Q & A with the AJC

Bob Townsend of the AJC [pictured at left] sent me a list of questions for an upcoming interview on underground restaurants. Neat, huh? I thought I’d post the interview here … happy readings!

UPDATE, February 7, 2010: Whoops! Apparently it’s in poor form to publish the Q&A before the article comes out in the Sunday AJC on February 14, 2010 . I’ll repost the full Q&A at that time. So if you’re still looking for a Valentine’s gift, I suggest the Sunday edition of the AJC!

Sam Flax Exclusive for LRBN Dec 3

Hey all,

We’re revamping the Lady Rogue Business Network slowly but surely … adding features to the site, providing more structure for events, and working to bring you even better tools for connecting with your community.

Our informal board has been brainstorming meetup ideas … and Jen Pete’ of Zifty.com; and ;Stories of Gen really hit the ball out of the park with this one.

Lady Rogue Business Network is excited to present an exclusive after-hours night at Sam Flax on the West Side. Two generations ago, Sam Flax operated a pencil cart in New York – today his grandson Lionel is revamping the brand for a new audience and new community.

Come hear Lionel’s story … enjoy some vino-powered crafting, exclusive LRBN shopping discounts, and snag your very own permanent LRBN discount card for future purchases.

Make a night of it by stopping by Urban Cottage – they’re having a very special holiday party; that night featuring LRBN members Farewell Paperie, Holy Vino and  Concrete Lace.

See ya there!

Lady Rogue

AGENDA

7:30-8pm Mix and mingle

8-8:30 Sam Flax’s grandson shares his story

Meet Lionel Flax, grandson of Sam, and hear how he plans to transition the company into a new era. Followed by a Q & A!

8:30-9:30 Crafting And Shopping!

Craft holiday chains with your LRBN pals …. paper, glue & scissors on hand. 15% discount throughout the store.

BONUS: Lionel is giving everyone in attendance a 20% off shopping card for anytime going forward that they want to shop at Sam Flax!

9:30-10 Tidying & Departing for Afterhours

Since we anticipate that this event will book very quickly, we’ll be using an RSVP system similar to the rogueApron dinners.

rogueApron Shoutout in Atlantan Magazine!

Woot, woot! The November/December edition of Atlantan magazine is out, and rogueApron gets a shoutout! Check it online at media.modernluxury.com, on pg. 108, or check the snaps below.

The text is hard to reproduce, so I typed it out here:

Since March 2008 Georgia Tech digital media grad student, “Lady Rogue” (she prefers to conceal her real name), has been staging quirky traveling dinners at farms and private gardens with themes ranging from Alice in Wonderland to a Great Depression breadline. The rogueApron (rogueapron.com) underground dinners are as much Sixties-style happenings as food events, and a way to intersect with like-minded people in the manner of social media like Facebook. LadyRogue calls her club, which attracts a devoted group of socially conscious diner and often features random acts of kindness, like free pie giveaways, “the absolute best thing that has ever happened to me.”

Thanks to Katie Kaiser.com for helping with them images up above.

For more screencaps of our media coverage, check out our rogueApron.carbonmade.com. Word!

rogueApron introduces growBots

Hey guys …

Looking at the site I’m realizing it’s been a super long time since I’ve updated. Well – you know how life is … things have been all over the place. Although we’ve been lying low at rogueApron HQ, we’ve been planting the seeds for some really cool harvesting in the spring.

I thought I’d take a moment on a breezy, chilly Fall afternoon to share this little hint of the future with you.

Introducing … the growBot project

What happens when you get roboticists and growers together? When organic farmers detail their production processes to technologists who might have simple, small scale improvements?

The growbot project is about what happens in that conversation space.

We hope to create fertile ground for these imaginations.

And, yep, we’re motivated by finding an alternative to industrial production.

And robots. Awesome, awesome robots.

<3
Lady Rogue
future growBot owner
founder, rogueApron.com

growBot Links

growBot on Twitter | growBot.wordpress.com

Introducing: rogueApron Postcrossing dinners

Send a postcard to a stranger. And get one back, from some random part of the world.

Postcrossing.com members fill out profiles, indicating what type of cards they’d like to receive. And somewhere across the world, a complete stranger thinks about it, pokes around for them, and decides upon The Card to send.

rogueApron has requested to receive recipes from around the world. There’s no guaranteeing when the postcards will arrive, or if they will include recipes.

But when they do …

rogueApron’s Postcrossing Dinner Series

Guidelines:

• Each recipe will be made as written. The only adjustments made will be to scale the recipe to feed more, or if an obvious step has been left out.
• Only the front of the postcard, and the national origin will be displayed on our site.
• We anticipate that most world recipes will include meat, dairy or gluten; we will post if something does not.
• Dinners are limited to a small group of adventurous diners, comfortable with experimentation.

Our first dinner will be posted soon …

Awesome Picnic Gear … Gearing Up for Sept 7th!

Ever have one of those days when the universe treats you right?

First, Dave of East Atlanta mmm-mm-good hops-based-beverages brings by this awesome Picnic Packer.

And then I get a surprise visit from @Stories of Gen! I was the lucky recipient of a Surprise Twitter Treat! Check this hot totebag from kit+lili!

So not only did I receive two very thoughtful and nice presents within hours, but they go together perfectly and will be the absolute bestest picnic gear for the upcoming Slow Food picnic on September 7th!

