#Foodgram: Delish

“Come for the food, stay for the fun.” Isn’t this what getting together to cook and eat is all about? Delish pretty much captures the mindset in food photos that will make you look, laugh and wish you could put a fork in them for lunch.

Rize Artisan Pizza + Salads Heats Up Poncey-Highland with App Contest and Week of Grand Opening Specials Dec. 12-16

Poncey-Highlanders know Rize Artisan Pizza + Salads has been open and pleasing palates with mouthwatering chef-driven, global American fare for several weeks, but perhaps its opening flew under your restaurant radar. No worries. Rize is throwing a weeklong grand opening celebration crammed with deals and specials Monday, Dec. 12 through Friday, Dec. 16. First things first: download the Rize app for a chance to win a $100 Live Nation gift card. Feel good and full on Dine to Donate Monday, knowing 25 percent of all proceeds will go to Create Your Dreams Foundation. Tuesday night, kids eat free with any adult entrée purchase. Ladies Night Wednesday treats the gals to $5 small plates and $5 sangria specials from 5 p.m. until close. On Thursday’s Hometown Heroes Day, all members of law enforcement, firefighters, EMTs, nurses, doctors, and active and veteran military personnel will receive a free classic pizza with any purchase when they show their ID or badge. Limit one freebie per person. Friday night is Date Night -- buy a sangria, beer or wine and receive a free small plate after 5 p.m. Limit one per person. Share a photo of you and your date on Instagram tagged #rizedatenight for the chance to win a $100 Marriott gift card.

Rize is open Sunday–Thursday from 11 a.m.-10 p.m. and until 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Complimentary self-parking (up to two hours with validation) is available in the parking deck behind the property, and valet is available Friday and Saturday nights from 5-11 p.m. 

What’s New on Pinterest: Peppermint Palooza

Canes, crushed or Starlight mints. Peppermint Palooza is worth its stripes for all of you hooked on candy canes and Starlight mints. Crush those mints to sprinkle on lollipop-ish peppermint crunch Oreo cookie balls or to dust on a tray of peppermint bark. Pretty and pretty easy peppermint shortbread bar cookies, no-bake white chocolate peppermint cheesecake and chocolate chip-mint Greek yogurt pops are cool Yule beauties. For an afternoon coffee and chocolate pick me up, throw together mocha peppermint scones or dark chocolate peppermint fudge to go with Crock-Pot peppermint latte. And when the tykes are tucked in, curl up for sweet dreams of homemade peppermint marshmallow pillows floating atop spiked peppermint eggnog punch. To all, a good night.

Santa’s Booked, but Atlanta Restaurants Have Seats Christmas Eve and Christmas Day

Santa sightings, Christmas tree forests springing up on corners and mega mall jams (reason to shop small) are sure signs that Christmas is drawing near. No doubt you’re a little like Santa, checking lists twice for gifts to procure, not-to-miss holiday happenings and finding a place to celebrate Christmas Eve and Christmas with a special dinner. Santa helpers that we are, we’re here with a list of Atlanta restaurants open on Saturday, Dec. 24 and Sunday, Dec. 25.

Enjoy an elegant Christmas Eve dinner at Aria in Buckhead before heading out to a candlelight service or to view Christmas lights. Gerry Klaskala’s acclaimed restaurant opens at 5 p.m. Dec. 24.
 
Atkins Park Restaurant & Bar in Virginia-Highland stays open late Christmas Eve night for those waiting up for Santa (or frustrated by DIY assembly directions). Coals glowing in the Big Green Egg will rival the lights on your big green tree when the neighborhood gathering spot opens at 4 p.m. on Christmas Day. The special prix fix dinner menu stars BGE smoked turkey breast with caramelized apple and sage stuffing and cider gravy; bourbon glazed ham and roasted root vegetables; a crispy onion and roasted mushroom-decked green bean casserole; roasted garlic mashed potatoes; cranberry Grand Marnier compote; sweet potato biscuits; and sugarplum choices of peppermint cheesecake or Southern pecan pie for dessert. Reservations recommended, call 404-876-7249. Priced at $28 for adults, $18 for young adults and $10 for the under 10 set.

Down the street in Poncey-Highland, Rize Artisan Pizza + Salads will be open Christmas Eve and serving from its regular menu of artisan pizzas, healthy salads and global American fare from 11 a.m.-9 p.m.
 
