlanta 30322 404.727.4282 www.carlos.emory.edu Discover a vast collection of art from some of the most expert printmakers in history. Nearly 80 engravings, woodcuts, etchings, lithographs and aquatints surrounding the theme of war and peace will be on display at the Michael C. Carlos Museum of Emory University. Representing artists from Britain, France, Germany, Italy and other European countries, the works depict 325 years of conflicts ranging from the French invasion of Italy in 1494 to the end of the Napoleonic wars in 1814 as well as the wars’ aftermath.

Admission to the Carlos Museum is $8 for adults; $6 for students, seniors and children age 6-17; free for members and Emory University students, faculty and staff.

n Tom Ventulett exhibit at Swan Coach House Jan. 10-Feb. 23 Swan Coach House 3130 Slaton Drive N.W. Atlanta 30305 404.261.0636 www.swancoachhouse.com Discover the art of nationally renowned architect Thomas W. Ventulett III at Buckhead’s Swan Coach House. One of the founding principals of the acclaimed firm Thompson, Ventulett, Stainback & Associates, Ventulett is also chairman emeritus of the firm’s board of directors. Although he’s worked with watercolors for decades, initially as a way to communicate his designs, his current art focuses on the abstract explorations of flowers. Today, he is a visiting pro-

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Events, exhibits, galas and more

fessor at Georgia Tech teaching watercolor in the College of Architecture. A number of his works will be available for sale ranging in price from $300 to $6,000.

n Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta Hope and Will Ball Feb. 9 200 Peachtree 200 Peachtree St. N.W. Atlanta 30303 404.785.7316 www.choa.org/hopeandwillball In its 10th year, the Hope and Will Ball builds on a history that includes raising nearly $3.5 million for the patients of Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. Attended by more than 650 Atlantans annually (most of them residents of the Buckhead community), the landmark event is organized by a committee of women from Brookhaven and Buckhead.

Brookhaven resident Cathy Iannotti, the event’s marketing and public relations co-chair, has been involved with Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta events for the past decade and says the reward she gets from helping children is “beyond words.” Tara Widener, another Brookhaven resident, was the Hope and Will Ball 2012 chair and is part of the Honorary Committee for the 2013 event. “[The committee] all has children and we all will need Children’s Healthcare at some point—it is my honor to do what I can for such a special place,” Widener says. The 2013 Hope and Will Ball takes place at 6 p.m. at 200 Peachtree in Downtown Atlanta.

The black tie event features a cocktail reception and silent auction followed by dinner, as well as family testimonials, a live auction and dancing. Individual tickets, which can sell out, are $450.

n Present Parenting Lecture at Sarah Smith Elementary Feb. 13 Sarah Smith Elementary 370 Old Ivy Road N.E. Atlanta 30342 949.280.1856 www.sarahsmithelementary.com Sarah Smith Elementary has launched a free monthly lecture series for parents providing

January/February 2013 | Simply Buckhead

by:

expert insight into a variety of child-centric topics. Issues range from the importance of the arts in childhood development to nutrition. The gatherings take place the second Wednesday of the month from 12 to 1:30 p.m. at Sarah Smith’s primary campus auditorium and are open to families of Atlanta Public School cluster schools in Buckhead. On Feb. 13, the series welcomes Ellen Hill, a former Sarah Smith parent and director of outplacement at The Schenck School in Buckhead. Prior to her current role, Hill spent 25 years as a teacher and tutor, lower-school principal and admissions director and will impart her knowledge on brainbased learning and how children learn best. Parents are invited to bring their lunch and a friend to take advantage of this educational opportunity, which concludes with a Q&A session.

Giannina Smith Bedford

Enjoy sushi with your one true love at one of Buckhead’s top luxury hotels. The Ritz-Carlton, Buckhead offers sushi Thursdays through Saturdays from 5 to 9 p.m. at The Lobby Lounge; it’s an ideal outing for two, particularly on Valentine’s Day. Select from a variety of creative sushi rolls, from the Ritz Roll (a spicy tuna roll topped with tuna and red caviar, $19) to the Peachtree Roll (a $13 creation of smoked salmon, cream cheese and cucumber). Or opt for the 10-piece assortment of sashimi ($32), which makes an ideal sharing plate. The menu also offers a variety of wines and creative handcrafted cocktails. Our favorite: Exeter Mandarin Blossom ($16) concocted with Hangar Mandarin Vodka, pear nectar, fresh lemon and almond essence bitters.

