"Georgia... on my mind"

spending a full week in a state of peachtree streets and more peachtree streets wasn't really something i was looking forward to. the annual Society for Neuroscience Conference was scheduled there a month earlier than usual because the venue at New Orleans wouldn't be able to hold the meeting for a long long time... it's rather sad really, how slow the rebuilding process is yonder.

unlike the meeting held in D.C. last year... i didn't get to have fun with my brother and lianne nor visit the numerous museums in the rather european-like city... but what i lost in direct family bonding, i gained in meeting old classmates & friends from germany and getting to know my colleagues, aka "Smelly Boys", a little better... ahem.

Atlanta is quite a big city... home to CNN, Coca-Cola, the humongous Georgia World Congress Center where many of us (20,000 or more) plodded through its nearly 4-5 football fields acres of space... (great workout for the keen)... and lots of peachtrees (perhaps in the countryside)? i am not crazy about the city-planning and landscaping in Atlanta, nor parts of the twincities ... and perhaps this is so in every part of the world... where some of the architecture and landscapes just ain't terribly charming...

in any case, i got to hear some fascinating talks ranging from the biology of cascades of molecular processes implicated to be involved in e.g. learning, to abstract modelling of cognitive control theories and what it is that higher visual areas might be doing and the many aspects of the brain we have yet fully understood... some research labs are doing amazing inter-disciplinary work at different levels of investigation; from electrophysiology, to functional imaging, to genetic-targetting and patient-post-mortem histological studies... this is really exciting stuff because very few institutes can enjoy the privileges of achieving such collaboration within their walls. i also presented my work (in progress) in trying to relate brain signals to movement parameters to some interested fellow researchers and was really glad i didn't have to find a rabbit burrow to hide... i suspect, though, that the fame of a senior author on my poster might be the reason why people came... but it was nice to hear some of their suggestions and positive feedback.

the Smelly Boys highlighted something amusing about these poster presentations and made me view this whole conference thingy more like a social event in some bizarre way for the younger generation... for they seem 'besotted' with a particular swedish female researcher/graduate-student and many people were quite enthusiastic about the evening socials! they also noticed a propensity of males visiting my poster... hmm... honestly, i have more romantic ideas of meeting a guy than at a poster presentation in a scientific conference... ?!?! maybe there's a new wave of hippy charming researchers in the younger generation! ha. or perhaps, it's always been like this... for generations!

in any case, i got to do some none-conference things... like visiting the HIGH art museum and saw some gorgeous paintings and sketches from the Louvre in Paris in the new exhibitions and hear some lovely live french accordian music and jazz in the museum's piazza... i also saw the male version of da vinci's 'mona lisa', raphael's Portrait of Baldassare Castiglione...

i wandered about some of the modern pieces on exhibit and had some fun capturing the light in the spirally rotunda in the museum... so much so, i missed nearly all of Frank Gehry's talk at the Conference because it took forever to get to the congress center and mainly because i got the time wrong... though i was utterly gutted and annoyed with myself, i discovered that i didn't miss much, apparently, since i've watched the pbs.org documentary on Gehry's work... and he didn't really try to bridge his talk about his work as an architect with the discussion on its implications and influence on research in brain-sciences or vice-versa but i suppose the interviewer did try to engage him into the discussion at the end, if only for a short while... nonetheless i admire his creativity, his quest and striving to be different and strong admist criticisms, and there's much to learn from this quirky personality; that talent can be latent and like many things, require the right environmental nurturing to blossom... also it's good to multi-task least you become obssessed with just one idea... sigh... i would have liked to pen a question regarding the lack of windows in buildings in usa but i suspect he might retaliate saying that his buildings are an exception to that observation?!

i also went on the CNN visitor's tour... and discovered how harry potter's invisible cloak works on the screen... some clever but simple optical illusion with the use of chroma... and how news readers look seemingly confident with what they say without looking at their notes... i wish i asked why they keep bombaring their viewers with scenes of terror! oh well. thankfully i don't have cable telly.

interestingly, what atlanta lacks in apparent architectural charm... she kinda makes up with a pocket of very good restaurants... within the mid-town area where claire and i stayed is a foodie paradise with some very european-like enterprise... much to my delight!

tucked away in a quiet corner along a street within the vicinity of Georgia Institute of Technology is a little understated art-nouveau resto named TOAST... simple modern decor complimented by fresh creativity in its menu, this delightful little place provides a splendid venue for the opportunity to toast to life's simple pleasure of enjoying a meal with friends in a non-pompous casual setting.

