It's Follow Friday; Meet Our Tweep of the Week @SimplyBuckhead

Simply Buckhead is exactly that... a lifestyle magazine and guide that sheds light on Buckhead's hidden gems.  The guide and its tweeting counterpart share finds that sometimes (and perhaps thankfully, crowd- and hype-wise) slip through the cracks at other media outlets.  

View the upscale magazine online, or if you're as mobile as we are, keep up the smart phone way on Twitter (@SimplyBuckhead).

Perfect Memorial Day Grilling with New York Butcher Shoppe

There's no mystery to meat selection when the New York Butcher Shoppe experts help you choose the right cuts for a mouthwatering Memorial Day weekend cookout.  The three-day holiday weekend honoring those who died while serving our country in the military has unofficially come to mark the start of the summer grilling season.  The professionals at the three New York Butcher Shoppe locations -- Alpharetta, Dunwoody and Sandy Springs -- are ready with fresh-cut Premium Angus aged steaks, high-quality ground beef, tender chops, chicken, veal, lamb and homemade sausages.  Take advantage of the stores' new "Weekend Getaway" packages available just in time the holiday weekend.  

Whether you're looking for the perfect combination of savory steaks or a heaping helpin' of hotdogs and hamburgers, the New York Butcher Shoppe has everything you need.  Both packages also include an assortment of breakfast rolls, deli meats, chips, pimento cheese dip and choice of side dish options, so you won't have to pick up the extras on the way!  The stores also are offering a "Just the Meat" package option that includes an assortment of baby back ribs, burgers, hot dogs, chicken breasts and wings and a bag of charcoal.  Packages are priced from $64.99 to $94.99.

The stores also carry White Oak Pastures sustainably raised, Certified Organic grass-fed beef in cuts such as tenderloin, ribeye, flat iron, petite tenders and ground grass-fed beef that is ground fresh daily.  New York Butcher Shoppe will custom cut, season and/or marinate your selections, offer cooking and grilling tips and round out your menu with sides, desserts and wines.  New York Butcher Shoppe is all about high-quality meat and service.   For more information on events and promotions, visit New York Butcher Shoppe's Facebook page.

She's a Real Spice Girl

Take a couple of hours out of your 3-day weekend to learn about the spices of India's southern coast. They don't call it the spice route for nothing, you know. Join Asha Gomez, the kitchen guru behind the monthly Spice Route Supper Club dinners, as she filters through the exotica to simplify things for us regular folk at Williams-Sonoma in Lenox Square from 1 - 3 p.m. on Saturday, May 28. Spending the afternoon with Gomez could lead to a tastefully memorable Memorial Day weekend and many meals to come.

Want to get on the invitation list for future Spice Route Supper Club events? Email spiceroutesupperclub@gmail.com.

Taste What's On TV & Win Golf Gear For A Great Cause

It seems every time I watch The Food Network I end up really hungry and saying, "Mmmm, I want that." Luckily, not only will Ray's Restaurants Corporate Executive Chef Tom McEachern star on The Food Network's popular chef competition show "Chopped" on Tuesday, May 31, he's planned a special night at Ray's on the River. The show airs at 10 p.m. and pits four chefs against each other in a challenge to turn assorted everyday ingredients into an extraordinary three-course meal. One contestant is "chopped" after each course until only one is left standing in the kitchen. Will it be Chef Tom? He's bringing the fun to Ray's on the River that night, offering dishes that contain the ingredients he used on the show. One night only -- after that, these items are "chopped" from the menu!

On another note, for you golf fans looking for a new set of irons, driver or bag then join Ray's at Killer Creek for a raffle for a great cause. On April 17, Primus Sanders, a six-year employee in the Ray's at Killer Creek family, experienced a tragic fall that left him in a wheelchair and recovering at Atlanta's Shepherd Center. Locally, Sanders does not have any immediate family to help him get through the recovery process of this life-changing accident. His Ray's at Killer Creek family has taken on the responsibility of supporting him until he heals enough to support himself. Through a very generous donation from Mizuno, the staff is raffling a set of MP-52 irons (3-PW), a JPX-800 driver and an Aerolite stand bag with a total value of $1300. Tickets are $10 each or three for $20. The drawing will be held on June 17 -- just in time for Father's Day! See a manager to purchase tickets. By the way Dish readers, the Ray's at Killer Creek staff also is on the lookout for an apartment that's wheelchair accessible and maneuverable for Sanders to live in during his rehabilitation.

