Over at our awesome sister site, HotelChatter.com, they're discussing a very important matter: What are the best airport hotels to get stuck staying in? This is a topic we can get behind, especially when it includes the glorious picture above, of the indoor pool at the Marriott Renaissance Concourse Hotel at Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson Airport. And you know what, this looks like the ideal plane spotting location for ATL. ]]>
Owen Wilson has only been in Atlanta for a week and he's already making quite an impression on the locals. Owen arrived in town last Monday to start shooting Hall Pass with Jenna Fischer, Amanda Bynes, Christina Applegate and SNL's Jason Sudeikis. The movie, which is being directed by the Farrelly Brothers, is about a guy (Wilson) who gets permission from his wife (Fischer) to sleep with other women. Of course, things get complicated when his wife decides she is going to exercise her “hall pass" as well.
Wilson has already been spotted working and playing all over town. Last week, he hung out with fellow patrons at the Atlanta hotspot Via, located at 262 Pharr Rd, Atlanta. Via's known for their $5 glasses of wine, Margaritas and vodka drinks, along with their brick oven pizzas and flatbreads, sounds like a good choice for a night out after a busy day of filming. ]]>
All that pressurized cabin air seems to have gotten to one passenger aboard an AirTran flight last week. Some guy was talking a big game on the internet about how he personally shut down a potential terrorist attack from happening during a flight from Atlanta. The story got all kinds of attention, and this passenger’s tale was repeated on websites and blogs (but we stayed clear of it). Thankfully an appearance with Matt Lauer and the gang was never scheduled.
Obviously AirTran was pretty interested to see exactly what happened on the flight that got this guy all excited. After all, the passenger was claiming that he grabbed the arm of a passenger and told him he needed to sit down or he’d be tossed off the plane. He claimed the passenger was speaking Arabic and dressed in “full attire”—whatever that means. ]]>
We're admittedly not fans of airport sleeping, but the new Minute Suites at Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson Airport are the closest we've come to changing our minds. They've located in Concourse B, they're 7 feet by 8 feet, and they're clean. They're also isolated and have wifi, adding up to the best situation you can reasonably expect at an airport.
Their promo materials sound a little New Agey—"a wellness-based solution to the stress and fatigue caused by air travel," "'napware' audio program"—but the perks seem to be solid enough. Each suite has a daybed with fresh blankets and pillow covers. There's an HDTV that can stream television programs, flight statistics, or the Internet. You can also access the Internet via the suite wifi or a workstation. Imagine a layover plus a canceled flight, and now imagine not having to walk to the gate every 20 minutes because you can check the flight status from a comfortable sofa. You begin to get a sense of their business plan.]]>
Spiky-haired, bespectacled Top Chef contestant Eli Kirshtein garnered the ire of Tom Colicchio after serving up what the judge deemed "raw lamb." That's no mark of a master chef, but as we know, even talented artisans are prone to missteps, perhaps owing to the pressure of a major prize and a national audience in the millions.
Off the show, Kirshtein serves as the Executive Chef of Atlanta's ENO Restaurant and Wine Bar. No relation to Brian Eno as far as we can tell, although that would make it infinitely cooler. Like many of his competitors, he's a locavore, sourcing ingredients for ENO's menu from farms and specialty stores around the great state of Georgia. ]]>
Gosh it's hard to be objective, and no fun at all. On Friday, a travel blogger named Nicole White posted a harrowing account of being detained in Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport by TSA Agents. Entitled TSA Agents Took My Son, her post alleges, among other things, that a male TSA agent separated her from her 16-month-old son for a private pat-down, which is against TSA procedures. Christopher Elliott picked up the story on Elliott.org, and despite his sage counsel that we withhold judgment until all the facts come out, the commenting classes rose to the defense of White. ]]>
Axed Top Chef contestant Hector Santiago may be large in stature, but what he serves are small dishes—tapas, to be exact. Tapas, for the unfamiliar, are small plates meant to be shared among many and are traditional in Spanish cuisine. At his Atlanta restaurant, Pura Vida ("Pure Life"), Santiago has taken the communal style of eating and practices a "no-rules approach" to cooking. For him that means melding unusual flavors and eschewing tradition to come up with dishes like...Tofu "Ceviche." Oh, boy. Memories of Jennifer's seitan-stuffed peppers from Episode One are coming to mind.
A few questionable choices aside (Trout Ceviche with jelly, canchita corn and milk, anyone? We didn't think so.), many of these cross-cultural menu items are appealing precisely because they're unusual. We're dying to know more about his take on Duck Confit, which comes with caramelized plantains, and Chicken Picadillo Empanadas with a chile-sugar cane vinegar "pique." And, you can't go wrong with Button Mushrooms Pinchos in chipolte garlic butter, Santiago's take on Spanish champiņones. ]]>