The reindeer have landed…as Oreo reindeer pops and teams of antlered bottles of root beer. Open Crafty Christmas and deck the halls with DIY Christmas food gifts and crafts. Make it a “Ho, Ho, Ho!” happening afternoon or evening by gathering friends or family to join the fun. Welcome them with mugs of hot cocoa floating marshmallow snowmen and some “crazy Christmas foods.” Create miniature Santa hat bites using strawberries, whipped cream and brownie bites, construct a pull-apart Santa cake from colorfully frosted cupcakes. For greenery, plant a tabletop forest of handcrafted, edible Christmas trees and make green cornflake wreathes. Everyone loves handmade gifts, and there’s a seemingly bottomless Santa bag of ideas here for elves of all ages.
The divine tastes of Sublime Doughnuts are rolling farther down the path of heavenly eats. The North Druid Hills bakeshop is now also kosher. Atlanta Kosher Commission(AKC) recently granted this location with a kosher certification. Those A-Town Cream doughnuts are now “fare” game for those with dietary restrictions. Sublime’s founder Kamal Grant sought kosher certification in response to requests from a large Orthodox Jewish population in the shop’s surrounding Toco Hills community. AKC, an Orthodox community-based non-profit kosher supervising agency, currently certifies more than 150 companies in the Southeast and beyond. Sublime Doughnuts is located in North Druid Hills at 2566 Briarcliff Road, NE and in West Midtown at 535 10thStreet, NW. Both locations are open 24 hours a day, seven days a week and offer self-parking.
Don your so-ugly-it’s-cute Christmas sweater for the photo booth and rock to holiday revelry at The Shops Buckhead Atlanta. The Southern Gentleman celebrates birthday number two on Sunday, Dec. 11. with a holiday party theme and food freebies -- complimentary appetizers from 4-6 p.m. and complimentary desserts from 7:30-9 p.m. Dasher and Dancer your way over and relieve the drought with $5 drafts and $6 specialty cocktails throughout the evening. Giving spirits, bring eight cans of non-perishable food items to the party and receive a complimentary drink. Fukishima Tuna entertains with live music from 5-9 p.m.
Get a taste of the old and new at Stem Wine Bar’s December wine tastings. Owner and chef Doug Turbush will prepare six small bites to pair perfectly with sommelier Chris McNeill's selections of wines made in both classic and modern styles. Don't miss out on a great opportunity to compare and contrast three iconic wine grapes (chardonnay, pinot noir and cabernet sauvignon) and see the difference that terroir, climate and winemaker style have on the grape. Seats go fast for these 6:30-8 p.m. events; reserve yours today. Purchase tickets online by clicking on your preferred date: Dec. 7,Dec. 14, Dec. 21 or Dec. 28. Cost is $40 per person (plus small service fee; gratuity added at in-store checkout).
The North Pole’s got nothing on Virginia-Highland when it comes to exuding holiday spirit. More closely knit than a Christmas stocking, neighborhood merchants and restaurants are welcoming shoppers, diners and VaHi Tour of Homes participants to “sleigh” their way through a Deck the Halls Crawl over the weekend of Friday, Dec. 2 through Sunday, Dec. 4. Pick up a list of participating businesses at Paper Source, stroll VaHi streets, vote on which place displays the holly-jolliest decorating and drop off your ballot at Ten Thousand Villages to be entered into a raffle for a Google Chromecast and business gift certificates. Be sure to tether at Atkins Park Restaurant & Bar to quench Crawl thirsts and sit down for small bites or more filling entrées, salads and sandwiches. If you see Santa, ask to borrow his reindeer to alight at homes along the Virginia-Highland Tour of Homes Dec. 3-4. Tourists, keep your eyes peeled for chefs from Atkins Park and Marlow’s Tavern handing out delicious food samples in several Tour of Homes kitchens (Marlow’s tour stop is 862 Ponce de Leon Place).
Mugs of smoked cinnamon mulled wine ($8) at HOBNOB Neighborhood Tavern are just the thing to warm holiday hands and hearts after a stroll through the fascinating Garden Lights Holiday Nights display at the Atlanta Botanical Garden.
Some gifts shouldn’t wait to go under the tree. For a priceless gift they’ll treasure, seize opportunities to share time and experiences at Bellina Alimentari in Midtown’s Ponce City Market. Sure, some assembly is required in making pasta and Italian specialties or pairing cheeses and wines or brews and bites…but no stressful, convoluted instruction manuals to frustrate the giver and receiver.
Gift-able pasta-bilities follow for those who participate in Bellina’s Pasta Making class on Tuesday, Dec. 6 or Dec. 20. Learn how to make delicious fresh pasta in these hands-on cooking classes, taste the freshly made and cooked pasta and take some home. You’ll know how to crank out fresh pasta to give as gifts or cook for friends over the holidays. Each class runs 6:30-8 p.m. $45 per person.
Tis the “saison” to spring an experiential gift on a friend, say, sharing an evening of Orpheus Brewing Tasting on Wednesday, Dec. 7 from 6:30-7:30 p.m. Explore some of Atlanta’s top craft beers paired on this guided tasting with seasonal treats from Bellina’s kitchen. $28 per person.
Say “Buon Natale” and “Buon appetito!” at Bellina’s Italian Christmas entertainment class and dinner. Learn how to prepare and host a traditional Italian-style Christmas meal: antipasti board, butternut squash risotto and panettone with custard. Full dinner of dishes prepared together follows 6:30 p.m. class on Tuesday, Dec. 13 (drinks extra). $54 per person.
Pause the visions of holiday sugarplums for a grown-up treat, an introduction to Italy’s amaro (bitters) culture at Amore Amaro on Wednesday, Dec. 14 at 7 p.m. Italian nibbles from Bellina’s kitchen accompany selections from Bellina’s amaro bar at this guided tasting led by bar manager and mixologist Corey Phillips. $28 per person.
3 cheese 3 honey 3 wine is a must before assembling cheese boards and baskets for holiday parties and gifting. At 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 21, Mary Rigdon, goat’s milk cheese maker from Decimal Place, discusses artisanal cheeses and pairs some of Atlanta’s best with unique natural wines and monofloral honey from Italy. $28 per person.
Usher in the most festive time of the year with showmen Dean Martin, Sammy Davis, Jr. and Frank Sinatra. The trio floats into Johnny’s Hideaway for a Rat Pack Tribute Show on Thursday, Dec. 1. Wait. You mean those are impersonators? Say it isn’t so. Resurrect details on our blog.
A Couple Cooks points out that two chefs in the kitchen are not too many. Sonja and Alex Overhiser of Indianapolis combine their writing and photographing talents into clean eating Instagram and podcast feeds. Recipe collectors may want to go straight to their website to make pumpkin parfait with pecan skillet granola for Thanksgiving.
Could it be the ghosts of Christmases and holidays past are reuniting at Johnny’s Hideaway? The Rat Pack – Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis, Jr. and Dean Martin – is back at Atlanta’s only nightclub for big kids. Impersonators Dr. Patrick Sallarulo (Sinatra), David Williams (Davis, Jr.) and Mark Phillips (Martin) command the stage for the Johnny’s Hideaway Rat Pack Tribute Show at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 1. Oh, what fun to laugh and sing along then shimmy to the dance floor after the show to burn some post-Thanksgiving pre-holiday party calories. No cover charge, just highly charged with fun. Be sure to visit the Sinatra room, dedicated to ‘Ol Blue Eyes himself.
