Fresh Loaf

Clayton Henry County is ringing in 2009 with a deep-fried, artery-clogging bizz-ang.

From the AJC:

Truett’s Grill in McDonough will kick off 2009 tonight by dropping an 800-pound chicken nugget into a tub of honey mustard.

Chick-fil-A officials insist no chickens were harmed – the 6-foot-tall nugget is made from plaster. And the honey mustard is really just karo syrup with food coloring, but it looks like honey mustard, said Becky Ragsdale, a hostess at Truett’s Grill.

“It took six guys to lift it. It’s now hanging from a huge crane,” Ragsdale said. “Some of the other [Chick-fil-A] restaurants have New Year’s Eve celebrations, but we’re the only nugget drop.”

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If you’re behind the wheel this evening, be sure to avoid the area around Underground Atlanta. City police will block off some vehicular traffic so lots of people can look at a foam-and-fiberglass peach, listen to unknown country music stars, and get soused in a part of town where few people visit the other 364 days of the year.

From the city:

Streets that will be closed for the Peach Drop are:
• Alabama Street from Forsyth to Peachtree streets
• Wall Street from Central Avenue to Peachtree Street
• Marietta Street/Decatur Street from Spring Street to Central Avenue
• Walton Street from Forsyth to Peachtree streets
• Luckie Street/Auburn Avenue from Forsyth to Peachtree Center Avenue
• Williams Street from Forsyth to Peachtree streets
• Forsyth Street from M. L. King Jr. Drive to Walton Street
• Broad Street from Marietta to Peachtree streets
• Peachtree Street from M. L. King Jr. Drive to Ellis Street
• Park Place from J.W. Dobbs Avenue to Decatur Street
• Equitable Place from Auburn to Edgewood avenues
• Pryor Street from Decatur Street to M. L. King
• J.W. Dobbs Avenue from Peachtree Street to Peachtree Center Avenue
• Edgewood Avenue from Peachtree Street to Central Avenue

And:

Vehicular traffic will be allowed to flow on, but not enter the perimeter formed by:
• Central Avenue and Peachtree Center Avenue on the east;
• Spring Street, Walton Street and Forsyth Street on the west;
• M. L. King on the south; and Ellis Street and Carnegie Way on the north.

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• POWER OUTAGE: Nearly 200,000 homes in Michigan without power after winter storms. Now the Midwest is bracing for possible floods.

• LORDS OF DOGTOWN: Skaters in Fresno, Calif., are taking advantage of the skyrocketing foreclosure rate.

• SIGN OF THE TIMES: Newly incorporated cities Milton, Johns Creek and Sandy Springs having trouble finding their footing.

• FOR THAT HOURGLASS FIGURE: Atlanta’s Spanx will sell “mirdles,” aka man girdles, next year.

• DIRTY BIRDS: Heading to the playoffs. Falcons head coach Mike Smith asks, “Why not us?”

• BARGAIN HUNTING: After-Christmas shoppers are pickier than in years past.

• AULD LANG SYNE: Check out CL’s one-stop shop for New Year’s Eve events around the city.

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New Year’s Eve parties are a dime a dozen, which is why we’ve taken the liberty to sort out the winners from the rest of the heap. It could be the difference between enjoying reasonable drunken debauchery and nuzzling a squalid bar toilet while disparaging your life choices. To steer you in the direction of the former, CL presents a reliably cool list of potential New Year’s plans, including parties, music and food.

For all of you who like to plan ahead, check out a few of our favorite intown events, or meander through a more comprehensive list. Don’t worry, the list will stay up through the new year, so if you find yourself without something to do come Dec. 31, you know where to go. Either way, we hope everyone has a fun — but safe — time!

(Photo courtesy Underground Atlanta)

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