On May 27th, the Georgia DOT will officially shut down the 14th street bridge for the next year and half to rebuild/repair/fix it. Luckily, the Georgia DOT has provided us with this excellent map with five different hues ranging from yellow to red that are made to reflect how fast, or how slow, we will be moving through Midtown after the closure. Judging by the amount of red on that map, we might want to consider doing it on a bike instead of a car the next time we decide to travel through Midtown after the 27th. Also, as a friendly reminder of our wonderful rail system here in Atlanta, the GDOT has placed a green line where MARTA resides. Obviously, the GDOT hasn’t rode MARTA in a while because if they did they would realize that MARTA only runs about 50% of the time and therefore should be orange.

Checkers corporate headquarters enjoys creating burgers, such as their new Philly Double Cheesesteak Burger, that make my taste buds salivate and my stomach cringe in fear. If the name of the new burger isn’t enough to scare you out of wearing a bathing suit till winter, maybe the fact that it contains two burgers, three slices of cheese, a pile of steak, all of which is stuffed between two pieces of buttered up, sourdough bread will. On top of those hearty ingredients, they also tempt you by making two of these delightful burgers a steal at only five dollars. So while I trying to avoid the thought of the approaching weekend of bathing suits and beaches, I decided to take one of these burgers for a test ride.

When pulling these burgers out of the bag, my stomach immediately starts to whimper at what it I have gotten it into. Looking at the match up, I fully understand why my stomach would be a little nervous because the burger probably outweighs my stomach by a few pounds and is twice its size. Meanwhile, my taste buds immediately begin support the choice as they salivate at the tasty, cheese soaked steak that is falling off the side of the burger.With complete carelessness for my stomach and my waistline, I take my first bite. First off, the meat and cheese has been packed so tight it’s hard to tell where the burger ends and where the steak begins. With each bite, my stomach fights to digest the sheer quantity of meat, cheese and sourdough bread this burger throws at it. As I work through the burger it becomes a desperate fight between my stomach, tastebuds and the burger to who will be the first to concede.In this fight, the burger ultimately loses as I finish it while my stomach is still working in overdrive to digest it. With my final bite, my tastebuds are not only worn out but I am feeling a little too full to enjoy the fries and instead go for the coke in hope that it will encourage digestion.

If you are in the mood for a hardy meal and are confident enough in your appearance for this weekend, then this Checkers burger will be perfect for you. If not, I definitely think you should give this burger a chance, but I recommend that you spend a few more hours on that treadmill before you try to squeeze into that bathing suit this Memorial Day weekend.

You can find this burger at all Checkers locations. I bought mine at the Checkers on 10th.

It looks like the Spotted Dog might very soon be going to the kennel in the sky.  The current home, a old firehouse off of North Avenue, is currently for lease by Inman Park Properties and according to the listing is available now.  The Spotted Dog is just another one in the line of Derek Lawford Pubs to bite the dust in the past year, Prince of Wales and the Angel have also closed.  The Spotted Dog never became, as they hoped, a Hand and Hand in Midtown but I always thought that the business from the Bank of America building could sustain that location by itself, guess I was wrong.

Inman Park Property Listing 

Get your bathing suits and your sun tan lotion ready because this weekend is going to be a beautiful mess of sun and warmth. Saturday looks like it is shaping up to be the best day of the weekend with clear skys and highs in the seventies, which will be perfect if you are planning to rock out at the SOCO festival in Centennial Park. No matter what your plans, the one thing it looks like you won’t have to plan around this weekend is the weather.

Here is your weather provided by weather.com.

Questlove (drummer of the Roots) is coming to town next Saturday night (May 23rd) to DJ a three hour set at MJQ. MJQ is always a great place to suck down some PBR’s on a Saturday and shake your ass to some downright awesome hip hop, but add Questlove to the mix and you’ve got the makings for a bad ass night. So if you don’t already have plans for Memorial Day weekend then pick up tickets over at Ticket Alternative but remember to bring cash because that plastic money machine in your wallet won’t get you very far once you get inside.

If you have never seen a My Morning Jacket show, then you have missed out. The atmosphere they create through the combination of Jim Jones’s voice echoing in your ears while wailing, distorted guitars pound you in the chest is a special feeling. Plus, combine their live show with a venue like the Fox and you are in for a special treat. Tickets go on sale Saturday at 10am.

To get tickets or more info, click here to go to Ticketmaster

I saw these nice eye catching ads downtown off trinity and spring st.

A national survey reported that 14% of all Atlanta drivers had made some obscene gesture toward another deserving or non-deserving driver in the last month. Those middle finger sticking, fuck filled tirade screaming drivers have put Atlanta at the top of the list of the most obscene drivers in America. I’m proud of you Atlanta because there is nothing more patriot then telling someone who cut you off to, “go blow themselves.” It’s called freedom of speech and that is what this country was founded on. Congrats.

Article in the AJC

Photo courtesy of a great site where people just flick of H2 Hummers - http://www.fuh2.com