Appetizing Aperture

You rise with the rooster, ride herd with the rest of the commuter cattle call then head back to the barn to hit the hay at the end of the day. Somewhere in there, duck into HOBNOB Neighborhood Tavern and fork into a colorful Farmhouse Salad sprouting romaine, arugula, rainbow carrots, watermelon radish, roasted tomatoes, HOBNOB’s pickle mix of mushrooms, fennel and turnips and a dose of green goddess dressing ($12.95). Yes, indeed-y, urban farm life delivers on garden-fresh goodness.

Ride the Atkins Park Party Bus to/from Braves Home Opener April 14

Braves fans, field this hometown advantage -- a Braves home opener bus trip -- pitched by Atkins Park Restaurant & Bar in Virginia-Highland. Score a home run drive from Atkins Park Va-Hi (bus leaves at 5 p.m.), round the bases to pick up fans at Ormsby’s, then slide into new SunTrust Park stadium for the Atlanta Braves vs. the San Diego Padres evening game on Friday, April 14. This gig includes all the gear: ticket, commemorative T-shirt, pre-game chow and beer and round-trip transportation. Atkins Park Va-Hi, teammate Ormsby’s and beer sponsors Miller Lite and Terrapin Beer Company back this spirited party and stress-less game transportation. $75 per person. All you have to do is leave your dugout and stop by Atkins Park Va-Hi to buy your bus trip ticket. Call 404-876-7249 for more info.

Dine at Any Southern Proper Restaurant to Feed “No Kid Hungry” on April 11

Give in to your desire to dine at a Southern Proper Hospitality restaurant on Tuesday, April 11 and know some of the moolah is going to provide nutritious food for American children. Earmarked as a give-back day, 10 percent of sales at all Southern Proper restaurants will go to No Kid Hungry. Do double duty – lunch and dinner – feasting on fresh seafood at The Big Ketch Saltwater Grill in Buckhead and Roswell, modern twists on Southern classics at The Southern Gentleman in The Shops Buckhead Atlanta and mouthwatering smoked meats at Smokebelly BBQ in the heart of Buckhead. Jumping on the give-back meal train come dinner time, Gypsy Kitchen in The Shops Buckhead Atlanta offers a tantalizing menu of cuisine inspired by the regions of sunny Spain while Milton’s Cuisine & Cocktails in historic Crabapple focuses on regional fare and seasonal harvests. All offer handcrafted cocktails, craft brews and wines to enhance lunch and dinner selections. 

Easter is April 16! Find All Your Easter Eats Eggs in One Basket – The Dish

Easter arrives later than usual this year, giving us “eggs-tra” time to make plans and rejoice that it will probably be warm enough to NOT wear a coat over those new springy duds. Hightail it to these Atlanta restaurants on April 16 for Easter dining, drinks and fun, inside and out.

Rabbit trail it to Midtown where 5Church Atlanta at 14^th and Peachtree plans Easter specials and bottomless mimosas to go along with à la carte menu offerings. Deciding whether to dine out after sunrise service, high noon or capping the day? Peruse the brunch menu, served from 10 a.m.-3 p.m., and the dinner menu, available at 5 p.m. Celebratory cocktails and spirits play out all day.

Sail over to East Cobb for a Sunday brunch at Drift Fish House & Oyster Bar. Enjoy Easter specials in addition to the regular menu like Maine lobster omelette with chevre and smoked tomato butter; jumbo lump crab cake benedict with brown butter hollandaise, brioche and a poached egg; and seared scallops and maple-glazed pork belly with Vidalia onion soubise, asparagus, oyster mushrooms and a poached egg.

No need to rush the Easter fun. Sit down and stay a while for brunch and dinner at Food 101 from 10:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Feast on regular brunch and dinner favorites like the fried chicken biscuit; crab cake BLT; scallop salad; and three meat meatloaf. Easter specials include smoked lamb carpaccio with spring peas, shallot mousse, cured yolk, arugula on a lemon crostini; hickory-smoked, sorghum-glazed ham with Gayla’s Grits, roasted carrots and leaks with ham jus; and pan-roasted halibut with English peas and asparagus, spring vegetable consommé and fresh herbs.

Hop into HOBNOB Neighborhood Tavern in Midtown from 10:30 a.m.-4 p.m. for their beloved “Bubbly Brunch” with bottomless mimosas ($17) as well as brunch specialties “everybunny” loves and live music from 1-4 p.m. Consider the Wake and Bake pizza ($13), tiramisu French toast ($11), healthy Million Dollar Feeling plate ($13), The BASE salad ($11) or BYOB (Build Your Own Breakfast, $3.50-$12.50). The Hangover Helper ($13) cures whatever ails those who stayed up too late looking for the bunny, and a whole list of bloody marys, “mosas” and brunch cocktails are ready when you are. Fly back in for half-price wings from 4-11 p.m.

