Oconee County, GA Politics

This was what Chef Richard Miley of the Watkinsville restaurant Chops and Hops attempting to get in my way with this evening at Barberitos as I enjoyed their new mango salsa. I only wish Miley had done so about a minute and a half later so that Barberitos owner and BOE chair David Weeks could have flattened him with a block to his chest. I was merely trying to enjoy my dinner with my son when this co-owner of the restaurant down the way in Town Center decided to try a little fancy footwork with me. Lucky for him I spied my friends and talked to them in line instead. I probably should have called the Watkinsville Police on him, but they have more important things to do than to clean up the mess of restaurant wars. I know Miley is a former Marine and probably could mop the floor with me, but I do not wish them violence such as that which was talked about in their infamous black and bleu burger about six weeks back. I guess he is in no hurry for me to eat at his restaurant anytime soo...

Case Study: Celebrity Sandwich Dedications - New York Restaurants and Dining - Fork in the Road

Blackmon: Domestic violence no joking matter | Online Athens

‘Black and Bleu’ Chris Brown, Rihanna Sandwich Chef Has No Regrets : The Georgia chef behind the controversial “black and bleu” sandwich that pokes fun at Chris Brown and Rihanna said he’s “not afraid” of what he did and has no regrets. “I was not trying to make a joke of domestic violence, just bringing light to...

So now I have been Facebook-accused by an alleged local comedian of extorting money from Chops and Hops because of their staff members' somewhat insensitive comment dedicating a ground prime rib sandwich to singers Chris Brown and Rihanna. I did suggest as a remedy to a ridiculous situation of their own doing making a donation to Team 6 of Athens Dancing with the Stars, and the restaurant management decided to make a sixfold increase and donation to this group that will ultimately go to Project Safe. I think most intelligent individuals involved are savvy enough to make the best out of a bad situation, but let's review some of the more salient points, shall we? It is a whole lot easier to destroy a restaurant's reputation almost overnight than it is work hard for years building up confidence and trust with a neighborhood and city. Leave tweeting, texting, and Facebook posts to those who have some sort of realistic idea of the potential ramifications of what they post an...

Few minor details incorrect in the story, this was a "celebrity special" sandwich and not on the menu per se, and "Bon Rappetite" is a pseudonym for a hip-hop foodie author/restaurant(?) But the dust up and blow up was fast and furious from Friday when the actual special was featured, and the Saturday detonation on Facebook, and then this story. I do hope some good comes of this, perhaps a better understanding of the public's distaste for poorly written kitchen descriptions, the fact that we are generally past the acceptable comedic racial humor (except on aging and dated Richard Pryor recordings).  Here is the original post in all its crude and unvarnished glory: Well we were going to do @TimTebow today but decided to trade for a sure thing this week. Instead @chrisbrown, @rihanna and us teamed up for a award winning celebrity sandwich. Put your hands on this caribbean black and bleu sandwich. Caribbean spiced marinated sliced ribeye blackened then look out...

My son and I just hiked to and from Town Center and there are lots of big semi-frozen puddles of slushiness that will freeze overnight making Tuesday much more treacherous than today. Lowell Matthews and snow man at 2 South Main Street in Watkinsville, Georgia We had lunch at the Subway Restaurant managed by Clif Cauley at 2 South Main Street in Mike Thornton's Town Center development.  I am not certain if it was manager Clif Cauley himself making our six inch sandwiches, but their new chipotle sauce rocks on their Philly sub toasted, kind of like a spicier Thousand Island dressing. Whomever was there used to work at the Subway on Prince Avenue in Athens, and is a very dedicated worker. He may see us again later this week. The restaurant Chops and Hops was open, too. We actually saw a couple of people venture in there while we were on our snow trek. Was glad to learn about that on Facebook this morning. That restaurant has an amazing selection of beer and pretty good slabs o...

<iframe src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=occogapo-20&amp;o=1&amp;p=8&amp;l=bpl&amp;asins=B001LJXC04&amp;fc1=000000&amp;IS2=1&amp;lt1=_blank&amp;m=amazon&amp;lc1=0000FF&amp;bc1=000000&amp;bg1=FFFFFF&amp;f=ifr" style="padding-top: 5px; width: 131px; height: 245px; padding-right: 10px;" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" align="left" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"> If you were needing a good excuse to check out the local steakhouse Chops & Hops, I would recommend going to listen to the lovely North High Shoals resident and relative of mine Rachel O'Neal Saturday evening. From: Rachel O'Neal  To: rachelp182003@yahoo.com Sent: Wed, March 10, 2010 8:30:24 AM Subject: Chops & Hops Saturday Hungry for a fabulous dinner and some musical accompaniment? Well, I have just the thing for you... Come to Chops and Hops in Watkinsville this Saturday n...

My very first visit to Chops and Hops was a favorable one Wednesday evening. The newest restaurant in Mike Thornton's TownCenter was difficult for me to attend immediately out of respect to Maison Bleu, the former occupant of the odd two story suite at the end of the development. The night I dine there it was packed and flowing relatively smoothly on an otherwise unremarkable weeknight. 14 tables were filled with three or four patrons each and one longer table remained with seven professional women (including my friend Sheila Turner-Seila from burton and BURTON). There was also some kind of reception going on upstairs as well. I sat at the 14 seat bar with maybe a dozen other hungry diners and was served remarkably fast with my steak remaining medium rare. The potatoes and asparagus were perfect in portion. It is sometimes hard to look at that large blank canvas of a two story wall and not wonder what happened to the Anne Miller-Andersen/Peter Andersen/Jim Shearon vision, but...