HOBNOB Neighborhood Tavern to Open Spirited Location #3 in Dunwoody’s Perimeter Place this Summer

Sean and Becky Yeremyan are expecting number three! The couple will open a third HOBNOB Neighborhood Tavern in Dunwoody’s Perimeter Place (1221 Ashford Crossing) with a due date sometime late this summer. Classic, Southern-inspired comfort food and a cozy, friendly environment endear the original Midtown location and Town Brookhaven outpost to customers, and these traits will carry across the perimeter into Dunwoody. In addition to a chef-driven menu of tavern fare with Southern flair, HOBNOB offers one of the most comprehensive bourbon lists in the Southeast and an extensive selection of craft beer, wine, boozy and non-alcoholic milkshakes and signature handcrafted cocktails. The Dunwoody location will be the perfect place to stop in after a long day of work or shopping. Area businesses will appreciate what HOBNOB’s new catering menu will do to feed productive meetings. HOBNOB Perimeter will serve lunch weekdays, dinner nightly and weekend brunch as well as serving up live music and daily specials such as Slider Night and BBQ Thursdays. Sean Yeremyan says “many Brookhaven customers told me they live in Dunwoody and would love to have HOBNOB there.” Wish granted.

Chido + Padre’s Chef Jonathan Mercado Baja-Style Party, Opening March 13

Southern Proper Hospitality says “Hola,” to Jonathan Mercado as executive chef for Chido + Padre’s, the company’s newest concept, which will bring bold Baja-style Mexican food, tequila and fiesta to 128 East Andrews Drive in Buckhead starting March 13. Take a look at some of the authentically Baja-Mex fresh, coastal cuisine he’ll turn out from a mesquite wood-burning grill for guests to enjoy: campechana with mango, avocado, rock shrimp, chilies and tomato-clam broth; Baja-style fish of the day with coconut rice, tomatillo-avocado sauce and pomegranate seeds; chicken mole with Baja cabbage slaw, black beans and sesame seeds; and cochinita pibil tacos with banana leaf pork shoulder, sour orange, achiote and chicharrones. Well versed in Mexican cuisine, Mercado honed his skills making handcrafted tacos and made-from-scratch Mexican fare as executive chef at Bartaco and Rosa Mexicano. The graduate of Le Cordon Bleu Culinary Academy is passionate about eco-friendly, self-sustainable cuisine and having fun in the kitchen. The chef and his family often host their own Iron Chef-style competitions at home. Chido + Padre’s will initially serve lunch and dinner and add weekend brunch at a later date. Free on-site self-parking.

#Foodgram: Work Week Lunch

Flexitarian Talia Koren is on a mission to obliterate lackluster, not-so-healthy lunch box fillers. Stock up on ways to prep your good-for-you Work Week Lunch and be the envy of your open office. Officemates will think you spent hours fixing lunch…unless you share how you pulled everything together in a flash thanks to applying these appetizing organizational skills.

Do Lunch at Livingston in The Georgian Terrace Hotel

Tell the office lunch bunch they can have it all -- signature specialties, efficient service, reasonable pricing, close proximity and an elegant Midtown setting – at Livingston Restaurant + Bar in the historic Georgian Terrace Hotel. Neighbors, you, too. Classic and contemporary Southern cuisine options grace executive chef Mark Breault’s fine-tuned menu at the sleek restaurant, enabling guests to quickly zero in on selections like a daily chef’s soup ($7) drawing upon locally sourced ingredients or work veggies into their day through enticing Bites & Greens of burrata roasted peppers, taproot salad or succotash salad ($10-$14); add chicken, shrimp for steak for $5.

Sandwiches of smoked trout salad with brie on ciabatta, the eight-ounce Mims burger with blue goat cheese and red wine balsamic-braised onions; veggie on French bâtard; grilled, local Cajun andouille with remoulade and pepper relish; or grilled, blackened chicken and pimento cheese on a buttermilk biscuit all come with a choice of fries, house salad, house chips or soup ($10-$12). Fried chicken paillard, butternut squash agnolotti, risotto cake shrimp, house-smoked BBQ pork shoulder with grits and greens and a seasonal vegetable plate handle hearty appetites ($12-$16).

Peppermint brittle candy sundae with mint and chocolate chip gelato, Fuji apple praline pecan bar pie and Nutella and Oreo Mississippi mud pie sweeten the afternoon ($7). Livingston serves lunch Monday through Friday from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Sit a spell or eat and run as your day demands. Reservations accepted on the website or call 866-845-7551 for more information; walk-ins welcome. Street, parking lot and valet parking are available.

