Rate Your Favorite Atlanta Restaurants

Let's give Atlanta restaurants a good name! When you get a chance this weekend, vote for your favorite local restaurants on Zagat Survey -- so folks visiting our city will know which ones are the best of the best! After you register on the Zagat, diners can click here to rate and review Atlanta restaurants they've checked out in 2009. Your votes need to be in by Sunday, November 22, when the survey concludes.

Once your votes are confirmed, you'll also be eligible to receive a free Zagat guide. Surveyors with the most witty comments will be awarded $100 Visa gift cards in the Witty Surveyor Contest. Not a bad reward for giving honest comments!

Imperia Vodka tasting is the toast of Buckhead at Morton's The Steakhouse

Are you ready to start the weekend early? How about just wanting to soothe your palate with a refreshing, quality vodka?

Then clearly, Morton’s The Steakhouse - Buckhead is the place to be tonight, Thursday, November 19. Stop by from 6 – 7:30 p.m. and raise a glass in honor of Imperia Vodka. This smooth, premium vodka from Russian Standard is derived using Dmitri Mendleev’s classic formula developed for Russia’s czars. The authentic, chilled cocktails at the tasting will be paired with Morton’s signature hors d’oeuvres. $15 per person (inclusive of tax and gratuity) is a pittance to pay to drink like royalty! For reservations, contact Sarah Foss at 404-816-6535 or sarah_foss@mortons.com.

Morton’s The Steakhouse - Buckhead: Peachtree Lenox Building, 3379 Peachtree Road, NE; 404-816-6535.

Primal: An Event For Chefs and Butchers Alike

Do you have tickets yet to Primal -- the event Atlanta foodies are buzzing about? Luckily for us...we do! And we're giving away two general admission tickets to the event that's going on this Saturday, November 21. Leave a comment about what chef or butcher you are most excited to see get their hands dirty at Primal and at 5 p.m. today we'll select two random winners. Please make sure you leave an email address when commenting so we can contact you! Need us to catch you up to speed on Primal? Here's the deal:

Atlanta area’s best and brightest stars of the new butchery movement appear at Primal, a celebration of early cooking's revival. Butchers will give a side-by-side demonstration on how to break down a complete pig, cow, goat and lamb into cuts of meat. Afterward, chefs will create and cook meaty creations over a hickory, applewood or almond wood flame for attendees. With an emphasis on heritage breeds and whole animal utilization, Primal is the antithesis of the factory farming exposed in films like Food, Inc., and a reminder that the best food is locally grown and prepared not by machines but human hands. Ten different family owned wineries make up the Oregon Wine Experience and fourteen different butchers and chefs get out the knives and slice raw flesh on Saturday, Nov. 21, at SweetWater Brewery.

Sweetwater Brewery is located at 195 Ottley Drive, Atlanta, Ga. Tickets are $55 for general admission(inclusive of wines, butcher demo, brew, meat tasting) and $100 for the VIP Experience @ 5:30PM(inclusive of reserve wines, Benton’s Bacon Bar, cheese, oysters and special brews). More information on Primal can be found here.

Music to Your Mouth Lowcountry Celebration Starts Today

Today marks the beginning of the Music to Your Mouth Lowcountry Celebration, a four-day event at Palmetto Bluff that includes a medley of delicious cuisine and demos cooked up by some of the South's most renowned chefs, wines and brews from national vintners and brewers, and live jazz, blues and acoustic music. Atlanta’s own Chef Ford Fry of JCT. Kitchen & Bar and Partner/ Executive Chef Kevin Gillespie of Woodfire Grill are making the trip to Bluffton, S.C., near Hilton Head, for the event. Fry will be there all week, while Gillespie pops in on Saturday, November 21 to do a 1:50 p.m. demo with Chef Fry. Each will prepare pork belly his own way while Florence and Coastal Living Senior Food Editor Julia Rutland emcee. On Thursday, November 19, Fry will join winemaker Darioush Khaledi at The Prelude Tasting, a progressive wine dinner exploring "Old World" style, big-bodied Darioush wines from 6 - 9 p.m. at the River House Ballroom.

If you can’t make it to Bluffton this weekend but still want to get in on the culinary action, tune into Bravo’s Top Chef tonight and catch Chef Gillespie along with the other remaining contestants battle it out at 10 p.m.

Say Hola To Your Uncle Julio

Get ready boys and girls, because today marks the grand opening of the new Uncle Julio’s Fine Mexican Food location in Sandy Springs at 1140 Hammond Drive in Perimeter Town Center! As many people have come to learn and love at the original Atlanta location, Uncle Julio’s is known for generous portions, reasonable prices and mucho enjoyment.

We had a chance to get a sneak preview last night of the restaurant and you can believe us when we say - prepare to be impressed! The interior of the two-story restaurant is warm and charming old-world hacienda-style, while at the same time the architecture is sleek, glassy, and modern. We can hardly wait for warmer nights when the balcony patios will be the key spot for socializing, sipping on margaritas and of course, dining on our favorite Mexican dishes!


Guadalajara - this blogger's favorite dish of the night!

Speaking of those dishes, they are just as impressive as the design of the restaurant! We loved the authentic border-flavored fare such as fajitas al carbon; camarones brochette (bacon-wrapped jumbo shrimp stuffed with Monterrey Jack cheese and jalapeños); mesquite-grilled quail a la parilla; and of course, the Swirl margarita, a frozen margarita layered with homemade frozen sangria that has won the Texas-based Uncle Julio's mucho acclaim -- and those Texans know what they're talking about!


it's swirl time...

But fear not – if you’re too busy to eat at the new location, Uncle Julio’s will be offering express delivery service, as well as catering home and office parties. Enjoy!

Tune in...

...As Woodfire Grill Chef and Partner Kevin Gillespie whips up some tasty menu options for all your Thanksgiving needs! While still battling it out on Bravo's Top Chef Las Vegas, Gillespie will be back in Atlanta burning up the airwaves all week around 6:45 a.m. on WXIA channel 11. Watch as he prepares dishes perfect for Thanksgiving and holiday gatherings and will offer his tips for making the holidays a little tastier.