Show Pops He's Tops with These Father's Day Ideas

   

Food and beverages are the way to go for the king of everything on Father's Day, June 17. There are numerous advantages to treating dad to a special meal out or gourmet food and drink items to enjoy with his pals. Family time for starters, everyone gets to try something new, and you won't see that tie or tool in the donation or re-gifting box.

Gourmet-on-the-go dads have places to go and want epicurean foods to eat. Alon's Bakery and Market is a superhero in this department with decadent desserts, artisan breads, chocolates and lots more fit-for-a-king food and beverage items. Locations in Virginia Highland and Dunwoody.

Spirited dads who already have the golf clubs and tennis accessories will appreciate receiving a gift they can enjoy after the action - a cool summer cocktail made from your gift of American Spirit Whiskey (ASW), available to purchase at area package stores. Start his mixology ideas flowing with recipes from the ASW website.

Sleep in or church first? Afterward, head to Fleming's Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar for a special three-course Father's Day brunch offered from 11:30 a.m. - 3 p.m. $34.95 per adult and $16.95 for children ages 12 and under (plus tax and gratuity). Besides covering taste bud bases from filet mignon to New Orleans-style French toast, guests can celebrate with Blood Orange Fizz cocktails for $6.95 each. Dads receive a $25 gift card for marking the day at Fleming's. Make reservations by calling 770-698-8112.

Calling all grill daddies and Big Green Egg aficionados. Marlow's Tavern locations are ready to thrill with grilled skirt steak and backyard blackened swordfish - all offerings on the hit "Red, White and Brew" menu available Tuesday, June 12 through Monday, July 23 at all eight Marlow's Tavern locations. Dad prefers his eggs big, green and smoking hot?  Suggest he enter the third annual Marlow's Tavern Grilling Recipe Contest, same dates. He could win a Big Green Egg and get his recipe on the menu! Stay tuned for more details on Facebook.

Burger-meisters will relish lunch or dinner at Smashburger, where they can create their own burger or choose the wedge club burger, Atlanta burger or another juicy specialty beef burger or chicken sandwich. Thick, handspun Häagen-Dazs milkshakes might lead to a new mustache look for dad. With five Atlanta-area locations, there's a Smashburger near you.

Grill-it-yourselfers will salivate in anticipation when receiving grass-fed beef, lamb or free-range poultry from White Oak Pastures. It's okay. Let dad show off his grill-stripe patterns and save with the White Oak Pastures Father's Day sale running June 8-12. Sale prices include ribeyes for $10.09/pound, New York strips for $8.49/pound, filets for $10.89/pound, ground chicken for $4.99/pound and duck for $12/pound. Place an order online or call 229-641-2081. 

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

This week's tweep proves one can host a cooking show on the radio and garnish it with Twitter and a website/blog. American Public Media proves it with "The Splendid Table," the show for people who love to eat, hosted by Lynne Rossetto Kasper. Find "The Splendid Table" on Twitter (@Splendid Table) or online. To cook while driving, find your radio station and tune in. WABE 90.1 FM in Atlanta plays the show Saturdays at noon.

Doughnuts and Donations for Krispy Kreme Cops on Shops

From 7 a.m. until 7 p.m. on Saturday, June 9, Law Enforcement Torch Run deputies will be perched on the roof of the Krispy Kreme Doughnuts store at 6761 Veterans Parkway in Columbus. These heroes have been sitting on top of Krispy Kreme Doughnut shops to raise money for Special Olympics athletes in Georgia for a dozen years now, so stop by and help donate. A $5 donation receives a thank you treat from Krispy Kreme. Donate $1,000 or more, and Krispy Kreme throws a complimentary doughnut party for you. Customers will enjoy fun activities on the ground level such as a space walk (courtesy of Clownin' Around Amusement Rentals) and "Dunk a Deputy" for a $2 donation. Cool off with a treat from The Ice Cream Girl & Co. and 20 percent goes to the fundraiser. Don’t forget about all of the yummy doughnut choices, iced drinks and Krispy Kreme Chillers inside.

Appetizing Aperture: Mixologist Lara Creasy's Farmer Tom's Collins Cocktail at JCT. Kitchen & Bar

Shop for your cocktail glass as well as for your plate at the Peachtree Road Farmers Market. At 10 a.m. this Saturday, June 9, JCT. Kitchen & Bar Mixologist Lara Creasy demos how to concoct garden-fresh libations. Bet you want to reach into the screen and pluck out her Farmer Tom's Collins cocktail, a refreshing mix of Farmer's Organic Gin, lemon, herbsaint, fresh herbs and soda.

