Amanda Vasil

One of the best adventures we had on our trip to Atlanta was in Birmingham. I’m sure you’re wondering how I went from Atlanta to Birmingham, so let me explain. My Italian cousins own a restaurant called GianMarco’s right outside the city. One cousin’s name is Giani, and the other is Marco, hence GianMarco's. I’d never met them, but being the foodie I am, I was dying to try their food.

 

I never thought I'd actually get there, but luckily Birmingham is only a short three-hour drive from Atlanta, so we packed a bag and headed west. I wasn’t able to document our meal, but I will say it was the BEST Italian I’ve ever had. I had a flounder special and Jared had the red snapper special. We started with steamed mussels in white wine and garlic sauce and finished with bread pudding and cannoli.

 

 

I stole this picture from someone's Web site – thanks whoever you are!

 

So back to my adventure. While in Birmingham we toured the zoo and botanical gardens, both of which were phenomenal. On the way back and forth to our bed & breakfast, we passed through English Village and knew we had to stop before we left.

 

 

And we’re so glad we did. Best. Lunch. Ever. But it definitely wasn’t English. Chez Lulu is a French-inspired café created by owner Carole Griffin to showcase the breads baked next door at the Continental Bakery. The artisan bakers prepare them daily, along with pastries, dressings, salads and all sorts of yummy goodness.

 

 

When we were done being wowed by the bakery and chic décor, we opened our menus which were playfully crafted from album covers. We also glanced at the daily specials listed on a chalkboard on the sidewalk. Although it was pushing 85 degrees that day, we were really excited to try a soup.

 

 

 

 

Everything sounded outstanding, but we knew there was no way we could stuff ourselves and not pass out in the heat. We settled on the Mediterranean Sampler, which came with a scoop of romesco, olive tapenade and French feta, as well as hard-boil egg, arugula, cherry tomatoes and capers served with freak baked bread.

 

 

 

Freaking fantastic.

 

We also ordered a cup of the daily soupe du jour, which was peasant garlic, a blend of garlic, broth and vegetables topped with a touch of cream. It was surprisingly light and not too garlicky. The best part was dipping pieces of bread to suck up the liquid like a sponge.

 

 

Somehow this picture turned out super blurry, but it's the only one I had. I'll pretend that we hadn't eaten most of it and almost forgot to get a picture. Oops. 

 

But back to the main meal. I found it impossible to taste one item on the plate at a time. I kept finding myself trying new combinations of flavors, feta/tomato/arugula or tapenade/romesco/caper or egg/tapenade/arugula.

 

 

I’m not used to eating a lot of salty foods, so this meal had me reaching for water a few extra times. But overall, it was the perfect afternoon snack for two.

 

I was a happy toad.

 

 

And so was he.

 

4/8/2010 4:50:53 PM