Last Sunday, I was invited to attend an exclusive blogger tour hosted by the lovely teams behind Gateway Atlanta and Communications 21. Our afternoon consisted of making various stops at each of the participating locations, chatting with the staff & either sampling their fare and/or learning more about the establishment and their origins itself. Simply put, this tour gave each of the participating businesses a chance to showcase and highlight their unique offerings to a group of food enthusiast who'd never been by this awesome, brand spankin' new, outdoor shopping center prior to this tour! Whether you're in the mood for finger-lickin' good fried chicken, smoked meats straight from The Big Green Egg, mouthwatering pies or you're looking to grab a few locally made goodies at Sprouts, the wide array of options available at Gateway are sure to satisfy & curb those hunger pangs! And when you're ready to work it all off, you've got Blast Fitness & Kale Me Crazy to help you along the way! And while new businesses are still being added to the roster, I can't wait to see the entire shopping center occupied in all of its glory---can we say shop 'til you drop?! So while I'm pretty ashamed to admit that I'd not made a visit here in the past, I will say that I'm super ecstatic to have finally been introduced to this magical new place! Is magical the right word? HECK YES it is! Why? Because I've been saying for years how Tupelo Honey Cafe should have a storefront in Atlanta ever since I ate & fell head over heels in love with the food at their Asheville location back in 2009! So when you've got THC (no, not that kind!) plus a TON of other awesome businesses all in one place, Gateway is bound to be your next 1-stop shop for all things FABULOUS as my girlfriends would say! Even with the blazing hot & humid Georgia weather we endured on the afternoon of our tour, that wasn't going to stop us from having a great time with one another & checking out the goods each participant had to offer!
Let's get started:
1st Stop: URBAN COOKHOUSE
☆Exterior
☆Register/Order Counter
☆Urban Cookhouse crew welcoming & introducing the bloggers!
☆Orange Roll Chicken Salad Sandwiches: Warm orange-flavored rolls filled with a light & refreshing chicken salad, it's hard deciding who the real winner here is! But hey, no need to choose sides because this 2-for-1 steal of a deal is sure to please all tastebuds!
☆Lime Grilled Steak
☆Big Green Egg Pulled Pork
☆BGE Smoked Turkey
☆Broccoli Salad: Cool, light & refreshing, this is definitely the type of salad I want to be eating in the summer! The crunch of the broccoli pairs incredibly well with the sweetness of the red grapes and toasted nuts, which I really enjoyed!
2nd Stop: BUTTERMILK SKY
☆Exterior
☆Kimmie (owner) & her lovely crew
☆Display Counter
☆Adorable Decor
☆Mouthwatering Pies
☆Ovens
☆Buttermilk Sky tees!
☆Kimmie showing us the pie-makin' goods!
☆Pie samples (Chocolate, coconut and buttermilk pie): Light crust, tasty and airy meringue/whipped cream and tantalizing flavors---what could possibly go wrong? It'd be dangerous to leave me in Buttermilk Sky's kitchen alone!
☆Festive Blueberry Pie
☆Delicious Vanilla and Key Lime Thumbprint Cookies: Soft, buttery and crumbly, these vanilla shortbread cookies are given an extra boost of flavor with the key lime and vanilla icing wells-not too sweet, but incredibly delicious!
3rd Stop: Corks & Caps
☆Exterior
☆Interior
☆Wines separated by countries!
☆More Wine!
☆Awesome array of craft beers & other specialty products
4th Stop: SPROUTS FARMERS MARKET
☆Exterior
☆Favorite Part of Sprouts----Fresh Meals To Go!
☆Local Peanut Butter Sandwiches
☆Tasty Pickled Okra
☆Sprouts Corn Dippers & Blackberry Patch Farms Peach Salsa
☆Locally Sourced Deliciousness!
