The Federal’s oxtail French onion soup ($10) is back! Chef Shaun Doty’s soul-nurturing soup was so popular last year it’s coming around again to warm up cooler days and nights. Spoon into the luscious, melted cave-aged Gruyere cheese and savor the rich broth reward below.
Prepare for October’s National Pork Month by perusing these porky pins now. Pass the Pork routs out big name specialties like The Pioneer Woman’s pulled pork, Ina Garten’s cider-roasted pork tenderloins with roasted plum chutney, Anthony Bourdain’s fried pork chops as well as under-the-radar wonders of pulled pork lasagna, slow cooker honey lime ginger pork and pork verde enchiladas. We cover cuts (ribs, schnitzel, chops, bacon), cultures (Cuban mojo, Vietnamese grilled skewers) and Crock-pots (stuffed peppers, pineapple pulled pork tacos, Parmesan honey pork roast) and some "Pure Pork Awesomeness" with a pin for chef Kevin Gillespie’s cookbook.
A watched pot does boil…and yields bowls full of delectable Zoup! See (and taste) for yourself by watching Zoup! video recipes (one to two minutes each) showing how to easily prepare soups, pasta dishes and more. Sweet potato chili is one such soup-ertainment recipe we’re hot to stir up this week, that is, unless we opt for Tuscan chicken soup or white chicken chili. Founded in 1998, Zoup! is the leading fast-casual soup concept restaurant with more than 100 locations featuring a dozen always-rotating soup varieties daily. While Georgia doesn’t claim any Zoup! locations yet, Zoup! recipes and products are available locally in Kroger and The Fresh Market stores and online at the Zoup! store. Circling back to the soup pot, before pot-watching, you’ll need Good, Really Good™ Recipes and Good, Really Good™ Broth -- the premium broth good enough to drink. Luckily, both can be found on the Zoup! website. As chefs and discerning taste buds know, quality ingredients count, and home chefs can use the same all-natural, Good, Really Good™ chicken, veggie, chicken bone and beef bone broths used in Zoup! restaurant recipes. We have a feeling Zoup!-er cooking and slurping is going to score rave reviews, and it’s not even Souper Bowl week yet.
Hands off the snooze button this weekend. Brunch is calling and you must go to Midtown Takorea & Ssam Bar for the ultimate brunch with chef Tomas Lee’s signature Korean twist. Lee comingles culinary culture: shrimp and grits ($16) involves smoky red Korean sauce, fried egg and creamy jack cheese grits; Korean fried chicken and sweet red adzuki bean waffles dabble in sesame maple syrup ($16); and chilaquiles ($10) bring forth tortilla chips sautéed in signature salsa roja topped with creamy queso fresco, fried eggs and sour cream; add chicken or beef (+$2) or Lee’s recommendation of braised pork belly (+$3). Tempting creations such as pork belly Benedict, egg and chorizo egg rolls and a potato hash skillet make appearances on the menu giving guests a rotation of new selections alongside steadies. Thirsty brunchers take note: mimosas, bloody marys and sangrias are just $4 per glass. Brunch is served on Saturdays from 11:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. and Sundays from noon-3:30 p.m. Already have a Midtown Takorea favorite dish? The regular menu is available all weekend long, even during brunch hours.
October is the month for tricks and treating. When it comes to booking your holiday party early, Bulla Gastropub is all about treating, no tricks. Plan an unforgettable holiday party at Bulla (pronounced “Boo-yah”), where customizable private dining menus ensure comfort and joy all around. Receive a $100 gift card for every $1,000 spent on dinner and a $50 gift card for every $500 spent on lunch. Book a party by Oct. 31 (Halloween) to take advantage of this generous gift. Bulla Gastropub opened in Midtown this fall, pleasing guests with contemporary takes on Spanish cuisine. Private dining rooms for lunch, dinner or cocktails, balcony, wrap-around patio, sound system are within your reach. To inquire about options and book your event, Contact Nadia Randolph, 404-858-1577.