n Art in Nature Children’s Program Feb. 13, 20, 27 The Blue Heron Nature Preserve 4055 Roswell Road N.E. Atlanta 30342 404.345.1008 www.bhnp.org Gather up the little ones for Blue Heron Nature Preserve’s Art in Nature, a three-week program aimed at encouraging love and understanding of the environment. The classes focus on clay art and include an exploration of the Preserve for artistic inspiration. Under the instruction of Diane Evans, children roll, squeeze and shape clay into a work of art, strengthening not only their creativity, but also their hands to improve fine motor skills and dexterity. Fit for ages 4 to 7, classes take place from 3 to 4 p.m. and are $40 for members and $45 for non-members. All art supplies are provided.

n Valentine’s Sushi Night at The Ritz-Carlton, Buckhead Feb. 14 The Ritz-Carlton, Buckhead 3434 Peachtree Road N.E. Atlanta 30326 404.237.2700 www.ritzcarlton.com/buckhead

Photo by Jeff Roffman Photography

n The Children’s Museum of Atlanta’s Amuse’um Feb. 23 The Children’s Museum of Atlanta 275 Centennial Olympic Park Drive N.W. Atlanta 30313 404.659.5437 www.childrensmuseumatlanta.org Step into a world of whimsical childhood dreams at Amuse’um, The Children’s Museum of Atlanta’s annual fundraiser. Celebrating its 10th year, the 2013 event is titled “Crowns & Cupcakes—A Birthday Jubilee.” Bringing the theme to life are cupcakes from Smallcakes: A Cupcakery, as well as games, auctions and live music. Kings and queens, dukes and duchesses and “crown jewel” cocktails will all be part of the festivities as the Museum is transformed into a fanciful,

adults-only royal court. Guests are invited to dance the night away on a checkerboard dance floor to the sounds of Yacht Rock Revue and enjoy cuisine from Soiree Catering and Events.

Presented by Georgia Natural Gas for the fifth year, the event takes place from 7 to 11 p.m. and tickets are $140 per person. All proceeds support the Museum’s early childhood educational programming and community outreach.

n Ryan Gainey’s The Gathered Garden Feb. 27 Cherokee Garden Library Atlanta History Center 130 West Paces Ferry Road N.W. Atlanta 30305 404.814.4046 www.atlantahistorycenter.com Decatur-based landscape designer, plants man and artist Ryan Gainey will share his latest volume, The Gathered Garden, with the public in a free lecture at Atlanta History Center’s Cherokee Garden Library. The book features botanical illustrations showcasing plants that are arranged seasonally and thrive in Atlanta gardens. It also explores the history of the plants and explains how Gainey gathered them from friends and family to fill his two-acre garden.

Following the lecture, attendees will enjoy a botanical art display, book signing and reception in the History Center’s McElreath Hall. Reservations are required and can be made at www.atlantahistorycenter.com or by calling 404.814.4046.

1 IN 5 KIDS

STRUGGLE WITH HUNGER BUT YOU CAN HELP.

ENTER SHARE OUR STRENGTH’S®

6TH ANNUAL BAKING CONTEST FOR NO KID HUNGRY TUESDAY, MARCH 5, 2013

ENTRY DEADLINE: FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2013

Professional, amateur, culinary student and young pastry chefs are invited to compete at Share Our Strength’s 6th Annual Baking Contest for No Kid Hungry. Cash prizes will be awarded to the top finishers in all four categories.

Not interested in baking, but still want to join in on the fun? You’re invited to attend the judging, an exciting night open to the public with a Wine and Dessert reception at Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Atlanta.

All net proceeds benefit Share Our Strength, a national nonprofit working to end childhood hunger in America through its No Kid Hungry campaign.

For more information, to enter or to purchase tickets please visit strength.org/bakingcontest JENN HOBBY KICKS 101.5 EMCEE & HOST

THANK YOU TO OUR LOCAL SPONSORS

GABC_2013_10.5x14_SB_Final.indd 1

PRESENTED BY

12/19/12 2:50 PM

January/February 2013 | Simply Buckhead

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PEACHTREE battle Two Bedroom Condominium Homes from the $390s

OVER

95% Financing Available

80% SOLD

www.theastoriacondos.com

SOLUTIONS For Your Business The office condominiums are for sale in the mixed-use development of The Astoria at The Aramore. Each condo is ready for custom build-outs that can be completed in 60 days.

• Central to Buckhead financial district and Midtown/Downtown business districts • Peachtree Road address • Custom designed finishes • Floor-to-ceiling windows • Large, spacious plans that feel like a real home • Oversized balconies

404.355.6999

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• Guest suite, conference room, catering kitchen

2233 Peachtree Road

• Sundeck, pool, and fitness center

Just south of historic Peachtree Battle and just north of Piedmont Hospital.

• Walk to restaurants, shops and art galleries

• Prestigious Peachtree Road address • Central to Buckhead, Midtown, and Downtown • Customize your space from 800 square feet to 30,000 square feet • Walk to banking, dining, and shopping • Covered, spacious parking For sales information contact Jeff Pollock, CCIM

404.865.3877 72

All information is believed to be accurate but is not warranted.

