Let Us Give Thanks
Thanksgiving is a time when many of us gather together to reflect on the things for which we are—well—thankful! ☻ Here at Belmont Park Bridge in Alpharetta, Georgia, what we are most thankful for is our residents, and the sense of community we all share. It is in that spirit of gratefulness that we offer you a little bit of lightheartedness and some suggestions on how to create new traditions and make good memories this Thanksgiving holiday. Some years it’s easy to get all excited about Thanksgiving, isn’t it? You’ve already ordered your new Thirtystone Harvest Collection turkey and pumpkin wine bottle stoppers for in-store pickup at Macy’s, and you brought out your World Market Cider & Clove Potpourri Jar November 1. Now that much-anticipated classic Thanksgiving meal with family and friends at Ray’s at Killer Creek is never really far from your mind. But other years things are a little harder, aren’t they? You never know what the weather will be like. Sometimes you have to travel when you’d much rather stay home. And this year we’ve got the Covid-19 pandemic thrown into the mix. Dealing with the virus has upended people’s lives in many ways, and most of them are a lot more serious than having to go to our Aunt Ruthie’s and eat her “special” green bean casserole again. Whether your family and friends will be gathering in person or online later this month, or not at all, we are fortunate to have a wide variety of ways to make this holiday special. One fun one is to wear Thanksgiving-decorated face masks. If you don’t have the time to make your own, Better Homes & Gardens has curated a list of Etsy options that’s worth checking out. We’re thinking about getting our brother-in-law David the one that says “Will Remove For Pie.” An easy way to bring some joy into people’s lives is to order them a beautiful seasonal bouquet from Carithers Flowers. If you’re Zooming, think about getting each household that will be on the call, including yours, arrangements that complement each other—a great suggestion from our resident lifestyle professionals, the Idea Specialists™. You also could go to one of the area’s amazing wine stores—Olde Crab Apple Bottle Shoppe and Fermented to name just two—and get several bottles of the same wine for your family and friends, whether you’ll be gathering together or not. What wonderful traditions to begin! Of course you also can find some really good wines at area grocery stores, whether you are shopping at a convenient Kroger or Publix. And, both offer complete Thanksgiving dinners you can order online and pick up at the store or have delivered via your favorite service. That way you can spend more time in the den watching football or bingeing on your favorite series, or entertaining yourself with a Thanksgiving movie, all comfy and cute in your leggings and a Crystal Tunic Sweater from Anthropologie (we like the one in lilac). What? You don’t _have_ a favorite Thanksgiving movie? Well, maybe check out the classic Alice’s Restaurant, converted from the Arlo Guthrie song of the same name. Talk about a real oldie but a goodie. . . Need to laugh? Watch Free Birds, with Reggie the Pardoned Turkey and his cohort Jake, a fanatic turkey who also happens to be a time traveler. That should do the trick. On the other hand, maybe you want to do a little bit, or a lot, of the cooking yourself. Life is short, so let’s start with dessert first: Pick up a delicious cranberry rosemary pie from 2B Whole Gluten Free Bakery, then go to Trader Joe’s for its seasonal specialties, which include a vegetarian turkey-less stuffed roast with gravy, a brined bone-in turkey breast that’s just the right amount for two people, corn pudding, and a flock of milk chocolate turkeys. OK, well, maybe flock is overstating things just a little bit. But there are several in the package, and they are so cute! In a turkey sort of way, of course. Next, head to Williams-Sonoma and pick up a jar of their apple-orange cranberry relish and a new carving set. Then download one or two of their fun Thanksgiving photo vignette Zoom backdrops. Everyone will be _so_ impressed with what you’ve done with your place! However you spend your holiday, we want you to be safe and healthy. We’re hoping to get to spend at least a little of it outside. Some of us want to go hiking with friends or have a picnic with our family on the Big Creek Greenway. You might have plans that involve gathering on your sister-in-law’s back patio, or your best friend’s driveway; anywhere you can enjoy yourself while keeping social distance in mind. Whatever you decide to do, we hope you enjoy. Thanks for reading, and Happy Thanksgiving! DRESSING Ha, you didn’t think we were really going to write about Thanksgiving without mentioning dressing, did you? (OK, OK, _and_ stuffing, just in case that’s what you grew up with.) Whatever version of the classic side dish you eat on Turkey Day, just don’t make the mistake of saying, “Well, Grandmommy’s tastes better than MeMaw’s.” No, no, no, no, no. Each person’s dressing is the best. Period. You just have to appreciate their version of it for what it is. That said, we’re quite sure that everyone knows it is written in stone that you can’t make dressing without crumbled up white loaf bread and corn bread (get out of here with your sweet corn muffins, right this instant!), boiled chicken, cream of chicken soup, chicken broth and water, some butter, salt, pepper, celery powder, onion powder, and sage. Right? Right. If you want to try your hand at making your own and would prefer a little more guidance than what our MawMaw gave us back in the day, Southern Living offers not only a quintessential cornbread dressing recipe, it also can instruct you in how to prepare the more
