Bowled Over by National Soup Month

Photo Credit: Stefan Zander Seems every January, there's a hotly contested battle as soup spoons and outdoor temperatures vie to see which will dip deeper and faster. Cool it, climate. Our bouillon's on spoons diving down into the depths of deep cups and bowls of soup at Atlanta-area restaurants. Let no drop be left behind. At Nikolai's Roof atop the Hilton Atlanta, Chef Stephanie Alderete's red beet and beef borscht consommé ($12) is simply unbeetable, paired with fennel pollen, crème fraîche and smoked duck. Spuds, bacon, scallions and cheddar cheese buddy up in Chef Todd Richard's loaded potato soup at The Shed at Glenwood. A gluten-free soul warmer at $8/cup. Lean, freshly ground bison is the key ingredient in Karen's "Flying-D" bison chili, a menu favorite at the 13 Ted's Montana Grill locations across metro Atlanta. Karen Averitt, Ted Turner's personal chef of 22 years, developed the recipe while home on the range at Turner's Flying D ranch in Montana. Savor her warm and filling tribute to the Great American West by the cup ($5) or bowl ($7). Let the equatorial sun shine into your January with a bowl of Caribbean lobster bisque at The Big Ketch Saltwater Grill in Buckhead. Dive into lobster, blue crab, tomato and island spices in a cup ($4.95) or bowl ($6.95). 10th and Piedmont ladles up a "souperior" bowl of tomato bisque ($6). Buttermilk biscuit croutons, Parmesan and fried basil backstroke on top. Race your friends to a bowl.

Appetizing Aperture

The bison, a strong American icon and symbol of Big Sky Country, thunders across the menu at Ted's Montana Grill. Yet, like any rancher, Ted's has a sweet side. Ted's fresh-baked cookies -- snickerdoodles, oatmeal raisin, chocolate chip or double chocolate -- may cause a stampede at your table. Order up a herd ($2 each) to pal with coffee or an adult shake or sidesaddle your pick with Häagen-Dazs vanilla ice cream ($6). 

Roam to Ted's Montana Grill for Your Thanksgiving Feast

Gather 'round the table at Ted's Montana Grill and share Ted's Thanksgiving Roast Turkey Feast with friends and family this Thanksgiving Day. Whether you take your meal midday, afternoon or evening, Ted's prix fixe Thanksgiving menu runs $25 per person. The all-American meal begins with a first-course choice of side salad, cup of soup or Karen's "Flying D" bison chili. Out next, whole-roasted turkey and gravy with garlic mashed potatoes, herb dressing, buttered carrots, "Aunt Fannie's" squash casserole and cranberry sauce. And there's more to be thankful for -- Ted's famous apple pecan crisp featuring Granny Smith apples drizzled with caramel then baked with a crispy oatmeal-pecan crust and topped with Häagen-Dazs vanilla ice cream. Children get dibs on a half-sized version of the menu with turkey, gravy, mashed potatoes, dressing, buttered carrots, cranberry sauce and a "scratch" cookie for $12. Tuckered out on turkey? Other classics available include bison meatloaf, cedar plank salmon and Delmonico rib-eye. Fill wine glasses with Kendall Jackson chardonnay Vintner's Reserve or Gascon malbec at $30 a bottle. See the full Thanksgiving Day menu online. All Atlanta Ted's restaurants will be open on Thanksgiving Day except for Luckie Street. Call your favorite location for hours and reservations.

Scope Out Avalon's Restaurants, Spirits and Retail at The Perfect Taste on October 29

Take an evening stroll through the streets of Alpharetta during The Perfect Taste at Avalon and raise funds for Share our Strength's No Kid Hungry campaign to end childhood hunger without even breaking a sweat. On Wednesday, October 29 from 6-9 p.m., enjoy delectable eats from Avalon restaurants, wine, beer, spirits and live entertainment as you explore the streets of the community. For dinner, Marlow's Tavern, Bantam + Biddy, Ted's Montana Grill and Whole Foods Market will be offering tasty cuisine. Tickets start at $125 per person. 

Forward-Thinkers Feast on Foods from Whole Foods Market, Ted's Montana Grill, The Pig & The Pearl and The Shed at Glenwood at Southface Visionary Dinner on October 1

A vision of sustainable future is shared among the fabulous Fox Theatre, Whole Foods Market, top Atlanta chefs and guests at the annual Southface Visionary Dinner on October 1. This formation of forward-thinkers inspires Whole Foods Market – the gracious ingredient provider – and area chefs to seek locally sourced ingredients to produce the evening’s mouthwatering menu with wine pairings. Chef Chris Raucci will be slicing and smashing up avocados for Ted's Montana Grill's guacamole and Todd Richards of The Pig & The Pearl and The Shed at Glenwood will be roasting fennel for an autumnal salad. Feeling inspired? Find recipes for these dishes and others on the night’s menu online or register here for $300 per person and experience the deliciousness for yourself. For 16 years, the Visionary Dinner raises awareness and funding for Southface's continued work in sustainable community development, affordable housing, green jobs, clean energy, education and research.