5Church Atlanta in Midtown will be open Christmas Eve and serving from their regular menu. Closing time will be determined by the amount of merriment filling its dining room and bar.

Your Christmas cheer headquarters is Ormsby’s. The Westside restaurant will be open on Christmas Eve and serving as usual, although closing time is flexible. Ormsby’s will be closed on Christmas Day.

After a Christmas Eve stroll in Piedmont Park or taking in Garden Lights Holiday Nights at the Atlanta Botanical Garden, stop by HOBNOB Neighborhood Tavern in Midtown and warm up with favorite dishes and drinks from the regular menu. Park the sleigh at HOBNOB on Christmas Day to celebrate the holiday from 3-9 p.m.

During Christmas Week Dec. 18-24, enjoy a special three-course holiday dinner at Aqua blue.  The $39 per person prix fixe menu includes seafood gumbo or house salad; grilled ahi tuna with scallops and shrimp or grilled New York strip with coconut shrimp; and warm chocolate cake or New York-style chocolate cheesecake. Call 770-643-8886 for reservations.

Take a break from last minute holiday shopping at The Shops Buckhead Atlanta and head to Gypsy Kitchen, which will be operating during regular hours on Christmas Eve.

Across the Chattahoochee River in East Cobb, sister restaurants Seed Kitchen & Bar and Stem Wine Bar on Johnson Ferry Road and Drift Fish House & Oyster Bar at The Avenue Marietta will all be open as usual and offering their regular menus on Christmas Eve.
 
Secreto Southern Kitchen & Bar in Alpharetta will be open and featuring a prix fix menu on Dec. 24. The staff is taking Christmas Day off and hopes you’ll be enjoying the day with friends and family as well.

Those hitting the road to visit friends and family in Winston Salem, North Carolina, can treat the bunch to brunch with Santa at The Katharine Brasserie + Bar on Thursday, Dec. 22, Friday, Dec. 23 or Saturday, Dec. 24 from 8-11 a.m. 

“Meet Your Neighbors” with Terminus City and Three Taverns Brewery Dec. 18

Three Taverns Brewery and Kevin Gillespie's Terminus City, the brewers and ‘cuers in your neighborhood, say “come on by and meet your neighbors” at the Decatur craft brewery on Sunday, Dec. 18 from 5-8 p.m. Andreas Müller, executive chef of Revival and Terminus City's pitmaster, will be on hand chopping up and serving Gillespie’s mouthwatering whole-hog BBQ pork sliders, potato salad and coleslaw while you enjoy live music and Three Taverns beer. Grab tickets for $25, which includes music, brewery tours, a take-home dual branded beer glass and food from Terminus City. A percentage of the proceeds will go to support (D.E.A.M) Decatur-area Emergency Assistance Ministry.

Appetizing Aperture: Dolce's Grilled Octopus Antipasti

Wrap your ever-loving arms, all eight of them, around plates of grilled octopus antipasti at Dolce in The Shops Buckhead Atlanta. Tender bites swim in a “seas”-oned mix of farro, chickpeas, celery and pistachio romesco ($16).

The Federal Now Serves Weekday Breakfast, Lunch and Weekend Brunch

Add The Federal, Shaun Doty’s new Midtown restaurant, to your stomping grounds for weekday breakfast, offered from 8-10:30 a.m. and lunch from 11:30-2 p.m. Rev up morning meetings over bowls of steel cut oats; organic yogurt with walnuts, dried fruits and chia seed sour cherry jam; protein scramble with a choice of cheddar or goat cheese, roast chicken and fresh fruit; chicken and waffles with bourbon-barrel vanilla butter and Steen’s cane syrup; and avocado toast with smoked trout, soft-boiled egg and sunflower sprouts. Powerfully hungry? Go for the three-egg brisket skillet or a big ol’ Texas breakfast of steak, three eggs and thick sliced toast. Lunchers can build a meal of starters such as Sardinian flatbread, chopped chicken liver on toast, oxtail French onion soup with Gruyere cheese and deviled eggs with bourbon-smoked paprika. Lunch entrées include blue crabcake; steak frites with sunflower sprout salad; and smoked trout with Anson Mill grits, turnips, greens and Patak bacon butter. Choose a hearty steak salad with hen mushrooms, Asher blue cheese and confit tomato or opt for a more simple salad with mustard vinaigrette. Sandwich selections include The Federal burger, veggie, fried chicken, Iowa prosciutto and tenderloin steak and are served with a choice of potato salad, Napa slaw or fries. Roast pork or roast beef brisket sandwiches with topping choices of cheese, broccoli raab with garlic pickles, pickled banana peppers and roasted bell peppers are offered from 11:30 a.m. until the meat’s all gone.

