What's New on Pinterest: Hungry for Love

This month, we're hungry for love (and pound cake, brownies and hand pies). Feed your appetite for love with all things sweet and heart-shaped from out Pinterest board! Valentine's Day may technically be on February 14, but we'll be whipping up these recipes all year long - don't tell Cupid!

Appetizing Aperture: Tin Lizzy's Cantina Taco Contest

  

Photo by Jeremy Adamo

Today's the last day to show off your taco-technique and enter the Tin Lizzy's Cantina Taco Contest. Stop by any Tin Lizzy's location and submit your best ideas and don't hold back! The more creative the better! Finalists are added to the March menu, and the top seller wins $500, a chance to see his or her taco on the menu and 10 VIP passes to Tin Lizzy's Cinco de Mayo party. Gift cards go to second- and third-place winners.

Champagne et Chocolat? Oui!

 

  

In the spirit of Valentine's Day, we bring you a romantic event to put on your calendar next week. On Friday, February 21, the Alliance Française d'Atlanta will host Champagne et Chocolat, an elegant evening of bubbly Champagne, savory hors d'oeuvre and tastings of hand-made chocolates from Chocolate South and Europe. Blend Custom Perfumes will be on hand with a preview of their chocolate-inspired perfume. The 7-9:30 p.m. event takes place at the Alliance Française d'Atlanta in Colony Square, Midtown. Ages 21 and over only. Purchase advance tickets online: $35 for AllianceFrançaise d'Atlanta members and $40 for non-members. $45 at the door.

Umi and Old Vinings Inn are January OpenTable Diners' Choice Winners

Look out, red carpet! Awards season is getting even hotter with a pair of OpenTable Diners' Choice awards going to local favorites Umi and Old Vinings Inn. We certainly understand why the two restaurants were awarded the badge based on positive diner feedback. Umi is making waves with its modern, ocean fresh cuisine and understated environs, and Old Vinings Inn's regional dishes and personal service have won many dining fans. Look for the "Diners' Choice Winner 2014" badge next time you dine at either restaurant. Congratulations!

Nikolai's Roof is Sharing the Love with a Romantic Giveaway

Nikolai's Roof is known for its year-round romance, and putting the final touches on renovations over Valentine's Day has them thinking outside of the box (but inside the heart!). The iconic restaurant is ensuring that their big reveal will be something special for one lucky couple. But how to pick the perfect pair? Nikolai's is now hosting a contest that promises a romantic getaway for two that includes a four-course dinner and a one-night stay at the Hilton Atlanta. To enter, submit a picture with your sweetie to the restaurant's Facebook page by Tuesday, February 18. Fans and friends can vote through February 18, and the winner will be announced on Wednesday, February 19. Good luck, love birds!

Treat Your Valentine to Atlanta Food & Wine Festival Tickets Starting February 14

The perfect Valentine's Day gift for your favorite foodie is only a few clicks away. Tickets to the Atlanta Food & Wine Festival are available for purchase online starting February 14th. Plan ahead and mark the dates of May 29-June 1, 2014 on your calendar to sync with that lucky someone. Food & Wine magazine presents this four-day festival that fills Midtown with more than 90 learning experiences, big tasting tents full of tasting experiences from around the Southern half of the globe, and a bevy of special dinners and parties at restaurants and unique venues. We hope Cupid has a pair of tickets flying our way!

Woodruff Arts Center Catering Team Welcomes New Faces

The Woodruff Arts Center has added two new catering managers to Woodruff Catering, powered by Sterling Spoon Culinary Management. Erika Goodman joins the staff as catering sales manager at the Woodruff Arts Center. She will work with Sterling Spoon catering sales manager Lauren Hradek in overseeing the catering services at the Woodruff Arts Center and Woodruff Catering. Goodman has more than 10 years of hospitality, event and guest service experience, most recently at The Ford Plantation in Richmond Hill, Ga. Hradek was previously the catering sales director for Sterling Spoon Culinary Management where she managed Aqua blue Catered Events and Market Street Café. Her industry experience includes the Gio Restaurant Group in Sarasota, Fla., the Biltmore Company in Asheville, N.C. and the Omni Hotel at CNN Center. Congratulations Erika and Lauren! Please call on them for your catering needs. Woodruff Arts Center Special Events: 404-733-5249 or specialevents@woodruffcenter.org.

Atlanta Restaurants: Snow Day Status - Round Two

The snow is back for a second visit to the Peach State, and many Atlanta-area restaurants are taking early precautions. Check in with us for updates on what's going on at the city's best spots:


Open Thursday:

• 10th & Piedmont 
• Article 14
• Atkins Park - Virginia Highland 
• Bantam + Biddy - both locations open at 12 p.m.
• limited menu, full bar
• Chocolate South 
• G's Midtown
• Glenn's Kitchen
• Gunshow
• Hearth Pizza Tavern - open at 1:30 p.m.
• HOBNOB
• Marlow's Tavern 
• Northlake, Vinings - open at 11:30 a.m.
• Emory Point, Midtown - open at 12 p.m. (Midtown has a limited menu and full bar)
• Alpharetta, Duluth, East Cobb - open at 12:30 p.m. 
• Kennesaw - open at 2 p.m.
• Cumming - open at 4 p.m.
• Dunwoody - open at 5 p.m.
• Max's Coal Oven Pizza
• Milton's Cuisine & Cocktails 
• Old Vinings Inn
• Ormsby's - open at 5 p.m. 
• Osteria Cibo Rustico - open at 5:30 p.m.
• RA Sushi - open for ToGo orders during lunch, dinner - open until 9 p.m.
• Ray's at Killer Creek - open at 4 p.m.
• 50% discount to uniformed personnel and Ga Power employees
• Ray's in the City 
• 50% discount to uniformed personnel and Ga Power employees
• Ray's on the River - open at 4 p.m.
• 50% discount to uniformed personnel and Ga Power employees
• The Big Ketch Saltwater Grill - open at 5 p.m.
• Tin Lizzy's - all locations open at 4 p.m. 
• Umi
• Willy's Mexicana - many locations open for normal hours, call your neighborhood location

