Appetizing Aperture at The Southern Gentleman

Move over romaine, there’s a new Caesar in town. Shaved Brussels sprout Caesar salad at The Southern Gentleman tosses a powerhouse of shaved Brussels sprouts with crushed hazelnuts, shaved Grana Padano, charred green onions and dressed in an on-the-lighter-side house-made yogurt Caesar dressing. Make it the main thing at lunch or supper by adding grilled shrimp, Carolina mountain trout or fried chicken for $5-$11 more.

Rise Up! Catch the NFC Championship at These Atlanta Restaurants

The early bird may get the worm but our Dirty Birds have a thing for cheese. The Atlanta Falcons take on the Green Bay Packers in this Sunday’s NFC Champion Game and these Atlanta restaurants are the perfect place for gameday watching. Even better perk? No dish washing after. Rise up!

• Atkins Park Virginia-Highland

• Hand in Hand

• HOBNOB Neighborhood Tavern

• Marlow’s Tavern

• Ormsby’s

• Smokebelly BBQ

• Taco Mac

• Tin Lizzy’s Cantina

5Church Offers Rush Hour Remedy through High Top Happy Hours Monday-Thursday

Wishing you could lace on those comfy Chuck Taylors but facing a commute laced with traffic knots? Slip into 5Church Atlanta and sidle up to communal high tops (the table kind) or the bar to kick back for two hours of Rush Hour Remedy food and drink specials each Monday-Thursday from 4:30-6:30 p.m. “Bites” ($6-$8) might include ahi tuna poke or herb and cheese flatbread, PEI mussels, charcuterie and cheese board or a duo of Prime Certified Angus Beef (C.A.B.) sliders. Liquid refreshment taps beer and wine: Three Taverns Brewery Prince of Pilsen ($5) or wines by the glass such as Storypoint chardonnay 2014 or Chateau d’Eau viognier 2014 priced at $5, Les Trois Couronnes Cotes-du-Rhone 2014 at $7 and Square Plumb & Level cabernet sauvignon-cabernet Franc 2013 at $8. 

Burgers, Pizza, Salad, Soup – Fill ‘er Up with HOBNOB $11.95 Weekday Lunch Combos

Weekdays, a menu of $11.95 specials stretches the lunch “hour” from 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. at HOBNOB Neighborhood Tavern in Midtown. Whaddaya get? Choose ANY burger with topping, any seven-inch pita pizza or entrée salad; add a small BLT salad or cup of soup; and slake thirst with a soda. Those resolving to supersize greens intake this year can opt for all-you-can-eat BLT salad and soup for $11.95. And when the day gets away from you, it’s great to remember this filling and delicious deal is available well into the afternoon. Tax and gratuity not included.

Tip Your Sombrero to Taco Deals and Dollar Beers at Jefe’s Tacos & Tequila in Brookhaven

Those who think weekdays are sleepers need to nix siestas and save on tacos, beer and wine at Jefe’s Tacos & Tequila, Brookhaven’s full-service taqueria. Monday nights are “Noche” Nights folding up $2 tacos from the daily special list (here’s an example) and pouring $1 draft. On “Taco Tuesday,” $10 buys any four tacos – such as al pastor, “Bravocado,” Baja fish or “Trailer on Fire.” Wine down for $20 bottles of wines on Wednesday and say “olé” to bottomless mimosas until 3 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. Liven up any day with lunch, dinner or late night drinks and chow at Jefe’s, which opens at 11:30 a.m. weekdays and noon on weekends. Night owls will hoot upon finding Jefe’s open until 1 a.m. Monday-Thursday, 2 a.m. Friday and Saturday, and until midnight on Sunday. No, siesta. Si, Jefe’s fiesta!

"Keep the Balance" Limited Time Special Menu Nourishes Body, Comforts Soul at The Big Ketch Saltwater Grill

Life’s a balancing game. Cold weather and early sunsets tip dinner time craving scales toward hot, soul-soothing foods with crispy crusts, melt-in-your-mouth morsels and creamy sauces. Comfort foods call you to the dinner table. Busy days, however, demand high energy, lower calorie power lunches of grilled seafood, plentiful veggies and cool salads to avoid embarrassing post-lunch dozing. 