Weekend brunch joins the picture from 9 a.m.-2 p.m. starting Saturday, Dec. 10. Sip a bloody mary verde, spiked sweet iced tea, peach Bellini, grapefruit margarita, fresh-squeezed orange or grapefruit juice or a fresh-pressed juice of the day while contemplating chow. Perhaps you’ll share a big plate of seasonal fruits, fresh ricotta toast and beignets with café au lait sauce. Big day? Fill your tank with aforementioned winners such as steel cut oats, chicken and waffles, avocado or chopped chicken liver toast, fried chicken biscuits, brisket skillet or the protein-packed Southern or Texas breakfasts. Don’t forget about evenings…do dinner at The Federal Tuesday through Sunday; the staff has Monday nights off.

Bring Food Items for ACFB, Leave the White Elephant Gifts at Home -- Hand in Hand Holiday Party Dec. 8

Grab some non-perishable staples for the Atlanta Community Food Bank food drive and saunter your way into Hand in Hand’s holiday party on Thursday, Dec. 8. Enjoy holiday cheer from the open bar from 8-10 p.m. and hum along (there’ll be no hum-bugging) to holiday tunes from DJ Moon all night long. Could be your lucky night to take home a raffle prize from this Virginia-Highland pub.

Cheer on Chef Jamie Lynch at 5Church Atlanta “Top Chef” Thursday Night Viewing Parties

Season’s greetings! The premiere episode of Bravo “Top Chef” season 14 aired Thursday, Dec. 1. Did you catch 5Church executive chef and partner Jamie Lynch in the mix of eight new-to-the-show chefs and eight hungry-for-redemption returning chefs? Lynch, voted Charlotte Magazine’s “Best Chef” three years running, vies toque to toque in the “Top Chef” Charleston kitchen fray. Pull for Lynch at 5Church Atlanta viewing parties every Thursday night during the season 14 competition. Cocktails at 9 p.m. prep for each Thursday’s 10 p.m. broadcast. Why go home first? Make a night of it by booking pre-show dinner reservations online or by calling 404-400-3669.

$14 Lunch Menu Pleases at Ray’s in the City

Downtown diners can dive into the new $14 lunch menu at Ray’s in the City. The midday menu boasts dishes from both land and sea. Choose among creamy shrimp alfredo pasta; Southern fried chicken served with Yukon Gold whipped potatoes and braised local greens; grilled Canadian salmon served warm over a crispy Caesar salad; blacked shrimp and andouille sausage po’boy with a cup of soup du jour; cheddar burger joined by house-cut fries; and a blended broiled brisket and short rib chopped steak on a bed of Yukon Gold whipped potatoes and topped with a rich mushroom demi-glace. Ray’s $14 lunch includes soft drink, coffee or iced tea. Make reservations online or call 404-524-9224.

Do You Hear What We Hear? Revival is Serving Eats at Eddie’s Attic Gospel Brunch Dec. 11

Eddie’s Attic in Decatur heralds the coming of their popular Sunday Gospel Brunch on Dec. 11 featuring Atlanta heritage blues band Mudcat, Beverly “Guitar” Watkins and the Atlanta Horns. Gotta have Southern food for something like this, and executive chef Andreas Müeller of Revival, Kevin Gillespie’s nearby restaurant, joyfully obliges with an all-you-can-eat brunch spread. Chow down on favorites like roasted mushroom and smoky greens casserole, corned beef hash and fried catfish bites with remoulade sauce. Eddie’s Attic doors open at noon; show begins at 1 p.m. Buy general admission tickets for $20 each or purchase table seats in multiples of four for $20 per seat (tables filled day of show on first-come, first-served basis). Brunch is an additional $24 per person and includes coffee, soda and tea (available for purchase day of show; tax and gratuity not included).

#Foodgram: Vivian Howard

Vivian Howard calls the Tarheel State home, but the chef behind Kinston, North Carolina’s Chef and the Farmer plowed her way to Atlanta’s Gunshow in October to share her talents as guest chef in chef Kevin Gillespie’s Hired Guns series. She’s on the road again on a wild food truck tour promoting her first cookbook, “Deep Run Roots.”