noplasticshowers

If you are a careful reader of noplasticshowers, you may recall the very first blog entry ever (October 21, 2009). Way back when! What were we whining about then? A Marriott property foist on us by the Kilbourne. You see, some people will do most anything for points. Some people, but not us some people.

Here at the Ritz Carlton you might expect a glass shower, right? Like the ones in Charlotte. Sadly, Atlanta appears to be a hotel desert. And as such, even the Ritz (the Ritz!!) has plastic showers. Alas.

I do not like plastic showers. Really.

A good start in the tiny bathroom, but is that a plastic shower?!

Queue YES Close to the Edge (yeah I know the title referenced Rush, what can I say?!)

I get up.

I get down.

Ah the high life in a high end hamster cage.

Never fear, there is an amenity that arrived as this diatribe was under construction. Did I say hamster? Eat up little hamster.

All your bar foods are come in BIG BIG bag. With coke.

Of course, Atlanta is a big city and there are plenty of great places to go. Dinner at South City Kitchen was relaxed and very nice with a supremely delicious pork BBQ appetizer. Drinks at 4th and Swift were surprisingly well-crafted by Gabriel. The only fly in the ointment is that Gabriel needs to relax about recipes and understand that every great drink will survive on its own in the light of day. Gabriel was fun at first, and then just plain green.

We concocted a Berryville Passage with Batavia Arrack (which I still need to procure for my bar), some homemade black walnut bitters, and an overly-smokey scotch. The new recipe is called the Peachtree Passage:
1.5 Batavia Arrack
.5 Dolin’s sweet vermouth
.5 Dolin’s dry vermouth
.5 Yellow Chartreuse
1 dash House Black Walnut bitters from 4th and Swift
1 dash Angustora

Wash a cocktail glass with smokey scotch. Shake. Flame a lemon peel over the drink. Drop in peel.

The next day started out right with a quick trip to dancing goats coffee (which would even meet jS criteria) on the way to Krispy Kreme!

The ultimate doughnut.

No calories whatsoever.

The famous hot doughnuts now sign is on and the factory is running.

Proof that the cigital offices actually exist!

Cigital Atlanta

Night two was even better than the first with a superb dinner at Ecco where they have outstanding charcuterie and a great winelist. After dinner we went to Seven Lamps for the best mixology in Atlanta. Master barman Kevin Bragg created a trio of outstanding drinks, including this experimental beverage which we will call the Georgia Liberal:
2 oz Rittenhouse 100 Rye
.5 Punt et mes
.5 Kronan Swedish Punsch
.5 Amaro Cio Ciaro
1 dash hopped grapefruit bitters
orange peel

We will leave the Ritz in Atlanta with three showerheads, despair that Atlanta just can’t rise to the occasion, and this snippet of YES.

Down at the edge, close by a river.
Close to the edge, round by the corner.
Close to the end, down by the corner.
Down at the edge, round by the river.

Gorgeous ceiling in the Biltmore ballroom.