“Zigeuner schnitzel!” is not something you say when someone sneezes. “Zigeuner schnitzel, please” is what to say when ordering the June schnitzel of the month at Der Biergarten. The lightly breaded pork cutlet, crisp yet tender, wears a red sauce chock full of mushrooms, onions and bell peppers and sports spätzle alongside ($23). Light enough for summer, hearty enough to take on high-powered FIFA Women’s World Cup Soccer viewing. Add König Ludwig Hefeweizen ($9/liter), Der Biergarten’s beer of the month, for an authentic beer garden meal.
Shifting into summer vacation mode and looking for summer enrichment the kids are sure to eat up? Atlanta restaurants come through with kid-friendly fare and a side order of entertainment. If you’re exploring Atlanta, peruse the list for convenient, interesting places to refuel or designate a fun eatery as the day’s destination. For those ballpark or pool bound, many of these spots are well coached in the fine art of grab and go.
Outdoor treks to Piedmont Park or the Atlanta Botanical Garden in Midtown call for a stopover at HOBNOB Neighborhood Tavern with its sunny (and dog-friendly) patio.
Play with your food? There’s a play area in the dining room at Atkins Park Restaurant & Bar in Virginia Highland.
Game-X in the Luckie Marietta District near Philips Arena offers the X-Treme Combo Monday - Friday, 3-10 p.m. Add a $10 value X-card for $6 to any entrée. (Must mention combo when placing order and include on same check as the entrée. Not valid for private events.)
Little Clucker’s menus bode well with the kids at all Bantam + Biddy locations and include gluten-free fried chicken fingers. Pick up a family meal for a quick take-out option after a full day or long drive back from the beach.
Tykes feel grown up ordering Surf & Turf at Marlow's Tavern. The kid’s menu version includes one tiny burger, cheddar cheese and tempura fried shrimp.
At Tin Lizzy's Cantina, kid-friendly items include the crowd-pleasing taco plate: one grilled chicken or grilled steak taco with lettuce and Monterey Jack cheese and a choice of tater tots, rice or black beans. Locations by Perimeter Mall and the Mall of Georgia yield delicious shopping breaks without the food court chaos, and the Grant Park cantina is a good place to feed your tiger cub before a Zoo Atlanta safari.
Youngsters love the noodle bowls and chopsticks at Tin Drum Asiacafé. There’s something about those Asian flavors and crisp, colorful stir-fries that make veggies extra appealing. Atlantic Station and Akers Mill locations are convenient to movie theaters and a bit more exotic than popcorn.
Skip PBJ today and let the children order kids combos at Willy’s Mexicana Grill where they can offer input as their burritos and tacos are being filled. Combo beverage choices include a fountain drink, apple juice or organic milk. Count on grabbing a meal at one of Willy’s many locations -- whether you’re planning a hike at Kennesaw National Park or through the concourses at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.
Seafood on the deck at The Big Ketch Saltwater Grill is about as close to pier dining as you can get in Buckhead. All kids’ items -- including crispy fish bites and grilled or fried shrimp -- are served with chips, coleslaw or corn on the cob and a beverage.
Atlanta-based chef, restaurateur and cookbook author Kevin Gillespie is gathering family ‘round to bring Revival to Decatur in July. The new restaurant will serve elevated Southern fare and family style dining evolving from Gillespie’s own Georgia upbringing--with the help of a family oriented team including executive chef Andreas Müller and general manager Christy Lee Faircloth. Gillespie and Müller have worked together for a long time and share a penchant for preparing traditional meals with farm-fresh ingredients. Geographically, Müller and Gillespie grew up worlds apart -- Müller in a small town in Sweden and Gillespie in Georgia. Miles aside, the two chefs are close in experiences and interests. Both were reared amid multi-generational families, eating rustic dishes at home and fancier fare when visiting family in larger towns. Müller has worked alongside Gillespie at Woodfire Grill and Gunshow. Faircloth, who’ll oversee the front-of-house team, already has close ties within the Decatur community from her previous years in Decatur restaurants and serving on the management teams of Rocket Farm Restaurants’ No. 246, St. Cecilia and The El Felix. Large families are up her alley—she grew up with seven siblings and is mother to four children and two stepchildren. Follow Revival, located at 129 Church Street, on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
Chances are you’ve clicked on About.com when sleuthing out information on various topics and how-tos. The online engine has added an “About Travel” Atlanta-specific section with volumes of useful information for visitors, newcomers and those already well-entrenched in Atlanta ways, means, ins and outs. Click in for freebies and attraction discounts, activity ideas, who’s who and even how to transfer your driver’s license to Georgia if you’ve recently moved here. Which will be your most-used mode to information? Atlanta expert Kate Parham Kordsmeier has everything you need online at Atlanta.About.com, Facebook, Twitter or Pinterest.