The Big Ketch Saltwater Grill “Keep the Balance” menu, available for a limited time, graciously satisfies both needs. Each “Keep the Balance” low-cal lunch item surfaces at under 500 calories. Choose a grilled shrimp wrap with lettuce, cucumber, tomato, feta and tzatziki sauce served with a side house salad or side Caesar ($11.95); basil-Blue Moon mussels and clams with a side house salad or side Caesar ($10.95); or salmon, tuna, grouper or grilled chicken ($10.95-$17.95) and a choice of two sides -- grilled broccoli, green beans, side house salad or Caesar salad. A shrimp and crab salad plate boasts a healthy base of mixed greens along with yogurt aioli, tomatoes, eggs, cucumbers and white balsamic dressing ($11.95).

Luscious dinner dishes “Comfort Your Soul” with flavorful riches like cornmeal-crusted flounder, gnocchi, creamy clam sauce, wilted spinach and toasted almonds ($22.95); seafood pot pie well-schooled in lobster, shrimp, scallops and creamy seafood béchamel, topped with a garlic-Parmesan crumble ($23.95); and Maine lobster-stuffed ravioli with lobster-brandy cream sauce, diced tomatoes and scallions ($22.95).

This menu moves out to sea soon so hurry in to either the Buckhead or Canton Street location of The Big Ketch stay balanced with low-cal lunches and comfortingly decadent dinners. 

Plant Yourself at Farm Star Living Product Harvest 2017, a Farm-to-Everything Showcase on Jan. 26

Farm Star Living digs up the hottest new healthy food products hitting the market, eco-friendly companies and farm-fresh produce, gathering everything in one big sold-out Product Harvest 2017 on Thursday, Jan. 26 from 6-8 p.m. at the W Hotel Midtown. Get to know who’s behind your food as well as do some sipping, sampling and collecting some swell swag. Mix and mingle with farm-fresh food experts and folks behind the brand labels while enjoying cocktails and light bites. Participants include: White Oak Pastures, Wonderful Pistachios, Taylor Farms, Mission Produce (Hass avocados), Bland Farms, Del Monte Fresh Produce, WP Rawl, Truly Good Foods, NatureSweet, Southern Specialties, Melon 1, Earth Fresh Organics, Hampton Farms and more. Farm Star Living is a consumer premium website showcasing farmers, fresh food and healthy living through editorial content, recipes and videos to help shoppers have a greater connection to their food sources. 

Roman Roads Lead to Peachtree Road’s Storico Fresco for “Tasting Rome” Dinner with Cookbook Author Katie Parla on Jan. 24

Oh, to be Katie Parla, reviewing restaurants and culinary trends as a Rome-based food and beverage educator and journalist. While we can’t BE her, we can enjoy a special dinner with her at Storico Fresco Alimentari e Ristorante on Tuesday, Jan. 24 AND take home a signed copy of her new cookbook, “Tasting Rome.” The book captures the unique culinary character of the city – a culmination of 2,000 years of history. Parla has written and edited more than 20 books, and her food criticism and travel musings have appeared in The New York Times, Saveur, Food & Wine, Condé Nast Traveler, Bon Appétit, Travel + Leisure, Lucky Peach and many more. The “Tasting Rome” dinner, served family style, progresses through four traditional Italian courses. Antipasto opens with arugula and pine nut salad and fritti of supplì cacio e pepe and “nduja in carozza.” The primi pasta course features cacio e pepe, gricia with rigatoni and spaghetti with bottarga and cicoria. Secondo follows, bringing porchetta and vedure ripassate in padella to the table. A dolce of crostata sweetly closes the meal. $60 per person includes dinner and a signed copy of the cookbook (tax and service fee extra). Suggested wine pairings also are available for an additional fee. The “Tasting Rome” menu will be offered from 5:30-10 p.m. For reservations, call the restaurant at 404-500-2181 or visit OpenTable.