Pig Out on BOGO Sandwiches during Lunch, Monday-Thursday through Dec. 28

BOGO sandwiches at Smokebelly BBQ in Buckhead? Channel the impulse to order a sandwich for each hand (they’re that good). Focus on an even more delicious idea. Invite a friend to join you for a lunchtime sammie, compliments of Smokebelly. Buy one sandwich and get one sandwich free (of equal of lesser value) Monday through Thursday between 11 a.m.-2 p.m. and only until Dec. 28. Every sandwich on the menu is BOGO: sliced smoked turkey; pulled pork; smokedhouse Cuban; pulled smoked chicken with avocado, tomatoes, arugula and barbeque ranch; Southern fried chicken (regular, Nashville hot or “damn hot”); the Smokebelly signature burger blending ground brisket and short rib topped with smoked Gouda, crispy bacon, tobacco fried onions and more; the Smokebelly Stack of smoked pork and lean sliced brisket; or the Angus beef brisket with pickles ($9.50-$12.50). Sure, there’s fine print, but nothing compared to the mighty fine and meaty bites of ‘cue and chicken that you and your BOGO sandwich buddies will inhale and extol. Dine in only. Maximum allowed is three per table. Not valid with any other offers or promotions.

Appetizing Aperture: The Katharine's Brasserie Burger

Order the Brasserie Burger at The Katharine in downtown Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and double up on paying homage to Katharine Reynolds, a spirited woman whose love of the arts and culture helped shape the city. French ooh-la-la and sweet Southern touches entwine here as Joyce Farms Naked Beef -- pure, grass-fed beef -- throws on raclette cheese and bread-and-butter pickles ($15 lunch/brunch, $16 dinner). Accessorize with a side of frites or mixed greens.

The Federal Now Serves Weekday Breakfast, Lunch and Weekend Brunch

Add The Federal, Shaun Doty’s new Midtown restaurant, to your stomping grounds for weekday breakfast, offered from 8-10:30 a.m. and lunch from 11:30-2 p.m. Rev up morning meetings over bowls of steel cut oats; organic yogurt with walnuts, dried fruits and chia seed sour cherry jam; protein scramble with a choice of cheddar or goat cheese, roast chicken and fresh fruit; chicken and waffles with bourbon-barrel vanilla butter and Steen’s cane syrup; and avocado toast with smoked trout, soft-boiled egg and sunflower sprouts. Powerfully hungry? Go for the three-egg brisket skillet or a big ol’ Texas breakfast of steak, three eggs and thick sliced toast. Lunchers can build a meal of starters such as Sardinian flatbread, chopped chicken liver on toast, oxtail French onion soup with Gruyere cheese and deviled eggs with bourbon-smoked paprika. Lunch entrées include blue crabcake; steak frites with sunflower sprout salad; and smoked trout with Anson Mill grits, turnips, greens and Patak bacon butter. Choose a hearty steak salad with hen mushrooms, Asher blue cheese and confit tomato or opt for a more simple salad with mustard vinaigrette. Sandwich selections include The Federal burger, veggie, fried chicken, Iowa prosciutto and tenderloin steak and are served with a choice of potato salad, Napa slaw or fries. Roast pork or roast beef brisket sandwiches with topping choices of cheese, broccoli raab with garlic pickles, pickled banana peppers and roasted bell peppers are offered from 11:30 a.m. until the meat’s all gone.

Weekend brunch joins the picture from 9 a.m.-2 p.m. starting Saturday, Dec. 10. Sip a bloody mary verde, spiked sweet iced tea, peach Bellini, grapefruit margarita, fresh-squeezed orange or grapefruit juice or a fresh-pressed juice of the day while contemplating chow. Perhaps you’ll share a big plate of seasonal fruits, fresh ricotta toast and beignets with café au lait sauce. Big day? Fill your tank with aforementioned winners such as steel cut oats, chicken and waffles, avocado or chopped chicken liver toast, fried chicken biscuits, brisket skillet or the protein-packed Southern or Texas breakfasts. Don’t forget about evenings…do dinner at The Federal Tuesday through Sunday; the staff has Monday nights off.

Appetizing Aperture: 101 Steak's Georgia Shrimp Roll

When you’re watching the tide roll in and watching it roll away again...in your daydreams... it’s time for lunch and the Georgia shrimp roll ($15) at 101 Steak. Fresh shrimp from Georgia’s coastal waters and lemon dill aїoli on a butter-grilled roll ease lunchers back to beach mode -- for the afternoon, anyway.