Ormsby’s shells out adult-style Easter egg fun! Each guest receives a plastic egg filled with either a piece of candy, a ticket for a free drink or some other prize. The Westside restaurant and pub is open from noon until midnight, and it’s menu specials are eggs-actly right for the day with additions of bourbon-glazed ham, smashed peas, roasted carrots and mashed potatoes. Besides, thirsty bunnies need a good watering hole, and Ormsby’s spirit list is lush with craft beer, craft cocktails and wines.

Easter Sunday, tip your bonnet and a bourbon, brunch punch or seasonal mimosa while choosing selections from The Southern Gentleman’s à la carte brunch menu, offered from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Hold off on jelly beans and Peeps to save room for smoked trout rillettes ($9), ricotta and lemon pancakes ($12), pimento cheese and bacon or Hang Town Fry omelet ($15), a traditional Monte Cristo ($15), New Orleans shrimp and grits ($16) and other new South favorites. The Easter Bunny pops into The Shops Buckhead Atlanta gastropub for a special appearance -- and maybe to bunny hop to live music from 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Three-hour free deck parking. Make reservations on OpenTable; call 404-939-9845 for information. 

Head home to Revival for a truly farm-fresh Southern Easter brunch or dinner at Kevin Gillespie’s Decatur cottage-turned-restaurant. Enjoy brunch from 10:30 a.m.-3 p.m. served from the regular à la carte menu. The dinner menu takes over from 5-9 p.m. Executive chef Andreas Müller plans to toss some Easter-themed specials into the basket along with the regular menu offerings.

For an enticing prix fixe Easter meal and a lovely garden setting, take the family to Milton’s Cuisine & Cocktails in historic Crabapple. Enjoy an elegant $32 prix fixe menu alongside such brunch staples as Charleston crab bisque, blackened salmon, Southern-fried chicken breast and French toast.

Honor Easter over sumptuous Easter Sunday buffets at Ray’s Restaurants. Ray’s in the City spreads its Easter buffet from 10 a.m.-3:30 p.m.; $39.95/adult, $19.95/ages 5-10. Feast on boneless leg of lamb and Virginia ham at the carving station; made-to-order omelets and waffles at the breakfast station; seafood gumbo, ham and eggs Benedict, prime rib, deep-fried Southern chicken tenders, roasted chicken with herbs, seafood alfredo pasta, salmon croquettes, beef Burgundy, broiled grouper medallions and sides galore. Fill in display and dessert options – from fruit, cheese, charcuterie, seafood and salads to coconut cake, eclairs, banana pudding and pecan pie. Those preferring to celebrate over dinner can order from the à la carte dinner menu from 5-8 p.m. that evening. Reservations: 404-524-9224. Ray’s on the River in Sandy Springs comes through with a beautiful riverside view for Easter pictures as well as a bountiful brunch buffet offered from 9 a.m.-7 p.m. for $45.95/adult, $22.95 ages 5-10. Buffet offerings include morning options through early afternoon then segue more toward afternoon and evening fare as the day progresses. All day, guests can enjoy seafood and salad bars, a build-your-own waffle station, an array of house-made desserts and a meaty carving station featuring herb-roasted prime rib, Virginia ham, salmon in puff pastry, Cheshire baby back ribs and sweet tea fried chicken. Reservations: 770-955-1187. In Alpharetta, Ray’s at Killer Creek is ready to please from 10 a.m.-7 p.m., offering a mouthwatering Easter Sunday buffet featuring traditional brunch favorites and sides, a made-to-order omelet station, build-your-own salad and pasta bars, house-smoked salmon, and specialties including rosemary roasted leg of lamb, BBQ smoked brisket, prime rib, lamb sliders with tzatziki, butterfly shrimp and stuffed flounder. A crepe station, cheese blintzes with berry compote, chocolate mousse, panna cotta cups, red velvet cake and other riches call out from the dessert bar. $39.95/adult, $19.95/ages 5-10. Reservations: 770-649-0064.

Keep checking our blog for more specials and festive menus from Atlanta’s best restaurants.

Myrna Clayton “American Songbird of the South” and More Grace Eddie’s Attic Gospel Brunch with Revival April 9

Lift those hands and give it up for Eddie’s Attic Gospel Brunch on Sunday, April 9, backed by a bodacious buffet of Southern favorites from Revival executive chef Andreas Müller. “American Songbird of the South” Myrna Clayton performs globally and regularly sings the vocals with the Westside Winds 24-piece “big band” jazz orchestra. The Atlanta native credits Ella Fitzgerald, Aretha Franklin and Natalie Cole as her musical influences. Gospel veteran Harold Holloway, the face of Harold Holloway & Company and performer on BET’s “Bobby Jones Gospel Show,” joins Clayton, along with opener Jillian “Jillybean” Loux. Get in the gospel music groove watching the short video, The Myrna Clayton Experience. Doors open at noon; show begins at 1 p.m. Buy general admission tickets on Ticketfly for $20 each or purchase table seats in multiples of four for $20 per seat (tables filled day of show on a 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).