5th Stop: KALE ME CRAZY
☆Exterior
☆Interior
☆Healthy and KMC Items for Sale
☆Cleanse Packages & New Watermelon Juice
☆Painkiller Shot (Ginger, lime, turmeric, raw honey): I'll admit, this wellness shot wasn't for me. *insert sad face* While I absolutely love ginger with my sushi or in desserts, the amount of ginger in this shot was too much for me to handle. However, I will say that a few of my fellow bloggers downed their shots like a pro & truly enjoyed it to the last drop! So don't be afraid, give it a shot yourself!
6th *BONUS* Stop: BLAST FITNESS
☆Exterior
☆Interior
☆Checking out the physical assessment room
7th Stop: TUPELO HONEY CAFE
☆Exterior
☆Interior
☆Lavender Lemonade Fizz
☆Pineapple Tiki Bomb
☆Fried Green Tomatoes (Goat cheese grits, red pepper coulis and fresh basil): OMG! I'll admit, I always have some reservations when it comes to ordering fried green tomatoes at restaurants. I've had too many bad experiences with this dish that it warrants not really ordering it any more. So imagine my surprise when this dish comes out---not only is the presentation absolutely gorgeous, but each tomato was glistening in all of its golden fried glory! The temptation just wouldn't subside, so I just had to dive in, FORK first! Holy Southern food gods above, these fried green tomatoes were by far some of the BEST I've ever had! Generously sliced and juicy green tomatoes with a light and crunchy panko breading atop a bed of sensationally creamy goat cheese grits, followed with a tangy red pepper coulis and fresh basil-absolutely divine and mouthwatering! I've seriously never had anything like it!
☆Potato Cracklins: Smashed potatoes with a pork rind-like type of crunchy skin, these little balls of happiness are a fun take on a classic side dish-yum!
☆Apple Cider Braised Collards with Country Ham (pardon the lighting!): If ya'll don't know by now, collard greens are typically my go-to side item whenever I see it on the menu! Something about their chewy texture and sourness from the way they're braised just makes me feel all warm and happy inside! Tupelo Honey's collards evoke the same response! The collards are cooked down perfectly & the addition of the country ham bits add a nice meaty component to this dish!
☆Baked Okra: I've never had okra like this before since I'm always used to either pickled or fried okra, so I have to admit that Tupelo Honey's baked okra completely blew my mind! These thinly sliced okra pieces had a light crunch to them, but the standout by far was the savory, yet slightly zesty seasoning they were tossed in! I couldn't quite put my finger on exactly which spices were used, but I could definitely tell you that my tummy was so happy! Paired with the cool ranch dipping sauce, I could've easily polished off this plate by myself!
☆Fried Chicken Love Tower: First off, how AMAZING is this presentation?! It's like a tower of peace, love and happiness all combined in ONE! Give one of these babies to each world leader & we'd be a million steps closer to world peace! Served only on wednesdays & sundays, the fried chicken here is simply ridiculous! The chicken meat itself is juicy, flavorful and tender, while its skin is light, crispy and fried to golden brown perfection. In addition, the pillowy, cloud-like, melt-in-your-mouth biscuits & homemade jam just take everything that's good & delicious about Southern food to the next level! Move over spaghetti and meatballs, fried chicken and biscuits (from Tupelo Honey Cafe) are where it's at!
