Eagle’s Nest of Thorns is equally powerful whether you’re perched at the Article 14 bar or parked at a table. The stronghold on the Midtown restaurant’s new cocktail menu twirls Four Roses Yellow Label, Fernet Branca and Kronan Swedish Pumsch with punches of rich syrup, tart lemon juice, egg white and nutmeg for spice.
Summer sidewalk heat about cooked our goose. But those geese are flying south now, and we’re out and about relishing all of autumn’s activities and looking for places to land and fill up on heartwarming dishes. We have some ideas...
Downtown/Midtown
Chef Chris Blobaum of Article14 has a jump on the jack-o’-lanterns. He’s already stirring up his favorite pumpkin pancakes and pulling out the warm maple syrup and smoky bacon. Blobaum shares his pancake recipe so you can start the day with a healthy dose of pumpkin-y beta carotene. So good.
Addictive barbecue hickory-smoked wings ($8 for a five-piece, $14 for 10-piece with side) are now in season at Twin Smokers BBQ.
A cool-weather favorite, short rib pot roast served with silky buttermilk mashed potatoes, roasted vegetables and a ladle of drool-worthy red wine gravy ($14.50, served after 5 p.m.) falls back onto the menu at HOBNOB Neighborhood Tavern.
Buckhead/Brookhaven
Bubbling hot, charred leek and mushroom pizza with crème fraîche, arugula, ricotta and fontina cheeses, fresh thyme and a drizzle of garlic oil ($15) is one of the new menu offerings rolling out of the brand new pizza oven atKaleidoscope Bistro & Pub.
Matthew Ridgway, executive chef of Southern Proper Hospitality’s Gypsy Kitchen and The Southern Gentleman, has big plans for the spaghetti, hubbard and wheel of cheese squash varieties rolling in his kitchen doors, along with La Belle Rouge pumpkins and Jonathan and Gold Rush apples. Savor braised pork jowls, braised beef cheeks and confit pork shanks along with Ridgway’s pickled sour corn.
Sandy Springs
Watch the sunset while sipping a barrel-aged old fashioned, handcrafted with Jefferson’s Bourbon, or a barrel-aged Manhattan touting Templeton Rye. Each cocktail draws upon bourbon or rye aging in five-liter barrels perched on the bar at Ray’s on the River.
Marietta
Soul-satisfying sweet potato ravioli sprinkled with toasted pumpkin seeds, rich sage brown butter and freshly grated Grana Padano cheese awaits dinner guests at Seed Kitchen & Bar.
Throughout Atlanta
At FLIP burger boutique, the big bison burger is piled high with a sizzling eight-ounce bison patty, bibb lettuce, tomato, cheddar cheese, onions, bacon and topped with a fried egg and FLIP Sauce ($16). Guaranteed to temporarily stave off starvation, especially when adding an order of sweet potato tots on the side.
A crispy beer-battered lobster taco, drizzled with honey chipotle sauce and topped with bacon-cilantro slaw ($5.99), is an ideal teammate for SEC or NFL game viewing at Tin Lizzy’s Cantina.
Article 14, home court to “Atlanta’s most expensive cocktail” -- the $99 Barrel of Jewels, knows discerning tastes don’t always have fat wallets. To bridge the gap, the Midtown restaurant is initiating a more purse-friendly “Perfect Pour.” The program introduces guests to the highly sought-after cognac Louis XIII de Rémy Martin through half-ounce ($40), one-ounce ($80) or two-ounce ($150) pours. Well-respected in the heady world of politics, fashion and art, Louis XIII de Rémy Martin is crafted by three generations of cellar masters using only grapes from the exclusive Grande Champagne territory of Cognac, France. Fermentation and distillation yield an “eau de vie,” which is aged up to 100 years in centuries-old oak barrels and then stored in its own cellar. Can’t mess with perfection, but you can pour it.
Find a new favorite or revisit an old friend during the inaugural Georgia Restaurant Week July 13-19. That’s seven days to take advantage of $15, $25 or $35 prix fixe menus at more than 90 restaurants. We can help you whittle down the list. Plan to dine at these Atlanta restaurants: Article 14, Der Biergarten, Game-X, Glenn’s Kitchen, Max’s Coal Oven Pizzeria, Ray’s at Killer Creek, Seed Kitchen & Bar, STATS, Twin Smokers BBQ and Willy’s Mexicana Grill. Remember, reservations are a smart idea.
Nature’s Harmony Farm owners Mark and Julie Schoen roll their handmade artisanal cheeses into Article 14 for the Midtown restaurant’s monthly cheese dinner on Wednesday, June 10. The two are leaving their Elberton, Ga. farm that afternoon to open the evening at 6:30 p.m. and present an overview of their Old World-style craft. Head cheesemaker Turner Reynolds knows the “whey” and he’ll be there to answer questions and discuss the various cheeses featured in the night’s four-course dinner with wine pairings. You’ll want to be there to savor appetizers of bacon-wrapped dates with Elberton Blue, pimento cheese fritters with Clothbound Cheddar, cheddar cheese straws and ditalini macaroni and cheese bites with Cherokee Rose and Clothbound Cheddar. A seasonal salad transitions into roasted Fatback Pig Project pork tenderloin with Elberton Blue, figs and port wine served with wilted Bloomsdale spinach and cheese biscuits. Apricot tart, Elberton Blue and local honey deliver sweet closure. Reservations: 404-443-8432.
Even for those of you in the proverbial clean plate club, a quarter of your breakfast, lunch and/or dinner goes to help others at Dining Out for Life restaurants on Wednesday, April 29. Aria, Article 14, Bantam + Biddy, Chick-a-Biddy, 10th & Piedmont, G’s Midtown, HOBNOB Neighborhood Tavern and Willy’s Mexicana Grill locations in Buckhead, Midtown and Perimeter are a few of the popular destinations joining in Open Hand’s biggest fundraiser of the year. These restaurants and others will donate 25 percent of each tab to Open Hand, which now serves upwards of 5,500 nutritious meals each day and is the largest producer and distributor of home-delivered meals in the United States. Open Hand meals sustain those hindered by chronic, critical or terminal illnesses and disabilities as well as homebound seniors. Can we count you in? Superb! Go ahead and make reservations online before seats are filled.
Article 14 makes a strong case for goat cheese at the Midtown restaurant’s monthly cheese dinner. Executive chef Christopher Blobaum plans a four-course dinner menu with wine pairings, carving into the 6:30-8 p.m. time slot on Wednesday, February 11. Those on a quest for cheese knowledge will end the evening knowing “whey” more thanks to pointers from guest Aaron Norford, a certified speaker from the American Cheese Society. $45 per person (not including tax or gratuity). To make reservations, call 404-443-8432.
