Get Patriotic with Festive Food and Cool Cocktails

There’s no need to sit in hours of holiday traffic because Atlanta restaurants and bars are making it worthwhile to ditch the car jams and stay in the city this Independence Day.

10^th & Piedmont is opening early on the Fourth of July to serve their regular brunch menu. Starting at 8 a.m., diners can enjoy favorites like the 10P chicken and waffles. The restaurant will be open with regular dinner hours. For more information, visit communitashospitality.com.

Time this right and you can run the Peachtree Road Race, clean up and be at Atkins Park Restaurant & Bar in Virginia-Highland when doors open at 11 a.m. on July 4. After that morning sprint, you’ll be ready to refuel at the neighborhood tavern’s seventh annual Go Whole Hog or Go Home barbecue. Chef Andrew Smith chooses the whole hog route. He’s smoking a Riverview Farms whole hog in the restaurant’s backyard pit. Ante up $15 for a meat, three sides and three barbecue sauces for your holiday lunch or dinner. Backyard Beer Olympics begin at 3 p.m. See which teams will dominate Ping-Pong, ladder toss, cornhole and darts to win a portion of more than $500 in prizes. Register your team at 404-876-7249. The party flows into Saturday, closing up at 3 a.m. on July 5.

A Southern Fourth of July picnic conjures up visions of fried chicken spreads and chins dripping barbecue sauce. Thanks to Bantam + Biddy, you can have both and declare independence from the heated preliminaries of frying, smoking and cleaning up your mess. Given 48-hour notice, both the Crescent Avenue and Ansley Mall Bantam + Biddy locations will pack up a Picnic-to-Go to feed four, including a whole smoked or fried chicken, fingerling potato salad with grainy mustard, watermelon and feta salad, black-eyed peas and tomato salad, cornbread and lemon bars, all for $48. If friends and family squeal over chopped pork barbecue, the Ansley Mall restaurant is smoking up a pig and will offer chopped barbecue pork sandwiches and a side for $6 each on July 4 from noon-4 p.m., while supplies last. Goodbye picnic basket – hello, holiday!

You earned it, now carb-load on the backside of the race at Hearth Pizza Tavern on Roswell Road in Sandy Springs. Show off your Peachtree Road Race number and receive a complimentary eight-inch pizza (maximum value $8) on Friday, July 4. Running with a crowd or cheering section? Hearth Pizza Tavern’s menu is packed with signature and build-your-own pizzas, sandwiches, burgers, salads and plenty of thirst-quenching brews and cocktails, wines, waters, teas and Abita bottled root beer. Regular hours rule the day, 11 a.m.-11 p.m.

To honor their loyal regulars, Marlow’s Tavern is sending an email to insiders with an offer of a free bison burger (one per table, per email, with a minimum purchase of $10) at their locations. To sign up for the Insider’s Club newsletter and giveaways like this, visit marlowstavern.com.

One night, so many fireworks displays. So many people! Command a calm view of metro Atlanta’s holiday illuminations by dining or enjoying drinks at Nikolai’s Roof. Think of it. A brilliant menu, sparkling drinks, 24 years with the coveted AAA Four-Diamond award, air-conditioned comfort…and no crowds or parking issues. Just a few little reminders that Roman candles and bottle rockets aren’t the only things lighting up the sky on this holiday! Open regular hours, 5:30-9:30 p.m. Make reservations via OpenTable or call 404-221-6362.

Located on Ponce de Leon in downtown Decatur, No. 246 is sidewalk close to the city’s Fourth of July Pied Piper Parade, concert and fireworks on and near the square. The restaurant will open at 5 p.m. on Friday, July 4 for a backyard cookout. Duck into the thoughtfully planned backyard complete with shaded areas, deck seating, Ping-Pong and a patriotic menu of barbecued meats, baked beans, potato salad and mac ‘n’ cheese until 9 p.m. Parade bound first? Cruise through afterward when the restaurant’s popular $6 all-you-can-eat pizza special kicks in from 9-11 p.m. The bar remains open throughout to slake thirsts.

What a catch! A whole Maine lobster is only $19.95 per person at all three Ray’s Restaurants beginning today, July 1 for a limited time. Each 1¼ pound lobster buddies up with a pool of drawn butter and your choice of side dish. And, on Friday, July 4, all three Ray’s Restaurants will be open, and you’ll shell out even less for lobster because the price sinks down to $16.95 per person. Tax and gratuity are not included in either price point. Grab this special by the tail at Ray’s in the City, Ray’s at Killer Creek and Ray’s on the River, and hurry before the tide changes and the price goes up.

Smokebelly in Buckhead is celebrating Independence Day with live music, $5 craft cocktails and $2 PBR cans. The regular menu will be offered. For more information, visit smokebellybbq.com or call 404-848-9100.

Even though Kevin Gillespie is keeping the meaty details of Terminus City when and where-abouts tucked under the bun, he’s eager for Atlantans to go ahead and sneak in a taste of what’s to come. And, since barbecue is as American as the Fourth of July, Gillespie is rolling out this special menu (instead of the regular menu) at Gunshow, his Glenwood Park flagship restaurant, on Friday and Saturday, July 4-5. Chomp into chopped barbecue, chicken-fried steak or a vegetarian entrée. Heaping helpings of sides will be offered (and replenished) via Gunshow’s rolling carts. Dine-in seating is first-come, first-served. Takeout is available à la carte with barbecued meats, slaw, Brunswick stew, cornbread, sandwiches and fried pies. Dine-in items may differ from to-go items. Visit the Facebook page or call 404-380-1886 for more information.

Make a beeline to Whole Foods Market locations for savings during the July 4 holiday. From July 3-6, Whole Foods makes cookouts a breeze with the Fourth of July Bundle. For $20, take home eight house-made Italian sausages (traditional Italian or spicy), eight hot dog buns (white or wheat) and two pounds of farmer’s potato salad. Not in the mood to cook? Whole Foods has you covered with $6.99 chicken. Choose from fried, grilled or barbecued and receive two breasts, two thighs, two drumsticks and two wings. Toast the holiday with a Whole Foods Market Wine deal. All stores (except TN) are offering 20 percent off cases of wine (mix or match) from July 3-6.

After crossing the finish line at the Peachtree Road Race, get in line at Willy’s Mexicana Grill for a deal to refuel hungry runners. On Friday, July 4, wear the coveted Peachtree Road Race t-shirt to any Atlanta Willy’s location and purchase $5 burritos all day long. Burrito extras not included. For more information, restaurant locations and July 4 holiday closings, visit willys.com.

Tin Lizzy's Cantina will offer the regular menu to Independence Day celebrators until 5 p.m. at all locations. The Mall of Georgia location will be open normal hours and is the perfect spot to grab dinner before the Mall of Georgia's 12th Annual Fabulous Fourth.