As you can probably tell by now, it's pretty clear that Communications 21and the participating Gateway businesses spoiled all of the afternoon's attendees and went above and beyond to ensure that we had plenty to eat, were well-hydrated & left knowing so much more about these businesses than before. Our tour started off at The Collections, an apartment complex located behind Gateway. Here, we signed in and waited for fellow bloggers to arrive, while we chatted, sipped on some bubbly and were handed our selfie sticks. Not much longer after my arrival, our tour officially kicked off with the first stop being Urban Cookhouse. We were welcomed by two lovely ladies (in the picture above), who gave us the lowdown on what sets UC apart from its competitors such as smoking all their meats on The Big Green Egg and using seasonal & locally sourced ingredients in all of their dishes. Once they provided us with brief introduction, we were seated towards the back of the restaurant, where plate after plate of deliciously smoked meats & orange rolls with chicken salad were brought over to the table. Since we still had plenty of stops to make, we nibbled and noshed on a few bites before moving on. The next stop was Buttermilk Sky, a pie-licious franchise founded by Scott and Meredith Layton showcasing pies using their nanny's recipes. This adorably decorated shop features rustic wooden decor, elegantly displayed pies on wooden boards & an impeccably clean kitchen. Seriously, it's spotless in there (yup, we totally got to peek and take a tour of the kitchen and fridges!). Kimmie, the franchise owner of this location & her crew were so incredibly sweet to us! Slicing up samples, telling us stories, showing us what goes on behind-the-scenes & so much more, don't even get me started on the mini 4" pies they shared with us as a parting gift! I got the key lime and WOAH, it was AMAZING! I cannot wait to come back & try their other flavors! The next stop on the list was Corks and Caps, a beer, wine & spirits shop featuring plenty of options for any alcohol lover or gift giver! Although I'm not much of a drinker myself, the organized and wonderfully categorized displays and shelves would make any perfectionist happy (ya'll have no idea how happy it made me!). Sprouts Farmers Market was next, where we learned about how Sprouts is doing their best to incorporate more locally sourced products & artisan goods in their stores, such as Blackberry Patch Farms and Georgia Grinders. We sampled some PB&J sandwiches, salsa and pickled okras to name a few, but the highlight was by far the tasty, freshly squeezed orange juice from Sprouts-holy cow, seriously amazing! Afterwards, we crossed the street and checked out Kale Me Crazy, where we got a chance to try the painkiller shot. It's definitely unique & will probably knock out your hangover after the first sip, followed by BLAST Fitness. We learned more about BLAST and the services they offer and let me tell ya'll, they're legit! I can't wait to use my free class pass! Lastly, we left BLAST and headed to the final stop of our tour, Tupelo Honey Cafe. Although this was my first visit to the Sandy Springs location, it's by far one of my favorite places to eat authentic Southern comfort food! Doesn't matter if it's for lunch, brunch or dinner, I would never get tired of it! While it's hard to diverge from their homemade biscuit sandwiches or Shoo Mercy, I couldn't have been more ecstatic to try their fried chicken love tower, Southern sides & fruity cocktails and mocktails! If you read my reviews above, then you're probably able to guess by now that everything was absolutely delicious, especially the fried green tomatoes and fried chicken! Hands down, some of the best I've had anywhere in Atlanta and I'm not just saying that either! Everything we had was simply delectable and I've never expected anything less of them-great food & even greater company, what more could you ask for?! Plus, each blogger was also sent home with a THC cookbook, too! You can't see it, but I'm grinning from ear to ear because getting their cookbook was actually on my list for whenever I made another visit, so I'm pretty stinkin' excited! Just when we thought the afternoon couldn't get any better, at the end of the tour, each attendee was gifted with a swag bag filled with items from the participating businesses---such a sweet gesture from c21 & Gateway! All in all, the Communications 21 team, especially Jordan and Sharon, seriously knocked this blogger tour out of the park! I'm incredibly thankful that I had the opportunity to join in on this unforgettable afternoon! With more stores being added to the Gateway community, you're going to wish you moved to one of the beautiful Collections apartments just behind the shops! I don't know about ya'll, but I CANNOT wait to see what else is in store for this outdoor development! If the tour was only a sneak peek, can you imagine what it's going to be like when it's completely done? WOWZA!
Have a wonderful day,
-Sandy
FTC: Although this was a media event and my meal was comped, I will always provide an honest review & experience of the restaurant.
If you'd like to invite Bella Vivere to cover & share your restaurant's media events, tastings or parties, feel free to shoot me an email at bellavivere {at} gmail {dot} com-Thanks!
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