Appetizing Aperture: Food 101's 101 Breakfast Plate

Two eggs, home fries, smoked bacon and a hot biscuit. Start Saturday or Sunday with the 101 Breakfast Plate ($12) at Food 101 in Sandy Springs, and you’re ready to tackle the weekend chore list or set out on an adventure. Depending on your post-brunch plans, add eye-opening brunch cocktails like the 101 bloody mary, Cathead cocktail, “Wang, Tang Doodle” or “The Bold & The Beautiful” ($8-$11), brunch bubbles or go the more tame route toward javas, herbal teas and craft sodas.

101 Steak Opens Doors to Weekend Brunch

Rise ‘n shine, but not too early, for weekend brunch now offered at 101 Steak from 11:30 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Executive chef Joe Ahn, an astute judge of appetites, bridges a.m. and p.m. desires with a menu that’s sure to please everyone at the table. Starters like house-made ricotta doughnuts with pear compote and lemon curd and specialties such as bananas Foster buttermilk pancakes are sweet eye-openers. Hungry after a late night out or morning workout? Order the wagyu pastrami hash with sweet peppers and onions, sunny side up eggs, potatoes and grainy mustard sauce; “Steve’s” Hangover Home Fries piled high with sausage, jalapeños, bacon, pimento cheese, red onions, tomatoes, avocado and sour cream; or the “Park Avenue Breakfast” featuring an eight-ounce filet served with a lobster and crab omelet topped with caviar crème fraîche and a side of home fries. If the brunch edict requires Benedicts, go for crab cake Benedict or steak Benedict. Kids like brunch, too, and the 101 kid’s brunch menu features favorites like the kid’s wagyu cheeseburger; buttermilk pancakes with maple syrup; “Lil’ Ga Morning” with scrambled egg, bacon and toast; and a chicken biscuit with fries or fruit. Over 21s can indulge in brunch cocktails like The Trashley, Old Pavilion Cooler, Pimm’s 101 Cup, spiced apple martini or 101 Fizz; the Libation Station where guests can add bubbly, vodka, tequila or gin to house-made purées, syrups or bloody mary mix; or choose nose-tickling sparkling wines and Champagne. Do brunch this weekend; call 770-805-8855 for reservations.

What’s New on Pinterest

It’s hot enough to fry an egg on the sidewalk. Throw everything else on the grill. We mean everything. Bacon-wrapped corn on the cob and bacon-wrapped cheese-stuffed burgers, shrimp satay, balsamic roasted tomatoes, veggie panini, sweet potato quesadillas, rum-soaked grilled pineapple, s’mores pizza, strawberry shortcake skewers. Even donuts deserve a spot on the grill. C’mon baby, light the fire and Get to Grillin’ now.

Set Your Mind on Sweet Tea Smoked Chicken -- Milton’s Cuisine & Cocktails Kicks Off BBQ & Blues Series June 28

Tangy sauce and twangy tunes are coming to Milton’s Cuisine & Cocktails in Crabapple on the Sunday between Father’s Day and the July 4th weekend. The farmhouse-turned-restaurant throws summer’s first BBQ & Blues evening on Sunday, June 28, ushering in lazy evenings with live music, cornhole, craft brews and cocktails. Eats? Right on cue, chef Derek Dollar presents a choice of three meats basking in the glory of distinctly different sauces: sweet tea-smoked chicken with Carolina gold BBQ sauce and cheddar corn muffins ($18), pulled BBQ pork shoulder with Crabapple BBQ sauce and Texas toast ($17) or a half rack of ribs with Georgia red BBQ sauce and cheddar corn muffins ($20). Choose two of these Southern sides to round out your entrée -- white cheddar-and-bacon mac, creamed Silver Queen corn, garden potato salad or cracked mustard coleslaw. Feel free to make a meal of sides ($4 each) or order them alongside a bowl of thick Brunswick stew ($7). Shindig runs 5-9 p.m. Pull your phone out and call 770-817-0161 for reservations, then flag the remaining three BBQ & Blues 2015 dates: July 26, August 30 and September 27. 

Ray’s in the City Hosts Duckhorn Wine Reception May 28

The duck’s handsome, the wine winsome as all get out.Duckhorn Vineyards, founded by Dan and Margaret Duckhorn 40 years ago, has established itself as one of North America’s premium Napa Valley wine producers. Ray’s in the City validates the winery’s reputation at a Duckhorn wine and hors d’oeuvre reception on Thursday, May 28 from 5-7 p.m. Savor fine Duckhorn varietals along with hickory bacon-wrapped oysters with pepper cheese, braised short rib and crab Wellington and pan-roasted sea scallop with Parma ham and melon. $35 per person (excludes tax and gratuity). Call 404-524-9224 for reservations. 

What’s New on Pinterest? Bacon!

Is bacon your beacon? Follow our smoked and cured link to Pass the Bacon, where the crispy strips work their way into every meal. Wrapped cheddar egg bites and maple bourbon bacon jam (smear on your favorite biscuits) squeal “Good morning!” Bacon Parmesan gougeres (cheese puffs) and prosciutto-wrapped asparagus disappear from the appetizer tray. Bacon Brussels sprouts, bacon and potato “roses” and bacon-brown sugar pork tenderloin hog the dinner plate. Addictive personalities, whip up candied bacon chocolate chip cookies and maple caramel bacon crack for dessert -- if you dare. The bacon fat candle is good to the last dripping.

What’s New on Pinterest

Mother’s Day, graduation, bridal and family gatherings...time to get Ready, Set, Brunch! While pointing out Atlanta brunch spots above, we’re also paving an avenue to homegrown hospitality. For morning sparkle, pour cranberry brunch punch or peach or white wine sangria. Polenta Benedict, smoked salmon egg-stuffed avocado and blueberry croissant puff invite oohs and aahs on the buffet. Finger foods such as maple bacon pancake bites, eight-minute bite-sized cinnamon rolls and bacon-wrapped tater tot bombs are easy for social butterflies to handle.  

Kevin Gillespie Brings Home the Bacon in Cincinnati

In cupcakes or alongside eggs, bacon is so hot right now. No one knows this better than Kevin Gillespie, executive chef and co-owner of Atlanta’s Woodfire Grill, whose passion for pork was clear on Bravo’s “Top Chef.” Now the pork enthusiast will celebrate his love with humans and dogs alike as the host of the Purina Beggin’ Bacon Bash in Cincinnati on International Bacon Day, Saturday, September 4. Cincinnati locals are in for a bacon-flavored treat complete with live music, a bacon-eating contest, and cooking demonstrations by Kevin Gillespie himself. Their furry friends can run hog wild in bacon mazes, costume contests, and can even participate in the “loudest group bark” attempt for the Guinness Book of World Records. What better way to wake up and smell the bacon?

Because Everthing Should Taste Like BACON!

I always bring a pretty boring salad to lunch so when I saw Bacon Salt in the breakroom I knew my meals were going to change. I like to sprinkle the peppered flavor (shown above) on my salad to give it a little kick. This is just one of three baconed possibilities; the other flavors include original and hickory. The slogan on the shaker reads "everything should taste like bacon" and I couldn't agree more. Who doesn't like bacon? Incase you're wondering, it's fat free, zero calorie, vegetarian and Kosher approved and it really does taste just like bacon. My veggies, baked potatoes, and Bloody Mary's will never be the same! Bacon love is even spreading to facebook where you can join the group Bacon Salt (which I did). Mmmm...BACON!