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By Jennifer Brett | Monday, April 14, 2008, 02:11 PM

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

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Also in East Point: EL ROCIO, on Main Street … another excellent Mexican restaurant. Right across the street from the East Point MARTA station. Amazing lunch specials, live music, friendly staff; a very popular place.

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DOS HERMANOS on Cleveland Avenue in East Point. Great little Mexican restaurant! Their burritos and flautas are awesome.

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not sure if it technically qualifies, as it is most assuredly a bar, but Charlie Mopps Pub in Sandy Springs opened this year and has great bar food.

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The best restaurant I found in 2007 would be a cozy soul-food resturant called “Momma Nems” on Memorial Dr. in Stone Mountian. Great atomsphere, great service and the food is AWESOME. I now go there every Sunday after church.

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The year that kept us buzzing

By RICHARD L. ELDREDGE | Friday, December 28, 2007, 11:29 PM

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Surreal. It’s the only word that properly describes 2007 here at Buzz Central. In a single calendar year, we found ourselves writing about bank robber makeovers, an awards show red carpet that morphed into breaking news, an e-mail of support for Ted Turner dating someone else’s wife and a birthday celebration where “Barbarella,” “Norma Rae” and Rosie O’Donnell became backup vocalists for Bonnie Raitt.

In our 11 years overseeing Buzz, this was indeed the wackiest year ever. Don’t believe us? Read on as we recount the year in Buzz.

Best e-mail: Pulitzer Prize-winning author Robert Olen Butler’s memorable missive about his wife, novelist Elizabeth Dewberry, departing their marriage for a relationship with Turner. The original e-mail to Butler’s grad students ended up on Gawker.com. “He’s a decent, loyal man,” Butler told Buzz. “There’s a connection between them that’s quite profound.”

Best Makeover: If the tip hadn’t come from an impeccable source, we would have hung up in March when we were first informed that suspected Barbie Bandits Heather Lyn Johnston and Ashley Nichole Miller had stopped by Carter-Barnes Hair Artisans in Buckhead for pricey post-heist makeovers. Of the pair, Carter-Barnes manager Melissa Methier told us: “They were as ditzy as the day is long.”

Best Musical Moment: “Dreamgirls” diva Jennifer Holliday reclaiming her Tony Award-winning role during a revival at the Fox Theatre in July: “I think I’m finally ready to let Effie go,” Holliday told Buzz. “I was so blessed and grateful to be able to do the show here one last time. Atlanta holds such an emotional connection for me for this show.”

Best Cocktail Party Surprise: Turner Classic Movies host Robert Osborne becoming the unexpected star at a party for “Young Frankenstein” star Gene Wilder. The pair were in town for a September Gilda’s Club benefit. Delighted TCM fans mobbed Osborne for photo ops. Wilder took it all in stride. As the classic movie fan explained: “My wife and I go to bed with Robert every night!”

Best Cocktail Party Surprise Involving Buzz: The Secret Service ejecting us from a private UNICEF reception for first daughter Jenna Bush, citing an unflattering story on Bush that week in The New Yorker.

Best Guest DJ: B-52’s frontman Fred Schneider’s two stints spinning at Bazzaar in Midtown in February and November. Not only did Schneider get on the dance floor with fans, he ended up playing six tracks from the band’s latest album, “Funplex,” due out early next year.

Best Backstage Interview: Her two sold-out September “Paula Deen Live” shows at the Civic Center came complete with beefy security guards and a small army of publicists, producers, publishers and primpers for the Food Network host. Our old pal however, pulled us into a deserted dressing room for a one-on-one. Of the crazy pace of her current life, Deen conceded: “I haven’t learned how to say no. But after where I’ve been in my life, it’s hard to look a gift horse in the mouth. I realize it could all be gone in a minute.”

Best Zoo Atlanta Birthday: Baby giant panda Mei Lan’s first in September. As Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin, Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle and esteemed foreign dignitaries praised the panda nearby, the birthday girl happily snoozed through it.

Best Awards Show Red Carpet/Federal Investigation: October’s second annual B.E.T. Hip Hop Awards outside the Civic Center. Thanks to T.I.’s arrest on weapons charges down the street in a Walgreen’s parking lot, we started the day asking ‘Who are you wearing?’ and ended it writing about the lead nominee in an orange jumpsuit.

Best Birthday Parties: Sir Elton’s 60th at Madison Square Garden in March and this month’s 70th celebration for Jane Fonda at the Biltmore. In New York, Beach Boy Brian Wilson boogied to “Crocodile Rock” next to Scissor Sisters frontman Jake Shears. In Atlanta, Fonda and pals Sally Field and O’Donnell jumped onstage to provide backup for Raitt as she banged out “Something to Talk About” for the birthday girl.

