Free-For-All Friday 4/10/15

Feel free to use this post to make comments and asks questions about local issues not yet discussed here over the past week.

62 thoughts on “Free-For-All Friday 4/10/15”


  2. I’m not prone to hallucinations, but it was pretty early this morning. I swear I saw a deer running down North Parkwood.

    2. I live on West Ponce, between Upland and E. Parkwood, and we have a driveway alarm (alerts us to visitors/dog escapes). In the fall the alarm went off at 5:15 a.m., and I went to the window to see what set it off. It was a doe in the driveway. A full size doe. It ambled down my driveway, crossed West Ponce, and then went into another yard before I lost sight of it. A giant deer, just ambling along Ponce.

  4. I’m looking for recommendations for a dermatologist in Decatur. Bedside manner is extremely important to me–in addition to practical competence, obviously. Does anyone love their Decatur dermatologist?

    1. I am a big fan of Holly Hanson:

      http://www.dermga.com/providers/holly-l-hanson-md-phd

      1. +1 on Holly. Very friendly and competent. Granted, we haven’t hit her with anything complicated but I get the sense it wouldn’t change her ability to deliver.

      2. another +1 on Dr. Hansen. Her Emory dermatology professor recommended her to me, so the competency part is there along with friendly & direct manner.

    2. Actually I’ve had a complete opposite experience with Dr. Hanson. I asked them to switch to Dr. Mauldin and we’ve been much much happier.
      http://www.dermga.com/providers/damon-v-mauldin-md

      1. I’ve been with Dr. Mauldin for years. Live here in Decatur. All the butchery has healed exquisitely.

        1. See, this whole thing where dermatologists see themselves as surgeons–their highest and best use is cutting–is not really my style.

          1. You’re fortunate if you haven’t needed to be sliced and diced. I can tell you that when that IS what you need, then you’re looking for a doc that does it a lot and is really good at it.

    3. Sadly very bad experiences at Dermatologists on Clairemont. Bad office staff experiences followed by not recognizing skin cancers. It’s not in Decatur but I’ll take the drive to Dr. Abbott at Dermatology Affiliates in Midtown. I wanted someone local and tried multiple times. Good luck.

  6. I’ve been fine with Derm Assoc of GA on Clairmont. Stonecipher is very nice when he’s cutting on me, at least.

    2. Don’t mind a second thread recommending Dr. Stonecipher. He’s very nice and can cut, burn,,scrape and freeze efficiently and painlessly.

  8. OK, now that we’ve got the DQ and the WH out of the ground, so to speak, any word on the hotel next to the Marriott? The property still has a For Sale sign up.

    1. It’s a Denny’s for the cheap grub Trifecta (with a La Quinta behind, naturally.)

  10. Besides being my favorite record of 2015, Courtney Barnett’s new one has maybe my favorite suburban house hunting song since the glory days of The Kinks. The final lines of “Depreston” seem especially appropriate for the Decatur housing market:

    “If you’ve got a spare half a million
    You could knock it down and start rebuildin””

    1. I watched her Tiny Desk Concert last night. Good stuff. Depreston is one of the songs she played.

    2. it just makes me happy when anyone references the Kinks. Amazing how Ray’s songwriting of the working/middle class still resonates today.

      1. Small crowd for him at Eddie’s this week, but Matthew Ryan put on a great show with his band. His recent elpee Boxers is a constant in our house, not a dud on it. Very much in a Paul Westerberg vein.

  12. if you happen to be in old Philadelphia and are waddling, oozing (some movement in the “torpor” category) back from Jims Steaks on South Street, stop by St. Peter’s churchyard and there you will find the remains of Stephen Decatur. Who knew! Well, probably many, but I wasn’t one of them.

    Also, is it just me or does the massive Farmers Market retaining wall on Dekalb Industrial create the urge to do Python’s “Romanes Eunt Domus”? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IIAdHEwiAy8

    1. In an old-skool Fraternity move, you should have stolen the remains and brought them back with you.

    2. I’d like to sneak in and plant a massive kudzu infestation. The only hope for what they have created.

    1. I keep hoping that some holiday season Dad’s Garage will revive A Very Merry Unauthorized Children’s Scientology Pageant. It was one of the funniest things I have ever seen.

    2. Agreed.

      I had been waiting for this to come out and was actually shocked by some of the things revealed by ex-members who were in the high ranks until pretty recent.

    4. I’d like to think I know a lot about the topic, and found it a useful primer. The most interesting thing to me is how LRon and Travolta were treated relative to Miscavige and Cruise. LRon comes off as a huckster who started getting high on his own supply, but Miscavige is a straight up monster.

  16. I know that there are a number of houses in Decatur with front yard gardens but I have not seen any in Avondale. Would a neatly maintained veg garden in a front yard be an issue in Avondale?

    1. My first guess would be that the historic district landscape regulations prevent them but that’s pure speculation. Curious to know as well.

