Monday, May 2, 2011

TRENDS, TASTES & FLAVORS

Dining Out For Babies, 'Tastes' from Downtown to Alpharetta
hud report staff
Gearing up for another year, the March of Dimes Georgia Chapter has announced more than 40 restaurants will participate in its 27th annual Dining Out For Babies fundraising event May 13th. Top restaurateurs have each offered up a table of ten for the evening to serve three-course meals and wine pairings from some of the best chefs in the city. Charity-minded Atlantans may purchase a table for the event for $1,000 or $1,500, depending on the restaurant. For a list of participating restaurants, visit www.marchofdimes.com/georgia, or for updated information. After dinner, guests are invited to the Stepping Out after party at King Plow Arts Center from 9 p.m. - midnight, where they will nosh on desserts and sip complimentary cocktails.... The 15th Annual River Revivalon May 19 at Park Tavern presents a huge party with a purpose at a bargain price. This fundraiser for Upper Chattahoochee Riverkeepers (UCR) will feature a triple-threat of rock n roll by Ken Block and Drew Copeland from Sister Hazel, Atlantas Ponderosa and Nashvilles The Kicks. Tickets are $45 in advance, $55 at the door and will include food from Park Tavern, beer from SweetWater and a one-year membership to UCR. There will also be a silent auction with lots of priceless items and a presentation of the River Rock Star Award to filmmakers Rhett Turner and Jonathan Wickham, who produced Chattahoochee: From Water War to Water Vision. This event helps kick off SweetWater Brewerys annual Save the Hooch campaign. Funds raised benefit UCRs river patrol and monitoring programs. And heres the twist: SweetWater Brewery will unveil a special Waterkeeper Ale at the Revival. This ale will only be offered during the campaign, which runs from Memorial Day through the Fourth of July. For more info, visit http://www.ucriverkeeper.org/river-revival.php.

Tastes around town...
The 2011 Downtown Atlanta Restaurant Week (DARW) is back for its 10th anniversary and to celebrate the occasion they have added a few new restaurants including Dantannas Downtown, Der Biergarten and Georgia Peach. The week-long event features the best Downtown Atlantas Dining District has to offer featuring new dishes and signature 3-course menus all week long. Meals will include multiple options for an appetizer, entre and a dessert that you can choose from at the fixed rate of $25 or $35 per meal depending upon the restaurant and their menu. Beverages, tax and gratuities are not included in the price of the meal. For reservations and a list of participating restaurants, visit www.atlantadowntown.com/fun/restaurant-week/darw-2011... The City of Alpharetta also eagerly prepares for 65 restaurants to set their tables along Old Milton Parkway at Wills Park on Thursday, May 12 from 5 to10 p.m. for the 21st Annual Taste of Alpharetta. Menu samplings will run .50 to $3 and will accompany musical entertainment and a variety of childrens activities as well as chef competitions. For more information, go to www.alpharetta.ga.us or 678.297.6000... The 18th Annual Taste of Marietta is also coming up on Sunday, May 1st from 11 a.m.-7 p.m. on the historic Marietta Square. At last years Taste over 100,000 people hit the streets. This year, the festival has expanded to encompass the entire square to accommodate the crowd. Over 70 restaurants will be showcasing their best dishes. In addition to the food, the family festival has outdoor entertainment all day on four stages situated throughout the area, culminating with the Sunset Concert featuringBanks & Shane on the Main Stage. There are also culinary demonstrations at the Gas South Cooking Stage; Kids Alley, a childrens area complete with moonwalks, sand art and strolling characters; and Sports Corner, where you can meet up with the Atlanta Braves, the Atlanta Hawks, the Atlanta Thrashers and more. The event is free but tastes range from .50 to $4. For more info, 770.429.1115 or visit www.tasteofmarietta.com... Whether its the best in barbecue and bourbon or award-winning chefs, beverage innovators and local growers, from May 19 – 22, if it has to do with southern culinary traditions, it will be at the Atlanta Food & Wine Festival (AF&WF). The Festival is the creation of more than 200 ways for guests to sip, savor and sample Southern food and drink. Special events, culinary demonstrations and seminars, panel discussions, tasting tents, culinary trails, a street cart pavilion, chef-meet-and-greets and unique ticketed dinners fill the inaugural Atlanta Food & Wine Festival weekend and connect to the festivals three overall themes; Old Traditions, New Traditions, and Imports & Inspiration. Tickets range from $75 to $2500 from the Connoisseur and VIP packages to 3-day, day passes, foodsters and a la carte of events, visit www.atlfoodandwinefestival.com to purchase... The next Italian addition to Sandy Springs, Cibo (pronounced chee-boh) E Beve is expected to open in June and has introduced a preview dinner, “Six Degrees Of Preparation” ($75 per person) for Thursday, May 19 at sister eatery Food 101, 4969 Roswell Road in Sandy Springs. The six-course meal will be accommpanied by wine selections and prepared by Partner/Food 101 chef Linda Harrell. You will start at 6 p.m. with cocktails by mixologist Justin Hadaway. At 7 p.m. the first course will begin with roasted oysters, second will be braised lamb belly and the third will serve an arugula-based salad. The fourth course features bucatini allamatriciana followed by the fifth course of butter poached scallops and deconstructed spumoini for the sixth and final course. For reservations, call Food 101 at 404.497.9700... Dressing up and sipping mint juleps forThe Run for the Roses is a Southern tradition. This year, South City Kitchen Vinings is throwing a Kentucky Derby party from 5 - 7 p.m. on Saturday, May 7 with the restaurant televising it in high volume, on flat-screen TVs. Out on the patio, saddle up with cocktail tastings of mint juleps, mojitos and Kentuckyritas and heavy hors doeuvre including smoked chicken wings, Kentucky sausage meatballs, grilled pimento cheese sandwiches and burgoo-a traditional Kentucky stew. Also, bartenders will teach guests step-by-step how to stir and shake up the cocktails themselves -- youll even get recipe cards to take home. Receive 10% off dinner if you choose to stay. You can purchase tickets online for only $25 per person (plus tax and gratuity),www.southcitykitchen.com or 770.435.0700 for details... On Friday, May 20, chefs Kevin Gillespie of Woodfire Grill and Vishwesh Bhatt of SnackBar in Oxford, Mississippi have big dinner plans at Woodfire Grill on Cheshire Bridge Road. The two will infuse Southern food with the mystique and spices of Southern India to create a memorable meal as part the Atlanta Food & Wine Festival. Zapaca Rum is pouring a signature cocktail to complement the evenings aura. Purchase tickets online for $150 per person (including tax and gratuity), www.woodfiregrill.com, 404.347.9055. Discounted tickets are available for Atlanta Food & Wine Festival Connoisseur, VIP and three-day package holders... How much merlot, cabernet, pinot noir or other grape to make a perfect blend? Discover the process at Mortons Steakhouse when you mix, mingle and blend during a Meritage Wine Blending Seminar featuring Franciscan Oakville Estate Magnificat and Mortons signature filet slider hors doeuvres. Complete with wine kits and an expert to guide your every move, this seminar will explain why and how the best wines are blended to perfection. The events ($45) will take place on Tuesday, May 12 from 6:30 - 8 p.m. at the Buckhead location at 3379 Peachtree Road and on Thursday, May 19 from 6 - 7:30 at the downtown location at 303 Peachtree Center Avenue. To make a reservation call 404.816.6535 for Buckhead and 404.577.4366 for downtown or visit www.mortons.com... In addition to changing their name from Cafe di Sol to Cafe 640in honor of their address on Highland Avenue, executive chef Andy Long has announced that beginning Sunday, May 1st at 4:30 p.m., he will begin a weekly Crawfish Boil with live music all evening long. For $14 a pop, diners will feast on a pound-and-a-half of steaming crawfish, local andouille sausage and fresh corn and potatoes. To wash it all down, Peroni pitchers will be sold for $14. And of course, Cafe 640 will still serve old favorites like their famous Limoncello and the Grapefruit Rosewater Martini. For more information visit http://cafe640.com/ or call 404.724.071.

