50 New Things in 2013: #1 Picasso's Grill in Athens, AL

This year I have promised myself to try 50 new things. This includes visiting new places, going to new restaurants, trying new things in general. I won't do anything crazy like jump out of an airplane or bungee jump because I want to live to see 2014. And maybe what I'm doing won't excite anyone at all, but this is more for me than it is to excite someone else. I'm trying to find ways to stimulate my brain, my heart, my soul. And I'm desperate to find a fabulous dining experience in this area. I have been to Albany Bistro in Historic Albany many times for lunch because it is a good restaurant, locally owned, and the atmosphere is eclectic and different. If you want a nice lunch/dinner, check them out.

Bearing my experience at Albany Bistro in mind, the Physicist and I decided to visit a place we'd heard about from a friend: Picasso's Grill in Athens, AL. I checked out the website and despite a few spelling errors and typos, I thought the place looked interesting and the lunch menu appealed to me.

The Physicist and I drove out to Pulaski, TN to buy his favorite scotch (it's $20 cheaper per bottle there and it's like a buy 2, get 1 free deal). It's about 45 minutes from here and a lovely drive; especially on a bright, sunny day with crystal blue skies. After we got his much coveted scotch, we returned via Athens and went to Picasso's Grill.

I loved the interior design--the owner's wife painted the mural and decorated the small restaurant and bar in red, black & white. The seating was comfortable and they'd refurbished church pews and different ladder back chairs, painting them a shiny black. The service was phenomenal. I could tell that the personnel took pride in this new establishment and they want it to succeed. The restaurant was full--just past lunch hour it still had lingering guests who were taking home leftover halves of sandwiches, so I had high hopes.

After analyzing the menu, I decided to order the Steak & Blue sandwich and the Physicist ordered the Cuban Sandwich. Both came with steak fries or homemade cole slaw. We also ordered a glass of wine (yes, we are decadent that way) and it was a nice Zinfandel. So far, so good. I was excited. However, my excitement was short-lived. Unfortunately, our sandwiches didn't meet our expectations. They were "good," but not great. There wasn't enough meat on my Steak & Blue sandwich to warrant the price, the horseradish cream sauce was non-existent, and the blue in the blue cheese had evaporated. The meat tasted fine, but it was a meager portion. Not that I needed a half a pound of meat, but still... Then the Cuban sandwich failed to satisfy for similar reasons. Not enough meat or pickles and very little Dijon spread. The steak fries were okay, but the cole slaw was divine.

The problem for me is usually the fact that I am a good cook. And the challenge is to find something that wows me for the price. Sorry, but I wasn't wowed. That being said, the owner did come out and we told him about our experience. What we liked and what didn't work for us. He listened and he took note of our suggestions. Then he encouraged us to return for dinner and try that menu. Given that this is a new restaurant and the owner is willing to listen to his customers, the Physicist and I will give it one more try for dinner.

Stay tuned for the results of that experience. So off I go on another adventure. Where will I go next? Any suggestions for good, amazing, non-steak and/or seafood (I'm allergic to shellfish so I can't hit the Japanese/Thai/etc. restaurants in the area) dining experiences in Northern Alabama?

Florence--Not Italy, but Alabama's Slice of Heaven

In my ongoing pursuit to squeeze out more play time in October before it ended, I woke up on Saturday morning, the 30th, and decided to explore a new area in my state. I'd heard that Florence, AL was a unique area from the man who installed my new dishwasher (oh, and it is a fine dishwasher with magical powers and yes, I love it in a very bizarre mechanical love way).

I got online, found a little bistro that might be fun to try, and enlisted Darling Husband to be my companion. He agreed. I think he would do just about anything to avoid cleaning the garage. And after our journey to Florence, AL, I believe he was glad he made the decision to go with me.

We drove to Florence via highway 72 westbound. The drive itself was pretty. The trees are in full autumn bloom, the river sparkled in the sun, and the little towns were quaint. Truly a postcard quality drive for me. When we arrived in Florence, we went to the little bistro I'd discovered located in a little strip mall called English Village.

Outside the Sweet Basil Cafe--These Painted Cows are Cute!

The strip mall had some cute shops with unique storefronts. We ventured into the Sweet Basil Cafe to try it out and were very pleasantly surprised. The service was excellent, the food even better, and the unique little touches inside and outside made it worth the drive. We asked the counter person what she recommended: chicken salad on croissant with Red,White & Blue salad. We each ordered it and thoroughly enjoyed the slight tangy spice of the chicken salad and the side salad with a sweet vinaigrette dressing.

Really unique painted iced tea containers. 

We also ordered iced tea and there were a variety of teas to try. I chose boring unsweetened tea, but the containers it poured from was not boring at all. Beautiful urns with unique paintings on them housed the tea selections.

After we left the restaurant, we putzed around in the little shops next door. We found cute things to buy, expensive pieces of furniture we wanted to buy, and a florist shop that smelled divine. We also asked the people at Sweet Basil Cafe if there were any parks around. They directed us to McFarland Park which was located near historic downtown Florence.

Gourmet shop inside with lots of interesting sauces.

We drove to Florence and checked out the University of Northern Alabama located near historic downtown Florence. The campus is not large, but it is situated near a lot of historic houses on tree-lined streets. I felt like I had stepped into an episode of Mayberry and at any minute Aunt Bea would call me over for blueberry pie and coffee. 

