The Burning of Atlanta, III

Folk Art and House Brews

Nov. 21

I needed a map to find a place to have breakfast outside a hotel. It seems this part of downtown is hotel central. The Corner Cafe Bakery is easy to find. Turn right outside the hotel, left onto Baker Street, cross Peachtree Center Avenue to Peachtree Street, and there it is.

A block away, West Peachtree Street branches off Peachtree Street. At the corner of West Peachtree Street and West Peachtree Place, there is the Best Western Plus Inn at the Peachtree. That “at the Peachtree” really narrows it down.

A brewer at Max Lager’s brew pub told me Atlanta has 84 streets with “Peachtree” in the name. Maryellen said more than a hundred, but she may have been counting the suburbs, too.

I stepped out of the hotel and noticed a building in the distance. It may have been there the day before,  but I was only now catching up. Very tall, red, and by itself. But the funniest thing is the top, which looks like the framework for an incomplete pyramid. And then instead of the usual Zeppelin mooring mast in the manner of the Empire State Building, the thing is capped with what from a half mile away seems to be a marble obelisk, like something Cleopatra lost.

After breakfast I went out to see what it was. on fhe way I passed a memporable piece of work. Anything involving nake ladies dancing with whips is notable.

I found that the mystery structure was the Bank of America building. I had passed the Bank of America Plaza, the building’s front yard, in the dark the other night on the way to the Fox Theater and the Publik Draft House. The large plaza in front of the building was lined with lighted trees, and I didn’t notice the top.

In the morning the tree lights were out. It’s November and the petunias are blooming next to the walk.

On the way up I passed Max Lager’s Wood-Fired Grill and Brewery. I made a note of that. 

On the way back I passed something very curious. There was a windmill, almost a large pinwheel, turning so I went to find out what it was.

What I found is called Folk Art Park. It occupies three corners of the intersection of Frank McGill Boulevard and Courtland Street. Interstate 75 runs under the intersection. You can zoom in and see the top of all this on Google Maps in the satellite view.

One corner has a painted wall and several cylindrical structures dressed as heads—a little touch of Easter Island here in Atlanta. Another has fantasy animals, striped and polka-dotted creatures on cutouts that suggest a rolling meadow.

The wheels are on the third corner, and part of that is the picture of the day.

I was hanging out at the hotel for a while reading the Times, checking e-mail, and being lazy. So in the afternoon when it was time for a beer, I walked back to Max Lager’s. 

The building is (or is decked out to look like) an old commercial site—iron stairs, plenty of room for vats and barrels and pool tables. It was the middle of the afternoon and when I got there it was quiet. One guy was eating his lunch and talking with two men behind the bar.

It really is a brewery. So I started with the house wheat beer, Collaborator Wheat Wine, so called because it runs about 8.5 percent alcohol. It was like no wheat beer I’ve had before. It was dark amber and downright smoky. Very full of flavor, too. 

The Abbey Ale was weak as Belgian knock-offs go, but still very drinkable. Many Belgians are too strong to go comfortably with most meals. That’s why I often save Chimay for dessert. This was a little tamer and probably would go well with a steak.

According to Gene, the bartender, the beer list keeps changing. They make a wide variety and frequently swap selections in and out. 

One of the brewers, Ron, said you won’t find any fruit beers. Maybe pumpkin ale once in a while, but nothing with blueberries, for instance.

The man finishing his lunch was Alan, the owner. He said the brewers tend to be conservative in their approach but always try to add “mmm” to the beer. They’re not looking for exotic flavors, but for something that makes you go “mmm” when you drink it.

Nothing like having a beer with guys who enjoy their work.

One that’s almost always on the menu, Gene said, is the Hopsplosion IPA. According to the menu, it is “intensely hoppy India pale ale with a toasted malt backbone to back up a citrusy/spicy finish from aggressive hopping with a blend of hops from the Pacific Northwest.” It was sharp, nicely bitter, and full.

I was dressed in the usual way for visiting a city—jacket, vest, and flannel trousers, black and grey. While I was working on the IPA, a guy came up to me and said I looked sharp. He said, “We were joking in the back. We said you must be James Bond’s consultant.”

All right. It was almost as cool as having a nomad call me “frequent flyer.”

But after three beers I was ready to go back to the hotel to wait for Maryellen and Kenny.

They were delayed so we went right out to dinner when they got to the hotel. 

We strolled to Baraonda, about a mile from the Hilton. It’s an Italian restaurant a block up Peachtree Street from the Fox Theater. 

The food is not generally good in Atlanta. I told you about the Brunswick stew. I had country fried chicken at the Publik House. It may have been country fried, but the meat clearly had been factory breaded and packed.

Baraonda (I don’t know if the “a” and “o” in the middle are pronounced together or separately) is another story. The food was terrific. I had a wonderful pasta dish with meat sauce. Maryellen gave me a sample of her lasagne, which is the best I’ve ever tasted. The Sangiovese and Chianti were good. This was another mild Chianti. Larry says Chianti has generally high in tannins, but oddly enough, the last two Chiantis I’ve had have seemed relatively mellow. But then, I was eating a very savory dish, and that would affect my perception of the wine.

The Valpolicella was terrific with dessert.

It wasn’t too late when we finished, but all the museums and the zoo were long closed, so we finished the evening a block south, at the Publik Draft House. This time I had their house brand IPA, which was crisp and tasty, as a draft IPA should be. I had another local brew, too, but I was wearing down and didn’t take notes.

We strolled back to the hotel. Mare and Ken went for their car.

I went upstairs and conked out. I found my money clip lying on the floor this morning and have no idea how it got there. So far, so good.

Nov. 22

Good observation on the Chianti....fatty food will mellow tannins and acidity in the wine. That's why it's so ideal with food! And some Chiantis are made in a more "international" style for the world market; the emphasis is on fruit and softness.

Larry