Sitting by my fire, under my seriously cozy blanket, glass of wine in one hand, Anna Quindlen novel in the other, I harshly remembered this damn blog. Gah. Since I would rather not self-flagulate for the next week, guess I better blog.

Yeah, I’m gettin’ my cozy on. It’s crazy cold here in Georgia, and we Southerners do not know how to act in the cold. Or do we? Other than making myself write this piece of garbage, I was perfectly happy in my happy cozy place.

The past week, I’ve been overwhelmed with home improvement work and I’ve decided that manual labor does not suit me. I’ve had to redo my whole kitchen after FINALLY getting decent countertops, and I rearranged my bedroom furniture because I wanted to. I know, #firstworldproblems.

But I feel I’ve earned my cozy on this Friday evening. I also am celebrating making a new friend today. What a blessing that is. At my age of 43, I do not take that for granted. So it’s starting to be a great weekend, and then, BOOM, I remember my blog.

Whatevs. What I had planned for last week, at which time I was engaged in a full-on cousin reunion weekend, What?!, was to do a local restaurant review, so here goes:

First of all, I will only review restaurants I like. There’s plenty of negative internet bs out there (Kim Kardashian, please put your a$$ away and off of my Facebook timeline) so I try to keep it upbeat. I will not lie, but I don’t want to be part of a business losing money.

1. So for starters, let’s talk about Meat ‘n Greet. God bless you, owners of MNG. That food is of the gods. I love the PC burger…pimento cheese and bacon jam. It’s my jam, all right. With the homemade french fries, omg, I sadly can eat the entire thing if I go in hungry. I also love the sliders…you get your choice of 3, and I always get the pimento cheese, the cheeseburger, and the smoked chicken salad. The pc and burger, I’ve already hyped, so let’s talk smoked chicken salad. It may be the redheaded stepchild of a burger joint, but it is one fabulous stepchild. Not sure what they do to it, but it’s the best chicken salad I’ve had in a restaurant. They also have wonderful cocktails and beers, and their bar side has a great energy if you want to hang with some friends.

2. Next, let’s talk about Grinds ‘n Wines. Yay-yuh. Maybe it’s those “‘n” restaurants, but wow, I really love this place. My two fave dishes are the lettuce wraps for an app (chicken, zucchini, squash, greens, and other assorted veggies in a delish asian-y sauce, with lettuce for wrapping and a plum-y sauce for dipping) and the salmon BLT without the bun with sweet potato fries on the side. Ok, these 2 dishes don’t appear to be super ground-breaking ideas, but sometimes you want consistently good food that’s not a crazy, out-there concept. The lettuce wraps have some serious umami going and they are light for an app. The salmon BLT…I can’t NOT get it. The salmon is cooked in some fancy professional contraption that’s like a panini maker for fish…yes, I’ve discussed it with them before. It leaves a delightful sear on the fish that you can not get in a home kitchen. On top of the BLT is avocado, bacon, blue cheese, lettuce, and tomato. And hell, get the bun if you want it. I can’t do it with all of that and the fries, but you go. I’m not judging. With one of their yummy wines on the side, the chill atmosphere, and the excellent service, you’ve got yourself a night out, my friends!

3. No restaurant review of mine would be complete without some kind of mexican food. I’m going to discuss the Rednexican in downtown Newnan, although I haven’t been in a while. It’s been too long and I need to get there this weekend. One of my ATL faves is Taqueria del Sol, but it’s a good 45 minutes away, so I was quite thrilled when Rednexican moved in. Their fish tacos are divine. They put some kind of killer sauce on it with just enough kick…oh my heavens. I get the guac on the side, but the queso and salsa are perfectly good choices as well. Soooo delicious and they have a cool vibe, too, with lights and a big ol’ bike hanging in the middle of the place, and sometimes, some live music. The price is right, too. Go there!

What do you think? What’s a good local place for you to eat? What do your kids like? Where do you take out-of-town guests? I am so happy that we have so many options locally now. A few years ago, that was not the case. Let’s support our local restaurants and give them some love so they can continue to operate for our enjoyment for years to come!

Have a delicious weekend!

Take care of yourselves and each other,

YDC