The Southern Kitchen - Atlanta

A few years back...

It was in Atlanta, a restaurant called the Southern Kitchen. It was lined up so I sat at the bar and asked the bartender to bring me something to eat that would make me go back to Canada and talk about his restaurant. He started with a drink that was fantastic and to this day I don't even know what it was.

Then he asked me what kind of food I preferred, and I told him I would eat WHATEVER he put in front of me and love it. So he asked me to narrow it down to three choices, and the third was Fried Chicken. That was the one I didn't want, thinking I'd end up with KFC. So asked him which of the three he would have for dinner if he could.

He told me that if I left Atlanta without trying the Fried Chicken it would be a shame and that he would definitely have the Fried Chicken for dinner if he could. So I ordered it, even though I wouldn't have ever chosen it off the menu and I really didn't want it. But, if you're going to trust your server, then you trust your server all the way. He told me it was going to be the best chicken I would ever taste.

Turns out he was right. It remains to this day the very best experience of a server who knew his menu, appreciated his customers and was proud of his work. It was nothing like what I expected and every time I think about it I just want to jump on a plane, head down to Atlanta and order it again.

And here's the best part. I ate at the Southern Kitchen because a friend recommended it. It had been recommended to her and she loved it. And now I recommend it to you.

Whoever Wants to be First Must be the Servant of All

Deacon Greg Kandra writes beautifully on the subject of catechises (oral religious instruction) using this Sunday's Gospel Mark 9:30-37 (whoever wants to be first must be last of all, and servant of all) as his inspiration. Read on...

The Deacon's Bench: Homily for September 20, 2009: 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Make meeting time more meaningful | Cincinnati.com | The Cincinnati Enquirer

After yet another dismal meeting with no agenda, no minutes from the previous meeting, and not surprisingly, no results, I long for the day when meetings are only held because they are the best course of action in the specific situation.

Make meeting time more meaningful | Cincinnati.com | The Cincinnati Enquirer

Ayn Rand rolls over in her grave...

So this really rich guy from Windsor puts down a million and a half on some sort of fancy sports car, and the Detroit dealership allegedly runs away with his money and doesn’t turn over the car. This makes the front page of the local rag and the reaction from the hoi-polloi is to criticize the newspaper for making it the lead story, and the rich guy for being so…rich, I guess.

Here’s my reaction. First, let that be a lesson to those among us who would put down a 100% deposit. I say hold back a couple of hundred thousand to make sure you get what you ordered – the colour you wanted, the CD player, that sort of thing.

Secondly, let’s call the criticism what it is: envy. Who are any of us to tell this self-made billionaire how he can legally spend his money. Would we really have the employees of the auto company go jobless while he gives the cash to charities instead? What if our town made high-end sports cars instead of minivans, how would the tune change?

And third, it is front page news. How many people do you know who can spend that kind of cash on a car? Many of us have met this man around town and didn’t even know he was a billionaire. His company, Atlas Tool employs several hundreds of people. He is an entrepreneur who has opened several successful businesses in the area, a philanthropist, he has endured great personal tragedy that would sideline a lesser man and kept his family and businesses together, and by all accounts is a great guy.

And his reaction to all of envious reaction to his misfortune? He hasn’t said a word, but hopefully, Atlas shrugged.