--- the rissoto with sundried tomatoes and basil was a delightful treat!

Toast Restaurant
817 West Peachtree St.
Suite E-125
Atlanta, Ga. 30308

there was another restaurant that caught my attention while wandering about one night with the Smelly Boys... it is a converted terrace building with a large patio for outdoor seating overflowing from the bar, generous glass walls allow privy peeks into the resto from the street and what you glimpse is a charming atmosphere of classy dinning experience. ecco was on my mind all week but i didn't have the luck to sample what its simple stylish grandeur promised... the queues were long and waiting for nearly 2 hours for a table wasn't something we could sensibly tolerate after a long day at the conference... of course we could have been a little more organised with advance booking... nonetheless it is definitely a place one ought not to miss exploring if you should find yourself yonder in mid-town atlanta... particularly the exhibition kitchen... hmmm.

ecco
40 7th Street
Atlanta, Georgia 30308

but we didn't suffer our disappointment too long... for a few blocks away from ecco was a charming resto next to its cheese and wine store, just like the little stores along the streets of medieval european cities... a rare sight in usa, although perhaps not quite so in new york city. ENO, imbues the very essence of mediterranean and european atmosphere... we had a glass of wine each at the bar while waiting and the cheese and wine store caught my eye... i sneaked in and soaked in its european ambience with delight... the sales assistant was intrigued but polite. i inquired if they were closed for the day and if i might just have a peak... at the cheeses... and the wines and well, actually just the decor... and commented how much it reminded me of europe... and he agreed that it is rather rare a place on their side of the world.

dinner at ENO was well worth the wait... i had a lovely dish of ATLANTIC SALMON FILLET GRILLED IN GRAPE LEAVES WITH FIG PUREE AND PRESERVED LEMON, SPRING VEGETABLE COUSCOUS and the flavours were fascinating... tangible to a rather pleasantly surprising awakening... oooh. i've never had salmon in that form... and it was a delightful combination of subtle fig sweetness with a tinge of savoury from the grape leaves and just the right citrus-tanginess of the fresh and gorgeous couscous...

one of the Smelly Boys (EK) had the SEARED DUCK BREAST WITH SUMMER PEAS CARMELIZED CIPPOLINI ONIONS AND FOIE GRAS STUFFED MORELS and i had a nibble taster... and was pining in my conscious awake dreams for more... the duck was deliciously crispy on the outside but juicey and tender on its flesh... and such succulence was complemented with the beautiful peas, onions and mushrooms... the handmade pasta dish that VC had was awesome too... and so was the lambchop that AM enjoyed...

and that wasn't just it... the desserts were equally something to rave about... for the LAVENDER INFUSED PANNA COTTA with georgian peaches (i think they substituted with plums that night!), a lavender tuile and lavender honey was something i couldn't refuse... even though there were so many other delectable choices... chocolate truffle torte, pistachio ice cream... oooh it's just difficult... but i did not regret it a bit... i love lavender and panna cotta! and the idea of marrying the two things i love in a dessert is utterly splendid... my taste buds were on a high... oooh yeah.

i highly recommend the ENO dinning experience for their wonderful food creations and for their professionality; the chef personally introduces his new dishes of the season and is out there in the company of diners, helping the other staff at the tables too... and the staff are all impeccable in their professional conduct and yet laid-back... but of course a good dining company makes the whole experience something enjoyable too... bring a few of your foodie friends along!!!

ENO and Barrelman
800 Peachtree Street
Atlanta, Georgia
30308

although the food experience was awesome, the chilly wintry air of the twin cities is a lovely welcome after a week in muggy soggy atlanta. and the remaining fall colours are really quite a cheer... nonetheless i know i'll have snippets of fond memories whenever i hear the song...

"Georgia, Georgia,
The whole day through
Just an old sweet song
Keeps Georgia on my mind" ...

posted by ~overacuppa~ on Saturday, 21 October, 2006 at 10:29 hrs