If you were the BEST in the world at something and you weren’t allowed to compete in the “Championship event” of that something, wouldn’t you be pissed? Wouldn’t the victor of said “Championship event” be a total phony? This has been the case of Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest for the past 2 years! The best in the world, Takeru Kobayashi, has been ineligible to compete at Nathan’s for the second year in a row because he refuses to sign a contract with Major League Eating, the “governing body” of competitive eating.

Last year, Kobayashi rushed the stage in a “Free Kobi” shirt after Joey Chestnut won and was dragged away without any sort of recognition. This year, he staged his own event in Manhattan at the same time, flanked by TV screens showing the Nathan’s event and ate 69 hot dogs! Breaking Joey Chestnut’s previous record of 68. Joey Chestnut only ate 62 today and “won”.

I’m not fully aware of all the details of the Major League Eating contract that Kobayaski is unwilling to sign, but to me it’s fishy. Like if your singing career is based on auto-tune, and then a group of bros show up and tell you that you can only use auto-tune if you decide to sing with their group. Naw, cousin…

Anyway, the fully-engorged video from today’s Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest is available after the jump. It’s still a marvel to watch, I just wish that it was really among the world’s greatest. Maybe the camerawork could’ve allowed for less of Patrick “Deep Dish” Bertoletti’s disgusting eating methods. Read the rest of this entry »

Today we received Stranger Day’s beautifully-crafted press kit in the mail. As if hard copies of his Bar Stool Bounce EP weren’t cool enough, we received an assortment of stickers (not pictured), and a huge mason jar full of Stranger Day branded MOONSHINE! I took a swig straight out of the jar and I breathed hot lava for the next hour! We’re going to drop some peaches in this jar and keep it in our studio. We’ll belligerently force you to do shots of Stranger Day “Peach State” Moonshine with us if you visit! Fair warning!

If you haven’t downloaded Bar Stool Bounce yet, click here!

Our Charleston-based friends KJ and Matt came to Atlanta to spend the weekend doing some low key activities that included a visit to our studio, lemon pepper wings at The Local, and watching the Gold Cup Final between USA and Mexico.

I’m not sure if it was the exhilaration from witnessing the USA’s first 2 goals, or the libation-fueled disappointment from seeing Mexico score 4 straight spirit-crushing goals, but the night air promised something more. The USMNT may have been down and out, but our night was not over! Things took a drastic turn when our homies from SC made the spontaneous decision to get tattooed with the We Are the Process “Tommys” logo.

Do you have ink inspired by We Are the Process brand? If so, send in the proof and we’ll compile a post with all your photos. Just hit that nifty, new contact button in the left sidebar or email us at info [at] wearetheprocess.com.

More photographic evidence after the jump. Read the rest of this entry »

The Beast on Yeast

Whenever my friend KJ comes to Atlanta, I always want to show him something interesting. Much like our usual exploits in KJ’s city of Charleston, SC, the primary focus involves indulging in food and drink!

I’d received many word-of-mouth recommendations to check out Victory Sandwich Bar (@vicsandwichbar on Twitter) in Inman Park over the past few months and I couldn’t wait to drag KJ along with me to check out this hybrid pub/restaurant. Victory is open from 11am - 2am daily as full service bar that takes pride in preparing food. At $4 per sandwich, it becomes difficult to resist ordering 2 or more items off the menu.

Upon approaching Victory’s spacious patio, we were greeted with a few familiar faces on the wait staff. If you frequent the nightlife in East Atlanta, you might recognize those faces I’m referring to. We decided to roll the dice, and asked the staff prepare an assortment of 6 sandwiches for the two of us to try. My personal favorite was the Beast on Yeast: A helping of pot roast on a yeast bun with horseradish crème. #jam

Whether you’re having a panini or bocadillo, rest assured it’s going to be good as Victory prepares their sandwiches on breads provided by the hired-guns & breadmasters at Bakeshop.

