Nick's at the Beach

So I got a text earlier commenting that I have been slacking on the blogging. I didn't realize there were people who counted on my posts, so here comes a flood of them starting with Nick's at the Beach.

809 Thomas Avenue, Pacific Beach
San Diego, CA 92109
(858) 270-1730

Nick's is in Pacific Beach and is a *mostly* seafood restaurant. I know I said I would never post about seafood, but I got steak.

It came with some basic sauteed vegetables and some pretty garlicky mashed potatoes. If you are not a fan of garlic, it's best to pass on this side.

Nick's has been voted "The Best of..." a few times and came highly recommended by San Diego's Unknown Eater. For steak it was so-so, but for seafood I assume it's probably pretty boss.

I ordered mine "medium" and it came with a nice pink center.


My friend ordered the Chilaquile Seabass.

It came with the same sides, which were just a little boring for me for a "nicer" place. Not bad at all, just kinda boring.

For dessert we opted to skip Nick's and head down to Mission Beach to an old standard favorite of mine as a kid.

It's just a plain old ice cream stand. But inside...

The closest thing to Hawaiian Shave Ice I've had since being IN Hawaii.

Complete with Ice Cream in the bottom. Om nom nom.

Six Feet Under Atlanta

When I was a kid, I was pretty morbid. I was fascinated with serial killers and criminal psychology. I would AskJeeves about them all the time. For all you youngins' this predates google by a few years. This gradually lead to me becoming interested in other things the way kids do, from Wicca, to ghosts and finally ended up with my current and favorite morbid obsession; Cemeteries.

Confederate Section of the Oakland Cemetery.

There really aren't many places in the world that make me feel more alone and yet totally at peace than cemeteries. Especially really old ones. In fact, newer cemeteries with big green rolling hills and flat, flesh with the grass headstones, don't really do it for me at all. My 2 favorite cemeteries of all time are located in the mountains of San Diego in Julian, Ca and right here in Atlanta.

View of downtown Atlanta from the Oakland Cemetery.

I used to live down the street from the Oakland Cemetery in Atlanta and I used to walk there and visit often. This was how I originally found Six Feet Under. At first, the name was enough to catch my eye, but for a girl who has unspeakable horrid repercussions with eating seafood, a pub and fish house seemed like the last place I'd ever be caught dead in (pun so obviously intended).

Six Feet Under as seen from the Jewish section of the Oakland Cemetery.

It wasn't until one night that Michelle and I needed hamburgers so badly, that we decided to go, and the rest, as we say, was foodie history. Over our remaining year in the ATL, Michelle and I would come to visit Six Feet Under multiple times, enjoying not only the burgers, but the excellent selection in NON seafood faire.

When the great tornado of '08 swept through downtown Atlanta, busting out windows in cars and hotels, the city wasn't the only casualty. Oakland Cemetery was hit as well, uprooting trees and smashing headstones predating the turn of the 20th century to bits.

Tornado damage to a Confederate grave site.

It was closed and I never got to say goodbye, so to speak. When Brian and I were deciding on what spots to see on our trip, there was no question in my mind, and the only food I could think of to accompany our trip, was Six Feet Under.

Six Feet Under
437 Memorial Drive S.E.
Atlanta, Ga. 30312
404-523-6664

In the past year, Six Feet Under has moved, just one block south to it's new location on Memorial Blvd, just south of Downtown Atlanta. At first I thought the economy had killed yet another amazing place, but as we sadly drove out of the old parking lot, I saw the new location.

Brian and I weren't very hungry and decided it best to order a smorgasbord of appetizers to hold us off until dinner. One thing I had ALWAYS looked at, and ALWAYS wanted to try, were the Alligator Bites they serve up here.

Brian and I chow down on Alligator and Home Style chips.

I've never eaten alligator, but Brian has had Crocodile in Kenya, and I had tried rattlesnake chili once, so we were both pretty prepared. That's a great thing about Brian, he might be afraid of vegetables, but weird meats are always something he's down for. We rounded off our alligator by ordering the Fried Green Tomatoes and the Home Style Chips.

Fried Green Tomatoes with Horseradish Dill sauce.

Six Feet Under has some of the best Fried Green Tomatoes in Atlanta, the only others that even come close are the ones at The Flying Biscuit Cafe (they have goat cheese and jalapeno pecan chutney!) The sauce they drizzle over these puppies is a sour cream based dill and horseradish sauce that I'm tempted to try to replicate at home.

Home Style Chips.

Their Home Style Chips are really fabulous and if you are a potato chip lover in Atlanta they should not be missed. Crispy, and lightly salted they also come with a side of the dill sauce.

Stuffing thy face.

The main course in our appetizer lunch were the Alligator Bites.

Alligator Bites.

If you've ever eaten anything cold blooded you already know what they taste like. Firm, slightly tough and chewy, they have the consistency of a well done steak and the taste of, I hate to say it but its true, chicken. They also come with the delicious dill sauce.

Cross section of Alligator, trying to look all like chicken.

My sisters boyfriend said that he's had them before and they remind him most of calamari. Nothing I'm running to book my next flight to Atlanta for or anything, but definitely worth a taste. After watching all those "I'll eat anything you put in front of me" type shows on the Travel Channel, turning your nose up to alligator seems rather silly.

Delicious Dip.

The Dekalb Market!

Seriously, for any grocery store/farmers market/specialty store lover like me, The Dekalb Market in East Atlanta is heaven. If you've never been there, and live in that area of the world, simply take Ponce de Leon, east, through Decatur, and it will be on your left after a few miles.

When I lived here Michelle and I would go often, usually after brunch at The Flying Biscuit, or some other Atlantan breakfast institution, but honestly to me, there is none other than that. Dekalb has the best selection of meats, fruits and veggies you've only ever heard of on Iron Chef.

Before the "plain clothes security guard" yelled at me for taking pictures, I managed to snap a few.


They clearly post that no weapons are allowed in the store. No smoking either. Perhaps I missed the sign about pictures because I was taking so many pictures.


This is just PART of the produce section. Seriously, I have never seen so many random fruits and vegetables in one area. Anything you can think of, chances are they have it, in stock, and fresh.


I understand that leeks aren't very out of the ordinary, but they are full of lulz.


I'll let you come to your own conclusions on this picture.


They have a great inhouse bakery and were letting every try their breads. They were pretty amazing. The Honey Wheat was my favorite.


The fish section. Blech! I don't go in here cuz it smells really bad like dead fish, and I'm allergic, but they have so many kinds of fish and shellfish. They even have fresh lobster, crab, and catfish tanks.


Crab legs from like every kind of crab ever.


These are the steaks we ended up getting. Big Fat New York Strips. $35 worth of them. They were delicious. I'll post what we did with them soon. I promise.

Make sure you bring cash or check, because they don't accept cards. Maybe Debit...

The Dekalb Farmer's Market is located at;

3000 E. Ponce De Leon Avenue

Decatur, GA 30030