Recent raging fires have caused damage and heartache in California’s beautiful Napa and Sonoma wine producing regions. Reaching out with compassion from the East Coast, Atlanta friends of the wine community are pitching in to help by hosting Fire Aid, a fundraiser for the Napa Valley Community Foundation and the Sonoma County Resilience Fund at Local Three on Sunday, Nov. 12 at 6 p.m. More than a dozen of Atlanta’s best chefs, including Gerry Klaskala of Aria and Mike Patrick of Storico Fresco Alimentari, will lay out an epic smorgasbord alongside an array of the best wines from Northern California and beyond. Atlanta’s own DJ Yvonne Monet provides musical entertainment, and silent and live auctions offer up exciting items including trips, highly rated wines and a picnic for 30 guests on the L3 patio. Tickets are $250 per person and include food stations, passed dishes and wines. Purchase tickets here. Free parking.
On Fridays, wear your flannel shirt to gusto! on Ponce for a BOGO menu special. The warm and fuzzy BOGO promo was such a hit last year that the Ponce gusto! pack is pulling out the Flannel Fridays promo again for the colder days ahead. Plaid, solid, sleeves rolled up, sleeves pulled down, it doesn’t matter. Just wear a flannel shirt and receive a BOGO (maximum value $8.95) from the gusto! menu of grilled chicken, portobella or shrimp served with other fresh and flavorful ingredients on mixed greens, brown rice (or half and half) or flatbread wraps. Treat a friend to Friday lunch, dinner or a late-night meal, on the house…just remember to pop on your flannel shirt before popping inside. Offer valid only at the 782 Ponce de Leon Avenue, NE location. Open 11 a.m.-10 p.m.
They serve. They sacrifice. America’s military veterans have continually placed protecting our nation, our freedoms and freedoms around the globe ahead of their own interests. As a token of gratitude for all they do, Bulla Gastropub is offering a free glass of sangria or a dreamy dessert to all veterans and active military personnel who present their military ID on Saturday, Nov. 11. Enjoy Saturday brunch or dinner sharing laughter, Spanish cuisine served as shareable tapas or larger plates, and creative cocktails with friends in Bulla’s energetic and casual communal setting. Bulla, at 60 11th Street, NE in Midtown, is open from 11 a.m.-midnight on Saturdays. Veterans, relax and let Bulla serve you.
True, Santa sports a white beard, but red beards are where it’s at when renowned chef Kevin Gillespie of Gunshow, Revival, Terminus City BBQ and Bravo TV’s “Top Chef” drops into Midtown’s Center for Puppetry Arts on Saturday, Nov. 11. The jovial red-bearded chef appears dressed as his doppelgänger Yukon Cornelius for photo ops with his “twin” puppet and “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” showgoers from 10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Gillespie will serve samplings of his signature Warm Embrace hot cocoa, and guests will have the opportunity to buy cans of the hot chocolate mix to take home. Never too early to pick up some stocking stuffers and hostess gifts! This red-hot event is included with paid admission to the 11 a.m. performance or 1 p.m. performance.
A giving spirit shines brightly at six-year-old Seed Kitchen & Bar in East Cobb. Not only is owner/chef Doug Turbush creating a special three-course, prix fixe dinner menu for guests to enjoy through Nov. 9, the restaurant is donating a portion of dinner proceeds to Share Our Strength. For $39.95 per person, guests have a choice of three options for three courses. First-course options are Jonah crab toast with brioche, avocado, lime, radish and cured egg yolk; burrata with pickled baby beets, orange toasted hazelnuts, sherry vinaigrette and baguette; or sunchoke veloute of sourdough, mushrooms, truffle and chives. Entrée choices include pan-roasted Steelhead trout with celery root purée, blistered shishito peppers, sunchokes and red wine butter; Maple Leaf Farms duck breast with kabocha squash purée, rainbow chard, confit leg and cider glaze; or balsamic-braised lamb shank with whipped feta, puffed farro, pickled beets and pan jus. Dessert brings forth decadence: maple custard with Chantilly cream and Georgia pecan biscotti; rum raisin bread pudding with crème fraîche ice cream and salted caramel; or chocolate peanut butter parfait with roasted banana ice cream and peanut brittle. Celebrate twofold -- relishing a delicious meal and helping Share Our Strength alleviate childhood hunger in America. Make reservations on OpenTable or by calling 678-214-6888.
