What’s New on Pinterest: Sweet Sips to Love

Get all kissy-kissy with Sweet Sips to Love, right on target for Valentine’s Day celebrations. Find libations to put a “Sparkle in Her Eye” (and maybe a ring on her finger). Sweetie martinis, Cupid’s Pink Arrow and Love Potion distill your affections into cutie cocktails. Strawberry sangria, vodka ginger twist and cranberry-ginger mimosa say, “I care about your whole being” by working those help-ya-stay-healthy fruits and spices into the menu. Gals, snag some ways to share the love with your special guy here. And while wine dummies and Jell-O shooter hearts thrill grownups, your young Valentines will love sipping strawberry Cupid floats through pink-striped straws.

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.

Bulla Cocktails Catching Attention

Imaginative cocktails are turning heads toward the lively bar area of Bulla Gastrobar in Midtown. Skilled mixologists create handcrafted cocktails with high-quality spirits and syrups made from scratch, top-shelf beer and wine selections woo purists, and three made-to-order sangrias -- traditional, sangría blanca, and sangría de cerveza -- are right in sync with Bulla’s Barcelona tapas bar-meets-urban loft vibe. So, what to order? Ever had a “Spritz on Skates”? October’s featured cocktail has won a strong following of cocktailers smitten by the bubbly blend of Aperol, Absolut vodka, cava, soda water and fresh-made lemongrass syrup ($11). Bulla shares its recipe for those who want to skate their way toward home spritzing…but it won’t be quite the same as sipping and socializing at a Spanish tapas bar. Recipe: Start with a wine glass and build over ice, mixing 1 ounce Absolut, 1 ounce Aperol, ½ ounce lemongrass syrup and 2 ounces soda water. Fill glass with cava and garnish with orange peel sticking out of glass. Delightfully simple, neat and bubbly to support, not suppress, Bulla’s tasty tapas.

Himitsu Artisanal Ice Rocks the Cocktail World

Chip off the old ice block? Hardly. At Himitsu, the artistry of creating perfect libations begins with the ice in your glass. Himitsu creative director Shingo Gokan oversees an impressively chill ice program influenced by both classic and modern Japanese bartending and executed by Himitsu’s bar team. Each and every piece of frozen water served in a drink is hand-crafted. Physics, thermodynamics, saws, cleavers, ice picks and a special menkiri bocho knife all come into play creating precisely shaped and sized ice pieces. Under Gokan’s direction, it’s crystal clear – just like the ice itself – that ice is a vital ingredient specific to the texture, temperature, mouthfeel and aeration of each cocktail. At the reservation-only Buckhead cocktail lounge, specially trained staff adheres to an ice prep schedule, perfecting skills daily to hone the various formats of ice used in the different shakers and mixing vessels. Another cool consideration, Himitsu ice spheres are individually embossed using ice presses fabricated in Japan especially for the lounge and 3-D printing is used to create specific ice branding for private parties. Every sliver of detail counts here, just as you would expect at the luxury companion lounge to popular Buckhead sushi restaurant Umi.

Look Up to The Regent Cocktail Club for New Weekly Specials and Live Music

New weekly specials spring into gear in May at The Regent Cocktail Club, the rooftop cocktail lounge above American Cut in The Shops Buckhead Atlanta. See and be seen on the open-air patio or under the covered bar area while living the cocktail culture life, enjoying conversation, handcrafted drinks and bar snacks menu noshes like wagyu sliders, oysters, soft-baked pretzels and more. Catch the sunset with Deb Bowman performing live music from 6-9 p.m. every Tuesday evening with her soulful vocals accompanied by the acoustic guitar. Join Wednesday night’s DJ Greg Picciano playing old school hits and indulge in Whispering Angel bottle specials ($45/750 ml; $100/1.5 L; $250/3 L). Thursdays, give it up for live music with Lilac Wine from 6:30-9:30 p.m. Wine lovers can count on Sunday nights for half-off bottles of wine (for bottles up to $150 value), and DJ Picciano returns with tunes from 3-6 p.m. May Day! All hands on deck for Mixology Mondays, pouring it on starting May 15. Planning your next private event or social gathering? The Regent Cocktail Club is the ideal spot for mingling and skyline views. Contact the venue for more details at (770) 415-9961.

What’s New on Pinterest: Holiday Happy Hour

Plan your party menu around Holiday Happy Hour bites and prevent awkward plate-utensil-cocktail-oops juggling moments for guests. Skip the whole knife/fork/spoon thing with these right-sized morsels. Spear savory filet mignon bites, wield skewered shrimp, nibble away on lollipop-style baked brie pastry or lift pimento cheese and bacon balls on pretzel sticks. Santa hat cheesecake bites and chicken and waffle sliders are off the grid in cuteness. Eggnog ditches the mug in mini cheesecakes in gingerbread cookie crusts, leaving the other hand free to hold a ginger snap cocktail, “Coquito” (coconut eggnog), spiced cranberry rum old-fashioned, “Jingle Juice,” Christmas sangria or white Christmas margarita punch.