Procrastinators, Southern Proper Hospitality’s early booking promotion for holiday party planning will set winter wonderland wheels in motion. Through the month of October, party planners will receive a Southern Proper Hospitality gift card worth 10 percent of what is spent ($300 max) for holiday parties booked at Southern Proper Hospitality establishments. Gift card must be used outside the aforementioned holiday party -- a great reason to gather again at a Southern Proper Hospitality establishment or give the card to a top employee (a very merry thought). Rejoice! Southern Proper offers a multitude of hosting sites: Gypsy Kitchen, The Southern Gentleman, Smokebelly BBQ and The Blind Pig Parlour Bar in Buckhead; The Big Ketch Saltwater Grill Buckhead or Canton Street in Roswell; Milton’s Cuisine & Cocktails in historic Crabapple; and 14 Tin Lizzy’s Cantina locations in Georgia, South Carolina and Florida. Think about it. Planning now nixes holiday party planning phobia, leaving only one scary thought…what to wear for Halloween. Besides, a 10 percent gift card makes one heck of a stocking stuffer.
You know it’s fall when sweet tea converts from an ice-cold beverage to a sweet tea brine for herb-roasted chicken at Atkins Park Restaurant & Bar in Virginia-Highland. No fear, iced tea and cold beverages are on the lunch, dinner and brunch menus -- along with the heartier fare we crave as the temperatures slide downward. The aforementioned herb-roasted airline chicken breast from Joyce Farms plates up with fried okra and butternut squash gratin ($13-$15) for a lunch or dinner treat. Pan-seared scallops with fried leeks, whipped cauliflower and herbed butter sauce ($12); jambalaya skillet with chicken and andouille sausage ($12); and autumnal grilled apple flatbread topped with arugula, Sweet Grass Dairy Asher Blue cheese and honey ($10) appear as entrées at lunch, small plates come dinnertime. Change out your usual appetizer for fried okra and remoulade dipping sauce ($5) at lunch, brunch or dinner. Substantial dinner fare satiates, whether you’re a beef eater sticking with a 12-ounce Certified Angus Beef rib-eye, goat cheese mashed potatoes, braised leeks and garlic and herb compound butter ($25) or desiring a Southern staple of shrimp and grits ($19). For lunch, choose among pan-fried salmon cakes with corn maque choux and green tomato chow-chow ($11); a bowl of classic chicken and dumplings ($11) or cornbread-crusted Georgia trout with mashed potatoes, green beans and bourbon brown butter apples ($19). Atkins Park’s “Always Available” menu pleases those wanting to “veg” out on kale and sweet potato salad with dried cranberries, feta cheese and roasted garlic vinaigrette ($7) or the grilled vegetable muffaletta plump with grilled portabella and zucchini, roasted red pepper, artichoke-olive relish and provolone on ciabatta ($11) and those preferring a can’t-put-it-down smoked prime rib French dip with caramelized onion, Gruyere cheese and horseradish cream on a hoagie ($13). Big Green Egg aficionados will be glad to know that specialties such as pulled pork with spicy vinegar BBQ sauce on a jalapeño bun ($10) and smoked wings with spicy BBQ sauce, veggies and blue cheese or buttermilk ranch dressing ($12) are available anytime, and they can roll into Sunday brunch for BGE smoked beef brisket and eggs with crispy potatoes and sourdough toast ($14). Another enticement, Atkins Park serves these delectable dishes more hours than not, open Monday-Friday 11:30 a.m.-3 a.m., Saturday 11 a.m.-3 a.m. and Sunday 11 a.m.-12 a.m.
