This weekend we flew to Atlanta for Uncle Sid's (The Chazzan) 80th birthday celebration. This week, he was honored at his temple, where he had given 30 years of service. We met Gilda and Sam in the airport at Atlanta. Our planes arrived at the same time. We rented a car and drove on to the Comfort Suites. It was a Priceline weekend for us, low priced airfare, rental car, and a suite at the Comfort Suites with pool, exercise room, and breakfast for $40/night.

We drove to a wonderful restaurant to meet Karen and Eli, Stuart and Lisa, and Evie. The Gottler-Wises took us to dinner at Fogo di Chao,a Brazilian churrascariathat was perfect for the occasion. First, there is a fabulous salad bar, the best I've seen anywhere, with wonderful grilled vegetables, red and yellow peppers, asparagus, sundried tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, prosciutto, shitake mushrooms, artichoke hearts, hearts of palm, greens, tomatoes, gravlax. You have to be careful not to fill up on it, because then you sit down, and you're given a marker at your place, a disc with a red side and a green side. Green (sim)means you're ready for meat.Red (naon)means that you want them to wait until the wave of nausea passes so that you can eat some more. Servers bring long brochettes of 15 different cuts of meat, all perfectly grilled--top sirloin, bottom sirloin, tenderloin, leg of lamb, lamb chops, chicken, linguica, butt steak. It's like David Letterman: "Know, know, know, know...know your cuts of meat!"
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They slice off a little bit, and you grab it with tongs that you keep by your plate. When you want to pause, you flip the disc to red. When you're ready to resume gorging yourself, you flip it back to green. And what, you are wondering, did Carol eat while the rest of us attempted to clog our arteries as lemmings rush to the sea? She looked to the right...she looked to the left...and she took a huge piece of sausage, devoured it, emitting a small rumbling primal roar, and there was no stopping the carnage thereafter.
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We finished off with a good flan, grappa, and coffee. Best of all, we really had fun renewing our relationships, reminiscing over old times, catching up on the new.
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Sunday morning, what else was there to do but eat? We met Sadele and Sid and their clan at Agnes & Muriel's a funky retro restaurant with decor brought back the fifties. The restaurant is named for the two grandmothers of the owners. We had delicious salads, omelettes, French toast, bloody marys, and coffee.
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In the afternoon, I visited with Eli's parents--his father was ill recently, and the rest hung out at the pool. We got our exercise in when the hotel elevators gave out, with us on the fourth and fifth floors. They are getting a Letter From Farklempt.

In the evening, we went to the Clubhouse at Stuart's nearby condo for a party. There were speeches, toasts, songs, as everyone expressed his/her love and admiration for Sid.
....Evie, Paul & Harriet Herman
The Ingalls and Spinats (minus Sam, who refused to be associated with riffraff such as us) joined voices in a tribute to Sid, sung to the tune of his hallmark song, "Sunrise, Sunset"
 

Is this our uncle tall and handsome,
Waltzing so easily and free?
I don't remember growing older,
When...did...he?

He was a soldier-boy from Boston,
Learning to drive and pahk a cah,
Stationed in lonely Chattanooga,
Oh...so...fah!

Sidney Gottler,
Sidney Gottler,
Swiftly flow the years,
He is our fav'rite Southern uncle,
We send him all our love and cheers.

It was Sadele who lured him southward,
Could not resist her siren call,
Now he's ensconced in fair Atlanta,
Says..."You...all!"

Here at his birthday celebration,
Eighty but still looks like a boy,
We raise our glasses to our uncle,
Filled with joy!

Sidney Gottler,
Sidney Gottler,
Swiftly flow the years,
He is our fav'rite Southern uncle,
We send him all our love and cheers.

Dinner followed, catered by a Marietta, Georgia barbecue company, with delicious chicken and ribs. Karen made all the desserts, which were fabulous.

It's always a joy to go to Atlanta.