Tangy sauce and twangy tunes are coming to Milton’s Cuisine & Cocktails in Crabapple on the Sunday between Father’s Day and the July 4th weekend. The farmhouse-turned-restaurant throws summer’s first BBQ & Blues evening on Sunday, June 28, ushering in lazy evenings with live music, cornhole, craft brews and cocktails. Eats? Right on cue, chef Derek Dollar presents a choice of three meats basking in the glory of distinctly different sauces: sweet tea-smoked chicken with Carolina gold BBQ sauce and cheddar corn muffins ($18), pulled BBQ pork shoulder with Crabapple BBQ sauce and Texas toast ($17) or a half rack of ribs with Georgia red BBQ sauce and cheddar corn muffins ($20). Choose two of these Southern sides to round out your entrée -- white cheddar-and-bacon mac, creamed Silver Queen corn, garden potato salad or cracked mustard coleslaw. Feel free to make a meal of sides ($4 each) or order them alongside a bowl of thick Brunswick stew ($7). Shindig runs 5-9 p.m. Pull your phone out and call 770-817-0161 for reservations, then flag the remaining three BBQ & Blues 2015 dates: July 26, August 30 and September 27.
Every dad has his day, and it’s almost here. Father’s Day is Sunday, June 21. Sure you can give him a card and a kiss, but do it over brunch, lunch or clinking beer glasses. Whether your guy is king of the drill, grill, bench press or French press, you’ll find an Atlanta restaurant befitting his honor and interests on our blog.
They’re serious. Polish up your “sundae best” spoon and buy tickets to Slow Food Atlanta’s ninth annual Ice Cream Social-- the place to gather all the scoop on Saturday, June 20. When the Peachtree Road Farmers Market ends at noon, Atlanta’s professional chefs and ardent amateurs will start divvying out tastes of their homespun, “Cream of the Crop” recipes at The Cathedral of St. Philip (rain backup, the Cathedral’s Child Hall). Appropriately, one category of flavors is designated “Produce,” reserved strictly for frozen concoctions bursting with goodies from the garden. Squash sorbet, maybe, but doubtful there’s a local cotton candy explosion orchard. Be sure to dig your spoon into samples from Seed Kitchen & Bar and Stem Wine Bar. Tickets cover a taste of each ice cream and a ballot to vote for your top-rated treats. Buy tickets online before they sell out: $15 adults, $5 children ages 5-10 years (plus small service fee); free for tykes under 5 years. Shop the market beforehand to be there when the noon-2 p.m. social opens. The event benefits the Atlanta chapter of Slow Food International and the Peachtree Road Farmers Market.
Be worldly. Even when you feel grounded by traffic. Park yourself at RA Sushi Bar Restaurant in Midtown and jet off on International Sushi Day, Thursday, June 18. Settle in for a day of globally inspired food and drink specials. Share spicy tuna or salmon hand rolls ($4); Tootsy maki or California rolls ($5.25); RA chips and salsa or shrimp tempura rolls ($6); and lobster nigiri ($7). Bar specials include Kirin/Kirin Light and premium mixed drinks ($5); sake sangria, Baby Umami punch, Blushing Geisha and Fire Bomb ($6); and a huge Umami punch bowl ($14). One day only -- don’t miss the flight!
“The Breakfast Club” turned 30 this year. School years haven’t gone by so fast for the characters repped by Molly, Ally, Judd, Emilio and Anthony. The perpetual high schoolers are still spending Saturday mornings in study hall, peeling back their stereotypes to reveal similarities and differences. Saturdays in June, you’ll find them doing so at MAX’s Wine Dive’s congenial brunch. The Midtown restaurant salutes a catchy theme each month, and “The Breakfast Club” pulls in a hall pass for June. Shermer High detention hall was never like this -- mimosas at $3 a glass, Bellinis at $5 a glass and Chef Patric Bell-Good’s brunch menu -- and the campy, coming-of-age movie circulating on screens from 11 a.m.-4 p.m. MAX’s advice: come Saturday, don’t you forget about me.
Next time they ask “What’s pho dinner?” you’ll be prepared, thanks to our board of Pho-nomenal Dishes. Served hot or chilled, a sweet-spicy Vietnamese noodle bowl could be your summer savior. Exotic? Bun bo xao. Quick? Shortcut pho bo. Veggie? Coconut veggie soup or bok choy-and-cauliflower pho with roasted tofu. Life in the slow lane? Slow-cooker rare beef pho. More noodles? Vietnamese charbroiled pork vermicelli. In Atlanta, you’ll find the ingredients in your supermarket, but a pho-ray into one of the many international markets around town will really entice you to go with the pho.
