If only one could reach through the Instagram windows into Community Farmers Markets and gather the luscious greens, berries, flowers and whatnot on display. Or shake hands with the interesting people these markets bring together to build a community around healthy eating.
Golfers, take a shot (or a few more) at stopping the paths of leukemia and lymphoma blood cancers by helping the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS). Sign on for the Southern Proper Golf Tournament to Benefit LLS at the Polo Golf & Country Club in Cumming on Monday, June 6. Registration begins at 11 a.m.; shotgun start for the four-person scramble is at 1 p.m. Tickets are $150 for individuals and $600 for foursomes and include greens and cart fees, practice balls, hot grill station lunch, awards reception dinner, on-course beverages and a chance to win tournament prizes. Shop the silent auction to raise more funds for LLS. The Southern Proper Hospitality Group restaurant family includes Gypsy Kitchen, The Southern Gentleman, Milton’s Cuisine & Cocktails, The Big Ketch Saltwater Grill, Smokebelly BBQ and The Blind Pig Parlour Bar so players can start salivating for good grub like roasted corn and black bean salad, chipotle sweet potato salad, three chile Vidalia onion slaw and a burger bar with chorizo, Asian shrimp and beef burgers for lunch. Post-tournament reception features street tacos of mojo-braised pork, jerk chicken and three chile stout-braised beef; salsa bar and toppings and sides of mac and cheese and charro beans. Stop putting around and sign up today!
Next time you’re at an Atlanta-area Marlow’s Tavern location, throw a dollar or more onto your tab for Special Olympics Georgia (SOGA), and you’ll get back $5 in Marlow’s Tavern gift cards to use on a future visit. A little pocket change goes a long way toward changing the life of a SOGA athlete, and you’ll take home some silver and gold as well. Offer good June 1-30.
Warren Bruno organized the two-day Virginia-Highland Summerfest celebration in 1983 to draw neighborhood residents, businesses, families and friends together. In turn, Summerfest pays tribute to the avid cyclist and spirited Va-Hi “spokes”-person with a Summerfest bike ride each June. The 2016 Warren Bruno Summerfest Celebration Ride spins off from North Highland Park on Sunday, June 5 at 9 a.m. No fee, no registration, just a darn good, family friendly way to start the day. Will you go round in circles? Yes, if you ride the 6.79 mile loop through Va-Hi more than once. View the route here. Any contribution to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) is appreciated to honor Bruno and support the local Team in Training cycling teams.
Sublime Doughnuts are doubly good on National Doughnut Day, Friday, June 3. Each doughnut purchase – at either the Midtown or North Druid Hills shop – adds to the “doughnation” Sublime will send to The Salvation Army in honor of the sweet holiday.
Backstory: The idea for Doughnut Day developed during World War I when The Salvation Army workers served coffee and doughnuts to American soldiers fighting in France as a means of bringing them cheer (and taking their minds off poor rations). The Salvation Army volunteers fried the doughnuts in soldiers’ helmets! The Salvation Army then founded National Doughnut Day during the Great Depression to raise funds and awareness for the organization’s social service programs. The doughy story rings true and close to the heart of Sublime Doughnuts owner Kamal Grant, a Navy veteran who served as a baker on the USS John Young. The icing? You’re in for a treat, whether choosing one A-Town Cream or a dozen Yin Yang Twists on June 3, and you’ll be helping The Salvation Army fulfill its manifesto of “Doing the Most Good.”
Virginia-Highland Summerfest celebrates 33 years of art, food and fun this weekend. Comb through the website for details on the juried artist market, Kidsfest, live music, street parties, food and drinks from vendors and local restaurants, runs and the annual Warren Bruno Summerfest Celebration Ride for bicyclists. Saturday morning wakes to more than 1,500 runners winding through neighborhood streets during the Summerfest 5K Road Race, a Peachtree Road Race qualifying race. Run fast to register on active.com. There will be no tantrums from the toddlers as the Tot Trot for children ages 7 and under follows the 5K at John Howell Park. Two days of Kidsfest and live music on the Main Stage rock the park while the Acoustic Stage at Virginia and North Highland avenues plays host to daytime live music and Irish dancers and the Evening Street Party on Friday and Saturday nights. Atkins Park Restaurant & Bar, 794 N. Highland Avenue, is right at the heart of it all and is an opportune place to duck into for some cool shade, satisfying bar snacks and more substantial fare. Summerfest’s biggest fan will be there in spirit. Restaurateur Warren Bruno, Atkins Park owner from 1983 until losing the battle to non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma in 2012, loved life, his family and the Virginia-Highland community.
