Appetizing Aperture: Vidalia Onions

Sweet tears of joy! Vidalia onion season started yesterday. A-peeling facts: the real ones are grown only in Georgia, and the Vidalia Onion Committee provides plenty of recipes (Kevin Gillespie and Gerry Klaskala are on the Vidalia Onion Committee Chefs Advisory Board). 

Make sure to "like" their Facebook page for all the latest Vidalia onion news. We've been collecting the tastiest recipes for this sweetie all week over on Pinterest, too, so take a peek for some onion inspiration!

Out with the Old and In with Marlow's Tavern's New Menu and Facebook Page

With warmer temperatures in the forecast,  Marlow's Tavern is abandoning cold weather fare and welcoming the sunny seasons with exciting new menu tastes ($3.50-$19.50). 
Three new Start/Snack/Share items include burrata mozzarella and fried green tomato in a balsamic reduction on grilled ciabatta; big bowl long beans with applewood smoked bacon; crispy crimini mushrooms and a Szechwan sauce; and nutty Marlow's Cracker Jack. Packed with protein and veggies, chopped chicken salad piles on grilled chicken, hard-boiled egg, bacon, cheese, crunchy romaine, veggies, garbanzo beans, green olives and champagne vinaigrette. 
Big Bar additions are "The" Pita Club; open-faced tenderloin steak with garlic kale pesto and gorgonzola; a grilled chicken panini; and a burger lettuce wrap served with house-made tomato bacon jam. 
New Tavern Favorites include a grilled chicken stack with spinach, oven-dried tomato, fresh buffalo mozzarella, roasted cauliflower, tiny asparagus, onion confit and Parmesan farro; grilled center-cut filet with crispy wild mushroom potato cake, baby broccolini and garlic tomato fondue; and grilled Atlantic salmon with a succotash of Burbank potato, zucchini, yellow squash, bacon and scallion and tomato beurre blanc. Warm chocolate Tollhouse pie with chocolate, pretzels, Oreos, chocolate sauce and vanilla ice cream is a sure-fire sweet/salty dessert hit. 
The Soon-To-Be-Classic cocktails ($8.50-$9.50) and libations list heralds the coming of the Blueberry Buck, Spiced "Back-Porch" Punch, Cucumber Basil Cooler, Southern Peach Coupe and fresh fruit juices. 
Even more to "Like" is Marlow's Tavern's new Facebook page. The restaurant is streamlining its Facebook presence, combining all eight locations on one central Facebook page. 

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

Charleston has a rep for culinary prowess, and food doyenne Marion Sullivan plays a top supporting role. She's food editor at Charleston magazine, a columnist at the city's Post and Courier, a culinary specialist at the Culinary Institute of Charleston, and her professional bio is as substantial as a Thanksgiving shopping list. Follow her on Twitter (@mbscooks) and get the low down.

Chef Shaun Doty Demos At 2nd Annual High Meadows School Farmers Market This Saturday

Hooray for the return of market season! Roswell friends, get your basket or bag ready for this Saturday… The 2^nd Annual High Meadows School Farmers Market is a one-day festival of local edibles featuring organic and sustainably grown foods from more than 40 local farmers and food vendors, garden and cooking demonstrations, live music and family activities that you won’t want to miss.

This year's festival, sponsored by Whole Foods Market at Merchants Walk shopping center in East Cobb, is slated for Saturday, April 14 from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. on the grounds of High Meadows School in Roswell. At 11 a.m., Chef Shaun Doty will show the crowd how to make delicious pastured chicken miso soup featuring Heritage Farms chicken donated by Will Harris and White Oak Pastures. Last year, more than 1,000 visitors attended this event, and this year's event promises to be even bigger. Don’t miss it!

Don’t Get Crabby, Just Eat Some Crabs at Aqua blue Crabfest This Week

Craving some crab? Before you miss it and get crabby, head over to Aqua blue, where stone crabs are taking center stage on the Crabfest menu through Monday, April 16. No need to worry about where these succulent crustaceans come from, because Aqua blue uses only seasonally harvested crabs that live in ocean waters from Connecticut to Belize, and they’re safely kept in sustainably managed fisheries. The Crabfest menu will tickle your taste buds with dishes like she-crab soup with spiced hominy frites ($7); jumbo lump crab cakes with avocado, mango, chili aioli, rice wine vinegar and wasabi honey mustard ($15); soft-shell crab rolls made with thin asparagus, crab cake, sweet herb, futomaki, soy paper and red tobiko served with wasabi honey mustard and fresh lemon ($14); chilled Florida stone crab claws served with traditional mustard sauce (MP); Drunken Crab Legs, a combo of king and snow crabs ($30); and large Florida stone crab claws served with green peppercorn cocktail and traditional mustard sauce (MP). So stop by Aqua blue, conveniently located a half mile east of Georgia 400 on Holcomb Bridge Road in Roswell, before the tide washes away these crab-ulous dishes on Monday!

