A Very Cafe Drake Christmas 2007

Cafe Drake has spent a most lovely & wonderful December holiday in Atlanta with our Mother, enjoying nightly fireside cocktails and noshes followed by extravagantly celebratory meals. Restaurant reviews of Atmosphere Bistro, re:past, Marage, Osteria del Figo and more will shortly follow on this site so check back quickly for our glowing recommendations and (notoriously) hard-earned kudos. Above are a few photos from the visit, including: an overdue dinner party for Cafe Drake's dear cousin Anne Michaels, tours of historic Georgia homes (Barrington Hall & Bulloch Hall) and northern-state wineries (Dahlonega's Blackcrest & Frogtown) and various sundry shots of Cafe Sondra. Please indulge the extravagant number of pictures but it's the Holidays! and we had such a good time with our Mother we wanted to share a few of the small details.

For those who crave menu re-caps, Dinner for Anne and Sandy included Watercress and Cranberry Salad, Glazed Cornish Hens with Rutabagas, Brocollini and Sugar Snap Peas and Peppermint Ice Cream and Mint Brownies for Dessert. Drinks were tempered with Curried Cheese Toasts and our mother's Saffron Shrimp Bruschetta (recipe to post soon).

Christmas Eve began with more booze naturally and platters of snacks, followed by Filet Mignon with Bleu Cheese Sauce, Mother's homemade dinner rolls, Yorkshire Pudding and Peas and Roasted Shallots.

Dinner on Christmas itself was suitably grand: after the obligatory 2-3 Manhattans (with Tuscan Bean Dip, Pickled Spicy Peppers, Green Olive Tapenade etc) we tucked into a Roasted Pork Loin with Brussels Sprouts and Baked Cranberries with Pecans and Brown Sugar. Ice wine, port and cognac rounded out a perfect evening.

[Ed. Note: If we were brave enough to post these singularly unattractive photos of Cafe Drake ourself, no one should ever complain again about a "bad" picture of themselves on this site! xxoo, CD]