Emerge from Your Shell and Meet the Oysters at Drift Oyster 101 Workshop April 14

Crack open the world of oyster connoisseurs and collect pearls of wisdom at Drift Fish House & Oyster Bar in Marietta. Chef/owner Doug Turbush and sous chef Will Puryear pry open a bed of bivalve knowledge at their Oyster 101 Workshop at the restaurant on Saturday, April 14. Soak up how-tos: shuck like a pro; prepare oysters at home; appreciate oyster flavor profiles; oyster history and sustainability; and oyster etiquette. Employ tasting sheets and a tasting wheel to stimulate oyster “merroir” discussion when enjoying a selection of six raw oyster varieties along with a glass of sparkling wine for workshop “students” ages 21 and over. Class begins at 3 p.m. on the dot and concludes by 4:30 p.m. so attendees can dive right into an exclusive Oyster 101 Happy Hour marked by half-price oysters. Class size caps at 24 participants. Buy tickets now or you’ll be saying “Awe, shucks, missed that boat.” $45 per person plus small online service fee. Know before you go: Drift Fish House & Oyster Bar is the first restaurant in Georgia to be an official partner of the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch program. Drift’s ship-shape crew is committed to procuring the highest quality, sustainable seafood available, encouraging healthy oceans for generations to come.

Drift Coasts into Year Two offering Sea of Weeklong Specials March 1-6

Enjoy a weeklong anniversary culinary cruise right here at home as Drift Fish House & Oyster Bar in Marietta celebrates its second year. From being named Atlanta Journal-Constitution's Best New Restaurant and Best Restaurant for Seafood in Atlanta, to being the very first restaurant in Georgia to partner with the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch Program to serve guests ocean-friendly sustainable seafood, Drift has much to celebrate on its second anniversary.
  Chef/owner Doug Turbush and executive chef Tom Hill release quite a catch of choices on a three-course prix fixe anniversary menu that’s available Thursday, March 1 through Tuesday, March 6 in addition to the regular menu. Set sights on an opener of oysters casino with tasso ham; grouper  branade with smoky rouille and celery; or grilled baby gem lettuces with feta, olive, tomato, oregano and jalapeño buttermilk dressing. Land an entrée of skate schnitzel with oyster mushrooms, thyme, truffle and arugula; grilled Vancouver Island salmon with salsify, roasted sunchokes, frisée and bacon vinaigrette; or Royal Red shrimp risotto with Grana Padano, parsley and Meyer lemon pistou. Dock for dessert of Key lime pie with raspberry sauce; espresso pots de crème with hazelnut praline, mint and strawberries; or flourless chocolate cake with adzuki bean ice cream and mint. Opt in for $35 per person (plus tax and gratuity). Oyster lovers are in luck because Drift is offering $1 “Buck a Shuck” oysters all week long throughout the evening from 5 p.m. until close.

Drift Fish House & Oyster Bar Hooks Spot as First Georgia Restaurant Partner of Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch

Drift Fish House & Oyster Bar, East Cobb’s premier destination for approachable, chef-driven seafood, has tied the knot with the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watchprogram to become Georgia’s first official Seafood Watch Restaurant Partner. Although Drift owner Doug Turbush and executive chef Tom Hill already strive to source from high-quality purveyors and avoid serving overfished species, this pledge formalizes a commitment to serving only seafood rated a “Best Choice” or “Good Alternative” and to educating customers, suppliers and employees about sustainability issues. Turbush and Hill have undergone a thorough vetting of seafood species and sources through a globally respected organization and reworked menu items so guests can be confident that any choice they make on the menu supports the health of our oceans now and for future generations. The Drift crew encourages guests to use the Seafood Watch app to help them make better decisions when purchasing or ordering seafood. Currently, more than 1,000 businesses at 150,000 locations worldwide count on Seafood Watch science when making informed purchasing decisions. Read more about Drift’s sustainable efforts in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Drift and Seafood Watch -- both are keepers.

Sup on Savings -- Three-Course Dinners for $25-$35 during Cobb Restaurant Week Sept. 16-23

Ready. Set. Eat. Repeat. Don’t miss a chance to dine on good value prix fixe menus at Cobb County’s most popular restaurants during the ninth annual Cobb Restaurant Week, Sept. 16-23. Plan your strategy, including making reservations, starting with these top picks. Chicken and the Egg in Marietta plans a $25 dinner menu highlighting the restaurant’s sophisticated yet approachable American farmstead fare. Make reservations (closed on Mondays) through OpenTable. Hook a three-course dinner for $35 at Drift Fish House & Oyster Bar in The Avenue East Cobb and add wine pairings for an additional $15. Reserve a table to catch Cobb’s best seafood. Harvest a three-course dinner for $35 at Seed Kitchen & Bar and wine pairings for an additional $15; make reservations here. Date night? Next door neighbor Stem Wine Bar pours out a special three-course tasting menu for two priced at $25 per couple. 