Kick Back with ‘Rita and the Cocktail Crew at Ray’s Rio Bravo Sounds & Sips on the Patio Thursdays beginning September 22

Before the weekend kickoffs, kick back over cocktails at Ray’s Rio Bravo and chillax to live music at Sounds & Sips on the patio. Your new Thursday night calling begins September 22 and continues each week through October 27, capturing the 6-9 p.m. time slot. Ray’s Rio Bravo is well known for its fiesta of margaritas, specialty margaritas, margarita enhancements and stock of more than 50 different tequilas. Sounds & Sips is a fantastic time to sip any of those or to meet the cocktail crew partying hearty on the “Booze” menu-- Caipirita Colada, Burdette’s Banditos, Passionate Paloma, Rifle & Pony, Sangrita or the tequila Old Fashioned. Drizzle won’t stop the swizzle on this partially covered patio.

Rick Blumberg Joins Marlow’s Tavern to Lead Adult Beverage Program

Marlow’s Tavern welcomes Rick Blumberg as manager of adult beverage, research and development and purchasing. The former beverage director for Bacchanalia Restaurant Group totes 23 years of restaurant management and beverage experience to the neighborhood tavern bar program. Blumberg looks forward to getting to know guests in Marlow’s more casual and relaxed atmosphere after his years in the fine dining scene. Along with creating new beer, wine and cocktail menus, he will assist Georgia and Florida locations with beverage purchasing, beverage purveyor relationships, budgets and inventory systems. Blumberg delights in training staff on new products and rolling out creative cocktails, and he’s already hard at work adding unique spirits and upgrading the “soon-to-be-classic” cocktail program and beer and wine selections. The industry veteran wears an impressive résumé including management positions at The Optimist, King + Duke, Woodfire Grill, Abattoir, Restaurant Eugene, Holeman and Finch Public House, Emeril’s and Morton’s The Steakhouse in Atlanta. He’s fine on wine, having completed the first two levels of certification from the Court of Master Sommeliers. Visit your favorite Marlow’s Tavern location and raise a toast to adult beverages today.

Appetizing Aperture: That Coconut Cocktail at Bellina Alimentari

Seems every week someone in our office mentions being nuts about “that coconut drink.” And everyone knows exactly what coconut elixir they’re referring to: the Re Del Cocco cocktail ($9) at Bellina Alimentari. Turns out the elixir is a little more complicated and contains ingredients more challenging to pronounce than straight up coconut: Encanto pisco, Don Ciccio & Figli Luna Amara, coconut crème, ginger, lime and mint. Maybe we’ll just stick with “that coconut drink.” And we’re definitely sticking with it.

Appetizing Aperture: Gypsy Kitchen Gintonic

Back in the day, tonic water contained more quinine than it does now. Ingesting the bitter liquid kept mosquitoes at bay and warded off malaria. British colonials in India found adding gin to their tonic made their daily dose much more palatable, and a new cocktail was born. A Gypsy Kitchen Gintonic blends Tanqueray gin with custom tonic syrup featuring notes of ginger, yuzu, rose petal, hibiscus flower and a squeeze of lime ($9). By Jove, that fragrant, spicy tonic doesn’t have a bitter bent to tame, but let’s keep the gin. Shall we? 

#Foodgram

Hand over the keys to the liquor cabinet and some snazzy glasses, and Natalie Migliarini comes through with Beautiful Booze. This Seattle-based cocktail developer/stylist/ photographer and boozy content creator for brands, hotels, travel and events recently “toured” the cocktails of Mexico City, and she generously shares souvenirs by the glassful.

What’s New on Pinterest

Prosecco Perfection bubbles over with fizzy blends destined to become your consummate warm-weather cocktails. Switch out winter’s heavies for refreshing nose ticklers revolving around prosecco, Champagne and sparkling wines. Brides, toast to cotton candy Champagne cocktails, multiple ways to “pimp your prosecco” and a bouquet of blissful wedding drink ideas. Fruit stand and herb garden finds inspire seasonal sensations such as a plum and thyme prosecco smash, raspberry limoncello prosecco, rhubarb prosecco sparkler, blueberry mojito royale, elderflower mint champagne and white peach, rose and raspberry sangria. Sip-wise, it’s bubble or nothing for us this summer.

What’s New on Pinterest

Pop open Autumn-Inspired Cocktails and concoct some intriguing potions for tailgating and next month’s spooky gatherings. It’s not every day you get to sip Beetlejuice or caramel apple moonshine. Apple bourbon Bellinis and apple pumpkintinis are a bit headier than their summer cousins. And, though the pumpkin pie milkshake looks harmless, your lantern’s lit after a few sips. DIY gifters, prep for the giving season by bottling up homemade spiced pear vodka. We’ve even thrown in some kid-friendly mixtures. Do we know how to pick them or what?