Chef Jamie Lynch Heads to James Beard House – Preview His Menu at Special 5Church Atlanta Dinner Jan. 24

5Church executive chef, partner and “Top Chef” contestant Jamie Lynch will cook at the James Beard House on Feb. 8 with fellow 5Church chef Adam Hodgson. Logistics may prevent you from attending that event. On one special night, however, diners can enjoy their James Beard House menu at a special preview dinner at 5Church Atlanta in Midtown on Tuesday, Jan. 24, two weeks before the chef duo flies off to New York City. The four-course, prix fixe preview dinner with wine pairings begins at 7 p.m. and is priced at $85 per person (excluding tax and gratuity). The menu features winter squash salad with compressed stone fruit, tempura greens and aïoli accompanied by Piper-Heidsieck Champagne brut NV; sautéed skate with root vegetables Parisienne and blood orange grenobloise sauce paired with Weingut Josef Leitz rosé 2015; wood pigeon roulade with cauliflower, sake-braised turnip and wild mushrooms along with Château La Nerthe Châteauneuf-du-Pape 2012; and dessert of PB&J -- butter brioche with peanut butter zeppelin, ruby port spheres and Gianduja chocolate, paired with 5Church Signature port wine hot chocolate. Limited seating. Reservations required with 48-hour advance cancellation notice; call 5Church Atlanta at 404-400-3669. Validated parking and complimentary valet available.

“Seas” Sunday Brunch at Drift Fish House & Oyster Bar Beginning Jan. 22

East Cobbers setting sail for a top-notch Sunday brunch now have a must-do destination, Drift Fish House & Oyster Bar for brunch from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. The Sunday brunch menu, filled by chef/owner Doug Turbush and executive chef Brendan Keenan, glows with more gems than a treasure chest. Current lunch favorites such as crab deviled eggs ($9), fish and chips ($16) and raw oysters are bolstered by imaginative brunch options like the lobster chilaquiles with chipotle, avocado, Cotija cheese and crema ($17) and the “Hangtown” Benedict with 12-hour thick cut bacon, fried oysters, poached eggs and brown butter hollandaise ($16). Non-seafood selections - including sweet and savory dishes such as house made doughnut holes ($6), praline French toast with salted caramel and bourbon cream ($12), Dutch baby “pancake” with lemon sabayon ($11) and the Drift burger ($14) - round out the menu alongside tasty soups, salads and sides. The menu is complemented by a selection of brunch cocktails courtesy of beverage manager Jose Pereiro. Soon-to-be favorites include the Just Beet It (vodka, beet shrub, lime and mint) and the Rock the Boat (rum, mango, jalapeño and cilantro). Your brunch ship has come in at The Avenue East Cobb. 

Ray’s on the River Winter Wine Dinner Jan. 21

Ray’s on the River saves you the airfare to the West Coast as they host a Winter Wine Dinner on Jan. 21 featuring a variety of California wines including Caymus Special Selection cabernet sauvignon. The evening begins with a reception at 6:30 p.m. with dinner beginning promptly at 7 p.m. The meal includes a California dreamy five-course dinner from chef AJ Jones with wine pairings. The first course consists of cured opah cheek with tarragon apple purée, radish and wonton chip paired with Roederer Estate brut while a second course brings wildflower salad with frisée, minted pea purée and white balsamic mist along with 2014 Hyland Estates riesling. Moving on to the third course, you’ll find roasted pheasant, Black Mission fig, Asher Blue cheese mousse and honey lavender gastrique with 2013 Emmolo merlot followed by hand-carved elk rack, gnocchi, maitake, cipollini and bone marrow reduction paired with Caymus Special Selection cabernet sauvignon. Dessert presents peach mousse bomboloni, candied peel and raspberry paint along with a glass of Orin Swift “Locations F.” The Winter Wine Dinner is $95 per guest plus tax and gratuity. Space is limited and reservations are required with credit card to hold; call 770-955-1187.

What's New on Pinterest: Refreshingly Rejuvenated

Who needs a celebrity personal trainer/chef to prepare healthy eats when there’s our Refreshingly Rejuvenated board to spur you on? Start 2017 clean as a whistle by following a 72-hour juice cleanse. Counter winter dehydration by DIY-ing flavor-infused waters. Ginger power hot flu shots “blast away those nasties.” Wise chews and brews include Buddha bowls, acai smoothie bowls, avocado, kale and raspberry smoothie bowls, and banana almond flax or blueberry superfood smoothies.

Foodgram: Hungry Girls Do It Better

Hungry Girls Do It Better and they’re really good at uncovering awesome Atlanta eats. And, such willpower. Imagine, prioritizing camera ahead of fork…capturing the essence of a Dolce Italian pizza or Corso Coffee croissant before devouring the subject.