Ray's on the River: 6700 Powers Ferry Road; 770-955-1187.
Ray's at Killer Creek: 1700 Mansell Road, Alpharetta; 770-649-0064.

Watch the UEFA Champions League Finals at Fadó Irish Pub & Restaurant

The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) Champions League Finals is the most-watched sporting event worldwide, drawing more than 100 million television viewers! Barcelona and Manchester United fans will pack Wembley Stadium for the 2:45 p.m. (EST) game this Saturday, May 28. Atlanta fans can flock to Fadó Irish Pub & Restaurant on Peachtree Street in Buckhead for champion viewing live on all 20 of the HD TVs in the spirited pub. That includes the TV on the rooftop patio! Fadó opens Saturday mornings at 10 a.m., and fans are encouraged to come early. History projects the pub will reach capacity (500 guests) by kickoff. Feed your team with hearty pub fare and appetizers including the shareable Dublin Sampler that fills the table with full orders of cheese dip, chicken tenders and chicken boxty quesadillas at a value price. Count on Fadó bartenders to pull perfect pints of European draughts including Guinness, Boddingtons Pub Ale, Harp, Smithwick's and Hoegaarden. Another big score: the pub will stay open until 3 a.m. for cheers and congrats...or comfort and compassion.

Fadó Irish Pub & Restaurant: 273 Buckhead Avenue; 404-841-0066.

A Sch'Wheat Way to Kick Off Your Memorial Day Weekend

Memorial Day weekend doesn't have to mean spending a fortune on filling up your gas tank to head down to the beach. Fleming's Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar welcomes the weekend with a culinary adventure that won't break the bank. The Perimeter restaurant is hosting a special SweetWater beer dinner on Friday, May 27 at 6 p.m. outdoors on its newly renovated patio. A SweetWater Brewing Company brewmaster will be there to share info on the night's beer pairings, starting with a round of SweetWater Sch'Wheat. The three-course dinner includes sweet chili calamari paired with SweetWater Blue; entrée choice of Fleming's Prime Burger or marinated chicken burger teamed up with SweetWater 420 and SweetWater IPA; and walnut turtle brownies alongside SweetWater Georgia Brown. Dinner also includes cucumber and tomato salad, coleslaw, potato salad and sweet corn on the cob served family style. Cost is $50 per person (plus tax and gratuity). Reserve your spot now by calling 770-698-8112.

Retweet for a Treat at RA Sushi

If you are staying in town over the holiday weekend, take note and stop into RA Sushi to help support St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. For the past seven years, RA Sushi restaurants have held a "Nicky's Week" fundraiser for the hospital in memory of Nicky Mailliard, a Scottsdale, Ariz. teen and St. Jude patient who lost his struggle against brain cancer at age 13. Nicky was the nephew of one of RA Sushi's founders and won the hearts of RA Sushi employees across the country.

From Sunday, May 29 through Saturday, June 4, when RA Sushi guests order special Nicky's Week menu items, RA Sushi will donate 100 percent of the proceeds to St. Jude. Nicky's week menu items include guest favorites, such as edamame, Tootsy Maki, shrimp nigiri, pork gyoza, tuna tataki, chicken yakitori and select beverages.

For a chance to do good AND win big, be sure to follow @RAsushi on Twitter. Retweet Nicky's Week Tweets and be entered to win free sushi for a year! More details here.

It's Follow Friday; Meet Our Tweep of the Week @atltravlr

Journalist and technical writer Linda Erbele will "talk story" with you about business, lifestyle and travel writing projects.  She reveals little-known details uncovered along Georgia's back roads and byways on her Georgia Crossings blog -- including digging up some juicy Vidalia Onion history in her entry on the newly opened Vidalia Onion Museum.  Those Vidalias are so sweet they won't make you cry, but they will inspire you to follow Erbele's tweets (@atltravlr).

Ice Cream Time!

The word is out... Slow Food Atlanta is hosting its Fifth Annual Old-Fashioned Ice Cream Social fundraiser on Saturday, June 18, and right now they are seeking amateur ice cream makers to go up against some of Atlanta's top chefs!!

The Ice Cream Social, which is in conjunction with the Peachtree Road Farmers Market, will take place in the garden of St. Philip’s Cathedral at 2744 Peachtree Road on Saturday, June 18 from 12:30 pm to 2:00 p.m.

