Five Years of Awesomeness in Vinings

Ah, the older we get, the faster the years pass. And so it goes over at Marlow’s Tavern in Vinings as they clock in five years of serving great food and drinks to the neighborhood!

Celebrate with them this Saturday, April 24 and Sunday, April 25.  Saturday brings a full day of festivities with live music on the patio all day, great food and drink specials and HELLO, birthday cake on the house! Not to mention your wallet will thank you for indulging in half-price appetizers from 4 to 7 p.m. Party-goers can enter to win free dinner each week for a YEAR ($30 gift card per week for one year)! You won’t want to miss that announcement at 10 p.m. on Saturday – you must be present to win.
Can’t make the fun on Saturday? Come on Sunday to enjoy their anniversary brunch starting at 11:30 a.m. followed by dinner specials and live music throughout the day again. Good times!

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

Atlanta has a glorious treasure trove of restaurants to explore. Whether you prefer the international stylings of Buford Highway or a ritzy night out dining in Buckhead, there’s something for everyone! That’s one reason we love @RestaurantsATL on Twitter and on the web – no stone remains unturned in the search for the latest restaurant news. Make sure to follow for great dining deals, upcoming events and positive energy – three things we love to read in our feed!

The Flavors of Friuli at La Tavola Trattoria

Last night I had the pleasure of dining at La Tavola Trattoria to taste the collaboration between the restaurant's Executive Chef Craig Richards and his good friend from Italy, famed Italian Chef Luca Plett. Craig spent time in Luca's kitchen at Ristorante Al Ponte in Friuli last fall and came back with a lot of great ideas to incorporate into the menu at La Tavola, so we knew we were in for some fantastic food. My favorite part of the meal was one of the specials, a nettle ravioli dish, that is pictured above and contained fresh nettles that Luca was able to bring over from Italy. We also really enjoyed the pennoni with rabbit, which is currently on
the restaurant's regular dinner menu (pictured right). If you haven't had a chance to check out any of the nightly specials inspired by Friuli yet, I highly suggest running to the phone and calling 404-873-5430 to make a reservation for tonight's "Friuli Finale" five-course dinner that is being offered at 6:30 p.m. for $65 per person. Check out the menu for tonight here - and be prepared to drool.

It's time for the Inman Park Festival!

You don't want to miss the train to this weekend's Inman Park Festival, so hop on the closest MARTA and make your way down. The festival will be taking place on Saturday, April 24 and Sunday, April 25, so go ahead and make your plans to enjoy all that Inman Park has to offer.

Drop into Shaun's for a bite and a brew or beverage before or after hitting the street party festivities. Shaun's knows you don't want to waste time getting to the festival's three stages of live music and entertainment, street market and wild parade at 2 p.m. Saturday, so they've created a quick and casual menu of fresh festival-friendly foods such as White Oak Pastures beef cheeseburgers, Niman Ranch hotdogs, roast beef sandwiches and more. Cool cocktail options include Mistral mimosas, Bloody Marys, margaritas and the house sangria. Absorbing all the music -- Americana, bluegrass, hip hop, New Orleans funk, pop/rock, jazz and more -- could cause folks to forget to eat until day's end. Sink into a seat at Shaun's and order a relaxing dinner from the regular menu after 5 p.m.

The Inman Park Festival opens at 11 a.m. both days and so does Shaun's, staying open until 10 p.m. Saturday and 9 p.m. Sunday.

Shaun's: 1029 Edgewood Avenue, NE; 404-577-4358.

Don’t Miss the 8th Annual Crawfish Boil at Atkins Park in Smyrna

On Saturday, April 24, Atkins Park - Smyrna is holding the 8th Annual Crawfish Boil in Smyrna's Market Village. The Atlanta eatery’s special event gives guests three-pound platters piled with crawfish and all kinds of bayou fixings. There’s a $5 cover charge to get in with event proceeds going to Mustard Seed Communities. There will be live music outside in Smyrna Market Village from Blair Crimmins & the Hookers, Travel By Train and Lost City, and by Davin McCoy & the Attractions inside Atkins Park. Saturday hours are 11 a.m. - 3 a.m.

Through caring, sharing and training, Christian-based Mustard Seed Communities fosters homes and communities, uplifting the most vulnerable members of society, especially handicapped and abandoned children, and marginalized communities to bring joy, hope and dignity into their lives.

Atkins Park Tavern: Smyrna Market Village, 2840 Atlanta Road; 770-435-1887.

Get Earthy

Got plans for Earth Day yet? Pacci Ristorante does! Pacci is celebrating the 40th anniversary of Earth Day on Thursday, April 22 with a special three-course menu from Chef Keira Moritz for $35 per person (not including tax and gratuity).

Appetizers on the Earth Day menu include local greens with candied pecans, Sweet Grass Dairy goat cheese croutons, Georgia peach vinaigrette and port reduction; smoked Georgia shrimp crespelle with Lolla Rossa and tomato vinaigrette; and grilled plantation quail with corn pudding and arugula pesto.

Entrée options include peanut crusted mountain trout with warm potato gnocchi and escarole salad; porcini dusted pork tenderloin medallions with wild mushroom ragout; and Springer Mountain chicken breast with grilled scallion and roasted tomato risotto.

The dessert course features pecan praline bread pudding with peach zabaione and peanut butter mascarpone cheesecake with Savannah tupelo honey. If there was ever a reason to go to Pacci, I'm thinking these desserts are it!

The best part is that this menu is only one of many efforts to support sustainability at Pacci. The restaurant has also implemented the Kimpton Restaurant EarthCare program whereby all seafood served is solely sustainable in accordance with Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch program, and 30% of Pacci’s wine lists feature eco-friendly selections. The restaurant is also giving guests the opportunity to recycle and receive wine discounts with its Cork to Fork promotion in partnership with ReCORK America. To help ReCORK America obtain more corks for reuse, Pacci is asking patrons to bring in real corks from wine bottles and to buy a bottle of wine with their dinner. The restaurant will deduct 2 percent off the total bill for every cork brought in up to a maximum of 20 percent off.

So grab your corks and head to Pacci for a delicious way to honor Earth Day.