Guilty…of craving the barbecue that executive chef Andreas Müller of Revival will smoke and sauce when he competes against other Atlanta chef “a-‘cue-sers” at the Atlanta Volunteer Lawyers Foundation (AVLF) / Atlanta Legal Aid Society 4th Annual Beer Tasting & BBQ Battle on Thursday, June 2. Chefs will plead their cases by plying attendees with samples of their best barbecue -- accompanied by plenty of beer for tasting. Each year, the two legal aid organizations host the annual event to raise awareness and the funds needed to support their work of providing justice and safe and stable homes. This year’s event is open to all members of the legal community and takes place from 6-9 p.m. at the Atlanta Event Center at Opera on Crescent Avenue in Midtown. In 2015, more than 700 guests bore witness to the event so better grab tickets now; $65 per person.
Music lovers revel in Shaky Knees and Boots. Food and drink lovers, however, dare not jostle shaky spoons or glasses lest they waste coveted tastes of some of the South’s best bites and beverages at this year’s Atlanta Food & Wine Festival(AFWF). The 2016 festival spills out from Midtown June 2-5 and introduces a new Southern spring sport -- Friday Night Bites -- underneath big-top tents in Piedmont Park. For the first time, tasting tents will be open on Friday evening from 3:30-9:30 p.m. as well as on Saturday and Sunday afternoons. Key tastemakers include Atlanta chefs Gerry Klaskala (Aria), Kevin Gillespie (Gunshow, Revival, Terminus City), Joey Ward (Gunshow), Matthew Ridgway (Gypsy Kitchen, The Southern Gentleman) and Reid Harrison of White Oak Pastures. RJ Cooper of Midtown newcomer 5Church Atlanta is chomping to let attendees sample some of his dishes, too. The soon-to-open restaurant is located at 14th and Peachtree streets, pretty much at the AFWF epicenter. Buy Friday Night Bites tickets online and peruse the mouthwatering schedule of other day and class passes and ticket options.
Starting Wednesday, June 1, OTP-ers feeling landlocked at lunchtime can easily sail into Drift Fish House & Oyster Bar at The Avenue East Cobb for their midday meal. Doug Turbush’s Marietta restaurant known for high-quality, sustainable and fresh seafood will serve lunch daily from 11:30 a.m.-3 p.m. Executive chef Brendan Keenan casts a midday menu with starters, sandwiches, “Catch” seafood entrées, soups and salads and raw bar favorites such as peel-and-eat shrimp and raw oysters. Lunch nets a school of dinner specialties as well, including lobster rolls served warm with drawn butter or cold with lemon mayo and chowder fries topped with Benton’s bacon, fried clams and Fresno chile. The Drift burger is always a hit with landlubbers and comes stacked with American cheese and wood-grilled onions and a heap of fries. The AJC recently reeled Drift’s lobster rolls onto its list of “7 lobster rolls you’ll be eating this summer.” All the more reason to Drift over for lunch.
Hand over the keys to the liquor cabinet and some snazzy glasses, and Natalie Migliarini comes through with Beautiful Booze. This Seattle-based cocktail developer/stylist/ photographer and boozy content creator for brands, hotels, travel and events recently “toured” the cocktails of Mexico City, and she generously shares souvenirs by the glassful.
Chef Kevin Gillespie is loading the Gunshow kitchen chamber for June’s “Hired Guns” dinner on Sunday, June 12 and Monday, June 13. Chef Kenny Gilbert of Gilbert's Underground Kitchen in Fernandina Beach, Florida, blasts into the Glenwood Park restaurant to join Gillespie, Gunshow executive chef Joey Ward and the “kitchen dudes” (and dudettes). As Gilbert mingles with diners and shares his innovative take on tropical and traditional cuisine, guests will easily see why this seventh season “Top Chef” contestant claims fame as one of the show’s most likeable chefs. His career has taken him from Florida and Sea Island, Georgia, to Colorado, New Jersey, Spain, France and the Caribbean. Gilbert has appeared on “The Today Show,” written his own cookbook, created a line of spice blends and has cooked for the Sports Illustrated Super Bowl party and numerous celebrities. Oh, and did we mention he conquered kitchen master Bobby Flay on a recent episode of “Beat Bobby Flay”? Buy tickets via Xorbia; $95 per person (not including drinks, tax and gratuity). Hone in on them now, before this tantalizing trophy is out of sight.
South African destinations such as Cape Point, Olifants River, Breede River Valley and Klein Karoo may call up visions of safaris, and that’s partially correct. Stem Wine Bar general manager/sommelier Chris McNeill is on the prowl for pours from the world’s up-and-coming wine regions, and he’s bagging quite a prize collection. Explore the varied winelands of South Africa via Stem’s weekly pairings of six wines and small bites created by owner/chef Doug Turbush. Safari attire and khakis are not required but would fit right in with the unpretentious and fun environment at the Marietta wine bar. All wine tastings begin at 6:30 p.m. Advance-purchase tickets only. $40 per person (plus $3.19 service fee). Additional 20 percent gratuity will be added at in-store checkout. Seats are limited and fly away fast so reserve your spot today. Click on the dates below to purchase tickets:
