Whatever your zodiac sign, G’s Midtown has a star-struck zodiac cocktail to match and priced at $10 each. If your birthday falls between May 21 and June 20, you’re a Gemini. “The Twins,” as they’re often referred to, show both creative and intellectual tendencies and dual personalities -- kind of like G’s Gemini specialty cocktail that exhibits a positive balance of Deep Eddy Grapefruit vodka and Deep Eddy Lemon vodka.
Take a gander at what the broilers, laying hens, guineas and ducks are doing to stay healthy, happy and busy at White Oak Pastures by attending the Pastured Poultry Workshop on Saturday, June 13. At 9 a.m., during the cool of the morning, tour the poultry fields to scratch the surface of pastured practices and see the farm’s mobile housing for 60,000 broilers and 9,000 layers. The tour then shifts to the Animal Welfare Approved, zero-waste abattoirs where humane processing takes precedence over volume. Escape the midday heat by lunching in the covered Pavilion then settling into lecture time from 1-3 p.m. Dig deeper into topics such as brooding, nutrition, pasture raising, processing, egg production, what has worked for the farm and what White Oak Pastures seeks to improve. $80 per person, includes lunch. Class size limited to 25. Reserve a spot online or call 229-641-2081.
Article 14 spreads the word on Georgia cheesemaker Nature’s Harmony Farm at this month’s cheese dinner on Wednesday, June 10. Using Old World techniques, the farm handcrafts cheeses that earn global recognition here in the home state and as far away as England and South Africa on championship circuits. The Elberton farm first forayed into artisanal cheesemaking in 2010. Taking time to hand stir and hand hoop the raw milk cheeses and letting them age slowly and develop natural rinds turns out the distinctive cheeses guests will savor during Article 14 executive chef Chris Blobaum’s four-course dinner with wine pairings. An American Cheese Society certified cheese expert will be at the dinner to answer questions. $45 per person (tax and gratuity not included). Reservations: 404-443-8432.
Monday’s coming around again, and those leftovers aren’t going anywhere fast. Clean out the fridge another night. Instead, wing it to Bantam + Biddy Ansley Mall on Monday, June 8 where Lost-n-Found Youth will receive 10 percent of Bantam + Biddy proceeds for orders placed after 5 p.m. Lost-n-Found Youth is Atlanta’s only non-profit organization dedicated to providing safety and shelter to homeless lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youth ages 13-25. For this tasty multitasking meal, pick your poultry -- rotisserie chicken, fried chicken tenders with wasabi honey, fried chicken and cheddar waffles or rotisserie chicken on powerful salads. Go for meatloaf made from White Oak Pastures’ grass-fed beef, or if you maintain a meatless Monday tradition, choose a fresh vegetable plate or penne pasta with San Marzano tomatoes, veggies and basil. Solo, duo, family -- there’s a place for everyone here.
In a twist on the farm-to-market theme, WonderFarm highlights the kinship of Atlanta’s local farm, food, art and community at Ponce City Market on Saturday, June 6 from 7-11 p.m. The benefit for WonderRoot and Community Farmers Markets affords guests a sneak preview of the extensively renovated and not-yet-open-to-the-public Midtown landmark. WonderFarm appeals to all five senses. Delicious aromas and mouthwatering bites greet guests at the cocktail reception and seated dinner, courtesy of Bellina Alimentari executive chef Dave Berry and a slew of top culinary and mixology talent. Interactive demonstrations, performances and art installations complete the picture, punctuated by live and silent auctions. Event tickets are $250 per person or $3,500 for a table of 10. Ponce City Market is home turf for Bellina Alimentari, which opens late summer in the market’s Central Food Hall. With a market, eatery, wine bar and culinary club, Bellina Alimentari will be the place to find Italian provisions, sip Italian wines and savor healthy, Tuscan-inspired dishes created from fresh, locally sourced ingredients (such as those from White Oak Pastures, Brasstown Beef and Many Fold Farms). Catch glimpses of this Italian beauty and follow the progress on Facebook.
Smokebelly BBQ had so much fun doling out a whole hog’s worth of roasted meat at its first birthday celebration last week that the Buckhead barbecue joint is rolling its succulent smoked meats and American eats into another good-time event -- Rock the Cure at SweetWater Brewery on Saturday, June 6 at 7:30 p.m. The annual brews and blues event overflows with a continuous pour of local brews, mouthwatering eats, live music and ooh- and aah-generating raffle prizes, all to benefit the Georgia Chapter of JDRF. Rock the Cure has raised more than $400,000 for type 1 diabetes (T1D) research since holding its first event at SweetWater in 2007. Eighty-five percent of those with T1D are adults, prompting the non-profit research organization to shorten “Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation” to JDRF to better reflect its “all ages, all stages” commitment to curing T1D. Buy tickets online; general admission $50, VIP $75. Prior commitment that night? Rock those donations online anytime.