Kick-Off to Spring above Peachtree at The Regent Cocktail Club April 6

Go sky high and party at The Regent Cocktail Club this Thursday, April 6 from 6-8 p.m. Take in the sunset from the roof-top cocktail lounge atop American Cut in The Shops Buckhead Atlanta. Look out over Peachtree Street while sipping Whispering Angel rosé specials and chillin’ to live music by Atlanta acoustic trio Lilac Wine. RSVP at Events@LDVAtlanta.com. Since opening in 2016, the three-level restaurant/lounge combo of American Cut and The Regent Cocktail Club has become the “go-to dining and drinking destination for ATL’s posh set…one seriously sexy spot” according to Modern Luxury/Jezebel magazine. The duo holds the #2 spot on the list of Atlanta’s “100 Hottest Restaurants” in their February 2017 issue.

Ace is the Place for Kevin Gillespie’s KUDU Cookout, Shep’s Midtown April 12

Aah, spring turns fancies to outdoor cooking. Red-bearded chef, author and Bravo “Top Chef” celebrity Kevin Gillespie fans the flames of desire for backyard cooking over the open-fire grills of KUDU Safari Braai at a KUDU Cookout on Wednesday, April 12 at Shep’s Midtown Ace Hardware. Six cooking surfaces and a patented elevated grate system allow grill masters to grill, sauté, sear, fry, boil, smoke or steam almost anything (and roast s’mores) over an open flame, even simultaneously! Witness the hot action as Gillespie “KUDUs” grilled oyster mushroom toast with mascarpone and hot giardiniera, grilled pork tenderloin with Spanish-style garlic shrimp and dishes out a mean Dutch oven blackberry cobbler with vanilla ice cream. Truth be told, the ice cream is frozen, not grilled. Meet, greet, eat bites and enjoy booze with Gillespie from 7:30-9 p.m. Buy tickets, $55 each, on Xorbia.

Atkins Park Va-Hi Holds Your Ticket to Masters Tournament Televised Viewing April 6-9

Who’s your caddie? Atkins Park Restaurant & Bar in Virginia-Highland has your back, Masters Tournament fans, from tee off to the donning of the green jacket. Watch televised coverage of a golfing tradition unlike any other with a tavern unlike any other, Thursday, April 6 through Sunday, April 9. Putter up to the bar for Masters-themed specialty cocktails—John Daly, Sand Wedge, Transfusion and the Green Jacket ($6-$7) as well as draft beer, both domestic ($3) and imported ($5).  A “Masters” menu offers the same kinds of classics as viewers along the Augusta National: sandwiches filled with egg salad, pimento cheese, bar-b-que, chicken breast or turkey ($5-$6); and fries, sweet potato fries and field green salad for snacking ($3). Just like the best caddies, Atkins Park thinks of everything…like commemorative cups, so useful for cheering and hydrating all the way to the 19^th hole. 

What’s New on Pinterest: Thank Goodness for Garlic

Thank Goodness for Garlic spans a spectrum of pungent raw strength to gentle, roasted sweetness. April is National Garlic Month, time for garlic to shed its skin and slip onto your menu -- roasted with mushrooms and thyme, atop spinach white pizza and in 30-minute cauliflower chowder. Add garlic to butter, spreads and dips (i.e., baked BLT dip), pickle the cloves or simply roast garlic heads and spread them on everything. Garlic befriends all -- land, sea and garden: trout with lemon butter herb sauce, rosemary pork tenderloin, sticky chicken bites, scallops, melt-in-your-mouth prime rib and Parmesan broccoli. Rip into cheese and garlic crack pull-apart bread with someone you love and share the addiction.

What's a Firkin? Delicious -- at HOBNOB Bell's Brewery Firkin Beer Dinner April 5

HOBNOB Neighborhood Tavern chef Mark Nelson is frothing to host a five-course Bell’s Brewery Firkin Beer Dinner with beer pairings from the Michigan brewery. It all comes to a heady brew fruition at the Midtown restaurant on Wednesday, April 5 at 6:30 p.m. A Bell’s Brewery rep will pour out knowledge on the various featured beers: Special Double Cream Stout Firkin, Two Hearted Ale, Oberon Ale, Oarsman Ale and Lager of the Lakes. Giveaways are a given. Buy tickets online: $49 per person in advance, $69 at the door.