Dine at Ray’s on the River, Ted’s Montana Grill during Cobb Restaurant Week, September 13-20

For all of our Cobb dwellers out there, next week is your week for some serious grub. Cobb Restaurant Week is upon us! From September 13-20, prix fixe lunch and dinner menus will be scattered around the hot dining spots in the area.

Ray's on the River is offering a $35 prix fixe dinner menu, covering soup to salad and steak to seafood. Start off with a cup of seafood gumbo adorned with andouille sausage. Segue into the next course with a six-ounce filet mignon before ending the night right with a chocolate brownie sundae with strawberries and caramelized bananas. Make reservations through OpenTable.

Bite into some bison at Ted's Montana Grill. All four Cobb County locations (Cumberland, Kennesaw, East Cobb and West Cobb) are participating with a three-course lunch and dinner menu for $25. Start off fresh with a Caesar or house salad. Choose from cedar-plank salmon, braised bison short ribs or hand-cut beef Delmonico ribeye. Be sure to save room for dessert! A wildberry cheesecake is on the menu. 

Saddle Up with Ted’s Montana Grill to Make the Bison America’s National Mammal

The national emblem might be set in stone, but the spot for national mammal is still open! The bison is the largest land mammal in the country and according to the  Ted’s Montana Grill crew, it’s the perfect national mammal. Read about the cause and "Vote Bison" on the Make Bison the National Mammal Petition.  

Fork into Prix-Fixe Menu Deals during Atlanta Downtown Restaurant Week -- August 9-17

Save the dates and catch the bargains. Atlanta Downtown Restaurant Week is back for its 12th year August 9-17. Savor the deals of $15, $25 and $35 three-course prix-fixe lunch and dinner menus from some of Atlanta's signature dining establishments. A $25 menu at Der Biergarten encompasses lunch and dinner. Game-X plays up one $25 lunch and dinner menu while Glenn's Kitchen serves up a $15 lunch menu and $25 dinner menu. Hot out of the oven is a $25 lunch and dinner menu for two at Max's Coal Oven Pizzeria. Ray's in the City features seafood pasta, tender culotte steak, Salmon Oscar or roasted half chicken on its $25 menu and offers choices of a one-pound live Maine lobster, Steak Oscar or horseradish crusted grouper on its $35 dinner menu. STATS dishes out a $15 lunch and $25 dinner menu. Reign in the $25 menu at Ted's Montana Grill (downtown) to savor cedar plank salmon, braised bison short ribs or Ted's bison filet at lunch or dinner. Trader Vic's Atlanta's $35 dinner menu sails tempters such as Asian summer noodle salad, steamed bean curd roll, smoked oven sirloin and wok teriyaki chicken. Take advantage of special cash-back incentives by swiping your American Express card during Downtown Restaurant Week. (All prices are per person and exclude alcohol, tax and gratuity.) Make your reservations today! 

Appetizing Aperture: Ted's Montana Grill Cadillac Burger

Leave firing up the grill to Ted’s Montana Grill and enjoy sinking you teeth into George’s Cadillac burger. A plump, juicy patty rests underneath smoky bacon, golden cheddar cheese and barbecue sauce ($13-$15). Whether you choose beef or bison, all burgers are ground fresh in-house throughout the day, hand-pattied, seasoned to perfection and served on your choice of ciabatta, oatie wheat or a kasier bun with fresh-cut fries. Ditch the grilling apron and head to Ted’s Montana Grill!

Bite Your Bison and Celebrate the Great American West and Great American Summer at Ted’s Montana Grill

Put your professional selfie (or regular photography) skills to great use and kick off the Ted’s Montana Grill Great American Summer celebration with “Bite Your Bison,” an online photo contest and grassroots campaign to elect bison as the national mammal (www.votebison.org). Through July 14, submit photo contest entries and nominations on the Ted’s Montana Grill Facebook page or upload Instagram photos and tweets with the hashtag #BiteYourBison. Fans vote for three finalists and a restaurant panel will vote for a grand prize winner to take home a Big Green Egg.

