Saskatoon Brings Wild Game to Buckhead

We have been trying to keep this quiet so the restaurant could have a few days to get ready, but when people hear there's elk, wild boar, and ostrich being served in Buckhead, well, they just want to tell someone. We'll go on and make it official and let you know that Saskatoon is now open, serving up something a little different.

I've been to a couple of soft opening dinners and have had some great dishes. The wild boar sausage is outstanding. The elk is absolutely delicious. My friends are raving about the ostrich. Last week I ordered the cedar plank salmon and it came out flaming on the plank and perfectly cooked. So yummy! The portions are huge and I enjoyed salmon for lunch the next day too - bonus!

Saskatoon has a great bar. The restaurant is definitely upscale - like a steakhouse but with a lodge-like, less stuffy feel. Service is friendly and professional. The bar opens at 3:30 daily and dinner starts at 5. Valet is on the side street, clearly marked. Or you can self-park in the adjacent garage.

Hope you'll give it a try!

Saskatoon: 360 Pharr Road; 404-891-1911.

New Menu Specials at Ray's

Ray’s on the River and Ray’s Killer Creek are making winter weekdays a little more exciting with a reason to celebrate. Served from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m., both restaurants are offering a selection of half price appetizers like shrimp cocktail ($7), crispy calamari ($5) and Ray’s “New Orleans” BBQ shrimp ($6). Drink specials include a variety of red and white value price wines ranging from $6 to $9 a glass and $17 to $27 a bottle. In addition to budget-savvy small plates and wine deals, the menu includes Ray’s famous $5 Absolut martinis and $3 draft beer. Ray's on the River: 6700 Powers Ferry Road; 770-955-1187. Ray's Killer Creek: 1700 Mansell Road, Alpharetta; 770-649-0064.

Stay In The Know with Noon Midtown

There’s lots going on at Noon Midtown these days – so much so that owner/ chef Katie Birmingham and her team have started a newsletter to keep hungry fans up to date on what’s shaking there! The newsletter will feature everything from Katie’s recipes to the latest Noon news – including the fact that they now have their liquor license and will be open on evenings very soon! Stay in the know by signing up here.

It’s Follow Friday – our Tweep of the Week @Scoutmob

If you’re looking for more ways to save a little moolah on your favorite Atlanta restaurants, and keep in the know about local businesses, Scoutmob is a must-follow on Twitter and in your inbox! For you iPhone users, they even have a free app that sends their deals straight to your phone for instant savings. Sweet!

Need to spice up your Thursday nights?

Thursday night is here and the weekend is around the corner. If you're like me, you like a good deal on drinks and Spice Market is here to offer me a place to unwind in Midtown. Spice Market's $5 drink specials will certainly enhance your Thursday nights, as they do mine. Guests can enjoy the combo of exotic flair and metropolitan finesse at this restaurant and lounge in the W Atlanta Midtown, but they can also down $5 specialty cocktails, beer and wine in the Spice Market Lounge every Thursday from 5 - 8 p.m. On top of this drink special you'll have a DJ to keep the party going. Just what I need to get my head start into the weekend!

Spice Market: In the W Atlanta Midtown, 188 14th Street, NE; 404.724.2550

Follow Your Heart....to These Restaurants on Valentine's Day!

If you're still looking for something special to do on the day of love, here are a couple more heart-y options for dining with your sweetheart on Valentine's Day:

At all six locations of Marlow's Tavern™ , a special Valentine’s weekend tasting menu is priced for one ($30) or two ($55) from February 12 through 14. Menu items include New England-style roast shrimp and corn chowder; the popular Tavern salad; a Surf & Turf platter of grilled filet mignon, tempura lobster tail and shrimp with a crispy potato cake and jumbo asparagus; chocolate crème brûlée; and decadent Napa Valley cheesecake. Visit www.marlowstavern.com for locations.

For some southeast Asian flavors, check out Spice Market’s Valentine’s weekend menu. For $65 per person, guests get a five-course menu complete with a glass of champagne. The night’s five courses include dishes like black pepper shrimp with sun-dried pineapple; mussels steamed with lemongrass, Thai basil, dried chili and coconut juice; charred chili rubbed beef skewer with Thai basil dipping sauce; char-grilled chicken with kumquat lemongrass dressing and ginger fried rice; and chocolate tart with coffee ice cream. Guests can also order à la carte. If you are a fortune cookie fanatic like me, you'll love the green tea-, chocolate- and coffee-flavored fortune cookies that the restaurant is giving away at the end of the meal on Valentine's Day. Reservations can be made through Open Table or by calling the restaurant at 404-724-2550 . Spice Market is located in the W Atlanta Midtown, 188 14th Street, NE; 404-724-2550 .

AltoRex Offers an Escape

If you’re like me, these chilly temperatures are getting old. I am so ready for spring and warm nights out on the town. That’s why I am excited that AltoRex Rooftop Lounge, located above Pacci Ristorante, is curing my spring fever by reopening part of its Midtown perch today! AltoRex is offering plates from Pacci’s tasty bar menu and will have heaters and tented ceilings to keep the rooftop cabana portion of the terrace bar nice and cozy. It’s a perfect way to escape these winter winds, even if it’s just for one night.

AltoRex Rooftop Lounge: 866 West Peachtree Street, NW; 678-412-2402.

Pacci Brings In the Queen of Hearts

Whether you love it or hate it, Valentine's Day is just around the corner. Happily, this year Pacci is thinking of everyone on Thursday, February 11, during their Queen of Hearts Night from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Join us at the bar and meet Blane Bachelor, The Sunday Paper's sage advice columnist, and enjoy a reading from her favorite essays. There will be plenty of time for questions and answers along with great drink specials, plenty of free appetizers and cool raffle prizes, including a weekend stay at Hotel Palomar, if you draw the Queen of Hearts from the deck of cards!

Get card crazy and wear red if you love Vday or black if you hate it and stick around for complimentary tarot card readings. All in all, it is a good night to celebrate your love, or hate, of Valentine's Day!

Another Reason I'm Glad I'm Southern: Chess Pie Recipe

When you grow up with such deliciousness as chess pie you tend to take it for granted. Much to my surprise I recently learned that many of my friends had never had this wonderful, sugary treat. Seems it's a Southern thing. That led me to ask my mother for a recipe to share. She had a blast looking through all her versions to find my great-grandmother Tootie's version. She said she found coconut and pineapple chess pies, one that called for Damson preserves and a meringue on top (as if it isn't rich enough!), and one that called for "1/2 eggshell" milk!

Here's Tootie's version. It's soooo easy that I might even try it myself!

CHESS PIE

1/3 c. butter
1 c. sugar
2 eggs
2 T cornmeal
2 T milk
1 tsp. vanilla
Sprinkle of nutmeg

Cream butter & sugar; add cornmeal. Add eggs, one at a time; add milk. Add vanilla & nutmeg.
Pour mixture into readymade piecrust, either homemade or purchased.
Bake 375 degrees until brown.

(thanks to RoadFood for the photo that looks most like the ones I remember)