Doug Turbush Shares Tastes of Drift at Salud! Cooking School Alpharetta Sept. 9

Drift Fish House & Oyster Bar netted “Best Seafood in Atlanta” in the AJC’s June 2017 “Best of” poll. Taste and discover why when restaurateur and acclaimed chef Doug Turbush captains Dinner with Drift Fish House & Oyster Bar at Salud! Cooking School in Alpharetta on Saturday, Sept. 9. During Turbush’s 6:30-8:30 p.m. demonstration and dinner, savor Oysters 2 Ways (East Coast on the half shell with classic sauce mignonette and oysters Rockefeller with Herbsaint); crab salad with cucumber and avocado; heirloom tomato gazpacho; pan-seared salmon with creamed leeks, beurre rouge and roasted mushrooms; and Key lime pie with whipped cream and raspberries. Register online; $49 per person for this sea-tacular evening at Salud! in Whole Foods Market Avalon.

Dine on Season’s Best at Seed Kitchen & Bar Weekly Chef’s Harvest Menu -- Inspired by Drift’s Popular Chef’s Catch Menu

East Cobb’s acclaimed Seed Kitchen & Bar has launched a Chef’s Harvest menu to share the abundance of farm-fresh seasonal produce coming to market this time of year. Chef/owner Doug Turbush drives the specially curated three-course dinner menus, new each week, pushing culinary boundaries with innovative, flavor-packed dishes. Guests choose from two small plates, two entrées and two dessert options from the Chef’s Harvest menu, offered Monday through Thursday from 3-10 p.m. Examples of menu items include appetizers such as white gazpacho or crispy flatbread, entrées like cornmeal-crusted catfish or mole-braised pork cheeks, and sweet finishes such as tres leches cake or lemon cake. $35 per person, plus tax and gratuity. Add wine pairings for an additional $15 per person. The menu changes each week and is announced on the restaurant’s Facebook page and via email every Sunday. Oh, and there’s another catalyst for the Chef’s Harvest menu -- the highly successful and weekly changing Chef’s Catch $35 prix fixe menu at sister restaurant Drift Fish House & Oyster Bar. The best of land and sea is all yours.

Appetizing Aperture

If you want to keep a rosé from wilting (punchy pun intended), follow Drift Fish House & Oyster Bar beverage manager Jose Pereiro’s lead and make it a slushie. Jose’s Frosé ($9) is equally refreshing on the first sip and the last. Ah, summer’s savior, found.

Drift Wins Access Atlanta’s Best Seafood Restaurant Designation

Drift Fish House and Oyster Bar nets Access Atlanta’s “Best Seafood Restaurant” recognition, well-anchored in drinks, food and service. The word’s out that dining room, bar and patio are drawing seafood lovers like fish to school. Brunch, lunch, dinner, raw bar, drinks? When will you drop anchor at The Avenue in East Cobb and see what the buzz is about? 

Appetizing Aperture

Cast off into the weekend with one “see”-worthy brunch dish. Hangtown Benedict at Drift Fish House & Oyster Bar is meaty with 12-hour thick-cut bacon, the decadence of fried oysters, golden-yoked poached eggs and a pool of brown butter hollandaise ($16). Aye, aye, captain. This dish has your name on it.

“Reely” Enticing News! Drift Fish House & Oyster Bar Weekly $29 “Chef’s Catch” Three-Course Dinners Hook Summer Appetites

Landlocked locals need only cruise as far as Drift Fish House & Oyster Bar in East Cobb to catch right-off-the-boat seafood on a chef-driven menu that’s new each week. “The Chef’s Catch” three-course dinner menu highlights the best and freshest in-season fish, shellfish and locally sourced ingredients in ways that are both imaginative and affordable,” says chef/owner Doug Turbush. Guests can choose from a menu featuring two small plates, two entrées and two dessert options from executive chef Brendan Keenan. And though the menu changes weekly, this week’s lineup includes first course choice of blue crab beignets or Pearson’s Farm peach salad; second course choice of wood-grilled arctic char or Georges Bank monkfish; and choice of sweet finishes including Key lime pie or Georgia peach crisp. Available Monday through Thursday, the menu changes each week and is announced on the restaurant’s Facebook page and via email every Sunday. Treasure it all for $29 per person, plus tax and gratuity. Add wine pairings for $10 per person.