Ted’s Montana Grill was the first national restaurant company to introduce bison to the menu, and it offers more bison menu items than any other restaurant in the world. Before sizzling on the grill, Certified Angus Beef or National Bison Association-certified bison is ground fresh throughout the day, dashed with seasoning and hand-pattied. Some noteworthy menu items include Montana Breakfast topped with American cheese, grilled ham, spicy tomato jam and an over-easy egg; Knife-And-Fork Chili Cheese with pepper jack, cheddar, Flying D chili, jalapeños and red onions; and George’s Cadillac with cheddar cheese, smoky bacon and barbecue sauce. 

Whether You’re Into Beef or Not, Downtown Steak Week is a Meaty Proposition June 9-15

Carve out a lunch or dinner slot in your June 9-15 agenda to fork into Downtown Steak Week, presented by Central Atlanta Progress and Creative Loafing. Downtown restaurants will feature specialty steak dishes that showcase their talents and unique attributes. Glenn’s Kitchen will offer flat iron steak and smoked Gouda potato gratin and broccolini ($25) at both lunch and dinner. Enjoy dinner then venture up to SkyLounge atop the Glenn Hotel for a city view. Ray’s in the City is known for its seafood that’s flown in fresh daily, so they are serving up a seafood stuffed swordfish ($28), along with a Manhattan strip steak ($29), a 32-34-ounce tomahawk rib eye steak for two ($65) and stuffed Portobello mushroom appetizer ($12). Ted’s Montana Grill in downtown Atlanta’s Luckie Marietta District stakes claim to Ted’s bison filet ($32), bison Delmonico ($29) and bison Kansas City strip ($28). Available at lunch and dinner, Ted’s hand-cut bison steaks are gently seasoned and seared in olive oil then finished with lemon butter and a choice of vegetable and potato. Be sure to jump on this rare event.

Ted’s Montana Grill Releases Summer Spirits and Adult Milkshakes

Ted’s Montana Grill adds another kind of spirit to the restaurant’s summer offerings. Three new handcrafted cocktails and Ted’s first spirited adult milkshakes are made in the shade for patio sipping. Ruby River soothes with Hendrick’s gin infused with fresh-squeezed lime juice, strawberries and mint. Buffalo 41 is a stampede of Buffalo Trace bourbon, Grand Marnier, fresh-squeezed lemonade and MONIN Wildberry fruit purée. Grand Agave sweetly plays Patron tequila with Grand Marnier, fresh-squeezed lime juice and organic agave nectar. 

While Ted’s Montana Grill already serves milkshakes, malts and floats, the restaurant now adds two adult-specific milkshakes to the mix, both made with Häagen-Dazs ice cream. Boozy Berry fortifies vanilla ice cream with Tito’s vodka, Grand Marnier and fresh-squeezed lemonade infused with MONIN Wildberry fruit purée. The Slide adds a wallop of Kahlua, Absolut vodka and Baileys Irish Cream to the traditional Mudslide base of vanilla ice cream and Hershey’s chocolate syrup. Whether you are looking for a cocktail, beverage or dessert, these three treats are sure to satisfy any craving.

What Would Rhett Drink Today? Find out in Battle of the Bottles

The Atlanta Convention & Visitors Bureau (ACVB) is burning to know your opinion on what Rhett would drink if he were cruising through Atlanta’s hot cocktail spots today. Mixologists are shaking up entries for the ACVB Battle of the Bottles, a contest themed to mark the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Atlanta and the 75th anniversary of the movie “Gone with the Wind.” Your job is to circle friends ‘round said thirst slakers, drink up and vote through May 26. Whet your whistle on Aqua blue’s “It’s About Bourbon, Thyme & Scarlett,” the Meyer lemon whiskey sour at Bantam + Biddy, “Rhett’s Southern Pecan Pie” at Nikolai’s Roof, the “Apple Chai Manhattan” at Ray’s on the River and “Ted’s Huckleberry Derby” at Ted’s Montana Grill. To know what you’re getting into ingredient-wise, read the lowdown on these highballs and martinis on the ballot.

Buckhead Restaurant Week is May 17-25

Look ahead to Saturday, May 17 through Sunday, May 25. Feast your eyes on $15, $25 and $35 prix fixe menus at all Buckhead Restaurant Week stars including Aria, The Big Ketch Saltwater Grill and Ted’s Montana Grill. Aria will be offering a special $35 dinner menu. Ted’s Montana Grill plans a $25 dinner menu. Land lunch for $15 or $25 and dinner for $25 or $35 at The Big Ketch Saltwater Grill. Prices exclude tax, gratuity and beverages. Live in the present and make reservations today so you won’t be shut out of next week’s appetizing opportunities!