What’s New on Pinterest: Picnic Perfection

Set out the compostable plates, light the citronella Tiki torches and turn on the Bluetooth speakers, July is National Picnic Month. Whether you’re picnicking in your own backyard or packing a cooler for an outdoor lunch or dinner destination, you’ll find oodles of Perfect for Picnics ideas and recipes on our Pinterest board. Take a stab at assembling wedge salad or Cuban sandwiches on a stick, walking tacos, mini lasagna cups and individual seven-layer dips. For more hand-helds, slice spiraled turkey, spinach and cranberry spread pinwheels, tie pressed Italian sandwiches or turn out a platter of BLT sliders with vine-ripe tomatoes. Basket case? In the most delicious way.

Drift Fish House & Oyster Bar Launches Lunch June 1

Starting Wednesday, June 1, OTP-ers feeling landlocked at lunchtime can easily sail into Drift Fish House & Oyster Bar at The Avenue East Cobb for their midday meal. Doug Turbush’s Marietta restaurant known for high-quality, sustainable and fresh seafood will serve lunch daily from 11:30 a.m.-3 p.m. Executive chef Brendan Keenan casts a midday menu with starters, sandwiches, “Catch” seafood entrées, soups and salads and raw bar favorites such as peel-and-eat shrimp and raw oysters. Lunch nets a school of dinner specialties as well, including lobster rolls served warm with drawn butter or cold with lemon mayo and chowder fries topped with Benton’s bacon, fried clams and Fresno chile. The Drift burger is always a hit with landlubbers and comes stacked with American cheese and wood-grilled onions and a heap of fries. The AJC recently reeled Drift’s lobster rolls onto its list of “7 lobster rolls you’ll be eating this summer.” All the more reason to Drift over for lunch. 

Bellina Alimentari Weekday Lunch Value Combos Put the Pressure on Panini

Who doesn’t value that precious slice of life and lunch pressed between the morning inbox and the afternoon outbox? Bellina Alimentari, Ponce City Market’s haven for all things Italian, knows deciding on where to lunch can be a pressing matter. Their weekday value lunch combos are spot on, offering customers a choice of a half panino and soup or half panino and side salad for $12. Panini are made using artisan pane toscano and schiacciata breads baked in house each day. Irresistible panino choices include pollo with Italian chicken salad, arugula and artichoke spread; prosciutto cotto featuring Spotted Trotter ham, pecorino Toscano and greens; salsiccia with spicy Spotted Trotter Italian sausage and roasted fennel; and funghi pressing roasted mushrooms, mozzarella cheese and basil pesto. A little pressure, a little heat. For sandwiches, that’s a good thing.

What's New on Pinterest: Pack a Healthy Lunch

On flip-open-the-lunch-box days -- school or office -- Pack a Healthy Lunch by drawing upon the huge idea bank on our Pinterest board. Inspirations abound for dibs and dabs to fill those cute compartmentalized containers. Go against the grain with bread-free sandwiches and packables such as lettuce wraps with Thai meatballs or Buffalo chicken. Those game for bowls will latch on to cauliflower cashew lunch bowls, burrito bowls and steamy chicken-avocado-lime soup. Clean eating in 2016? Pack guilt-free baked salmon and asparagus in foil or Thai baked salmon. Suddenly, that long-lost lunch box is your new best friend.  

Appetizing Aperture: Revival's Country-Fried Steak

Consider the January juxtaposition, balancing those “eat healthy” resolutions with comfort-food cravings generated by cold weather and longer nights. Thwart the lunchtime temptation to hunker down and hibernate by grabbing some sunshine and soul-satisfying victuals like country-fried steak with creamy pan gravy, cornbread and a choice of two sides, a $15 Southern blue plate special off the new lunch menu at Revival in Decatur. 

Use your Noodle at Bellina Alimentari Classes Covering Kids, Pasta, Bread and Wine

Ingest useful and delicious new culinary skills this month by participating in one or more Culinary Club cooking or wine classes at Bellina Alimentari in Ponce City Market. 

• Pack kids’ lunch boxes, Italian-style, after absorbing easy and fun children’s meal ideas for balanced lunches from Bellina owner and mom Tal Baum during a 10 a.m.-noon class on Thursday, January 14 ($45 per person).
• Youngsters and tweens will have a ball mixing and shaping pasta with mom or dad and chef David Berry during an interactive Kids Kitchen class on Tuesday, January 19 from 4-5 p.m. ($45 for child age 8-12 and adult).
• Find out what makes natural wines so appealing -- and why Bellina loves their honesty. A guided wine tasting traverses Italy’s regions and offers guests five samples accompanied by Italian nibbles, all on Wednesday, January 20 from 6-7 p.m. ($45 per person).
• Rise up and start making your own bread, inspired by chef Berry’s hands-on bread-making class and an accompanying breads and spreads tasting on Tuesday, January 26 from 6-7 p.m. ($45 per person).  
• At “Aperitivo Time,” learn how to host your own aperitivo, or Italian happy hour, when people come together for a drink and simple bites before dinner. Learn how to make a Spritz Campari and aperitivo board, eat what you’ve made and receive 10 percent off any market purchase right after class ($45 per person).