Explore Wines of Oregon’s Famed Willamette Valley at Drift Wine Dinner June 15

Is touring Oregon’s lush Willamette Valley, wine glass in hand, on your bucket list? First, book a ticket to the Tour of Willamette Valley, Oregon Wine Dinner at Drift Fish House & Oyster Bar “taking off” Thursday, June 15. Drift executive chef Brendan Keenan plans an outstanding five-course menu paired with some of the best Willamette Valley wines selected by general manager/sommelier Jason Raymond. Guests will nibble gougères when arriving for the 6:30 p.m. dinner at the restaurant located at The Avenue in Marietta. Courses and Willamette Valley wine pairings progress through scallop tartar with UGA caviar and Meyer lemon sabayon paired with NV Sparkling rosé, Maysara, (McMinnville); gnocchi-cacio e pepe with peas, mint, king crab, Pecorino Romano and black pepper tuile served with 2015 Gruner Veltliner, Illahe (West Salem); halibut cheek and braised veal cheek with sunchoke, morels and beurre rouge served with 2015 pinot noir, Beaux Freres (Ribbon Ridge, Chehalem Valley); tuna Wellington with spring onion soubise and bordelaise paired with 2014 syrah, Bergstrom “Gargantua” (Dundee Hills); and dessert of local strawberry panna cotta, aged balsamic and marcona almond brittle with NV rosé, Domaine Serene “R” (Yamhill County). Buy tickets in advance through Eventbrite, $119 per guest (plus service fee; tax and gratuity is included).

Restaurants Band Together at Taste of East Cobb May 6

March over to the Taste of East Cobb on Saturday, May 6 and support the Walton High School band in its annual fundraiser held in the Johnson Ferry Baptist Church south parking lot from 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sample menu favorites from Marlow’s Tavern, Seed Kitchen & Bar, Drift Fish House & Oyster Bar and other fine area restaurants and vote for the “Best of Taste of East Cobb.” Youngsters will pull toward the Kids’ Zone to jump in huge bouncy inflatables and to get artsy with face painting plus sand and spin art. Everyone will enjoy the live music, entertainment, raffle tickets and tempting items up for bid in the silent auction. Admission is free; tickets for restaurant bites are $1 each with offerings priced at one to five tickets each. Buy tickets online or at the event.

STOP Here for OTP Lunch Ideas

Cross the street (okay, highway) and go outward bound for lunch -- outside the Perimeter. Sail into Drift Fish House & Oyster Bar at the Avenue East Cobb for seafood, sandwiches, salads, raw bar and more seven days a week. Monday through Saturday, sister restaurant Seed Kitchen & Bar in Marietta offers a “Daily Trio” featuring a sandwich, soup and salad for $12.95 along with specialty plates, sandwiches and salads topped with grilled chicken, salmon or shrimp. Lunching at The Big Ketch Saltwater Grill Canton Street, situated amid the quaint shops and galleries of Roswell, is like taking a midday beach town “vacay,” any day, for fresh fish and seaside favorites, po’boys and signature low-cal bowls. Multiple OTP (and several right inside I-285) locations practically guarantee there’s a friendly neighborhood Marlow’s Tavern on your way from point A to B (even if point B is in Florida). Slip away to Taco Mac for a quick sports viewing fix, wings, soups, salads, burgers, wraps, tacos -- you name it, backed by a hefty beer program and lots of libations. Turn a potentially snoozer of a cubicle lunch from siesta to fiesta by crossing the FlexMex border to Tin Lizzy’s Cantina. Can’t help but say “ole!” to tacos, skillets, quesadillas, salads and a mega selection of margaritas, “Thin Lizzies” cocktails and libations. When pursuing lunchtime happiness, OTP is “fare” game.

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.

