Friday, June 22, 2012

Get Your Licks: Slow Food Atlanta Annual Ice Cream Social



Who doesn’t love an opportunity to indulge in one of summer’s best treats? Join established chefs and ambitious amateurs while they churn out homemade ice cream and sorbet for the tasting at Slow Food Atlanta’s 6th Annual Ice Cream Social this Saturday, June 23 from 12:30- 2 p.m. at the Peachtree Road Farmers Market. Flavors will be anything but standard. Taria Camerino, pastry chef at The Optimist and No. 246 will serve samples of goat cheese ice cream with roasted peaches and candied fennel. Get tickets before they run out. Adults are $15 and children 5-10 are $5 each; free for children 5 and under. Proceeds benefit Slow Food Atlanta.

Enter Your Appetizing Aperture In The Vidalia Onion Facebook Photo Contest


It's Vidalia Onion season and there are dishes aplenty to fix right now with this Georgia sweetie, like this summer delight! Get cooking in the kitchen and then take your best shot of your culinary creation. Focus on the onions and leave any onion packaging out of the shot. TheVidalia Onion Facebook Photo Contest deadline is July 5, and we'd hate for you to cry over missing it when the winners are announced. The winning entries will win an autographed CD from great Universal Music country artists and will be entered for a grand prize trip to Nashville! 

It's Follow Friday; Meet Our Tweep of the Week @nathanberrong





Nathan Berrong of Decatur writes about beer for CNN's food and drink blog, Eatocracy and tweets between sips. Pull up a stool to the tweet counter, draft a mug full and tweet along (@nathanberrong). Pour another and read more on Eatocracy. Pour one more (hey, who's counting?) and follow his beer logs at Untappd.

Thursday, June 21, 2012

Make Your Way To Dunwoody Restaurant Week With Prix Fixe Meals At Alon's Bakery And Market, June 23 - 30


Ready for an amazing OTP dining adventure? Dunwoody Restaurant Week 2012 will be here June 23- 30! Be sure to head to Alon's Bakery and Market for special restaurant week prix fixe lunch and dinner menus. Alon's $10 lunch starts with a garden or Caesar salad or your choice of soup. Next, select an entrée of Margherita pizza, spicy Tunisian tuna sandwich or a roasted chicken with pesto sandwich. 

For $25, dinner includes three courses: your choice of seared tuna chips, Israeli hummus or a Greco, garden or Caesar salad as an appetizer accompanied by your entrée choice of house-ground Meyer beef burger and fries, any of Alon's signature pizzas or grilled salmon with truffle-crispy mashed potatoes and wilted spinach. Lucky you! Choose any one of Alon's individual desserts as your dinner finale. 

Price excludes beverage, tax and gratuity. Alon's has a wide variety of wines, beers and other beverages available to purchase to complement your meal. Don't forget that Alon's is celebrating its 20thanniversary so look for anniversary specials throughout the year!

Atkins Park Tavern in Smyrna Throws Rad 80s Prom Party on June 22


Devo
Devo - "Whip It"

Children of the 80s will want to head to Atkins Park Tavern in Smyrna for "Back to the '80s Prom Night" on Friday, June 22. Get inspired by your favorite 80s movie and break out your poufy prom dress and get your Miami Vice-like white linen suit pressed and ready to impress. Enter the costume contest and you could win a prize for the best '80s look. Party starts at 10 p.m., and DJ H. will keep those 80s tunes playing until 4 a.m. 

What's New On Pinterest: In Season Now - Fresh From The Garden

Grilled Zucchini & Eggplant Parmesan Recipe {Vegetarian} by CookinCanuck, via Flickr
Leafy green, sweet pepper orange and crooked neck squash yellow... eating summer veggies gives you that healthy glow. Besides, they'll look fabulous on our Pinterest board, don't you think? 

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

South City Kitchen Vinings "Summer In The Kitchen" Menu Ushers In First Week Of Summer



It’s time to give up cooking in your kitchen and give in to South City Kitchen Vining’s limited time “Summer in the Kitchen” menu. From June 21-June 30 you can enjoy special summer offerings in addition to the usual beloved menu items. 

