ATL
The next two days I’ll be holed up in conference rooms engaged in a series of business meetings, but I began my trip to Atlanta with a visit to my dearest friend from grad school. She and her husband were our besties when we all lived in Los Angeles, and they’ve called the ATL home for the past four years. Raf’s in med school and Kris is pursuing her PhD, so it looks like they’ll be in the area for more years to come. What a powerhouse couple! The night I arrived, we grabbed a drink and some eats at Argosy, and I highly recommend you try The Purp. Yum.
The next day, Kristin showed me more of her neighborhood haunts of East Atlanta Village, and I had my mind completely blown by a little hole-in-the-wall restaurant called We Suki Suki. If you are ever in this city, do not miss out on this experience.
The owner and chef, Quynh (pronounced “Q”), is a burst of energy and enthusiasm. She loves to cook. She loves people. And, most importantly, she loves to feed people what she cooks. And she shines at all of the above. We feasted on Banh-Mis (Vietnamese sandwiches served on French baguettes) and then indulged in hot bowls of her mother’s famous Pho. She’ll only serve the Pho in house in order to perserve the taste and quality of the soup.
Talk about food for the soul! I seriously have never had an experience as comforting and enjoyable as that meal at We Suki Suki. I’d come back to Georgia just for another bowl of Pho. And to spend more time with my fave Wesleyan couple, of course.
After lunch, Kristin had to head to class, but she strongly recommended I make the trek out to Duluth, GA to experience JeJu Sauna (a 24-hour Korean sauna located out in the suburbs of Atlanta).
I was so intrigued with this strange but glorious-sounding place, that I hopped in a cap and headed north.
Oh, and what an experience it was. One must be very, very comfortable being naked, around lots of other naked bodies (something with which I excel thanks to being raised in a family where nudity abounded – but in a totally appropriate, awesome, familial way. (Oh my god, sorry mom and dad, now the Internet knows that we’re all a bunch of nudists!)). I spent three hours lounging in a variety of hot tubs, saunas, and steam rooms, and capped off the experience with a Body Scrub. Nothing was relaxing about that service, but boy was it invigorating! The women work at a rigorous, intense pace, and no inch is left unattended. As one woman put it, “They scrub you from your rootie to your tootie!” And now my skin is as soft as a babe’s tush. After the scrub, my face was covered in crushed cucumber, while they washed my hair in milk and gave me a full body massage. Again, not at a relaxed, soothing pace, but in a forceful, deliberate manner. The whole thing was rather manic, yet I felt totally alive and emboldened by the experience.
I do strongly recommend a visit, if not for the baby soft skin, than for the invigorating experience.
I then headed to the nail salon located within the building and indulged in a ridiculous, Halloween-inspired manicure. I’m not usually one for nail art, but man do I love these evil eyes. I feel like The Faun in “Pan’s Labyrinth,” and I’m loving it. We’ll see how my colleagues respond to this fashion move…
Now off to meetings I go…