Drift Fish House & Oyster Bar Throws Weeklong Oysterfest to Celebrate First Anniversary March 1-7

Drift Fish House & Oyster Bar, East Cobb’s premier destination for chef-driven seafood, is hosting a weeklong Oysterfest first birthday bash March 1-7. Chef/owner Doug Turbush plans a week of daily specials, chef demos and two pairing dinners making the most of the magnificent mollusk -- both to celebrate and to show some guest appreciation. Slide in for oyster happy hour from 5-7 p.m. weekdays (March 1-3 and 6-7) and from 3-5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday (March 4-5) and enjoy half-priced, half-shell oysters, “buck-a-shuck” oyster of the day and $5 house punch. Additionally, “buck-a-shuck” oysters and $5 Terrapin Hi-5 IPA will be offered all day, every day during Oysterfest. Those wanting to go whole hog oyster will find their pearl lies with the $35 Oysterfest prix fixe menu offered each day, featuring an appetizer choice of cold smoked oysters, beef carpaccio and fried oysters or wood-oven oysters Rockefeller; entrée selection of Jonah crab roll on a toasted H&F bun, wild-caught shrimp over saffron bomba rice or wood-grilled Bay of Fundy salmon; and a dessert choice of Key lime pie, caramel apple bread pudding or chocolate chess pie. Store up pearls of wisdom by attending “Oyster 101” chef demos from 2-3 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, March 4-5 when Turbush and sous chef William Puryear open up the world of oysters, oyster farming, oyster etiquette and how to pair oysters with wine and beer. Guests also will enjoy a selection of raw oysters, oyster hors d’oeuvre and sparkling wine. $25 per person (plus service fee); buy tickets online.

Lean In to Lent with Seafood and Vegetarian Specialties

When Mardi Gras’ excess and fast times roll out, Lenten simplicity and fasting wash in. Atlanta restaurants have their ways with seafood and vegetarian dishes to help Lenten diners stay dedicated all the way to Easter dinner (but that’s another story).
 In Town5Church Atlanta pleases with Midtown lunch and dinner options such as appetizers of ahi tuna poke, charred octopus or butternut squash agnolotti. Lenten lunchers can bite into a crispy beet burger while the dinner crowd can savor a hearth-roasted whole fish. For dessert, save room for the Triple Scoop. Those forgoing meat for Lent can indulge on an elegant dinner of butter-braised lobster with truffle potatoes and broccoli mousseline presented with impeccable service at Aria in Buckhead. At Atkins Park Restaurant & Bar in Virginia-Highland, catch cornbread-crusted Georgia trout, mashed potatoes, green beans and bourbon brown butter apples on the lunch and dinner menus. Weekend brunch throws in fried green tomato Benedict and a vegetarian skillet. Bank on The Federal in Midtown for a satiating lunch or dinner appetizer of chopped chicken liver, toast and cornichons. Midday, make the main thing a veggie grilled sandwich. Come dinnertime, latch onto whole loup de mer with chickpea pancake, fennel, olives, saffron yogurt and bee pollen. Mom would be proud of the HOBNOB Neighborhood Tavern Super Food Plate, assembling a very veggie family of Mother Nature salad, fried green tomatoes and sautéed seasonal vegetables for a Midtown dinner. Jefe’s Tacos & Tequila heats up lots of Lenten “Ole!” in Brookhaven with seafood tacos filled with crispy calamari or “Baja fish” with slaw, pico de gallo, guac and serrano tartar sauce; Margarita shrimp tacos with green chili grits, cotija and picante and more. Order a couple of the same or go crazy and order a basket of several varieties.
On Atlanta’s Westside, harvest a veggie bowl at Ormsby's for the garden goodness of butternut squash risotto, asparagus, roasted red peppers and beurre blanc. Lenten diners can stay the course at Revival in Decatur where they’ll find dinner dishes such as local kale salad with apples, charred onion, artisan cheese and boiled dressing and savory Sunday brunch specialties such as cornmeal fried catfish served with smoked cheddar grits, milk gravy and hot sauce or a French-style omelette with soft herb cheese and roasted mushroom jus. OTPIn East Cobb, a stop at Drift Fish House & Oyster Bar at the Avenue East Cobb nets oysters from North American waters and at the Raw Bar, wood-roasted octopus as a starter and those luscious lobster rolls. Stop in for lunch or dinner or a relaxing Sunday brunch. At Seed Kitchen & Bar, white corn grit fritters with jalapeño pepper jelly and Thomasville tome spice up Lenten lunches and dinners. Bay of Fundy salmon with roasted garlic mashed potatoes, melted leeks and truffle vinaigrette fills the bill come dinnertime. At neighboring Stem Wine Bar, choose non-meat small plates like Gulf shrimp al ajillo with garlic, chili, parsley, lemon and extra virgin olive oil and Spanish octopus braised in red wine with fava beans, Fresno chili and spring onion vinaigrette. Multiple LocationsMarlow’s Tavern offers seafood selections to please any appetite including “AB Style” Firecracker Shrimp with Tempura Fried Shrimp, Red Bell Peppers, Pepperoncini, Sweet Chili and Cracklin’ Spicy Sauce and Crispy Pan Roasted Rainbow Trout, with Sauteed Farro, Tiny Green Beans, Parsnip, Buerre Blanc and Apple Shallot Gastrique. Items available at all locations.
Willy’s Mexicana Grill wraps up burritos to please, and tofu steps in perfectly when meat is off your list for Lent. Or, ask for Willy’s salad topped with black beans, pico de gallo, black olives, cucumbers, roasted red peppers and jack cheese. All locations. While fish fries are popular on Fridays during Lent, Taco Mac locations turn out beer-battered fish tacos daily that are plump with SweetWater 420 beer-battered North Atlantic cod, ancho chili aioli, house-made slaw and mango pico de gallo. Is that much fun allowed in a meal?

