Chef Party at El Taco Sunday

Feeling a little let down now that all the holiday parties are over? Don't despair! There's a great party on Sunday night at El Taco - and you're invited. A while back, Kirsten Ott from The Sunday Paper named her top 25 chefs in the city and Shaun Doty has invited them all to come celebrate with him. And you know there's nothing more fun than partying with a bunch of chefs!

Sunday night, Dec. 28, starting at 9 p.m. El Taco will be serving $1 tacos and $2 beer. No deals on the FroMos though - boo! Nevertheless, it will be tons of fun. All the chefs have been invited and we know for sure that Joe Truex/Repast, Craig Richards/La Tavola Trattoria, Micah Willix/Ecco, Shane Touhy/Dogwood, Riccardo Ullio/Beleza, Cuerno, Sotto Sotto and Fritti and of course Shaun will be there.

I can't wait!

Marlow's Tavern in Northlake Opens its Doors on Christmas Day!!

There’s nothing like family. Since we all live so far apart, it’s always a treat to have everyone in one place. I find though, that no matter how much we chat and visit throughout the year, for some reason, when we all get together, everyone reverts back to their role; just like when we were growing up. The youngest becomes the baby (even though she is 25 years old!), the oldest becomes the boss of everyone and the men always get together to do something that will ultimately crown the manliest among them. Sometimes it’s funny to sit back watch the whole thing play out; other times, it’s exhausting and I need a moment to get away!

So, if you’re anything like me, you’ll be grateful to know that Atlanta’s favorite neighborhood spot, Marlow's Tavern Northlake, is providing refuge on Christmas Day by opening the doors from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. For those of us needing a moment of solitude before sitting down to dinner with our favorite aunt and least favorite cousin, this is exciting news!

Enjoy your holidays and meet me at Marlow’s tomorrow!

Marlow's Tavern Northlake: 4156 La Vista Road, 678- 987-1197.

Coming Soon-Marlow's Duluth

I drove to Duluth on Monday to check out the newest Marlow’s Tavern location. The new space looks fabulous! The walls are adorned with flat screen TV’s and framed black and white photographs. The booths and tables are installed and ready for the first diners. The open kitchen sparkles in the back of the space, and the lengthy bar is ready for its first patrons. So get ready for Tuesday January 20th when the new Marlow’s opens its doors!
Marlow's Duluth:
1950 Satellite Blvd, Duluth, GA 30097
www.marlowstavern.com

We've Lots Up Our Sleeves For a Fun New Year's Eve!

Raise a glass of bubbly and say "So long!" to 2008. Here's to Atlanta's fabulous restaurants for offering plenty of ways to wine and dine while ushering in 2009! Make your way to one of these dining destinations for a fabulous New Year's Eve celebration!

Aqua blue at 1564 Holcomb Bridge Road; 770-643-8886

Dogwood in the Reynolds Condominium Building at 565 Peachtree Street, NE; 404-835-1410.

Eclipse di Luna Miami Circle at 764 Miami Circle;
404-846-0449.

South City Kitchen Midtown and Vinings: Visit the Midtown location at 1144 Crescent Avenue; make reservations at 404-873-7358 or the Vinings location at 1675 Cumberland Parkway. Make reservations at 770-435-0700.

La Tavola at 992 Virginia Avenue, NE. Make reservations at 404-873-5430.

Marlow's Tavern: There are five locations in the Atlanta area: Alpharetta at 3719 Old Alabama Road, 770-475-1800; Kennesaw at 745 Chastain Road, NW, 770-425-8777; Midtown at 950 West Peachtree Street, 404-815-0323; Vinings at 2355 Cumberland Parkway, 770-432-2526; and Northlake at 4156 LaVista Road; 678-987-1197

Morton's Steakhouse - There are two locations in the Atlanta area: Morton's in Buckhead is located in the Peachtree Lenox Building at 3379 Peachtree Road, NE,
404-816-6535 and downtown in the SunTrust Plaza Building at 303 Peachtree Center Avenue,404-577-4366.

Toulouse at 2293 Peachtree Road, NE; 404-351-9533.

Woodfire Grill at 1782 Cheshire Bridge Road, NE;
404-347-9055.

DailyCandy Definition

The Tasty De-Lie perches precariously on the scale of justice, between the common little white and the sink-your-teeth-into whopper. One more bite and the scale will tilt, and not in your favor! You can’t hide a calorie from The DailyCandy Lexicon.

Tasty De-Lie: n. The false belief that Tasti D-Lite is healthy.

All I Want for Christmas is an Urban Composter

So, I set out to buy my master gardener mother some goodies for her Christmas stocking and I end up adding an urban composter to my own Santa list. That's what a trip to Farmer D's brand new store will do for you. It's like when you go to Michael's and you start imagining yourself as an artist and get all inspired to create some beautiful things. At Farmer D's you'll get excited about gardening, creating a sustainable environment in your own little world.

The store is located on North Druid Hills at Briarcliff, sharing a door with Avril's car wash. When I walked up, Farmer D was there proudly showing a lady a large barrel of worms squirming around in some very rich, dark brown soil. She seemed duly impressed so I oohed and aahed too. Inside is a beautiful store with tons of merchandise - all organic. You can stock up on Farmer D's own brand of biodynamic fertilizer, buy gardening tools, browse the book section, and check out cool products that you never knew existed - like an urban composter. This thing is small for us city dwellers and pretty much does the work for you - automatically churning your waste every four hours and providing you with beautiful soil every 2 weeks! Did I mention I want one of these???

I got my mom a cool wire bird feeder and some suet for inside it, seeds for some hearty lettuces, a homemade reusable produce bag, and a book on composting (hee hee!). Farmer D's store is open every day. I recommend checking it out. And if you get that composter, call me so I can come over and see it work!