Register and pay for classes online (8 percent sales tax will be added) or call 404-330-9933. 

Café Highlands Now Open and Serving Georgia-Grown Cuisine in Poncey-Highlands

Chef Stephen McGuffin’s new restaurant Café Highlands is now open and well en route to becoming a neighborhood bar-and-grill staple in Poncey-Highlands and the surrounding area. That’s exactly what McGuffin envisioned. Along with chef de cuisine Brad Allen, McGuffin delivers a progressive American menu drawing upon local sources and global inspirations. In-towners can stroll over and sit down to simple, satisfying lunch, dinner and weekend brunch featuring items such as duck confit with sweet potato masa cake and salsa negra ($11); double patty smash burger with pimento cheese ($11); black-eyed pea falafel with cucumber, fried green tomato and za’atar yogurt dressing on warm pita ($9); or seared catfish with grit cake, rock shrimp and smoked tomato sauce ($17). Brunch blends sweets and savories -- huckleberry pancakes ($10), chocolate French toast with peanut butter and bananas ($10), ox tail hash with fried eggs and chimichurri ($15) and buttermilk fried chicken biscuits topped with scrambled eggs and tarragon mushroom gravy ($11). Irresistible desserts include peanut butter bread pudding with banana chips and caramel ($7), dark chocolate budino ($5) and white chocolate crème brûlée topped with fresh berries ($6). “Liquid chef” Nick Moody directs a full beverage program of classic cocktails, cask-aged libations on tap and nitro beers. Café Highlands, located at 640 North Highland Avenue, brings new life to its home (formerly housing Café 640), a 1927 structure revitalized with a polished, industrial theme and a covered patio. Open for lunch and dinner daily from 11 a.m.-midnight. Weekend brunch services starts from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, with the restaurant closing at midnight and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sunday, with the restaurant closing at 10 p.m. Reservations are not required; self-parking available on the street or lot shared with the Highland Inn. Call 404-698-3509 for more information.

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.   

Flag these Atlanta Restaurants for July 4

You have to eat sometime amid the cavalcade of July 4 activities, or you’ll fizzle out before the fireworks begin. Blast off to our blog where we’re taking the liberty of listing Atlanta restaurants paying tribute to the holiday with their own stars -- dine-in brunches, lunches and dinners, to-go meals, live music and drink specials -- and stripes, fresh from the grill. 

Say, “Through!” to Drive-Thru. Opt for Ray’s at Killer Creek $12 Value Lunch

How will you spend $12 for lunch today? Conversing with a menu mic, swapping $12 at the window for a lucrative lunch to savor in your (hot) car or office (interruptions)? Opting for the weekday $12 Value Lunch at Ray’s at Killer Creek in Alpharetta sets a more pleasing picture: you, friends, sitting in a chair, at a table, decompressing amid air-conditioned comfort while scanning the special menu and sipping a soft drink, coffee or iced tea from a real glass or cup (included with meal; tax and gratuity not included). Achievable, Monday through Friday from 11 a.m.-4 p.m. In addition to a daily blue plate special, selections spotted on the menu include an Angus beef cheddar burger on toasted brioche with choice of house-cut fries, chips or side salad; slow-roasted chicken baguette with roma tomatoes, melted havarti cheese, champagne vinaigrette, arugula, pesto aioli and fries, chips or side salad; Ray’s chopped chicken salad; salmon Caesar salad; chopped steak of fresh-ground Angus beef with Yukon gold whipped potatoes, wood-roasted mushrooms and crispy onions; and soup and salad. Ray’s welcoming and efficient staff is always glad to see you -- and you’ll leave refreshed and ready to seize the afternoon. 

Why the Grass is Greener: White Oak Pastures Pastured Poultry Workshop June 13

Take a gander at what the broilers, laying hens, guineas and ducks are doing to stay healthy, happy and busy at White Oak Pastures by attending the Pastured Poultry Workshop on Saturday, June 13. At 9 a.m., during the cool of the morning, tour the poultry fields to scratch the surface of pastured practices and see the farm’s mobile housing for 60,000 broilers and 9,000 layers. The tour then shifts to the Animal Welfare Approved, zero-waste abattoirs where humane processing takes precedence over volume. Escape the midday heat by lunching in the covered Pavilion then settling into lecture time from 1-3 p.m. Dig deeper into topics such as brooding, nutrition, pasture raising, processing, egg production, what has worked for the farm and what White Oak Pastures seeks to improve. $80 per person, includes lunch. Class size limited to 25. Reserve a spot online or call 229-641-2081.

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.