Major shout out to Jen (of @zifty) whose side project Stories of Gen custom selects gifts for your friends based on your parameters. I’m one of those folks who is super hard to shop for … she nailed it!

Word, just thought I’d share.

Lady Rogue

p.s. Beth. Word.

Atlanta’s Biggest Picnic. Word.

This is going to be a good and powerful thing, my friends! I am very excited to serve as host for this inspirational organizational meeting!

You guys know the drill – schools are cash-strapped, and school lunches are super-processed. 1 in 3 kids born after 1990 will develop diabetes in their lifetime – that’s a third of our country with a serious health issue. Given that 18 percent of folks are without health insurance – myself included – this becomes a major economic draw on our country.

But we can make a change. We can send a united message to our Congress that we’d like to see the budget for school lunches increased. We’d like to see powerful, financial incentives for schools to change their existing programs to include more fresh vegetables and fruits.

And we can do this by … having a picnic!

Yep, Monday, September 7th in Piedmont Park. Slow Food Atlanta’s Eat In … supporting changes in the Child Nutrition Act.

Here’s where you come in. Join us at rogueApron HQ on August 5th for an organizational meeting. Judith Winfrey, Leader of Slow Foods Atlanta, will be on hand to answer questions. You’ll get a chance to connect with your neighbors, and pick up tools to help your organize your picnic. Atlanta has a proud and powerful history of grassroots organizing … this is our generation’s moment.

WHAT YOU CAN DO
• Sign the online petition at SlowFood.org/timeforlunch
• Visit SlowFood.org’s “What You Can Do” section of their sites for ideas on pitching in … whether you’ve got 5 minutes to spare or a lot more.
• Join us at rogueApron HQ for an organizational meeting August 5. You know how we roll, bring booze and snacks to share. RSVP here.
• Invite a friend. Please share this message with friends – parents, organizers, business people, teachers, musicians, churchfolk, artists, hipsters and punks. Whether you love food, your city, your kids, or just sticking it to the man – there is something for everyone to get out of this awesome day.

WORD. RSVP here for organizing day or to help spread the word. More to come on the picnic itself.

Lady Rogue

Looking for press releases, petitions, logos, letters, and more materials? Check out our Facebook page! and follow Slow Food Atlanta on Twitter.

Attn: Gardeners. Give Us Your Bounty!

OK, all you happy gardeners out there, merrily tending your runaway beds of tomatoes, cucumbers and squash. What on earth can you do with all this bounty? Please consider selling your excess vegetables to rogueApron! We would love for our dollars circulate right back into the community and have fresh, local and organic vegetables for our meals!

Announcing, then, the rogueApron Buy & Barter Program!

Please contact us at ladyrogueATL@gmail.com so we can get a sense for what you might have and when!

You’re the best!

Lady Rogue

A Dinner and A Thank You

A spiral of sesame marinated cucumbers grew in Rebecca Notofsunnybrookfarm’s garden; their thin crunch a welcome contrast to the spicy chipotle creamed potato, corn and spinach. Sharp basil, and the heft of Decimal Place goat feta contrast the slow lingering burn of the chipotle; corn kernels roasted then fried pop in my mouth. Sweet Whipporrwill sungolds tomatoes squish open with glee as I devour the last bits of the quiche; niman ham, leeks, and poblano.

It is a spicy meal – not one I would serve to guests; the sesame and basil offputting to the familiar Southwestern spices I crave.

It is a Georgian meal. Goats milked by my friend Christi lent the tang to the potatoes and the quiche; the feta Mary made was my guilty indulgence. My friend Margie drove all over Athens and back for my leeks, my spinach, my potatoes, my corn, my tomatoes – it is her relationship with the farms has me full. My friend Amy delivered this bounty while I napped.

And today I spent on a long field trip with my friend Duane, sourcing meats for the next dinner, scouting out locations, and gleefully scheming the details.

This has been a happy day, full of ideas from my talk with my friend Judith about the upcoming communal picnic in Piedmont Park, to help bring this experience to school lunchrooms.

It is not often in life that we find ourselves with such an abundance of luck. I wanted to take a moment to thank all of you for supporting rogueApron.

I never could have imagined being here.

Invite from our friends at Staple House

Jen and Ryan Hidiger are that couple that make you go … really?

Really? You guys are this nice? And really … this good looking, and talented, and you live in a beautiful magazine house?

No, really – they are – the world’s nicest couple. And, oh, hey, he just happens to be a super talented chef (currently at Muss & Turner’s), who runs an oh-so-not-secret underground restaurant (prelude to staplehouse), that is – as the name suggests – a prelude to opening his own restaurant. Check their site for food porn.

But opening a restaurant takes some bucks, and that’s where you come in.

Join prelude to staplehouse for Tacos @ Hidiger’s on Labor Day Weekend. Cajachina Roasted Pig, Fire Pit Chicken Pazole, Tacos al Carbon, and more await you … all to the tune of ATL band Kingsized. Throw in a projector featuring Three Amigos, and you’re pretty much good to go.

Your $25 donation will help this couple build the fund for their own restaurant!

RSVPs will go SUPER FAST for this limited event, so email the ridiculously awesome couple at preludetostaplehouse@gmail.com now.