Help End Childhood Hunger with the Help of Atlanta's Finest Restaurants

Hunger pangs are one thing, the constant gnawing and nutritional deficiency of childhood hunger is totally different and can cause children to fall behind in many aspects of living, growing and learning. Taste of the Nation took root in 1988 to raise funds to help end childhood hunger throughout the U.S. On Thursday, April 12, chefs from 50 of Atlanta's top restaurants - including Aqua blue, Aria, Kaleidoscope, Marlow's Tavern and Woodfire Grill - will gather at the Georgia Aquarium for Atlanta's own Taste of the Nation event. The night holds cuisine samples, wine tastings and live entertainment along with live, silent and wine auctions crammed with luxurious goods and experiences (sneak peek here). NYC-based chef, cookbook author and "Top Chef Masters" 2011 winner Floyd Cardoz serves as honorary chef, and The Cook's Warehouse is one of the event sponsors. Purchase tickets online. A $350 VIP ticket buys more time to taste and shop from 6:30 - 10 p.m. General admission is $250 per person for entry from 7:30 p.m. - 10 p.m.

Fleming's Gives You More With Small Plates and Big Pours!

As days and nights warm up, we're finding ourselves craving lighter meals and thirsting for a taller glass. Fleming's Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar is right there for us with their new "Small Plates, Big Pours" pairing through May 10. Select one of the steakhouse's seven innovative Small Plates and pair it with an oversized wine pour from a selection of seven premium wines from the Fleming's 100 collection -- for just $24.95. Generous on flavor, small plates include sliced or skewered filet mignon, jumbo shrimp scampi skewers, New Zealand petite lamb chops, seared ahi tuna, New Bedford scallops and Fleming's lobster tempura. Big Pour choices include Penley Gryphon Merlot, Paco & Lola Albariño, Cline Cashmere Red Blend, A to Z Wineworks Pinot Noir, Cakebread Sauvignon Blanc, Silverado Chardonnay and Chateau Ste. Michelle Cabernet.

Hump Day Hook-Up at Uncle Julio's in Sandy Springs

It's only lunchtime, but you're probably already thinking about happy hour and a place where you can wind down after work hours. Uncle Julio's Fine Mexican Food in Sandy Springs has you covered. Every Wednesday, all day and into the night, guests can take advantage of the "2, 4, 6 Hump Day Hook-Up." This deal features Corona and Corona Light for $2 a bottle; frozen margaritas (including The Swirl and frozen sangria as well as traditional and strawberry margaritas) for only $4 each; and specialty Patrón drinks (Patrón Silver margarita on the rocks, Patrón cosmo-ritas and Patrón skinny margaritas) for $6 apiece.

If you're gathering a group of friends, you can head to either Atlanta-area location of Uncle Julio's (Buckhead and Sandy Springs) for pitchers of house margaritas and sangria for only $25 on Wednesdays. Pair these deals with Uncle Julio's Mexican munchies and you've got a muy bueno meeting place for hump day happiness.

We've Got the Beet

Two more days til the Georgia Organics celebration "This Is Market," a local brew, chew, music party and fundraiser at SweetWater Brewing Company. Mark the calendar for Thursday, April 12 from 7 - 10 p.m. "Local" is the prefix for everything included in the ticket price: food prepared by chefs, SweetWater brews, "Two Friends Imports" wine, Smokey's Farmland Band, and farmers markets in Decatur, East Atlanta Village, East Lake, Grant Park, Morningside, Peachtree Road as well as Farm Mobile and Truly Living Well. Tickets are $45 each for Georgia Organics members and $55 for non-members (includes one-year membership to Georgia Organics). No tickets will be sold at the door. See you there!

Pour over Fleming's "Small Plates, Big Pours" Special - and more - in The Dish

A beautiful morning to take in all the delicious events going on in The Dish! If you're not receiving the Dish every Tuesday morning in your inbox, you can sign up either here on our blog or on our Facebook page.

Alon’s in Dunwoody Hosts Authentique Vin’s Thomas Meunier For A Genuine French Wine Tasting

After six years of working at a Loire Valley winery, Thomas Meunier set out to accomplish one of his career goals – to find true winegrowers who make no concessions and whose distinctive personalities are reflected in their wine. Meunier’s vision came together with the creation of his start up Authentique Vin Imports. On Wednesday, April 11, Alon’s Bakery & Market in Dunwoody invites guests to attend a wine tasting from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. featuring a selection of Authentique Vin French wines. The cost is $20 per person and includes light hors d’oeuvre. As Meunier believes, “authentic people make authentic wine in a sustainable way, revealing the identity of a soil, a grape and a climate – the notion of Terroir.”