We didn't walk around the downtown area because we spotted another interesting sign. Frank Lloyd Wright's Rosenbaum house is located in Florence, Alabama. 

Naturally, my Darling Husband wanted to go check it out. No tours for us, but we did drive over to see the house which was located in a beautiful, historical area of Florence. However, Frank Lloyd Wright's house is a modern marvel in comparison to its neighbors. I stepped out of the car and snapped some photos of it while Darling Husband trailed behind  me in the car.

Back view of the house.

I approached the house from the back. We had decided not to tour it because the day was so sunny and bright and we didn't want to miss the golden rays. But we will return to tour this unique structure when the days get cooler. I'm curious about the house design and what is inside the actual structure.

I wonder what it was like to live in that house, too. What did the neighbors think when he built it? I guess I'll have to investigate further. Stay tuned!

Front door.

After a few false starts and missed exits (and some blue words in the car), we finally arrived at McFarland Park. This park is located near a dock and on the Tennessee River. I wish Madison and Huntsville were built alongside the Tennessee River, but I can drive to this park in about an hour so all is well in my world.  A bass fishing tournament was going on so there tons of boats racing in the water from Sheffield to Florence. We saw a few fishermen stop alongside the riverbank and angle for fish. One woman had set up an easel and was painting the scenery. Another couple was harvesting the pine needles that had fallen from the tall pines and dried on the ground.

We talked to a nice lady about a set of teepees we noticed just inside the campground area. She said she had no idea why they were there and she'd seen them for about six years. The sleuth in me wants to know. I will hunt that information up as well. I also discovered that there is an Alabama Renaissance Festival every October. I missed it due to the great deck staining adventure we had during the weekend they held it. Next year? I plan to head out there and see what it is all about--anything but stain the deck!

Amazing view from the picnic area. 

After spending a half an hour walking around the park and taking pictures, we decided to head back to Madison. But we will return. The Muscle Shoals area has a lot of buried tourist gems and I aim to discover them. A part of me wants to go back out there right away with a picnic basket, good friends, a book to read and my notebook for my next WIP. I'd like to brainstorm by the water, listen to children playing and to the hum of the boats racing on the river. Water is an element I'm drawn to all the time. It's an element I miss tremendously here in my own hometown. So you can bet I will return. 

Now I need to know if anyone in the Muscle Shoals, Florence or Sheffield area has any secret suggestions for me about their sweet home Alabama setting. I'd love to learn more about the local treasures. 

Wine, Women and Adventures at Arrington Vineyards

October was a month where I took some time to play and explore my world. Sure, I had to work on getting requested materials out to people. I also had to judge six contest entries for Southern Magic. And I continued working on  my WIP in discovery while I learned more about social media and critiqued my other writing friends' manuscript pages. But I also made time to play.

How could I resist playing when the skies were so blue and the weather was absolutely perfect? I couldn't! And one thing I really wanted to do was find a winery where the wine wasn't mashed out of muscadine (read sweet) grapes. I miss my Northern Virginia wineries at this time of year. It was time to venture out and find one that met my needs for good wine, excellent views, and fabulous setting.

At the entrance leading up to the winery.

I found one. A friend had recently told me about Arrington Vineyards, located in Tennessee near Nashville. I began investigating the vineyard online. The winery is owned by Kix Brooks of the Brooks & Dunn Country Duo. The website does a fabulous job of describing the history, the location, and the ideas behind starting this vineyard so I won't reiterate the details.

The website enticed me. The winery has real wines like Syrahs, Cabernets, Chardonnays and more. Oh, be-still my wine-loving heart. The distance looked manageable from Madison, AL. Only an hour and forty minutes. So when I learned that my husband was golfing on Friday, I called up his golf buddy's spouse and asked if she'd like to head out on an adventure with me.

She said yes. I promised a yummy crock pot meal afterward at our place for all four of us when we returned from our daylong adventures. She made everyone picnic sandwiches (golfers had their lunch and we had ours) and the day unfolded just as I had hoped.

The wine-tasting building. So pretty!

No longer trusting Tom Tom completely and not wanting to introduce Garmin into the mixture, I printed off a map to the winery. I picked up my friend in Meridianville and we up to Tennessee from her house. The trees were in full color, the skies were clear and bright, and the conversation was non-stop. The time flew by and we arrived at the winery with an appetite for tasting wine and enjoying the beautiful setting.

Great view of the vineyard. 

Many wines to try and buy!

Cute house with autumn decorations.

Plenty of places to sit and visit with friends.

We tasted 7 different wines. We fell in love with four of them. After purchasing a bottle for our lunch (no we didn't finish it LOL), we sat in the sunshine and enjoyed a leisurely lunch. Again, more chatter and a walk afterward to take pictures of the beautiful scenery. We stayed over two hours. I think we could have stayed longer, but we had an hour plus drive ahead of us so off we went. But we'll be heading back again. And I will continue to look for places like Arrington to visit in the future. After all, if I don't take time to play and discover new places, I may run out of things to write about!

Want to stomp some grapes with me?

More breathtaking views

If you live near Nashville, I highly recommend going to Arrington Vineyards. Who knows? You might even run into Kix Brooks on the deck!