10th & Piedmont and G’s Midtown wake up Tuesday nights by offering Breakfast for Dinner -- especially nice for those who are flat out overcommitted on weekends. From 5-10 p.m. on Tuesday evenings, the entire brunch menu and $6 sangria are on at these two Midtown gathering spots. That means the Southwestern sunrise burrito, vegetable panini, Southern-style steak Benedict, 10P Salad, 10P signature chicken and waffles, shrimp and grits, garden omelet, Morningside burger, the Feel Good Plate and the rest of the brunch bonanza is all “fare” game. For the record, the dinner menu is not an option during the Breakfast for Dinner special. Pajamas and fuzzy slippers? Wouldn’t go that far...but that’s your call. Information: 404-602-5510.
When was the last time you grilled a local cattle farmer? Asked questions about raising Berkshire pigs or Angus and Braunvieh beef cattle? Chased the conversation with meaty samples testifying to these extraordinary meats, raised nearby without added hormones or antibiotics? Twin Smokers BBQ comes through as your meaty mentor, hosting its monthly Meat & Greet night on Thursday, June 4. From 6:30-8:30 p.m., meet farmers from Gum Creek Farms, located southwest of Atlanta, and Brasstown Beef, a few hours north in Brasstown, North Carolina -- and savor morsels of their naturally raised meats. The Luckie Marietta District restaurant with a passion for regionally inspired meats and barbecue styles beefs up the evening even more with great specials. Carve out more information by calling 404-698-4707.
Parched on Peachtree? Relief is coming -- straight up. Atlanta cocktail artisan T. Fable Jeon takes the shaker as director of Himitsu, the upscale Japanese-inspired lounge from the team behind Umi in Buckhead. Jeon will oversee and execute creative director Shingo Gokan’s signature beverage program. Catch a glimpse of the pimento-stuffed-cocktail-olive-speared-with-a-plastic-cocktail-sword-pic tattoo on the forearm of this cocktail craftsman as he pours Japanese showmanship, Southern culture and classic American barkeeping into his shaker. His handiwork has already stimulated area cocktail culture at Sound Table, The Pinewood Tippling Room and Guy Wong’s Le Fat. Tattooed arm aside, it’s no wonder Beverage Media magazine name Jeon one of 10 Mixologists to Watch in 2011.
FLIP burger boutique refuses to confine tender pork carnitas to tacos, tamales and burritos. Not even an option at the burger boutique where The Carnitas carries head-hauncho status as June’s “burger of the month” ($14). The specially seasoned pork patty sits atop cilantro-lime mayo, crowned with shredded pork carnitas and green tomato ketchup. Shredded cabbage, pickled red onions and cilantro sprigs are the three amigos alongside the bun-bound burger.
Cuisine from Around the World is a veritable passport on a plate. Venture north for Canadian poutine, south for Aussie party pies and Brazilian brigadeiro (chocolate truffles), east to Chinese cha siu bao (BBQ pork buns) then westward, ho, for an In-N-Out copycat burger. Ireland? Baileys Irish Cream pound cake. Greece? Easy chicken gyro and tzatziki sauce. India? Crock-Pot Indian lentils. Get the picture? Not a bad idea -- snapshots for a vacation victuals photo album before these culinary landmarks disappear.
Lunch with Mark Twain. The Southern Gentleman is his usual Atlanta lunch spot -- his larger-than-life portrait watches over the lunch crowd at the gastropub on Buckhead Atlanta’s top floor. Bet he’s wishing he could jump out of the canvas for modern versions of Southern beloveds such as this Low Country shrimp boil with spiced andouille sausage, corn on the cob, sweet onions and fingerling potatoes ($16). He’s so jealous of y’all, sipping classic Southern cocktails by the seersucker-curtained windows and lunching there Monday through Sunday on pimento beer cheese and cracklings, field lettuces with crispy black-eyed peas and grilled peaches, lacquered Virginia duck breast or crispy fried shrimp and oysters on a baguette with house-made hot sauce. Fiction? No, siree. Delicious reality, every day.
Be your own seasonally driven chef, aided and abetted by Garnish & Gather. Pick a chef-created recipe from their weekly repertoire, and G & G gathers the ingredients, includes the 30-minutes-‘til-done recipe with cooking techniques and packages all for pick up at one of many designated Atlanta pick-up points or throw in some extra dough for home delivery. Garner a glimpse of their photos, and you’ll say, “Sign me up!”
