Building relationships: One handshake, one teaching point (and one cup of gumbo) at a time.

Mardi Gras Cafe (swanky signage coming soon.)

So you already remember that I had an all girl team in January on the Grady wards, right? Well, at the end of a ward month, it's the tradition of (kind) attendings to take their team out for a meal. Guess where we went? To the BHE's restaurant -- Mardi Gras Cafe!

I split the month with my colleague Stacie S. -- who happens to be a Louisiana native. With her New Orleans taste buds, clearly this wasn't a hard sell. No, 'twas not.

Oh! Before I forget. Here's an awesome tidbit -- Stacie S. was my ward resident a few years back. And on the last day of the rotation, it was just the two of us rounding one Sunday morning. When we finished, I took her to breakfast at Murphy's (another of my favorite eateries.) That day, over chilaquiles and hot coffee, Stace told me that -- "Ssshhhhhh! It's a secret" -- she was expecting baby and had just found out days before. I dang near exploded under the pressure of keeping that silent. (But don't worry, I did keep it to myself.)

Well, here's that baby now:

 

What a difference a day makes, right?

Yep. So it was a really cool full circle moment to be the other attending working on a ward month with her.  If ever there was a baby who was a perfect mixture of her parents, it's this little pumpkin. She looks as much like Stace as she does Stacie's hubby, David (also a Grady doctor.)

Anywho. 

So yeah. We had a great time yucking it up and enjoying some good, casual comfort food (with a Louisiana twist, of course.) 

Baby Sofie kept us still at all-girl status, but the addition of my Things 1 and 2 ended that real fast. We just decided that they'd be "the team mascots" so that we could maintain our XX chromosome status.

The food was super yummy (as always) and -- if you read my last post -- WORTH IT. We all totally arrived ultra hungry so that we could enjoy every bite. And since the portions are hearty, even then there's plenty to take home. Just look at Stacie's smothered pork chops!

 And she said, "YES, I'm having me some pork chops AND mac 'n' cheese AND red beans and rice. SURE AM." I bet her hubby David was super happy for that ginormous portion because that meant he got half of it later on.

Before anyone says something -- let me just say that the good thing about Mardi Gras is that you can be as good as you want or as bad as you want. On my good-girl/bread-is-the-devil days, I have grilled fish and veggies, like this:

But that's not the mindset I was in that night. I paced myself all week with smart food choices so that I could enjoy what I REALLY wanted. What was it, you ask? A blackened fish po' boy and some gumbo.

Woo hooo!!

And no. These photos aren't from that night. I shamelessly stole them from the ones the BHE already had on my computer. Sure did. (Except for Stacie's big ol' plate o' pork chops which really was from that evening.)

 We had a great time. And, of course, the BHE was physically there taking care of us -- even though a group was having an event in the swanky upstairs lounge. He still gave us V.I.P. treatment!

This was right after Isaiah had eaten his own serving of the bread pudding. He, too, finds it a religious experience just like his mama.

Yep.

Here's what I know: Working well together and creating a great climate for learning and mentoring is done best when you build relationships. I love having team dinners because it lets me see how well this was achieved. That's always one of my goals on my teams.

And my life.

Always.

That just reminded me: Remember my student Bryan O. playing his guitar in my sunroom at a team dinner? I always remembered that and feel so happy whenever I think of it.

Anyways. This past month? We succeeded at building relationships. With each other, with other parts of the care team like our nurses and social workers,  and, of course, with our patients.

 And that made me feel proud.

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Happy Sunday. Again.

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OH! 

Straight from the BHE:

"Hey Babe? Thank the people who read your blog for coming into the spot, man. I've had quite a few of them come by for lunch or dinner and they say they heard about us from your blog. And they say, 'You're the BHE.' Ha ha ha. That's real, real cool." 

Then I said, "Well, Bro. Manning, can you hook them up with some kind of discount if they mention the blog? I'm just sayin'."

And he said, "Sure." 

And I said, "Bet."

Okay. So from now until. . . umm. . . . Easter. . . .yeah, Easter. . . .if you stop by Mardi Gras Cafe to get your grub on, you'll get 15% off of your meal if you mention that you read about it from the GRADYDOCTOR blog. Oh, and the secret code that you have to say is: The BHE.  Ha ha ha. Or not since he'd probably be mortified if a whole bunch of folks rolled in saying that. Okay.You could just say you heard about it from the GRADYDOCTOR blog, okay?

Why I just put GRADYDOCTOR in all caps, I do not know. I guess I was just feeling kind of self important. Ha. Especially since HLN gave me a nationally syndicated blog shout out under my name last week -- in ALL CAPS. 

YAAAAY-YUUUUUHHHHH!!!!!

Ha ha ha. That was a first, man. I have, like, SO arrived. 

Heh.

Seriously, though? Thanks for being supportive--literally and virtually. The BHE tells me that small businesses thrive one handshake, one customer, and one good word at a time. So, as the wife of a small business owner, we 'preciate y'all. For real. And if you have a good small business in your community with good service and good products? Support them regularly so they'll stay open.

The take home point in all of this is the same: Remember to intentionally build sustainable relationships in whatever it is you're doing. Let folks know they're valued. Whether you're teaching, caring for someone, running a business, or just living. Build and they will come. (And, if you're lucky, they'll come back with some friends.)

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Now for the shameless plug because I love my husband and am behind anything he is involved in:

Mardi Gras Cafe ~ Restaurant and Lounge is located at 886 Martin Luther King Drive, Atlanta, Georgia, 30316. They specialize in Southern comfort foods "with a Louisiana twist." Chef Will is an Opelousas, Louisiana native and has magic fingers. His magic ingredient is "love" which goes into everything he prepares. 

Harry (aka The BHE) is all about service and experience. You will be treated as if your time, money and decision to eat there matter. You can count on having attentive service but not intrusive service. And most of all, you can count on good food.  So stop by. It's right by the Georgia Dome and Georgia Aquarium on MLK Drive--and it's walking distance from the brand new WalMart that just opened on the same street earlier this year. (So get you some toilet paper and groceries while you're over there.)

That's all I've got.

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