I’m not even going to begin this article by asking “are you bored?” because in the crazy state that the world is in right now, you definitely are. If you’re like me, you’ve been sitting in your house all day probably (well, I’d hope) attending your Zoom lectures and pondering which sweatpants to wear for the fifth time this week so you can watch TikTok comfortably. It's time for a best friend outing.
Undoubtedly, life has been pretty repetitive these past couple of months and I’m tired of it. During one of these boring afternoons just sitting with my thoughts, I immediately called my best friend Paige and, being the naturally spontaneous person she is, she was all in for a best friend outing and the plan was set. So we picked ourselves out of the house, put on clothes like normal human beings, and began the most entertaining day I’ve had since discovering white cheddar Cheetos.
First stop was Lenox Mall. WARNING! Do. Not. Go. On. A. Saturday. I have never seen so many people in one area at the same time - it looked worse than Walmart during Black Friday. Despite the crowded scene, we decided to make our first stop: Godiva. If you’ve read some of my other articles, you’d know that I am diagnosed with pre-type 2 diabetes - but I would risk it all for Godiva. Our normal order would be a cone of dark chocolate covered strawberries (on a risk-my-diabetes-scale from 1 to 10, I give it an 11), but they had the AUDACITY to be out by the time we got there. Instead, Paige ordered a Dark Chocolate and Berry Milkshake - satisfying, but nothing compares to the cones.
After being let down by Godiva (I will return for those strawberries), we decided to give ourselves one hour in the mall. The mission? Paige picks an outfit for me and I pick an outfit for her. The hard part about this outing was that we both don’t have one specific style - we can either look super trendy, or super girly, or sack in sweats all day, so it was really up to us how we wanted the other one to dress. One hour down and we separately checked out and came home to see what we got.
Once we returned home, we laid out the clothes on the floor on opposite sides of the room, and on the count of three we saw what we had bought for each other.
For me, as Paige described it, my outfit gives off “fresh prince of bel air vibes with a modern spin”. Although I wouldn’t have chosen this outfit for myself, it was fun to get out of my comfort zone. Personally, I think I won - because Paige’s outfit was absolutely fire - but we both truly popped off for the night
Once our fits were poppin, being the foodies we are, we had to end the day by having a nice meal - at this point, I would eat anything that doesn’t come from a microwave. After hearing SO much about it, I decided to cave in and eat at ATL hotspot Beetlecat. Located right on the corner of Inman Park, a very lively area close to Piedmont, Beetlecat offers outdoor, indoor, and pit seating but we decided to sit inside on the bar in front of the kitchen. When we got the menu, I was immediately overwhelmed. There are so many good options that I wanted to order the whole menu - so we ordered half of it to compromise.
As appetizers, we started off with a kale and radish salad. Not being a fan of radish, I was actually presently surprised with how good this salad was. I found it to be both refreshing and filling - but there’s no time to be full when you order the whole menu. Next came a round of street corn topped with cheese and jalapeño sauce. I am a huge sucker for corn and this plate gives the perfect balance of sweet and salty.
In between dishes, Paige and I decided to order a pitcher of their “Teajuana Punch” which is tequila reposado, black tea, pineapple, honey, lime, lemon, cinnamon, and Angostura - quite the drink, but it was a perfect pairing with our meals.
For the main course, we couldn’t decide on a single plate, so we ordered a salmon poke bowl, a cheeseburger with waffle fries and a lobster roll. I’m not a fan of fish, but Paige loved the poke bowl. Plus, the presentation on the plates was an absolute 10/10. The cheeseburger was perfectly cooked and, even though I don’t eat carbs, I had to give myself a few waffle fries. Let's just say they were worth the cheat day! The lobster roll was very creamy, and had a great consistency. I love to squeeze a lemon on it to give it a burst of flavor that will contrast with the thickness of the sandwich.
At the end of all of this, we were exploding out of our pants but it was worth it. We ended the night with a round of tequila shots and left feeling very content with having tried a restaurant that I’d happily recommend to a fellow foodie.
Even though it's difficult to live somewhat of a normal life amidst this chaos, I’ve been trying to find the positive things that I’ve experienced through this pandemic. In this situation, I am thankful that this virus has forced me to spend time with people who I truly care about. So call your bestie, plan a best friend outing, get some (socially distanced) food, and gain the COVID-19(lbs).