Last call to buy tickets for the fourth annual Harvest for a Cure, taking place Thursday, Oct. 19 from 6:30-9:30 p.m. at Mason Fine Art (415 Plasters Avenue). The big night of fun, gourmet food, vintage wines, craft cocktails and a luxury raffle benefits the National Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Society, an organization that supports research to help treat and end MS globally. Chef chair Gerry Klaskala of Aria is working with Atlanta’s most talented chefs, sommeliers and mixologists as they pair culinary creations with wines from the personal cellars of top local wine collectors, all for guests to enjoy while viewing stunning contemporary art. Participating chefs include Klaskala and Kathryn King, Aria; Derek Dollar, Milton’s Cuisine & Cocktails; Doug Turbush, Seed Kitchen & Bar; Mike Patrick, Storico Fresco Alimentari and a dozen more. Eighteen top sommeliers and mixologists will stir things up, including Stefano Gandossi, Aria and Mercedes O’Brien, Gunshow. Guests can digitally access event details on their smart phones, harvesting information about chefs, wines and raffle item scoop using the MS Wine Event app. All funds raised during Harvest for a Cure help improve the lives of people living with MS by sponsoring local programs and services and accelerating worldwide research projects to help put an end to the debilitating disease. This year’s event aims to raise $500,000. Buy tickets online, $250 per person. Other ticket levels available, $2,500-$15,000. Can’t attend yet want to pitch in? Donations to the Georgia Chapter are gratefully accepted.
Atlanta chefs are coming together at Davio’s Atlanta to do what they do best (cook) to raise funds for the Atlanta Community Food Bank (ACFB). Join Davio’s Atlanta, Flavors magazine, Christine Pullara of NBC’s “Atlanta & Company” and some of Atlanta’s most prestigious chefs for Chefs Cook for Hunger, a multi-course dinner with wine pairings at 6 p.m. on Oct. 12. Aria chef/owner Gerry Klaskala, Rathbun’s Restaurants chef Kevin Rathbun, The Cook’s Warehouse chef Mary Moore and Davio’s executive chef Matthew Rosekrans and VP/culinary director Rodney Murillo are teaming up to create the evening’s menu. Guests arrive to a “Benvenuto” of smoked trout mousse flatbread, spicy salmon tartare, Springer Mountain chicken liver crostini, pan-seared lump crabcakes and Philly cheesesteak spring rolls accompanied by NV Col de Salici brut blanc and 2015 brut rosé DOCG Valdobbiadene prosecco. Klaskala prepares an antipasto of chilled Springer Mountain chicken with roasted red peppers, French beans, limestone lettuce and lemon-basil vinaigrette served with 2016 Calafuria rosé, Salento. Other courses include hand-rolled potato gnocchi with organic mushrooms, basil, white truffle oil and shaved black truffles paired with 2015 Erath Resplendent pinot noir, Oregon; and chargrilled rib-eye cap, butternut squash-chevre purée and preserved lemon Brussels sprouts paired with 2015 Chateau Ste. Michelle “Indian Wells” cabernet sauvignon, Columbia Valley. Dinner ends with dolce of peach upside-down cake, caramel, toasted almond ice cream and 2015 Eroica riesling, Columbia Valley. Buy tickets online, $150 per person (plus tax and gratuity); advance purchase only. All ticket sales will be donated to the ACFB. Call 404-844-4810 for more information.
We love quinoa, yes we do. We’re Crazy for Quinoa! How about you? Cinnamon apple quinoa and blueberry breakfast bars fuel your morning routine and cheesy quinoa and sausage broccoli casserole updates the usual brunch-bound casserole. Quinoa adds stick-with-you oomph to salads, muscling in on warm Brussels sprouts salad, cilantro-lime black bean salad and Thai quinoa salad with lime vinaigrette. Easily morph the protein-rich grain into pizza bowls, pizza crusts, chicken nuggets or sundried tomato and mozzarella quinoa burgers. Show the love by treating friends to hearty, healthier sweets like peanut butter quinoa balls or quinoa chocolate chip banana cookies.
Food life and real life are one and the same for Pinch of Yum composer Lindsay Ostrom. Some of her one-bowl wonders have insanely simple ingredient lists and directions, such as morning-ready pumpkin spice overnight oats or dinnertime five-ingredient green curry. Some require a few more steps, like pumpkin gnocchi with sage butter sauce or Southwest sweet potato Tater Tot hot dish, sure to be a potluck pepper-upper. Pinch of Yum? More like tons of yum!