5Church, Drift and Himitsu to Shake Up Highball at the High Mixology Competition Feb. 18

Fifteen mixologists compete in a barroom battle stiffer than a straight shot when the High Museum of Art swizzles its first Highball on Saturday, Feb. 18. Jose Pereiro of Drift Fish House & Oyster Bar, Greta Buccellato of 5Church Atlanta and Ben Yabrow of Himitsu are among the cocktail movers and shakers crafting boozy creations and competing drink for drink. Sample craft cocktails, nibble bar bites, relax with music and activities and cast your vote for top cocktailer. Proceeds from the 7:30-11 p.m. mixer pour into a top-shelf cause, the High Museum of Art. Buy tickets online -- $100 per museum member (must login), $125 nonmembers.

Buck-a-Shuck Oysters and $5 Punch Beacon Way to Drift Fish House & Oyster Bar Oyster Happy Hour

Oyster shuckers have their own tried-and-true techniques for prying open the best East and West Coast bivalves around. Give it up for Oyster Happy Hour at Drift Fish House & Oyster Bar at The Avenue East Cobb, where oyster experts open ‘em right up so guests can slurp half-priced oysters on the half shell and suck down oodles of the $1 (Buck-a-Shuck) “Oyster of the Day.” All hands are on deck for $5 house punch. Ecstatic already? Remember these briny fine oyster prolific hours: Monday-Friday from 5-7 p.m. and Saturday-Sunday from 3-5 p.m.

“Seas” Sunday Brunch at Drift Fish House & Oyster Bar Beginning Jan. 22

East Cobbers setting sail for a top-notch Sunday brunch now have a must-do destination, Drift Fish House & Oyster Bar for brunch from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. The Sunday brunch menu, filled by chef/owner Doug Turbush and executive chef Brendan Keenan, glows with more gems than a treasure chest. Current lunch favorites such as crab deviled eggs ($9), fish and chips ($16) and raw oysters are bolstered by imaginative brunch options like the lobster chilaquiles with chipotle, avocado, Cotija cheese and crema ($17) and the “Hangtown” Benedict with 12-hour thick cut bacon, fried oysters, poached eggs and brown butter hollandaise ($16). Non-seafood selections - including sweet and savory dishes such as house made doughnut holes ($6), praline French toast with salted caramel and bourbon cream ($12), Dutch baby “pancake” with lemon sabayon ($11) and the Drift burger ($14) - round out the menu alongside tasty soups, salads and sides. The menu is complemented by a selection of brunch cocktails courtesy of beverage manager Jose Pereiro. Soon-to-be favorites include the Just Beet It (vodka, beet shrub, lime and mint) and the Rock the Boat (rum, mango, jalapeño and cilantro). Your brunch ship has come in at The Avenue East Cobb. 

Get out of Dodge and High Tail It to an Afternoon in the Country with Les Dames d’Escoffier International on Nov. 6

Mountain roads are clogged with folks looking for seasonal color. Psst. On Sunday, Nov. 6, you’ll find more vibrant seasoning, appetizing colors, fall flavors, heaps of entertainment and rake in silent auction luxuries at an Afternoon in the Country spreading over Foxhall Resort & Sporting Club in Douglasville. Fork into foods from some of these locals – Bellina Alimentari, Chicken and the Egg, Drift Fish House & Oyster Bar, Marlow’s Tavern, Milton’s Cuisine & Cocktails, Ormsby’s, Seed Kitchen & Bar and White Oak Pastures – and taste fine wines and microbrews. The 16^thannual event hosted by Atlanta Les Dames d’Escoffier International overflows from big-top tents onto the resort’s expansive lawns. Buy tickets online, $125 for adults 21 and over; free parking. No children’s activities this year. Dig up details on our blog.