Best Train Wreck: Cybill Shepherd’s jaw- (and dialogue-) dropping, character-breaking one-woman collision in “Curvy Widow” at the Alliance in November. It was “Showgirls” without the stripper pole. Actually, that particular prop could have been added after opening night as the script was continually tweaked.

Contributing: News services.

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What’s your favorite new restaurant of 2007

By Meridith Ford | Friday, December 28, 2007, 10:07 AM

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Lots of new spots opened in 2007 — Shaun’s (technically opened in 2006, but reviewed in 2007), JCT Kitchen, Trois (see what I just said about Shaun’s), Posh, Lola, MF Buckhead, Tamarind Thai, Palomilla’s, Bistro VG, Room, Stats, TAP, FAB — and that’s the short list.

What’s your favorite new restaurant for 2007?

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The year in theater … and the best shows

By Wendell Brock | Thursday, December 27, 2007, 11:53 AM

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

On Christmas Day, my look at the best theater moments — and shows — of 2007 ran on the cover of the Living section. In case you missed it, I repeat it here.

Now, what do you think? Did I leave anything out? What were your favorite theater happenings and performances of 2007?

Happy Holidays. And thanks for reading this blog throughout the year.

Here’s a look at the top 10 theater moments of 2007:

1. Alliance wins Tony. Artistic director Susan V. Booth accepted the 39-year-old theater’s coveted regional Tony Award on prime-time TV, declaring the institution a “national theater with a local address.”

2. Kenny Leon. The True Colors Theatre director added a star to his crown by taking August Wilson’s final play, “Radio Golf, ” to Broadway. At the community level, he advanced the great playwright’s legacy by establishing the August Wilson Monologue Competition for high school juniors and seniors. Later in the year, Leon and former Wilson dramaturge Todd Kreidler said they’d adapt the classic film “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner” for the Great White Way.

3. Muppets take Atlanta. The family of puppet master Jim Henson said it would give the bulk of its collection to Midtown’s internationally recognized Center for Puppetry Arts. The center is in the process of raising money to build the Muppets a suitable home.

4. Jewish Theatre of the South. Founding artistic director Mira Hirsch severed ties with the Marcus Jewish Community Center after 13 years. The Dunwoody agency said it would continue its theater mission —- but under a different name and with more mainstream, community-friendly fare.

5. Aurora Theatre. After leaving Duluth, the Gwinnett County ensemble opened a lovely new space in downtown Lawrenceville. With its handsome renovation of a 100-year-old church and adjoining construction of a new theater, Aurora became the metro area’s best suburban playhouse.

6. Actor’s Express. The edgy ensemble named Alliance Theatre literary manager Freddie Ashley its new artistic director, and newcomer Bill Fennelly said goodbye after just eight months on the job.

7. Cybill Shepherd. The former Memphis beauty queen who became an overnight ’70s sensation with “The Last Picture Show” created a stir with Bobby Goldman’s one-woman comedy “Curvy Widow” at the Alliance Theatre. Shepherd flubbed her lines and earned disastrous reviews but managed to sell out the run nonetheless. 8. “Disney’s High School Musical.” Theater of the Stars staged the first professional production of the tween phenomenon, and Disney liked it so much it picked up the spectacle and sent it out on a national tour.

9. Jennifer Holliday. The original Effie White claimed her legacy was stolen by the Oscar-winning film based on the musical “Dreamgirls.” She then made a remarkable comeback by reprising her signature role for Theater of the Stars during the National Black Arts Festival. Talk about goose bumps.

10. Suzi Bass Awards. The city’s only professional theater honors got all fancy and moved to the Fox Theatre’s Egyptian Ballroom. The big winner was Marietta’s Theatre in the Square, which picked up eight Suzis for the Celestine Sibley biography “Turned Funny” and the Sanders Family musical “Mount Pleasant Homecoming.”

And the year’s best shows are …

  1. “Jacques Brel Is Alive and Well and Living in Paris.” Alliance Theatre.

  2. “I Am My Own Wife.” Actor’s Express.

  3. “Ceremonies in Dark Old Men.” True Colors Theatre.

  4. “Dark Play or Stories for Boys.” Actor’s Express.

  5. “Meds.” Out of Hand Theater.

  6. “Gee’s Bend.” Theatrical Outfit.

  7. “Metamorphoses.” Georgia Shakespeare.

  8. “Dreamgirls.” Theater of the Stars.

  9. “The Last Night of Ballyhoo.” Georgia Ensemble Theatre.

  10. “The Jammer.” Dad’s Garage.

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What did you get for Christmas?

By AJC | Wednesday, December 26, 2007, 07:50 AM

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Everyone loves to get Christmas presents.

But there are those gifts (and we’ve all received them) that could have been left in the store or in the closet. (No kidding. A friend once gave me a set of towels that reeked of moth balls.)

What was the worst gift you received this Christmas? What was the best? What will be re-gifted?

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