August 2011 Issue

August 2011 Issue

TASTES, TRENDS & FLAVORS

Dining with Van Leuvan & Hector; 

smokey nights, crab fest & music

•The summer ‘Chef Series’ continues at One.Midtown Kitchen as resident Chef Drew Van Leuvan welcomes area chefs for a five-course dinner paired with cocktails, wine or beer. Van Leuvan will prepare the appetizer and dessert portion of the menu while each guest chef will prepare courses two, three and four.  August 3rd, Hector Santiago of Pura Vida cooks along side Van Leuvan, followed by Drew Belline of No. 246 on August 17th, Richard Blais (Top Chef All-Stars’ Winner) on August 31st and Carvel Grant Could of Canoe on August 31st. Cost is $75 per dinner, $200 for three dinners or $300 for five dinners.  Visit onemidtownkitchen.com or call 404.892.4111 for reservations.

•’In the Smoke of the Night’ ~ Nothing says summer more than the smokey flavors of the grill.  Food 101 chefs Justin Keith and Ryan Smith have created an exclusive wine pairing dinner highlighting smokey flavors in each course for Thursday, August 4th on Roswell Road in Sandy Springs. A sampling includes pecan smoked veal loin, peach smoked rock shrimp & grits, hickory smoked duck leg, mesquite smoked beef short rib and smoked sea salt & brown butter cake. Reception begins at 6:45 and dinner at 7 p.m. The cost if $45 for the pre fix menu and $15 optional for the wine pairings.  Call 404.497.9700 for reservations.

•Crab Fest + Live Music ~ Park Tavern at Piedmont Park in Midtown is combining their annual Crab & Shrimp festival with ONE Musicfest on Saturday August 27th.  You can enjoy crab legs, shrimp served a dozen different ways, a full food menu, sunshine, 12 hours of live music, libations, gaming and graffiti/tagging stations. Visit www.onemusicfest.com for tickets.

•On Tuesday, August 23rd, Restaurant Eugene on Peachtree will welcome South Carolina lowcountry author Vertamae Smart-Grosvenor to the Eugene Author Dinner series.  Her book, Vibration Cooking, or, The Travel Notes of a Geechee Girl, will be featured, and as usual, Restaurant Eugene’s chef, Linton Hopkins, will prepare a meal inspired by the author’s work. Beginning at 6:30 with a reception and book signing (complimentary book for each guest), a four-course dinner with pairings will be seated at 7 p.m.  Cost is $105 per person. Restaurant Eugene is located at 2277 Peachtree Road and reservations are required, 404.355.0321.

•Birthday Bash ~ Lucky’s Burger & Brew in Roswell is celebrating its first birthday on Sunday, August 7th from 5 - 9 p.m. with live music and $1 burgers & brews benefitting the Golden Retriever Rescue of Atlanta (the eatery is named after owners Ernie and Diane Geyer’s golden retreiver).  There will also be a ‘Birthday Burger Eating Contest’ featuring the restaurant’s ‘Grim Reaper’ burger (a four-pound beef patty, onion rings, a pound of bacon and six fried eggs layered in an oversized bun and served with chili cheese tots). Devour it in an hour and receive a $250 Lucky’s gift card, $100 cash and a T-shirt. There’s a $20 entry fee and you can register at luckysburgerandbrew.com.

•Garcia Dinner ~ On Wednesday, August 3rd, join Rosebud and chef Ron Eyester for the annual Jerry Garcia Dinner and enjoy an improvisational menu, honoring the go-with-the-flow vibe of the Grateful Dead beginning at 7:30 p.m. Guests will also enjoy live entertainment at The Family Dog, located across the street. The dinner costs $48 per person (plus tax and gratuity). For more info or reservations, call 404.347.9747 or visit www.rosebudatlanta.com. Rosebud is located at 1397 N. Highland Avenue.

   •End Of Summer BBQ ~ Canoe Restaurant joins forces with SweetWater Brewery and the Upper Chattahoochee Riverkeeper (UCR) for a second year to conclude the ‘Save the Hooch Campaign’ and celebrate the end of summer. Attendants will come together on the banks of the Chattahoochee River on Saturday, August 13th, from 1 p.m. – 4 p.m. for the End of Summer BBQ party. Using ingredients from local farms as well as Canoe’s own garden, chef Carvel Grant Gould and her team will prepare a savory barbecue meal and SweetWater Brewery is providing their trademark local beers. A portion of the proceeds will benefit UCR. In addition, SweetWater will be presenting a check for this year’s campaign. The party costs $25 per person in advance, $30 at the door, and includes food, SweetWater Beer, live music and a one-year membership and donation to UCR. To register for the event, go to www.chattahoochee.org.

•Cooking with Holota ~ Join chef Cyrille Holota on Saturday, August 20th for an interactive cooking class in the kitchen at BLT Steak. The class theme, Cool Off for Summer: Frozen Desserts, Ice Creams and Sorbets, will take place from 2  to 4 p.m. The cooking classe costs $50 per person and includes wine pairings and samples of the dishes. BLT Steak is located at 45 Ivan Allen Junior Blvd. For reservations, call 404.577.7601 or visit www.bltsteak.com.

