Happy Monday Foodie Friends!


With summer officially upon us, now is the perfect time to share my favorite Italian Ice cream spot with you... Paolo's Gelato Italiano in the Virginia Highlands. It is the best ice cream in Atlanta. If you live in Atlanta, like I do and you haven't been, get there asap. If you plan on visiting, include this as a stop on your itinerary. It reminds me of the delish authentic Italian ice cream shops from my home town in Germany, and it doesn't get much better than that!

I recently attended the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra to witness magic. Atlanta Falcons Offensive Guard, Justin Blalock was the host and guest conductor for the Orchestra’s Side-By-Side Summer Concert of Student and Professional Musicians. He lead the combined orchestras in John Williams' popular “Raiders March” from the Indiana Jones films to conclude the show.

From the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra: In addition to this new partnership with the Atlanta Symphony, Mr. Blalock will continue to grow his work with The Justin Blalock Foundation, which targets students, ages 11-18, in the Greater Dallas and Greater Atlanta areas who participate in sports. The Foundation uses athletics and education as tools and motivators to strengthen family relationships, and create a new generation of successful student athletes and future role models in the community.

If you are a reader of this blog, you know I take my daughter out on Daddy-Daughter dates. This time around, my daughter and I got dressed up and hit the town on a balmy June evening in my own efforts to strengthen her background in music and to remind myself of the majesty that is classical music. I was transported back to when I was her age, listening to the strings, hearing the brasses chime in, jumping from fright as I was never prepared for the thunderous roar of the percussion instruments. To put all those instruments and people (both young and aspiring and professional and accomplished) together to produce music nearly brought my heart to tears.

What I forgot was how much I initially hated the experience myself.

There is no better way to go into the weekend than with talk of good eats and fine dining.

Since ancient times people come together to break bread. Eating with company, family, etc. is one of my favorite pastimes, sometimes surpassing the actual food I'm eating. But being as I am married to an amateur chef (who I feel needs to go pro) and have been sampling restaurant fare for as long as I can remember, it would only make sense that I would take note of all the food available to me during my recent trip to the Islands of the Bahamas.


Good Eats

Conch Fritters. This island delicacy is a sinfully light "pastry" that is packed with green and red peppers, conch (an island shellfish that is THE island shellfish), garlic and spices, the spicier the better. It comes with a dipping sauce that can be best described as a spicy ranch sauce that adds that much more punch to the already unique flavor. Conch (pronounced "Conk" like honk) in my opinion, tastes however it is flavored and it is fantastic when embedded in these Bahamian-made fritters. During my stay, conch fritters were served as appetizers at nearly every meal short of breakfast.

I've lived in Chicago. I've lived in Connecticut. I've lived in New York City. I live in Atlanta. I would like live a portion of my older years in the Caribbean.

Whenever I visit places, most recently, my native Chicago, I leave with this sense that I am leaving something behind. Some peace or ease of living that exists there that doesn't where I currently reside. The same happened during a trip to NYC a few weeks ago. And so too did this emotional yearning occur when I departed from my four day press-trip to the Bahamas.

But the entire time I was home in Chicago I listened to my mother complain about the declining quality of life, the escalating prices of everything, and the outrageous murder rate (which everyone should be complaining about). While waiting to fly out of Atlanta to the Bahamas I met a woman in the airport, a recent transplant to the city, who professed that she hated the ATL. Even in my own household there is a geographic pursuit of happiness --- an assignment of almost mythic grandeur to either a place you once were or a place you have yet to arrive that leaves persons perpetually unsatisfied. I've been guilty of the same. I think most of us who walk upright, breathe air and communicate via language have been at least once.

If you grew up with one or both of your parents, you most certainly have either a short or long list of sayings that one or both parents got into the habit of saying while caring for/disciplining/chastising you. You know these words were said more to test you back once you began to test them as if to ask, "you really want to go there?" And you never did. And no matter how wild or brazen mom's crazy-statements were, dad was able to effortlessly take crazy-statements to an incomprehensible level. In honor of Father's Day I've decided to list down the ten things I say weekly and sometimes more to my kids. Some are son-specific, most are equally applicable and all are said with love. I used to think my dad was ridiculous for his sayings. Now, I belong to the club of the ridiculous.

10. Why is the front door unlocked? If I get robbed I'm putting all of y'all out in the street!
9. Keep it up and I will hang you upside down by your toenails...yeah, really.
8. Who left these lights on? I will empty your college fund out right now and go on vacation.
7. I didn't hear you...what did you say? (pause and lean in close to hear) You sure you want to repeat that?
6. You got five seconds to get it together --- 5...4...3...2...1 (repeated twice)
5. Oh my God, go to bed! The only thing going on right now is me trying to get some sleep.
4. Don't show up at my front door after curfew. No, I mean, don't bother coming home and don't think you're coming home the next day either.
3. Your what? (lean in and pause for answer - usually silence) Nothing in here is yours except the body God gave you.
2. (To my son after he says something ridiculous) Do I have to punch you in the head?
1. (While driving) Hold on... (while pulling to side of road or highway or into some parking lot in the middle of nowhere) Get out. Since you got so much mouth you can talk your way home. Good luck with that.

Spending a little bit of time thinking about the above list brought a smile to my face. I've said it all with no malice at all on my heart in an effort to coach, direct and love my kids.

I love my kids.

Happy Father's Day.

Want to add to this list? Please do in the comments and please keep in mind this is all in fun, anything offensive won't be posted.

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Check out this graphic below listing the thoughts and opinions of some of the leading online dads on the subject of what they wish they had been told prior to becoming a dad (compiled by Future Fortified). You might be surprised by the responses based on who is saying them.

Why my two-cents is included in this esteemed group is beyond me.

Graphic courtesy of Future Fortified.

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Thanks for reading! To learn more about me, you can read my story.

As lofty and optimistic as I am about fatherhood, there are alarming stats that suggest otherwise. Either not everyone agrees with me, or they might not be able or willing, for one reason or another, to be fathers to their children. On Friday, June 15 at noon, I was a guest on Headline News with host, Mike Galanos, and actor, singer, Tyrese Gibson, I was able to share some of my insights on this issue and also celebrate all the dads trying and doing their best (Happy Father's Day). Check out the video below:



What are your thoughts on fatherlessness? And for the record, although there is a spike in the numbers in the black community, the stats show this epidemic cuts across all ethnicities in the U.S. so please don't feel excluded from commenting.

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Thanks for reading! To learn more about me, you can read my story.