RA Sushi Showdown: More Delicious Than March Madness

Sports competitions are alright, but over here we care more about food. So here's a competition we can really sink our teeth into: the RA Sushi Showdown on April 7. Athletes, sign up now and start training! Fans, mark your calendar and get ready for the show. The competition is from 3 - 6 pm and involves elimination rounds, timed Tootsy Maki eats, and prizes! One grand-prize eater will win "RA Sushi for a Year" (in the form of 12 $50 RA Sushi gift certificates - $600 value) as well as a year's bragging rights. Second, third and fourth place winners will take home $100, $50 and $25 gift certificates respectively. All participants receive a complimentary appetizer or lunch card for use at another time, and a RA Sushi sweatband for sweating it out in the competition. Limited to the first 24 entries so sushi lovers over age 18 should snag an application at RA Sushi in Midtown pronto. All are welcome to watch the competition and enjoy food and drink specials including Tokyo Tussle and Throwdown rolls ($6-$7), Free Throw Bombs ($5), sake ($1), Half Court Bombs ($6) and the Rim "RA"cker ($7). This is so much more fun than basketball.

10th & Piedmont Brings Big Table Big Screen Tuesday Tradition to Midtown

 

On Tuesday, March 26, 10th & Piedmont is rolling out Big Table Big Screen Tuesday to the Midtown crowd. With the high prices of movie tickets, popcorn and a drink, the restaurant brings a steal of a deal with dinner and a movie on the restaurants big screen every Tuesday night. On BTBS Tuesdays, guests shell out a modest $15 each (not including tax and gratuity) for a 10P salad, choice of two small plates from the selected menu and the dessert of the day. Drink specials include $6 Absolut cocktails. The fun doesn't have to stop there - the place stays open until 2 a.m. To reserve a table, call 404-602-5510. You know you want to! 

Ready. Set. GO! Game-X Opens in Downtown Atlanta on March 27

7..6..5..4..3..2..1..And they're off! Gamers are zeroing in on Game-X, a 12,000 square-foot home to more than 60 of today's most exciting games as well as fun food and beverages for all ages. Multi-faceted Game-X serves as an energizing in-town destination for families, a convenient play-scape for young professionals and downtown office workers, and an ideal location for parties and team building activities. The spot is easy to find on the ground floor of the Park Pavilion Building, directly across from the Georgia Aquarium and overlooking Centennial Olympic Park. Once inside, guests can purchase and load X-Cards with dollar amounts to play state-of-the-art games including The Big One Crane Game, Nothin' But Net, Big Bass Wheel, Dark Escape 4-D, Pac Man Smash, Connect 4, SnoCross, NBA Hoops, Temple Run, Space Ballz, Dead Heat, QuadAir Hockey, Fruit Ninja, Monster Drop Extreme and many more. X-Cards also store e-ticket wins, which can be redeemed for prizes such as electronics, mountain bikes and local attraction packages. Fast-casual food, mixologist-created cocktails and craft microbrews play a big part in the Game-X experience. For a true gaming getaway, plan to "stay and play" by booking a room at the adjacent Hilton Garden Inn or another nearby hotel. Great idea for a not-so-typical meeting site! 

Game-X opens on Wednesday, March 27, and is open Sunday through Thursday from 11 a.m.-10 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Convenient and validated self-parking for three hours is available at the parking deck within the Game-X building. Guests under 18 must be accompanied by an adult, and guests must be at least 21 years old to remain in the building after 9 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. Score more details on the website, Facebook or by calling 404-525-0728.

Get Ready to Sniff, Sip and Swallow at Seven Lamps Whiskey Dinner on March 26

  

Learn to sip whiskey like a pro at  Seven Lamps on Tuesday, March 26. The Buckhead restaurant is teaming up with Heaven Hill Distilleries, America's largest independent and family-owned producer of distilled spirits and the second-largest holder of aging bourbon whiskey in the world, to host a five-course whiskey dinner from 7-9 p.m. A few reasons you'll be kicking yourself if you miss out on this: 

• This isn't your typical whiskey dinner. Not only will you get a half-ounce pour of whiskey or bourbon, you'll also get a cocktail specially crafted by beverage manager Arianne Fielder with each course.  
• The food. Just to give you an idea of what you're in store for, the first course is baked clams with andouille, jalapeno and fried bread. Check out the rest of the menu for more details.
• Whiskey professor Bernie Lubbers will be there to guide you through every sniff and pour, making sure you get a little knowledge to go with that buzz.

The cost is $65 per person. While experts might recommend taking your time when tasting whiskey, seating is limited for this dinner, so don't put off on reserving your spot. Call 404-467-8950 and make that reservation today! 

Atlanta Restaurants Provide Tasting at High Museum Wine Auction Vintners' Reception on March 23

Dinners, tastings and seminars frame this week's 21^st High Museum Wine Auction. Capping the week is the magnum event of them all, this Saturday's Vintners' Reception and live auction. Many of the world's top wineries will be appreciated by wine aficionados sampling generous pours. Dozens of Atlanta's best restaurants -- including Chicken and the Egg, Seven Lamps and Aqua blue -- will be there with choice morsels from their mouth-watering menus. Tickets to both of these events are only available to High Museum Benefactors. Find out how that could be you by calling 404-733-4543.

Chow Down and Win at RA Sushi Championship Showdown Plus More in this Week's Dish!

There is plenty to do this week in ATL! 10th & Piedmont launches a brand new Midtown tradition of dinner and a movie that you won't want to miss out on, while The Optimist hosts famed food writers Matt and Ted Lee for a book signing and menu feature. Check out all of the city's offerings plus more in this week's Dish!

Charleston's Matt & Ted Lee Join The Optimist for a Cookbook Signing and Dinner

Looking for something fun and delicious to do next Tuesday night? Join Matt and Ted Lee at Esquire magazine's Best New Restaurant of 2012, The Optimist, for a distinctly Southern dinner and signing of their newly released cookbook on Tuesday, March 26. "The Lee Bros. Charleston Kitchen" is filled with the brothers' favorite recipes and provides Optimist Executive Chef Adam Evans with a wellspring of offerings for the night's menu. Guests can enjoy a kumquat-tini, Low Country limoncello, moonshine martini and muscadine sangria when cocktail hour begins at 7 p.m. Dinner, served family style, follows at 8 p.m. Tickets are going fast - buy yours online now for $65 per person, including tax and gratuity. Purchase the cookbook that night for $35 plus tax and let Matt and Ted Lee personalize your copy.