January/February 2013 | Simply Buckhead

2233 Peachtree Road Atlanta, GA 30309 www.theastoriacondos.com

SIMPLY happening

c ha r itab le

Luminary Award Recipient Michael Mills, Justin Wiedeman.

Kevin and Debbie Campbell.

Robert and Tonya Stokes.

Deputy Chief John Jackson, 11-Alive Anchor Karyn Greer.

Alia Rashid, Jessie Lee, Sabriya Rice.

Photos: Sara Hanna

PwC Night of Lights

T Brian Short, Melseda Hoxha.

Gwen Robison, YES!Atlanta Executive Director Matt Wynalda, Tonya Atkins.

wo hundred revelers enjoyed skyline views from the penthouse level of Phipps Tower during PricewaterhouseCoopers’ Night of Lights, sponsored by Simply Buckhead and benefiting YES!Atlanta. Davio’s Northern Italian Steakhouse provided the mouthwatering fare, and guests grooved to live music while sipping cocktails from Prime Wine and Spirits. YES!Atlanta works to improve the lives of at-risk teenagers through programs based on long-term, regular contact with committed adults.

Davio’s General Manager Claude Guillaume, Davio’s Executive Pastry Chef Kathleen Miliotis, Davio’s Corporate Chef Rodney Murillo.

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SIMPLY happening

simply scene

Is This The End?

Well, this is the last page of our issue.

But we have more great editions coming up. Just ask the folks at The Punchline: No sooner does one curtain close, another one opens.

See ya’ll again soon. photo:

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January/February 2013 | Simply Buckhead

Sara Hanna

The ‘Best of Atlanta’ is now in Sandy Springs! vibe c i t c e l c e ove! l A fun, a n n o g e that you’r

6450 Roswell Rd in Sandy Springs

antiques • industrial • midcentury • sofas home decor • art • gifts • design services throw o t t n a w e Makes m pron and dance! off this a

Presented by

Kudzu Antiques Decatur

7 days 10a-6p 404-255-2548

2928 E. Ponce de Leon 404-373-6498

‘Best of Atlanta 2012’

As seen in People Magazine • HGTV American Pickers • Southern Living

©2013 Porsche Cars North America, Inc. Porsche recommends seat belt usage and observance of all traffic laws at all times.

Atlanta’s Consumer Choice Award Winner 9 Years in a Row. Jim Ellis Porsche has a long history of customer loyalty and commitment to customer care that sets us apart from the crowd.

We relish selling and servicing one of the most desired brand names in North America, Porsche. We welcome you and we hope you enjoy your visit. Drop in and browse anytime, or call for an appointment if you prefer. Enjoy complimentary Starbucks coffee every day in our showroom. Conveniently located inside the Perimeter at 4006 Carver Drive, just off of Peachtree Industrial.

At Jim Ellis Porsche you can always “Expect The Best!”

Jim Ellis Porsche

770.234.2100 4006 Carver Drive, Atlanta, GA 30360 Just inside 285 off Peachtree Ind. Blvd. www.jimellisporsche.com facebook.com/AtlantaPorsche

Located on Peachtree road at W Paces 3050 Peachtree road NW atlaNta, Ga 30305 404.846.1552 Located by the Perimeter maLL 90 Perimeter ceNter W duNWoody, Ga 30346 770.671.0052

© 2012 Darden Concepts Inc. 13287

A FRESH DINING EXPERIENCE THAT CELEBRATES LIVING WELL

For details on group and event dining, visit www.Seasons52.com 13287_S5_FreshDining_Ad_Buckhead.indd 1

10/22/12 2:12 PM

Buckhead

3403 Northside Pkwy, NW atlanta, Ga 30327

404.844.4824

Listen to the weekly checkup on WSB radio 95.5FM and AM750 every 4th Sunday of the month at 3:00pm.

Dr. Will Draper and Dr. Stacy Stacy will field questions on all aspects of your pet’s health and care.

Mon-Fri 7:00am-7:00pm Sat 8:00am-2:00pm

decaTur 24 hour hoSPiTal 217 North McDonough St Decatur, GA 30030 (L to R) Drs. Will Draper, Amy Mathews, Megan Stewart, and Laura Hooper

chosen as “Best Vet” in the “readers choice 2012” editions of Stone Mountain-redan, lilburn-Mtn Park, decatur-avondale estates, east atlanta, Virginia highland-druid hills, Brookhaven, Buckhead, and Sandy Springs editions of Patch.com.

www.TheVillageVets.com

404.371.0111 SToNe MouNTaiN 1227 Rockbridge Rd, Ste #300 Stone Mountain, GA 30087

770.717.1650