This Saturday’s UGA Bulldog vs. Auburn Tiger showdown signals the end zone for the spirited Coca-Cola Rivalry Cup promotion at Taco Mac. The season-long Coke Freestyle cup giveaway draws to a close with special happenings for fans hunkering down to watch the gridiron action on Saturday, Nov. 11. Every guest who dines at Taco Mac’s Prado, Cumberland, McDonough, Windward or Lindbergh locations during game time will receive a raffle ticket for a chance to win autographed sports memorabilia and other coveted prizes. Drawings will take place during the game’s fourth quarter. Catch that star: Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver and former UGA Bulldog Chris Conley will be at Taco Mac in The Prado, Sandy Springs to sign Coke Rivalry Cups and Coca-Cola Zero Sugar footballs while a DJ keeps the beat during the game. Collecting those Coca-Cola Rivalry Cups? Purchase a Coke Freestyle beverage and receive your beverage in a 32-ounce cup featuring C.J. Uzomah and Cameron Artis-Payne, while supplies last (not available at North Carolina, Tennessee or Stockbridge locations).
Baby, it’s getting cold outside. Brrrring on Healthy Soups! chases chills with pots of liquid gold -- creamy sweet potato and coconut soup, easy Thai shrimp soup, skinny broccoli cheddar soup or lemon chicken orzo soup. Detox after Halloween indulgences by stocking up on “Flush the Fat Away” or “Cleansing Detox” soup. Take stock in thick and hearty soups of kale, white bean and sausage, Crock-Pot jalapeño, chicken and sweet corn or Crock-Pot minestrone. Bowls, spoons, crusty bread and you’re all set. Plus, everyone knows soup tastes even better the next day so go ahead and make a big batch.
During Halloween week, it seems appropriate to feature something off the wall…like culinary levitations. Italy-based Kitchen Suspension rises to the occasion, sending kitchen mainstays soaring. Flying saucers, anyone?
Colder nights send red meat cravings soaring. Ray’s Restaurants comes to the rescue, offering succulent Certified Angus Beef prime 14-ounce New York Strip at all three locations -- Ray’s in the City, Ray’s on the River and Ray’s at Killer Creek. The center-cut, 28-day aged steak is brushed with whole butter and charbroiled for tenderness and flavor and is served a la carte and topped with a crispy onion ring and red wine demi-glace ($42).
Enhance an afternoon exploring High Museum of Art exhibits or a stunning Atlanta Symphony Orchestra concert with another kind of art appreciation -- savoring the fine culinary arts of Twelve Eighty in the heart of Midtown’s Woodruff Arts Center. John C. Metz, executive chef, CEO and co-founder of Sterling Spoon Culinary Management (which operates Twelve Eighty), along with chef de cuisine Andreas Georgakopoulos, source the best local ingredients for a seasonal menu that makes Twelve Eighty a memorable dining destination for arts aficionados and foodies alike. Fall menu showstoppers include starters of roasted beet and burrata ($10) or shrimp and andouille skillet with Logan Turnpike grits ($11); lunch sandwiches like “High Museum” pastrami with house-made slaw, Gruyère cheese and Thousand Island dressing on marble rye ($13.50) or roasted Golden Farms organic turkey topped with pepper Jack, Applewood-smoked bacon, sun-dried tomato aioli and arugula on ciabatta bread ($12). Among dinner’s all-star cast are seared jumbo sea scallops with spaghetti squash, tiny green beans, candied pecans, cranberry fresh sage and blood orange beurre blanc ($25.50); 24-hour braised boneless short rib with creamy Gorgonzola polenta, shaved asparagus, parsnips, Brussels sprouts, carrots and rich, demi-glace jus ($23); and an autumnal side of cumin-roasted Brussels sprouts and butternut squash ($4). View lunch, dinner, lounge menus and more here and find upcoming events at facebook.com/TwelveEighty. Open 11:30 a.m.-8 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday and 11:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Sunday; closed Monday.
Maryn McKenna’s newly released book -- “BIG CHICKEN – The Incredible Story of How Antibiotics Created Modern Agriculture and Changed the Way the World Eats” -- is poised to ruffle some feathers in a healthy way. The acclaimed journalist reveals chicken’s rise from backyard bird to an antibiotic-laced industrial commodity impacting human health around the world. As economics, politics and cultural forces nest, companies, activists, farmers and chefs are pecking out a path to a better way. Meet McKenna at a book signing party on Wednesday, Nov. 15 on the patio at Miller Union. Find out how sustainably raised pastured poultry can make all the difference in taste and good health while enjoying appetizers made with White Oak Pastures poultry as well as red or white wine. A copy of the book is included in the $30 ticket price. Limited number of tickets available; buy tickets online.
