What's New On Pinterest: Frozen, Chosen Popsicles

Zoku Quick Pop Maker at The Cook's Warehouse Summer's hot. Popsicles are not. Check out our Pinterest board for ideas to beat the heat.

Weekend Wallet Saver: Time to Whip Out Your Dinner & A Cause Card

It's Friday afternoon and the options for weekend entertainment are endless...when you're using your Dinner & A Cause Card from Children of Conservation. Cardholders can savor 20 percent savings on their dinner tabs at some of Atlanta's top restaurants in July and August, starting this Saturday. The list of participating restaurants is long and includes Kaleidoscope Bistro & Pub in Brookhaven, No. 246 in Decatur, JCT. Kitchen & Bar on Atlanta's Westside and Chicken and the Egg in Marietta. Most importantly, your card purchase helps provide an education for children of wildlife sanctuary workers in Africa. If you're not already packing one of these cards in your purse or money carrier of choice, go online to purchase; $25 for July 1-31, $25 for August 1-31 or $45 when buying both months at the same time. Use it as many times as you wish during the permitted timeframe.

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

Darin and family reside in downtown Atlanta. The urban steward walks, scooters and takes Marta around town, which lends itself to many in-town epiphanies and some nice leg muscles. Locate Darin onTwitter (@ATLurbanist) -- no tweeting while scootering -- or open up his blog and peruse after you've hoofed it to your local Wi-Fi café.

MLA On The Town

Here we are, cutting up with the stars. Erica, Mandy, Suong and Tuan saw what Atlanta's culinary Rising Stars can do at the recent Star Chefs awards and tasting gala at The Goat Farm.

Declare Independence from the Kitchen this 4th of July

The Peachtree Road Race along with other patriotic festivities will surely work up a July 4^th appetite. No need to add even more heat to this summer day by cooking; allow Atlanta restaurants to do all the work for you with these eating out options.

Start Independence Day early with Woodfire Grill’s annual “BBQ & Beer” event on July 3 from 5:30-11 p.m. Executive Chef Kevin Gillespie’s three-course, all-American menu includes an appetizer, main course of BBQ, Brunswick stew and sides, and banana pudding for dessert. Beer from Atlanta's own SweetWater Brewery will star alongside the food, and all proceeds from SweetWater beer sales will benefit the brewery's campaign to "Save theHooch." Dinner cost is $38 per person (plus tax and gratuity). Reservations are required as seating is limited. Call 404-347-9055.

Atkins Park Tavern in Virginia Highland celebrates July 4^th with their “Go Whole Hog or Go Home” lunch and dinner special. A meat-and-three-sides menu is the food of champions for $15 per person (excluding beverage, tax and gratuity). Cheer for beer and a chance to win some of the $500 in prizes at the tavern's Backyard Beer Olympics beginning at 4 p.m.

Baseball-bound Atkins Park Tavern in Smyrna and Ormsby's are running their hit ballpark bus trip to the Atlanta Braves versus Chicago Cubs game. Get the whole shebang for $55 per person: beer, Jäger, hot dogs, roundtrip bus ride, ticket to the 7:10 p.m. game and plenty of time to watch the post-game fireworks show. Sure to sell out so call Atkins Park Tavern in Smyrna at 770-435-1887 or Ormsby's at 404-968-2033 to reserve your ticket(s).

Open for you on the Fourth are:

*  Alon's Bakery and Market in Virginia Highland and Dunwoody, open from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m.

*  Atkins Park Tavern in Virginia Highland and Smyrna

*  Ecco, European-inspired bistro, open for dinner in Midtown

*  Fleming'sPrime Steakhouse and Wine Bar in Dunwoody

*  La Tavola Trattoria for an Italian dinner in Virginia Highland

*  All eight Marlow's Tavern locations

*  No. 246 for Italian in Decatur

*  The Original El Taco in Virginia Highland

*  Ormsby's on Atlanta's Westside, dinner only

*  RA Sushi Bar Restaurant for Japanese fusion, sushi and fun drinks in Midtown

*  Ray's in the City, Ray's at KillerCreek and Ray's on the River open from 4 - 9 p.m.

*  Smashburger, all five Atlanta-area locations will be open

*  South City Kitchen Vinings for Southern fare in Vinings

*  Uncle Julio's Fine Mexican Food for a July 4th fiesta in Buckhead and Sandy Springs

Who's taking the day off?  Closed for the holiday are: Alma Cocina, Aqua blue, Aria, Chicken and theEgg, JCT. Kitchen &Bar, KaleidoscopeBistro & Pub, The Optimist, South City Kitchen Midtown and Woodfire Grill. 

RA Sushi Keeps Watermelon-Kiwi Pairings Rolling Through July

All the good vibes emitting from guests at RA Sushi Bar Restaurant prompted the Midtown restaurant and bar to extend the popular Watermelon Kiwi Shrimp and Melon-Kiwi-Tini pairing through July 31. There's an instant chill factor with each bite of Watermelon Kiwi Shrimp layered with watermelon, kiwi, orange slices and lychee and topped with shrimp. Melon-Kiwi-Tini muddles Monin Watermelon, Svedka Citron, shochu and a splash of citrus soda and dolls it up with watermelon and kiwi slices. Order the pairing for $18 -- less than a bikini and one size fits all.

Dogfish Head Beer Dinner Pours "Off-Centered Ales For Off-Centered People" at Woodfire Grill

Get ready for a guest appearance from Dogfish Head Craft Beers all the way from Rehoboth Beach, Delaware this Thursday, June 28 at Woodfire Grill. Don’t be late to the 6:30 p.m. five-course beer dinner which features what Dogfish is proud to call “off-centered” ales, as they challenge traditional beer perceptions. Selection includes: Midas Touch, Red and White, Raison D'Etre, Black and Blue, Burton Baton and Festina Peche. Pair these unique ales with Woodfire Grill’s special menu centered around fresh, seasonal ingredients for a dining event that will come together in harmony. Cocktails and appetizers come out at 6:30 p.m. Dinner begins at 7 p.m. The $90 dinner excludes tax and gratuity. Only 20 seats are available. Call 404-347-9055 to make your reservation. More on Facebook. 

Light up your July 4th with firecracker ideas from ATL restaurants - & More - In This Week's Dish

Hot enough to fry an egg on the Atlanta sidewalk this week? Probably, but we'd rather dine at one of these upcoming delicious events in The Dish! You can sign up either here on our blog or on our Facebook page. Thanks for reading!

Cozy Up to the Counter at Kaleidoscope Bistro & Pub

It’s chef showtime at 7 p.m. this Thursday night, June 28, at Kaleidoscope Bistro & Pub in Brookhaven. Six guests will have front-row seats at the counter for Chef Joey Riley’s spellbinding culinary action accompanied by a four-course dinner. The night’s dinner plan involves scallops, pork belly, peaches and cherrywood-smoked duck a l’orange. Alcohol is not included in the $50-per-person price; pairings are available at $25 per person. Bring your own bottle of wine for a $15 corkage fee. Dinner with a chef’s counter view only happens on the last Thursday of the month at Kaleidoscope. Book now by calling 404-474-9600.