Our first stop of the day was Fat Matt’s rib shack and after going to the wrong venue I had a bonding moment with the menu.

The prices were about the same as I’d expect to pay at local rib joints but with the benefit that here it was fast food-style and one didn’t need to consider gratuity.  Quality ribs to me are about scale and how to get a consistent result when going through large quantities as there’s at least a 4-hour lag between preparation and presentation.  Southern baby back ribs tend to be fattier and use a spicier and sharper sauce compared to Northern ribs that generally have a sweeter sauce with earthier flavors to them.  The fat provides a superior mouth feel when combined with a thinner sauce that creates a flavor that coats the mouth.  The pork was well prepared but I think my preferences lie north of the Mason-Dixon line.

Atlanta Botanical Garden

My passes to the New York Botanical Gardens have paid for themselves in legion ways thanks to their reciprocal membership program through the American Horticultural Society.  Atlanta’s gardens offered free admission and discount parking bringing my total savings with my passes to about $200 for $100 in initial outlay.  The gardens themselves were varied but small, only clocking in at 30 acres but this made the entire place viewable in one day.  Reuben didn’t have a camera so he found other ways to amuse himself.

This was one of my first trips where I tried using my 100mm macro lens as a walk around lens and I was happy with the results.

They had an array of indoor greenhouses and the Flickr album best shows these. After going through the green houses, Suzie made commune with what looked like an anole.

More Pictures

[flickr album=72157629992203416 num=20 size=Thumbnail]

GJ

Grant lives not too far from Atlanta and I wanted to go ice skating so we went to his place only to find that he was busy doing lawn maintenance. I wouldn’t have minded this for a casual trip but he had literally a month’s notice and we had driven 800 miles to be there. Suzie and Reuben yelled from the car while I swept the driveway and Grant took a 5 minute shower lasting 20 minutes. We had missed skating and went to dinner. My fusion tacos were unremarkable but Suzie received a bowl of pho large enough to swim in and I’ve shopped it to this effect.

From 2012-03-22 Atlanta Botanical Gardens

After mediocre Asian food, we continue to get frozen yogurt from Menchie’s which had closed moments before we arrived. Undeterred, I stood by the door holding my thumb and forefinger in a heart pattern until one of the attendants came to the door.

Attendant: We’re closed.
Me: I understand, but we have literally driven 800 miles to be here and after shit-talking all other froyo places arrived here to see it closed. If you don’t let us in, you’ll be putting us in the position of having to call your ex-girlfriend for a handy on a Sunday night after you shit talked her to your new girlfriend that just abandoned you. Don’t put us in that situation.
Attendant: Do you just want frozen yogurt?
Me: Yes.
Attendant: Ok, here are some free waffle cones.

I did not have frozen yogurt so much as the sweet frozen rewards that come with an ability to bullshit.

We dropped off Grant and headed back to Reuben’s playing the stereo far too loudly going through a progression of songs we all turned out to know the words too across My Chemical Romance, Green Day, The Killers and P!nk.  So for 45 minutes we sang loudly while silently judging each other.