    2. Neither the Historic District Ordinance, nor the Historic District Guidelines, prevents a garden in the front yard in the HD. The zoning ordinance does not discuss personal gardens (only community gardens). There are raised beds in the Historic District and elsewhere in AE (the most obvious of which is the front lawn full of maybe seven 2.5 ft x 5 ft galvanized livestock watering troughs used for gardening in the Avonwood area of AE. Finally, the classy collection of three toilets at the corner of Coventry Close…..planted with plants of some sort … have been allowed by City Staff to persist for several weeks. So, you could call City Hall or you could just go ahead and plant your garden. As is usually the case, a City will look the way until/unless someone files a complaint: you will win.

    1. They are movng there Al. I was there the other day and the owner is excited about the move- more parking and more tables.

      1. Deborah VanTrece should rent the shack and use it for Twisted Soul take-out fried chicken.

  22. A big thanks to smalltowngal, who recommended Intown Contracting (formerly Intown Roofing) on last week’s FFAF to fix my small roof leak. Chad was very responsive and the problem is solved. Thanks!

  24. Thoughts on F2O? I’ve had 3 quality visits there, but it doesn’t seem like the place is getting as much business as I thought it would. Might just be perceptions, and I’m there’s not a pox on that house.

    1. I’ve had great meals there with ok, if not great, service–some kind of Asian salad with mandarin oranges was excellent, especially if the tofu option was chosen. And the cute little croissants are yummy. But my two take-out experiences were disasters and I’m not trying that again until I hear that they’ve gotten their act together on that. It’s awful to have people waiting at home when what you had been trying to do, when ordering out, was to make entertaining easier, not harder.

    2. I’ve been there with my family twice, and both times were very good, I thought…service and food. Not sure why it’s not busier.

    3. Like the idea, but does not work for me. Tastey take out meals could be very useful, but lack of parking makes it very inconvenient to grab something and go. Food Is ok. Reminds me a little of airplane meals, back when they used to exist. Food not good enough to overcome parking issues when there are other better options available.

    5. Oh, and the self serve beer thing was strange. Shouldn’t it be cheaper if you pour it yourself? Maybe it was and I just missed it.

  26. Went there once and it was mediocre. Food was decent, but the overall experience was not much better than what I’ve had at McD’s, etc. Much prefer Souper Jenny or Calle Latina for lunch. I agree with you about the crowds, at least on Mondays, when I walk by there most every week during lunch. Long lines when they first opened, not nearly as busy now.

  28. Hello, I buying my first condo, and it needs washer and dryer hookups added. Does anyone have any rec’s?

    1. I’ve had excellent service from Frazier Plumbing. I’d call them and see if they can help. They have a 770 number but are on Columbia: 770-784-7945.

      When we wanted a tankless water heater, they recommended we buy one on Amazon since it would be cheaper than going through them and they would install it for us.

  30. Any trees down or other damage in Decatur after the hailstorm? Sounds like the Emory, Clairmont, North Decatur, Medlock area was hit pretty hard.

    2. A tree crashed down on Willivee, taking the power lines with it. Power was restored to the Emory Commons area just after midnight.

  32. Anyone know if any Decatur bars show UFC pay per views? My brother will be in town for an upcoming card and wants to watch it somewhere.

    I would rather it be close to downtown for travel purposes. Taco Mac? Trackside? Imperial?

    Thanks.

    1. I’m not aware of any bar IN Decatur showing UFC pay per views but it’s not my thing so I may just be out of the loop. I do know that friends have gone to watch at Benchwarmers on Clairmont at Briarcliff in the past for such silliness, so you might want to check with them if the local places can’t accommodate.

  34. DESPERATELY SEEKING 2-liter plastic bottles for vertical garden project. Will pick up, of course. Seedlings ready to plant (past ready, in truth) and had to abort Plan A.

    (Was going to carve and lash together pairs of 1-liter Fiji water bottles because I had a ready source. But that plastic is much tougher than big soda bottles. It defeated both box cutter and tin snips, and I’m abandoning that scheme before I wind up in the emergency room.)

  36. Hey ya’ll, just a friendly reminder to dine out on Wednesday in support of Decatur Farm to School, a branch of Wylde Center. From 5pm to 9pm on Wednesday April 15th, a perrcentage of your purchase will go to DF2S for its farm to school initiatives, like the taste tests and other healthy eating initiatives. Participating restaurants include: Brick Store Pub, Cakes & Ale, Farm Burger, Lawrence’s Cafe, Leon’s Full Service, Makan, Mojo’s Pizza, Oakhurst Market, Raging Burrito, Sapori di Napoli, Seven Hens, Steinbeck’s Ale House, Twain’s Brewpub, The Iberian Pig, The Imperial, Universal Joint, and Wahoo! Grill. Grab the family or meet some friends out for a fun night out for a cause. Buy some raffle tickets for a chance to win some great prizes!

  38. Oakhurst Neighborhood Association meeting is tonight and in the reminder yesterday it says one of the topics is “Hop-n-Shop redevelopment.” First I’ve heard anything about this. Does anyone know more details?

Comments are closed.