Eat Some Pastured Poultry, Y'all

If you haven't given much thought to the chicken you eat, next week is a good time to remedy that. Pastured Poultry Week starts Monday, June 11 and goes through Sunday, June 17. It's set up by Georgians for Pastured Poultry(GPP), an alliance that promotes the use of high-welfare, pasture-raised poultry in Georgia. Over 20 Atlanta restaurants, including Ecco, JCT. Kitchen & Bar, No. 246 and Woodfire Grill, will feature the superior tasting and healthier birds each day so that you can taste the difference. If you'd like to cook some pastured poultry at home, buy some at your local farmers market or Whole Foods  and then check out this video where Shaun Doty shows you how it's a little different from the chickens we typically buy in the store. Or come see Shaun in person at Morningside Farmers Market on Saturday, June 16 where he'll be doing a demonstration and talking about his new local free-range and pastured poultry restaurant, Bantam and Biddy, which opens in September. We get our pastured chickens from Will Harris at  White Oak Pastures, another stakeholder in the group whose mission is to make Georgia the leader in the production and consumption of pastured poultry. Learn more about  pastured poultry facts and information by visiting the Georgians for Pastured Poultry website.

Jazz up Your Saturday at Ray's on the River

Ray's on the River's Summer Concert Series is taking the stage again this Saturday, June 9 at 2 p.m., and you won't want to miss out on this melodious afternoon at Atlanta's beloved riverside restaurant. Ray's on the River will carve out an area for guests to sit back and soak up jazz and blues by Jon Liebman, Scott Glazer, Joe Alterman and friends. If you come early, you can enjoy 20 percent off lunch at the restaurant with your ticket; otherwise, food and drink concessions will be sold at the concert. Concert tickets are $35 in advance and $45 at the door with proceeds benefitting the Fragile Kids Foundation, a non-profit organization that assists families in need of aid to effectively care for their medically fragile children. This family friendly event is one of a three-part series of Ray's on the River concerts benefiting local charities. After this Saturday, you'll have to wait until July 21 to sit back and enjoy renowned trumpeter Joey Sommerville at a concert that will assist the clean water efforts led by the Upper Chattahoochee Riverkeeper. Click here to purchase tickets via Eventbrite, and see you out on the lawn!

A Heaping Helping of Father's Day Ideas - Plus Lots More - In The Dish

Father's Day is right around the corner, and we've got the scoop on how to treat dear old dad - plus lots more - in this week's 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.

Which Came First: The Chicken? Or the Eggs Benedict?

According to The Kitchen Project, there seems to be some discrepancy in the which-came-first department of eggs Benedict recipe origins. While it appears to have had its inception up north, we're partial to the southern version -- Georgia Eggs Benedict -- poached up by Chicken and the Egg. Southern farmstead fare, such as this or fried green tomato eggs Benedict, is an integral part of each day at the Marietta eatery. Seeing that June 4 is National Eggs Benedict Day, you might be up for trying your hand at making this dish over the weekend. Chicken and the Egg Chef and Owner Marc Taft gave us the thumbs up on sharing his recipe, so don't think we're being Benedict Arnolds. For trivia's sake, the Revolutionary War traitor was neither initiator nor namesake of the traditional or Georgia versions.

Sit down to weekend brunch at Chicken and the Egg on Saturdays from 11 a.m. - 3 p.m. and Sunday from 9:30 a.m. - 3 p.m. Additionally, the restaurant serves weekday lunch and dinner nightly.

Chicken and the Egg's Georgia Eggs Benedict 

2 Biscuits (Make your own or use your favorite store-bought brand)

4 Slices of country ham (may also use Canadian bacon or bacon strips)

4 Eggs

1 Container of pimento cheese (of course you can make your own)

Heavy cream

Chives or green onions for garnish

1. In a saucepan on the side burner of your grill or on your cook top, slowly melt pimento cheese over medium-low heat. When it starts melting, slowly add a little heavy cream while stirring constantly until the mixture is smooth. Keep this mixture over low heat until ready to use.
2. Spray a muffin tin with cooking spray. Break each egg into one of the muffin slots and set on the grill over medium-high heat.
3. While the eggs are cooking, place your country ham on the grill to heat.
4. Cut biscuits in half. On each half, place one of the slices of country ham.
5. Place one of the cooked eggs on top of each slice of country ham and spoon pimento cheese mixture over the top.
6. Place trimmed chive or green onion on top for a garnish.