5 Restaurants near Belmont Park Bridge Apartments in Alpharetta, Georgia that we love
This holiday season it’s time to come together with friends and family and celebrate. And while this time may look a little different, with COVID 19 looming large, what better way to do that than sharing a meal together? Or, better yet, let someone else fix it for us, order ahead and pick it up curbside. With that in mind our Idea Specialists® at Belmont Park Bridge are sharing 5 of our favorite restaurants in the area and we think you’re gonna love this! Get your taste buds ready because here comes delicious! 1. Sink your teeth into steak—Pampas Steak Pampas Steakhouse is just six minutes away from our luxury apartment community on State Bridge Road in John’s Creek, Georgia, but their food makes you feel like you’ve walked into South America! Why? Because this place focuses on fabulous. Here that means Argentinian-style cuisine with different cuts and varieties of steaks that you don’t find at other steakhouses, that’s why. Want wine with that? Be our guest since the Pampas Steakhouse wine list is pretty extensive and has received a few great awards from cool people in the know at Wine Spectator, Open Table, and Zagat, among others. This awesome restaurant was named #1 Steakhouse in Georgia by Open Table diners in 2014 if that’s not enough, they’re on Zagat’s list for Best Service, Best Décor, Best Steakhouse, and Restaurants with the Best Food in Atlanta. But we already knew that. Now, you do too! Our favorite pick from this mouthwatering place is the bone-in steak, “The Brick” Filet, prepared the traditional Argentinian way over oak, a woodfire grill and a bank of hot coals. Start with some Bangs Island Mussels made with smoked ham, shallots, garlic, cream and add a great glass of cabernet like their Duckhorn Paraduux. We’d recommend a vegetable to go with all this, but why? 2. What’s not to love about pasta? Pasta Vino in Alpharetta OK, now that we have beef out of the way, who can forget about our other favorite food group—pasta? Not us, for sure. That’s why we love, love, love Pasta Vino. It’s only about a mile and a half from Belmont Park Bridge, so we love to pop over for a quick meal like their $10 Lunch Specials that include a house or Caesar salad, and your selection of 10 different pastas. Our favorites are Rigatoni Bolognese, Chicken Parmigiana served with spaghetti, and their Sausage & Pepper Arrabiatta. Add their complimentary wi-fi and you’ve got a great excuse to schedule a working lunch or just quickly catch up on Instagram! But we would be doing you a disservice if we filed to mention another great feature that we love at Pasta Vino and that’s their $5 Grey Goose martinis every Wednesday! Perfectly chilled and served to your taste, yum, yum! Pair that with grilled Grouper Florentino and you’ve got a meal to ensure some seriously happy, satisfied vibes! 3. Authentic Indian Cuisine—Madras Chettinaad If you are looking for something a bit more spicy, you can’t go wrong sampling the amazing flavors and textures created at Madras Chettinaad. Head down Old Milton Parkway, and in four minutes—give or take, you’ll be pulling up to the Alpharetta Common Shopping Center (next to Publix) where you can enjoy their superbly spiced and seasoned dishes featuring the flavor profiles of South India. You can choose from seafood, chicken and lamb dishes, or savor their vegetarian curries and dosais. Oh, their dosais! Nom, nom, friends! Madras Chettinaad combines oil and spices like cinnamon, bay leaves, cardamom; green and red chilies to add to the taste and aroma in these delicacies. Plus, their weekend lunch buffet is also a huge hit. One TripAdvisor reviewer shared that the “Must have is the goat biryani and malai kofta with butter naan.” That just sounds good just thinking about it, but our all-time favorite is the Lamb Chettinaad which has lamb meat pieces cooked in Vindaloo gravy. 4. It’s always a party at Caribbean Fiesta Heading back over the ocean a little closer to home in terms of distance, is Caribbean Fiesta, featuring a wide assortment of beverages you might order at the beach! Of course, their authentically prepared food is the top draw with dishes we love like conch fritters, Caribbean chicken and shrimp, and their vegetarian dishes like Channa (chickpeas) Vegetable Roti. Hey, we told you it was authentic! Try it for yourself and tell us what you think. 5. Breakfast, brunch, can you say yesssss? First Watch Of course, no list would be complete without a great breakfast place! After all, it’s our favorite meal of the day. Well our favorite FIRST meal of the day. And, we love that we are literally just a stone’s throw (or 1.3 miles if you are driving) from one of the best breakfast spots in Alpharetta, Georgia. First Watch is so wonderful we don’t event know where to start. Yes, we do—bacon! A bacon order comes with four slices of signature hardwood smoked bacon baked with brown sugar, black pepper, cayenne and a maple syrup drizzle. Two, please. Pair that with their Carnitas breakfast burrito and Holey Donuts for dessert (yes, you CAN have dessert at breakfast, see?). These are fabulous cinnamon sugar-dusted cake donut holes with chocolate sauce, mixed berry compote and vanilla crème anglaise for dipping. Totally and perfectly healthy in our book. Literally, there are so many fabulous restaurant choices like these and others right around the corner from where you live. Furthermore, if you don’t live here yet, give the team at Belmont Park Bridge a call at 770-664-6502 or stop in today for your own personal tour of our spacious apartment homes. We’re conveniently located just a mile and a half from the GA 400 / Old Milton Parkway interchange, a picturesque suburban retreat at the epicenter of North Fulton’s prestigious business corridor.