•Corks & Forks ~ The ninth-annual food and wine event to take place at Grant Park in Atlanta on Saturday August 27th from 1 to 5 p.m. Corks & Forks is held each year in conjunction with The Grant Park Summer Shade Festival. The event provides a chance to experience delicious food prepared by Atlanta’s finest chefs. At we went to print, participating restaurants included  Abattoir, Legal Sea Foods, Seasons 52, Atkins Park, Market, Serpas, Bhojanic, The Melting Pot, Six Feet Under, BLT Steak, Murphy’s, Spice Market, Cake Hag, Peasant Bistro, The Sun Dial, Canoe, Rathbun’s, Sweet Georgia’s Juke Joint, Graveyard Tavern, Rosebud and Wahoo Grill. In addition, there will be wine and beer tastings of some of the newest beverages to hit the 2011 Atlanta market. Proceeds from the event benefit the Grant Park Conservancy. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit http://gpconservancy.org/node/18.

•Sunday Supper ~ Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar is reviving the tradition of family and friends sitting down to Sunday dinner by offering its three-course prime rib dinner at a special price of $29.95 per guest every Sunday in August (price excludes tax and gratuity).  The dinner includes 12 ounces of prime rib served with a trio of sauces; a choice of The Wedge, Fleming’s or Caesar salads; choice of one side dish; and a choice of dessert.   Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar is located at  4501 Olde Perimeter Way in Perimeter Place Village; 770.698.8112. 

New hours, eats, etc...

Celebrated restaurant Abattoir, on Atlanta’s Westside, has begun opening for dinner seven days a week.  Along with his wife, sommelier and general manager Kristine Lassor, chef Joshua Hopkins presents diners with approachable cuisine featuring locally and humanely raised proteins and fresh fish served in a variety of ways, as well as the peak-of-the-season produce from local farmers.  Abattoir is located at 1170 Howell Mill Road. For more info, visit www.starprovisions.com. 

•Peasant Bistro on Park Avenue West downtown has begun serving Sunday Brunch from 11 a.m. - 4 p.m. that is built around soups, salads, entrees and desserts from executive chef Michael Patria. Visit www.peasantatl.com for complete menu.

•Livingston Restaurant + Bar, located in the Georgian Terrace Hotel on Peachtree, has introduced ‘Brunch Unplugged’ on Sundays. Atlanta singer/songwriter Justin Borgman brings his music to the patio every Sunday from 12:30 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. Live music, brunch favorites from chef Zeb Stevenson, and summer cocktail specials are offered. Livingston is located at 659 Peachtree Street. Visit www.livingstonatlanta.com for details.

•Bad Dog Taqueria on N. Decatur Road in Emory Village is now open for lunch everyday from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. The Taqueria will be serving up a quirky, internationally inspired menu including the Uncle Morty taco, with slow roasted brisket, marinated grilled onions and served in its own special sauce; the Chickpeas in a Pod with chickpea croquettes, avocado tahini sauce, lettuce and tomatoes; or the Snooki, with slow simmered hot ‘n spicy tomato ground beef ragu, queso fresco, lettuce and tomato (priced at around $2.99 per taco). For more information visit www.baddogtaco.com. Parking is available behind the building and on the street.

•Osteria del FIGO on Atlanta’s Westside has officially opened their ‘Meatball Bar’ which offers imaginative cocktails, Italian-inspired bites and of course, made-from-scratch, oversided meatballs alongside dipping sauces.  All seven Figo Metro locations have added the new ‘meatball’ menu ($1.50 each) featuring jumbo meatballs such as chicken parmigiana (chicken with grilled eggplant, basil and mozzarella cheese), Alba (beef with potatoes, onions and white truffle oil) and Zia Emilia (lamb with mint, goat cheese and raisins). Visit www.figopasta.com for more details.

•Cafe 640 (formerly Cafe de Sol) on N. Highland in Virginia Highlands has added new summer menu items focusing on fresh, local Georgia tomatoes.  You can now kick off your meal with a fried green tomato & shrimp appetizer, a tomato basil salad with fresh mozzarella or the spicy pimento cheese appetizer, among many others. For more details, visit www.cafe640.com.

•Cypress Street Pint and Plate’s new chef, Richard Silvey, has launched new lunch and dinner menus full of seasonal specialties, mostly sourced from local vendors and farms. Located in the heart of Midtown, a sampling of the new snacks include the Scotch egg, an egg wrapped in homemade Italian sausage, fried, filled with a pimento cheese sauce, and then served with a decadent cilantro sauce; the tomatillo pork nachos with a pineapple habanero sauce; and the edamame hummus served with sweet potato chips, parsnip chips, and red and yellow beet chips. Cypress Street Pint and Plate is located at 817 West Peachtree. For more information, visit www.cypressbar.com.