Closed Thursday:

• Aqua Blue - closed for lunch
• Bistro 191
• Chicken and the Egg - closed for lunch, dinner - TBD 
• Game-X
• JCT. Kitchen and Bar 
• Kaleidoscope - closed for lunch, dinner- TBD
• King + Duke
• Market Street Cafe
• No. 246  
• St. Cecilia
• Sweet Dee's Bakeshop
• The Optimist
• Willy's Mexicana - AT&T Lindbergh, AT&T Midtown, GA State, Peachtree Center, Piedmont Park, Hapeville, East Cobb, Decatur and Ponce locations

RA Sushi Bar Restaurant is Encouraging Everyone to "Go Red" to Fight Heart Disease

Savory sushi and delightful drinks make giving back to others not only rewarding but also delicious - and RA Sushi Bar Restaurant agrees. This month, RA Sushi is joining the fight against heart disease, which is the number-one cause of death in women, with their "Go Red" menu. Each time an item is ordered off the special menu, $3 is donated to the American Heart Association's Go Red for Women movement. This fundraiser is a win-win, the Red Heart roll and Red Dress martini at RA Sushi will leave stomachs happier and hearts healthier. 

Twelve Don't-Miss Dishes on Jezebel's "One Hundred & Eleven Must-Try Tastes" List

When you find something you love, especially in the food world, it's important to make sure everyone else can get in on the goodness. To make sure our fellow foodies get a taste of Atlanta's best dishes, we've complied a list of our favorites from Jezebel Magazine's "One Hundred & Eleven Must-Try Tastes" February 2014 issue. Here's the who, what and most importantly - the where! 

• Chef Pano Karatassos’ Pick: Chopped chicken liver on toast at Bantam + Biddy, Ansley Mall and Crescent Avenue
• Maine lobster roll at Article 14, Midtown  
• Hushpuppies, crispy yet fluffy, at The Big Ketch Saltwater Grill, Buckhead
• Spicy tuna crispy rice at Umi, Buckhead
• Shrimp and crab nachos at all Marlow’s Tavern locations
• Coca-Cola shrimp at STATS, Luckie Marietta District
• Maine crab toast at King + Duke, Buckhead
• Whole Georgia white shrimp a la plancha at The Optimist, Westside
• “Angry” mussels at JCT. Kitchen & Bar, Westside
• Herb-crusted fillet of red snapper at Aria, Buckhead
• Southern Comfort taco at all Tin Lizzy’s Cantina locations
• Coq au vin at Gunshow, Glenwood Park 

UGA Bulldog 100 Taps Will Harris and White Oak Pastures as 2014 Honoree

Go Dawgs! Or, go pastured poultry and grass-fed beef and lamb, as is the case for fourth-generation cattleman Will Harris and White Oak Pastures in Bluffton, Ga. White Oak Pastures is one of this year's "Bulldog 100," an honor The University of Georgia (UGA) Alumni Association awards annually to the 100 fastest-growing businesses owned or operated by UGA alumni. Harris, a 1976 graduate of the UGA School of Agriculture, took his sheepskin back to the farm his great-grandfather settled in 1866. In 1995, he switched gears, shifting from industrial farming methods to those followed by great-grandfather Harris. The rest is history as cattleman and farm are frequently recognized for their commitment to humane animal husbandry, environmental sustainability and locally produced food. Additionally, Harris is the beef director of the American Grassfed Association and the past president of the board of directors for Georgia Organics.

Old Vinings Inn Bubble Brunch Makes Your Weekends Sparkle

Weekends are always the highlight of the week, so there's no reason you should settle for the same old bowl of cereal to start the day. What do you do to make those days off really count? Old Vinings Inn Bubble Brunch pops to mind, rising and shining with three courses and bubbly pairings on Saturdays 11:30 a.m.-3 p.m. and Sundays 12:30-3 p.m. Start off with an appetizer of either truffled lobster mac and cheese fritters or a charcuterie plate with house-pickled vegetables, cured meats, D2 duck, burrata with honey and peanuts, pimento cheese and EVOO herbed flatbreads. Entrée choices include crab cake Benedict with fried green tomato and hollandaise; shrimp and grits with andouille sausage, okra, corn, Creole beer broth and soft-poached egg; or sweet potato gnocchi with red wine beef jus. Dessert choices include pumpkin crème brûlée or apple strudel with vanilla bean ice cream. Bubbly pairings by course are Ferrari Brut, Italy NV; Pol Roger, Champagne NV; and Lamberti prosecco rosé, Italy. $45 per person (not including tax or gratuity); offered for a limited time. Make reservations online or call 770-438-2282.