Hopefully, you’ve already e-filed or mailed in your tax forms (deadline is midnight tonight!). Windfall refund blowing your way? Celebrate! If your dirge is “I owe, I owe, so off to work I go,” take heart with these bar and dining strategies that stretch your post-tax dollars.
Fogo de Chão carves the same 15 cuts of savory meats at lunch for nearly half the price of the evening meal! All-you-can-eat lunch costs $29.50 versus $46.50 for dinner. The big-as-Brazil salad bar has plenty of greens and more! 3101 Piedmont Road; 404-266-9988.
The GLOBE plays a tempting four-on-four deal during Wine Down Wednesdays so you can spend a night out without spending a fortune. Four appetizer “bites” and four wine tastings cost a mere $15 from 6 – 8 p.m. 75 Fifth Street, NW in Midtown; 404-541-1487.
Marlow's Tavern passes savings on to the gals at
Wednesdays’ “Girls’ Night Out” events.
During April, Marlow’s showers the gals with light and luscious food and drink specials. $5 “Ladies Choice” appetizers wow, whether it’s the tequila-lime shrimp martini, lime-marinated chicken satay with fresh guac or a tomato and basil bruschetta. A glass full of excitement is just $5 as well! Try the signature “Tropical Elixir” and “Orange Marmalade.” Adding an element of surprise, each Marlow’s location will feature its own special cocktail of choice on Wednesdays – and even we don’t know what it will be where! April deals continue as each Marlow’s location lines up a $5 white wine flight and a $5 red wine flight for the gals! At all Marlow’s Tavern locations: Alpharetta - 3719 Old Alabama Road, 770-475-1800; Kennesaw - 745 Chastain Road, NW, 770-425-8777; Midtown - 950 West Peachtree Street, 404-815-0323; Vinings - 2355 Cumberland Parkway, 770-432-2526.
Morton’s The Steakhouse “Power Hour” in Buckhead and Downtown provides timely ways to save dough, offering a half-priced Bar Bites menu ($4/plate) from 5 to 6:30 p.m. and from 9 to 11 p.m. Monday through Friday. Technically, Power Hour runs longer than an hour, but that’s in your favor so who’s watching the clock! Start salivating over $4 selections such as the mini cheeseburger trio with more than half a pound of USDA prime beef with cheddar cheese, tomato slices, iceberg lettuce and onion, served on silver dollar rolls; four petite filet mignon sandwiches served on seeded ciabatta dinner rolls; crispy fried chicken goujonettes; and crab, spinach and artichoke dip with toasted bread croutons. Oysters on the half shell are just $1.50 each, and colossal shrimp are $2.50 a piece. Buckhead: Peachtree Lenox Building at 3379 Peachtree Road, NE; 404-816-6535. Downtown in the SunTrust Plaza Building at 303 Peachtree Center Avenue; 404-577-4366.
Trilogy spreads the wealth of savings throughout the week! Every Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday Trilogy pours half-price martinis and wine-by-the-glass, and Coors Light beer is $2.Monday fills the bill with bottomless pasta bowls for $8.95. Top linguini, orchetti or penne pasta with your choice of marinara, meat sauce, Alfredo or tomato basil sauce; Trilogy rounds out the meal with tossed salad and warm crusty bread.Tuesdays are Shrimp Steamer Nights. Plunk down $10.95 and dig into a full pound of steamed shrimp with warm garlic butter, red skin potatoes and corn on the cob.Wednesday’s all-you-care-to-eat helpings of Mama Martin's Meatloaf are a Southern-style comfort that’s decked out with green beans, mashed potatoes and pan gravy for $9.95. 4930 Davidson Road off Johnson Ferry behind the Parkaire shopping center in East Cobb; 770-971-4770.
Wolf Mountain Vineyards & Winery provides a wine-country thrill without airport hassles,
fuel surcharges or taxing time-zone changes. Wine tastings are $10 per person, including a souvenir glass, on Monday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday from noon until 5 p.m., and on Sunday from 12:30 to 5 p.m. Call 706-867-9862 for reservations then head north to Dahlonega, Georgia. 180 Wolf Mountain Trail.
Woodfire Grill keeps your budget in mind with Executive Chef/Owner Michael Tuohy’s expanded small plates menu. Many of Woodfire Grill's previous entrée options have been made into smaller portions so diners can share and enjoy numerous flavors and textures. Recent examples (the menu changes daily) include wood-grilled Sonoma artisan duck breast with Anson Mills polenta and truffle sauce; handmade tagliatelle with Georgia white shrimp, guanciale, chiles, garlic and San Marzano tomato sauce; and carnaroli risotto with porcini mushrooms, butter and Parmigiano-Reggiano. So if you don’t want to blow your dining budget on a big meal, take Woodfire Grill’s small plates menu for a spin. 1782 Cheshire Bridge Road; 404-347-9055.
I love to travel, but, with the economy slowing the way it has, it has gotten a lot more difficult. Luckily, I can still enjoy delicious dishes from some of my favorite destinations at “All Around the GLOBE,” the theme of Chef Josh Perkins’ demo class at The Cook’s Warehouse Midtown. Perkins, Executive Chef of the GLOBE, exposes his formal, culinary training in Italy as he demonstrates how to prepare personal favorites such as sunchoke vichyssoise topped with Spanish caviar and diver scallops, Sweet 100 tomato salad, BBQ lamb rack with mint couscous, and chocolate ricotta-stuffed crepes with Tunisian glazed oranges. Class runs from 7 – 9 p.m. on Tuesday, September 16; $45 per person. For reservations click here or call The Cook’s Warehouse at 404-815-4993. Bon Voyage! 