Ch, Ch, Changes...
Beginning Monday, May 2, Spice Market, located inside the W Atlanta Midtown on 14th Street, is offering wines that are no longer on the restaurants wine list for very low prices in order to make room for new selections. Two different wines will be featured each week and both options will be a steal: One will be a high end wine available for much cheaper bottle and glass rates and the other is priced at only $5 per glass as well as a reduced bottle rate. This offer will continue into summer. Spice Market will post each weeks wines on their Facebook page first thing on Monday mornings. For more info, call 404.724.2550 or visit www.spicemarketatlanta.com... The Atlanta Braves season is here and the chef at Max Lagers Downtown has created specials to give you a taste of the visiting teams cuisine such as the Philadelphia Phillies cheese steak, Florida Marlins famous fish fry and New York Mets Coney Island Dog. Look for their up and coming drink specials like the Old Fashioned Bobby Cox or the Fredi Gonzalez Spicy Margarita. Get updates when you follow them on Twitter andFacebook, key word Max Lagers... Beginning Sunday, May 1st, diners are invited to enjoy a new Sunday Brunch experience at Cafe Circa or The Reserverooftop in the Old Fourth Ward. Each Sunday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. brunch goers can explore a menu of Caribbean and Latin inspired small plates, entrees and sides created by executive chef Hopeton S. Hibbert downstairs at Cafe Circa or alfresco at The Reserve rooftop dining. Entres include a Jerked strip steak n eggs with Circa potato hash; caramelized plantain pancakes with coconut, honey whipped cream and Captain Morgans maple syrup; a panini-pressed Cuban sandwich with sliced pork, fried egg, Manchego cheese, and cumin aioli; and shrimp and grits with Andouille sausage, stone ground grits, peppers, onions, and blackened butter sauce. To help wash down brunch, Cafe Circa will also serve up $12 bottomless mimosas. For more information or to make a reservation, visit www.cafecircaatl.comwww.theReserveATL.com or call 404.477.0008... Music is in the air at Milton's Cuisine & Cocktails on Mayfiled Road in Milton. In addition to a new Spring menu the private garden is being planted next door and music has been added on the deck each Thursday - Saturday from 7 - 11 p.m. For more details, visit www.miltonscuisine.com... After a recent closure for renovations, The Shed at Glenwood has announced its new events in its new space in the month of May. Every Wednesday is Slider Night with 13 sliders at only $3 each. Each Thursday is 'Harvest Night' featuring fresh local organic produce prepared by Chef Lance. And, on Friday & Saturday you can enjoy the $20 Buy the Bottle wine list. The Shed at Glenwood is located on Bill Kenneday Way in Atlanta, 404.835.4363 or visit www.theshedatglenwood.com... Jeff Varasano, the internet pizza guru behindVarasanos in South Buckhead has added a Sunday Brunch. The pizza joint begins serving at 10:30 a.m. and features French toast, sandwiches, omelettes and pastas among may others along with a Nutella filled donut to finish off the meal. For more details, visit www.Varasanos.com.