Dance the Night Away at Johnny’s Hideaway for The Giving Kitchen August 24

Only one more week until the big dance party at Johnny’s Hideaway on Monday, August 24 from 7-10 p.m. Three hours of dancing to DJ tunes is more exhilarating than three hours of gym-bound cardio, and besides, the evening benefits The Giving Kitchen. Johnny’s owner Chris Dauria is passing 20 percent of the 7-10 p.m. party’s gross sales to The Giving Kitchen and its compassionate mission. Hospitality workers, this night’s for you as well since Buckhead’s nightclub for big kids offers $3 beer, $5 cocktails and half-priced appetizers to those in “the biz.” Toe tap over to the Atlanta Dish blog for more details. 

Loosen Those Ties, Tin Lizzy’s Cantina Opens in Downtown Atlanta

Tin Lizzy’s Cantina is open in The Mall at Peachtree Center, just a quick salsa away from the College Football Hall of Fame, the Georgia World Congress Center, convention hotels, marts and offices. Now downtown visitors can easily enjoy FlexMex favorites at the 10th location of Atlanta’s hometown cantina, and the extensive margarita list gives the starched shirt set an incentive to loosen up a bit. A menu boasting shareable dips, signature tacos, salads and sensational cast-iron skillets, as well as multiple TVs for sports viewing, keep everyone happy. The over-21 crowd will find clever cocktails and more than 30 beer selections to temper the heat of summer’s city streets. Tin Lizzy’s downtown is open daily for lunch, dinner and late-night dining. For information, call 404-671-9450 or visit the downtown cantina’s Facebook page.   

Cotton Calf Kitchen Herds Dry-Aged Steak and Classic Cocktails into Historic Braselton Brothers Department Store Building

The August debut of Cotton Calf Kitchen in the 111-year-old Braselton Brothers Department Store building circles the storefront back to its origins as a community hub satisfying appetites for good taste and providing attentive service. This time, however, groceries and dry goods give way to a classic American steakhouse where dry-aged steaks sizzle and cocktails and conversation flow. Partners Matt Ruppel, Hudson Tang and Cindy Green want Cotton Calf Kitchen to become an integral part of Braselton’s balance of historic preservation and a live/work/play/dine environment. To this point, the restaurant sits across Davis Street from a turn-of-the-century cotton gin building yet the patio will overlook the town’s anticipated new amphitheater. Open daily for cocktails and dinner from 4-11 p.m., Cotton Calf Kitchen will feature quality dry-aged beef, heirloom vegetables and tapas-style appetizers. Watch the progress unfold on Facebook.

#Foodgram

Every bottle has a story in The Liquor Cabinet, be it in a martini, highball or hurricane glass. Open the cabinet and look for a virtual happy hour, no hangover. 

Kaleidoscope Bistro & Pub Stay-Cations to Expand Space, Add Wood Stone Pizza Oven and More, Reopens July 18

Instead of using a spa vacation to shed a few inches, Kaleidoscope Bistro & Pub stay-cations this week to expand its girth by an additional 1,200 square feet, increase food and drink selections and build upon an already rewarding bar and dining experience. When the Village Place Brookhaven restaurant reopens Saturday, July 18, patrons will notice more light, dining space, bar seating, restrooms (always appreciated when enlarging bar space), live music space, televisions and more menu items coming from an expanded kitchen area. The larger kitchen will house a new wood stone pizza oven turning out nine different 12” specialty pizzas during dinner hours. Guests will be able to build their own from the restaurant’s palette of toppings and slake thirsts with the six new beers on tap, including a signature Kaleidoscope brew from Red Brick Brewing Company. More space, seats, beer, pizza et al. Now that’s a more, eh? As always, there’s plenty of free parking in the adjacent lot and complimentary valet parking.

Hang Ten! Point Break Beach Party Crests at Atkins Park Virginia-Highland July 17

Wax your board, throw on your best Hurley or Quicksilver and dig a presidential head mask out of the costume closet. Atkins Park Restaurant & Bar in Virginia-Highland stokes the Friday night summer fun pipeline with a Point Break Beach Party on July 17. Jump on at 9 p.m. to ride the adrenaline rush of watching the classic 1991 thriller, shaking out the muscles to DJ tunes and exclaiming “Whoa, dude!” to costume contest winners (could be you). Wipe out your thirst with Even Keel Session IPA ($6 can), Longfin lager ($6 bottle) or Grunion pale ale and Habanero Sculpin drafts ($7); chilled horchata or Opah shots ($6-$7); or cocktails as crafty as Bodhi, Johnny Utah, Warchild, Ex-President or 50 Year Storm ($6-$8). Epic. At least until the Point Break remake releases December 2015.

T.G.I.F.! Bantam + Biddy Pours Acoustic Cocktails on Crescent

Ease into the weekend with Bantam + Biddy’s Acoustic Cocktails on Crescent. On Fridays from 6-9 p.m., release workweek stress with live music and cocktail specials. Guest bartender Derrick Norris shakes up cocktails from Independent Distilling Co. including $4 Biddy Marys, mimosas and Jameson shots and pours $2 draft beers. Weekend, here we come!