There’s a ping-pong table in the back of the pub, and a punching bag across from the bar; perfect ways to expend energy after consuming Victory’s very-alcoholic Jack & Coke Slushie. Can I holler at a to-go cup? Read the rest of this entry »

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One of my favorite bartenders in Atlanta, Evan Hawkins, was crowned the National Champion of the 2011 United States Bartenders Guild Drinks & Ink Competition presented by Tuaca. This not-so-usual take on a bartender competition combined the intersecting cultures of bartenders and tattoos with bartenders being judged on their Tuaca bold shot recipe and the overall craftsmanship of their tattoo.

Hawkins captured his first national bartender competition by beating out eight other finalists from the around the country to win a Tuaca photo spread in this month’s Inked Magazine.

“I’ve competed in several bartender competitions and Drinks & Ink was one of the most different and fun ones I’ve ever experienced,” said Hawkins. “I’m proud to have been recognized for both my Pura Vida body art and Tuaca bold shot and am stoked up to be featured in Inked.”

Hawkins won his first national bartender competition with his Pura Vida bold shot recipe and a tattoo featuring a sugar skull with the words “Pura Vida” under it. Pura Vida means pure life in Spanish and the skull is a candy given out on the “day of dead” ceremony in Mexico. For Hawkins, it means to celebrate your life and live the best you can before the end comes.

Tattoo by Danielle Distefano of Only You Tattoo. Evan’s baseball cap by We Are the Process.

Sweetwater Brewing announced a new brew this week: Waterkeeper Hefeweizen Ale. The beer is an unfiltered wheat ale that will be available through June, and is part of Sweetwater’s campaign to help watersheds across the Southeast.

Reportedly, the beer has the flavors of banana, clove, and lemon. The bottle features a hand-drawn image of the river and the story of how Sweetwater got involved with Waterkeeper Alliances across the Southeast.

Waterkeeper Hefeweizen Ale will be previewed at the Upper Chattahoochee Riverkeeper’s annual River Revival Thursday night (5/19/11). It will begin showing up on draft in bars and restaurant, and in bottles elsewhere by the end of May. I’m looking forward to trying at one of my favorite restaurants. Hopefully they participate in the program!

Last Friday I caught my first show at the Graveyard’s new concert venue, The Basement. They’ve been talking about expanding into this venue for a long time and now I see why it took them so long. Everything about this new place was executed flawlessly. The furnishings are on point, and the soundsystem is amazing. The band of the evening, U.S. Royalty, blew my ears back! I’ve been listening to them for a few years now, but hadn’t seen them live until this point. The band rocks so damn hard, and lead singer John Thornley, has a voice that gives you chills. Do yourself a favor and go see USR live.

We recently teamed up with the fine folks at Graveyard Tavern who were looking to do something unique with their new downstairs concert venue called The Basement. They asked us to put our unique spin on a small walk-in room in the back of the venue.

If you’re having a great time at The Basement, but you need a few minutes of privacy to take care of whatever you please, then check out “The Process Room” in the back of the building.

The photo above doesn’t do the room justice. You have to see our graphic installation in person. Make sure you remember to tweet pics from inside this room to us at @WeAreTheProcess to be randomly selected to win prizes!

I love the idea of cooking with Coca-Cola (& Dr. Pepper) so much that I started talking about making a BBQ sauce out of Coca-Cola on the long drive back from SXSW. By the time we got home, Georgios had already found several recipes on the internet. I decided to try one that sounded rather easy. As you can see here, all of the ingredients are easily found in a grocery store.

I was relatively happy with the recipe from the internet, but it’s going to need some tweaking. My main gripe with the recipe I worked from was that too many of the ingredients were basically sauces themselves. There’s gotta be another way! I’m going to continue to perfect this recipe until I have a handle on it. Someday I’ll share it with you! But not until it’s ready.

The past 2 weeks on the road have been very exhausting, yet super fun and rewarding. I had so much fun meeting new people and seeing their positive reactions to our efforts. Here are some photos and videos from our trip to New Orleans, Austin, & Charleston as well as some friends’ pics sent in via Twitter. Enjoy!
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