Not Just Me

As this semester winds down, I decided to try a little something different here on Taste of the Plains.

Instead of giving you tips on where I think you should go for dinner this weekend, I thought I’d ask a few of my Auburn journalism professors about their favorite dining spots. Take a look at what they said.

Dr. Sally Anne Cruikshank, Digital News Production and Digital News Reporting:

“I’d have to say my favorite would probably be Acre. The food is fresh, creative, and always good. (I especially love their brunch.) The bar there also has a very cool vibe.”

Dr. John Carvalho, Reporting and Sports Reporting:

“My favorite place is Kitchen 3810 on Opelika Highway. It is like a meat and 3 place that is done really well. They don’t overwhelm you with heavy entrees and vegetables. Their selection of meats is excellent and they do them excellent. And the people who run the place and who work there are terrific. Great place.”

And finally, Dr. Michael Fuhlhage, Multimedia Journalism and Journalism History:

“My go-to is Durango, where you will find the best soft corn tacos outside Mexico. Get the tacos de carnitas and tacos al pastor. They are beyond amazing.”

Well, there you have it. The go-to restaurants for three of Auburn’s finest–and I don’t just say that because they give out the grades.

Looks like Dr. Cruikshank and I are on the same page about Acre (minus the bar part, I still have a week and a half to go til I’m 21).

But I’ll have to give Durango and Kitchen 3800 a try. I’ve never been to either!

 

Final Acre Project

Acre has been one of my favorite restaurant experiences of my college career. That’s huge coming from me.

So when I needed a video story idea, I almost immediately knew that I wanted to do a story on Acre in some way. I wanted to convey a little of that experience to you, my lovely readers.

Sorting through the ideas for story direction was a challenge. However, I ended up choosing to tell the story of the vision of Acre and what they do differently through the executive chef himself, David Bancroft.

I had a lot of excellent interview snippets to weave together. The hard part was picking which ones help me get the flow right.

It wasn’t all kicks and giggles, though. I had to work around a few things.

The first and most stressful challenge I faced was that when I went in at our scheduled time Monday, Bancroft wasn’t there. Sadly, he was attending a funeral and had lost my number to let me know. He also didn’t mention to his staff that I’d be coming.

Thankfully I was able to get in touch with him and set up a time for the next day.

When time to shoot came, I faced the new challenge of working with a location that used mostly natural light. As it turns out, my efforts to angle the light in my favor gave me a lot of really cool video.

Sure, some shots I really wanted to use were too dark and I had to leave them out for the integrity of the rest of the video, but that’s why we always follow Dr. Fuhlhage’s advice to over-shoot the B-roll.

Also, I had perfect light outside. And I really loved the way the wind added movement to the plants. That just turned out cool.

Another challenge I faced while shooting was that I was unable to use the tripod most of the time. I had to respect Bancroft’s request that I not get in the way of the staff. The tripod made that impossible.

So I braced myself, literally. I was in all kinds of positions trying to use a counter, a wall or pretty much anything to steady my shots as much as humanly possible.

The biggest challenge was making sure all these things–the interview, the lighting and the steadier shots–formed the story I wanted to tell. I’m happy to say, it turned out great.

For my next video project, I think I’ll do my best to plan two filming days. That way I can look back at the first day’s shots and interview and see what I think I should add to it.

If that’s not possible. I’ll look back at my shots halfway through filming time and see what to add.

Take a look at the final product:

 

 

Here are two other video stories that I think are worth a watch.

The Red Lion Inn: A Farm Fresh Update to a Historic Restaurant by Food Curated is like what I was trying to do with Acre. I love how they connected all the dots between the farm and the restaurant. They show how the Red Lion Inn is different, like was doing with Acre.

Drawn to Fire: Chef Jeremy Stanton of The Meat Market, also by Food Curated, does something that I originally was going to do with Acre. It shows the chef’s passion for his craft. In my case, the story just formed more naturally to focus on the restaurant.

 

 

A-Day Eats

Football fans, rejoice! A-Day is once again upon us.

This Saturday, thousands of Auburn students, alumni, families and fans will converge on Jordan-Hare Stadium for the team’s spring scrimmage.

Where will those thousands of people eat? For many, lunch and dinner will consist of a quick walk to a local eatery. Good thing we’ve got plenty of walking-distance options.

Many will likely stroll across South College Street to Taziki’s, Uncle Maddio’s Pizza Joint, or the old standby, Price’s Barbecue House.

For those who head to the downtown strip, the range of options is huge. Here’s an overview:

Toomer’s Drugs, Bizilia’s Cafe, Big Blue Bagel & Deli, Tacorita, Cheeburger Cheeburger, Five Guys Burgers and Fries, Moe’s Southwestern Grill, Moe’s Original Barbecue, Zazu Gastropub, Hamilton’s, Little Italy Pizzeria, Halftime, Pita Pit, Arigato Sushi Boutique, Jimmy John’s, Quixotes.

If you’re willing to walk a little farther to Glenn Avenue, you can drop by Tropical Smoothie Cafe, Island Wing Company, Waffle House, or Wild Bill’s Kitchen.

So for anyone in need of dining plans on A-Day, hope this helps. War Eagle, y’all!