Weekend in Review:Nomatique, Downtown Atlanta Restaurant Week

Saturday//Buckhead Shopping at its best: Nomatique

The most refined retail experience around, describes the privilege and pleasure  Saturday was at Nomatique. A high end shopping collective designed to provide shoppers access  to Atlanta’s top boutiques, but at prices that went beyond bargain.  Adrene Boutique, Drew Lewis, Jedal, Mizzae, K-la, Standard and so many, many more took the time to recreate a mini version of their very popular stores in a Buckhead location formerly known as Comp USA.

Today’s consumer expects more than just a piece of clothing or jewelry off the rack. True fashionistas want more than just a name brand; they demand originality, expertise, and value, which Nomatique completely delivered.

The Renaissance Report spoke to both Adrene Ashford of Adrene Boutique, as well as, Jennifer Dainelli, Principessa, Jedal Italian Fashion, about why they both, already having strong names in ATL’s fashion community, thought it was important to support Nomatique.

Downtown Atlanta Restaurant Week//Terrace on Peachtree

Long have I wanted a dinning experience set inside the Ritz Carlton  on the terrace of the Atlanta Grill. My fantasy was fulfilled yesterday across the street. Terrace on Peachtree inside downtown’s Ellis Hotel was scenic, sumptuous.  Atmosphere is everything at this eatery. Look across Peachtree Street, you can see the Atlanta Grill and I’ll be damned if it didn’t feel like what I always imagined or better. Terrace on Peachtree provides a pure alternative with the same city-scapes and is a dream environment for a true night on the town.

Terrace is a sweeter and more relaxed approach to traditional Atlanta dining. If feels more hospitality, less southern. What some may not enjoy is the street noise. Option to dine inside for a quieter, tinkiling glasses type of meal.    Terrace dining similar to what you see almost every where in New Orleans is an expensive rarity in Atlanta, which has always made Atlanta Grill so alluring. Terrace on Peachtree provides even more gorgeous setting, gorgeous food in the heart of a grand city.

On the final evening of Downtown Atlanta Restaurant week, I selected Terrace on Peachtree for its menu as much as its metro sexy. Fundamental foodie favorites seem to be their specialty. When compared with other hotel eateries including Marriott Marquis’ Sear and The Glenn Hotel’s newly named 30 Tables, (formerly, Bed and then Maxim Prime) it is a Godsend in terms of a true food philosophy, a clear concept, well excuted too.

Restaurant week was a steal and a deal at $25/pp for a three course meal. Not including bevs, tax, or gratuity of course. Terrace can boast superior service, starting with the host who confirmed our reservation, called, confirmed again.   Water glasses which were never found empty, left on the table was a very non obtrusive bottle of water. Flavor popping desserts prepared with fresh strawberries, a classic straightforward creme bruleO

Our entree selections included, a roasted Amish chicken breast, risotto and  a light red pepper cream sauce-chicken so light yet, fresh it inevitably melts in your mouth. The taste of the actual chicken stands out beyond anything else along side it on the plate.  My husband ordered the sweet pea and mushroom ravioli, my least favorite of the evening. It read very good on the menu, wilted spinach, crisp fried onions, thin sliced radish sweet peas, mushrooms, finished with a sweet pea, garlic, cream sauce and a drizzle of aged balsamic reduction. It all sounded great, but together there was no stand out moment or aroma. All ingredients were insanely fresh, just too much going on.

I ordered the terrace meatloaf. Nice and simple. Meat and potatoes. Yukon gold mashed potatoes so golden and creamy, it could almost be mistaken for grits. A small garnish of snow peas and a organic tomato gravy. For starters, we enjoyed organic tomato soup, scented with celery, parsley, red peppers. Sidelining was a grilled cheese made with Cypress Grove Chevre lamb chopper from their creamline.  A deep long lasting flavor characterized the grilled cheese continuing Terraces penchant for comfort food amplified and then doubled. Another starter worth raving over was the kettle mac and cheese also mixed with a blend of Cypress Grove Chevre, bread crumbs made in house and mornay sauce- a bechamel often blended with white cheese.

Atlanta Grill offers its own version of posh peachtree feasting. Soak it in from across the way at Terrace where you can get a more modern meal, major ambience and miss all the overpriced old Atlanta bougerie.

Dressed for No Stress Success!

As trivialized as fashion often is in media, it’s the MOST important thing in almost every situation. I was raised in a house where your appearance is everything and what you wear and how you rock it, says more about you than words ever will.

As I recounted on Twitter earlier, today’s fashion philosophy is what to wear when interviewing for a professional position. I’ll use myself as a prime candidate as I had the interview of a lifetime today with the Communications and PR departments of Spelman College!

I started with a basic knee high, ¾ length sleeve dress. You never lose points for being modest and for some reason my experience has shown that a dress or a skirt will always take you further. I considered breaking out my favorite LBD, but the one thing I always try to state via my style is that I am fun. Today I felt like being a little wild child in this safari cat scoop neck dress I picked up some time ago in East Atlanta, at the now defunct Sugar Britches. (Come back Kimber, come back!)

 

The dress came with a cute matching tie around, but I needed umph and wow factor today, so I added a braided Jessica Simpson belt I rounded up on the low from Macy’s. This totally set the tone for my accessories also.

I am anti collar on collar even though that is the biz suit staple-and nothing says I’m here to do business like a collar or a jacket. In my opinion this is the most major rule for getting your corporate cache on, so I added this faux collar khaki jacket I love from Old Navy. I have a serious fetish for neutrals and anything BROWN.

Something that really had me concerned was the bare neck line. I can hear my grandmother in my head yelling, “Put something on that neck!” Plus, I have the world’s most prominent collar bone, so you’ll rarely see me without a neck piece- the bigger and bolder the better. However, nothing I tried on looked right. The dress is pretty busy and the jacket did a good job at hiding my neck protrusion, so I wanted to add some gold for highlight. Hence the earrings:

 

A fab investment from 2006 at Bebe, I rarely break these bad boys out, but today they worked like a dream. I opted to go with hair up so the earrings were not lost in the locs, and a nice swinging ponytail conveys energy and enthusiasm. As if I don’t have enough. This was all topped off quite nicely with a nude pair of Steve Madden ballet flats I was inspired to buy after I saw both Khloe Kardashian and Lady Gaga rocking two completely opposite but insanely fierce looks in nude Louboutins. Alas, I am so not there yet, Christian, but I’m not far.

 

Flats are nice, in case you are running late, which you shouldn’t be, but you chances of being on time are not ever helped in heels. I find flats say I’m stylish yet sensible, so you should hire me. Having a heel break on the way to an interview is a BAD look.

And with that, my interview outfit was ready to wear!

As If You Need Me To Tell You Why Marc Jacobs is Brilliant

From Fashion_World over @ Twitter:

 

These are just dandy!

This one is on sale for a cool $34

There’s no doubt in my mind there are some great rainboots to accompany. Find them over at Nordstroms and get free shipping on orders over $200, or have them shipped to your local store. Nice, because if you don’t like it, you can immediately exchange for something you do.