Drool over heirloom tomatoes and watermelon with minted basil syrup; crisp pig ear salad; "Beer Belly" Sapelo Island clams steamed in SweetWater 420 with house bacon; chilled poached shrimp with grilled savoy cabbage and Benedictine dressing; Gulf shrimp and crab ceviche; or smoked brisket chili with boiled peanuts, cilantro, smoked cheddar and sour cream. ($7-$10). For "hot dog, it's summer!" flair, the kitchen tops Certified Angus beef hot dogs with your choice of fried avocado and sweet corn relish, bacon-wrapped with grilled Georgia peaches or green tomato chow-chow on an H&F bun ($6). Marinated cukes, Valbreso feta and lamb's lettuce dress the flavorful lamb burger; chicken thighs are slathered in white BBQ sauce as they bask alongside vinegared potato salad and grilled summer corn; grilled flat-iron steak goes west next to ranch beans, arugula and smoked chili ketchup while cedar plank salmon hooks up with BBQ Vidalia onions and Georgia peaches ($12-$24). Finish off the meal with a pie plate of oatmeal, moon and fried pies ($9). For reservations, click here or call 770-435-0700.

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Woodfire Grill Appreciates the Pinot: Wine Tasting June 21


The Woodfire Grill wine cellar is a perfectly cool reprieve from the harsh Atlanta summer heat. With a temperature set between 45° F and 65° F, it also happens to be the ideal environment for storing wine according to Wine Spectator . This Thursday marks the next wine tasting where eight different Pinot Noir wines have been carefully selected by Sommelier Cate Hatch. Together, Hatch and Woodfire Grill Co-Owner and Wine Director Nicolas Quinones have planned this month’s third Thursday tasting around Burgundy Pinot Noir, the standard to which all other Pinot Noir is compared. Guests will discover flavors from rich Grand Crus to the lighter Bourgogne Rouge. While the tasting takes place concurrently with dinner, it is not considered a pairing so guests may order as they please. The cost is $15 per person and the event is limited to 30 guests. Reservations are required; call 404-347-9055 and specifically mention the wine tasting. Looking ahead, summer whites of Vouvray, Muscadet and Sancerre will be offered at the next tasting on July 19. 

Start Your Summer With Atlanta's Best Culinary Events In The Dish


Rise and shine, hungry Dish readers --  our newest edition is ready for you!

Not receiving the Dish every Tuesday morning? That's easy to fix! You can sign up either here on our blog or on our 
Facebook page. Thanks for reading!

Monday, June 18, 2012

Surf into The Optimist tomorrow for the ACFB's Supper Club

Photo Credit: Andrew Thomas Lee
Chefs Ford Fry & Adam Evans will host this month’s Supper Club fundraiser for the Atlanta Community Food Bank (ACFB) at The Optimist and Oyster Bar at The Optimist, tomorrow, June 19 from 5 - 10 p.m. Twenty percent of each diner’s tab will go to Atlanta’s Table, the ACFB’s prepared food rescue project. “The Hamptons meets the South” when fresh-caught and wood-fired fruits of the sea pal around with seasonal farm-to-table fare at this sustainable seafood restaurant on Atlanta’s trendy Westside. Catch a glimpse of The Optimist's menu to see what you'll be reeling in for dinner. Reservations strongly suggested; call 404-477-6260.

Start Summer Day One with Lambrusco Fun at No. 246

The first day of summer falls on Lambrusco Day 2012, and now there are two reasons to celebrate at No. 246 in Decatur. If you think Lambrusco is a soda pop wine, you are stuck in the ‘70s and ‘80s. True Lambrusco is a “secco” – a dry, sparkling, estate-bottled red wine from the Emilia Romagna region of Italy. There are multiple ways to discover authentic Lambrusco at No. 246 on Wednesday, June 20. Enjoy Lambrusco cocktails created by Lara Creasy and Alan Gary of No. 246, Greg Best of Holeman & Finch Public House, Lindy Colburn of Quality Wine & Spirits and Paul Calvert of Pura Vida. No. 246 Executive Chef Drew Belline’s special menu features Parmigiano-Reggiano, balsamic vinegar di Modena and prosciutto di Parma, ingredients from Lambrusco’s home region. Taste four different Lambrusco wines paired with bites from Belline when Master Sommelier Michael McNeill from Quality Wine & Spirits leads a tasting from 5 - 7 p.m. The tasting is $15 per person; guests staying for dinner receive a $15 credit with the purchase of any bottle of Lambrusco. The party bubbles over to the courtyard from 7 - 9 p.m. for live music by bluegrass band Christ, Lord. Okay, so maybe that’s not Italian, but after Lambrusco cocktails, who’s telling?