Contestants are asked to provide 2 - 3 gallons of homespun ice cream or sorbet made from fresh ingredients. Slow Food Atlanta will provide cups and utensils (all compostable or recyclable), signage, and an eager ice cream-eating public. Last year’s event drew almost 200 hungry Atlantans of all ages.

If you are interested in entering the friendly competition, email your name, contact info and ice cream flavor to slowfoodicecreamsocial@gmail.com by June 1.

More of an ice cream eater rather than ice cream maker? Purchase your tickets to this tasty social here.

Mr. Harris Goes To Washington

Photo by Angie Mosier

White Oak Pastures President Will Harris III is DC-bound this week, and it won't take a cattle prod to bring him back to Bluffton.  Talk to Harris and you'll find out the grass really is greener on his side of the fence.  His cattle love it that way and so do the growing number of grass-fed beef devotees who purchase White Oak Pastures' all-natural, grass-fed beef at quality markets and restaurants in five states.  

Harris will be recognized as Georgia's "2011 Small Business Person of the Year" during the Small Business Administration's National Small Business Week events, May 18 - 20, in Washington, D.C.  The fifth-generation farmer has grown the family farm to become one of the largest producers of organic, grass-fed beef in the nation -- covering more than 2,500 acres.  All farming, cattle raising and processing is done at White Oak Pastures using sustainable methods, modern technology and renewable energy sources.  

In addition to running his farm operation with 44 employees, Harris is president of the Georgia Organics board of directors as well as the beef director of the American Grass-Fed Association.  Congrats to Will and all of White Oak Pastures!

Fadó Brings Back “Ladies ‘80s”

If you missed it in April, you have another shot to celebrate the famed decade full of slap bracelets and big hair at Fadó Irish Pub & Restaurant on Saturday, May 21 at 10 p.m. The Buckhead hotspot is hosting its "Ladies '80s" party once again with all the same great specials. Dress out and dance up a thirst for '80s classic cocktails such as the Long Island Iced Tea, Mai Tai and Blue Hawaiian priced at $6 each for the ladies. Get down to the sounds of a live DJ (not an '80s cassette player). '80s babies, visit an '80s blog for memory-jogging ideas for fashion and hair. Fadó party favors include period accessories such as slap bracelets and candy necklaces.

Fadó Irish Pub & Restaurant: 273 Buckhead Avenue; 404-841-0066

Atlanta Food & Wine Festival, You Had Me At Food

The upcoming Atlanta Food & Wine Festival is so heady and rich in flavor that we can hardly condense its essence to a simple paragraph or two. Offering close to 200 ways to "sip, savor and enjoy the South," the May 19-22 festival overflows with learning experiences, tasting tents, street carts and a connoisseur lounge. Events and themes are divided into three categories: Old Traditions, New Traditions and Imports & Inspirations. Lest we become the proverbial kids in a candy shop, we are honing in on a dozen chefs, restaurants and food experts in particular. We're focusing forks on Owner/Executive Chef Kevin Gillespie of Woodfire Grill, South City Kitchen Executive Chef Chip Ulbrich, Ecco Executive Chef Micah Willix, Fifth Group Restaurants Co-Founder Steve Simon, White Oak Pastures President Will Harris, JCT. Kitchen & Bar Owner/Executive Chef Ford Fry, Chef Nathan Lippy and his event at the W Atlanta-Midtown, Morelli's Gourmet Ice Cream & Desserts, Executive Chef Tracey Bloom of Ray's at Killer Creek, Executive Chef and Partner Drew Belline of No. 246 in Decatur, Spice Route Supper Club's Chef and Creator Asha Gomez, and Owner/Executive Chef Gerry Klaskala of Aria. Download the program schedule for complete event details. Tickets, ranging in price from $50 to $2500 per person, are available for purchase online.

Get Some "Rock 'N' Roll Delight" at Briza with Hugo This Thursday

Briza is doling out some "Rock 'N' Roll Delight" this Thursday, May 19 at 10 p.m. when England-born/Thailand-raised musician Hugo stops by the Midtown restaurant to perform an intimate live set from his debut album, "Old Tyme Religion." Hugo will hit The Masquerade stage for a full concert the following evening, but this is your chance for a closer look in a cozy setting. You won't want to miss his cover of Jay-Z's "99 Problems."

Briza Executive Chef Janine Falvo is offering a $40 tasting menu for the special occasion. You can reserve a spot between 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. for her special tasting menu and “HUGOtini” cocktail by calling the restaurant at 678-412-2402.

Briza: 866 West Peachtree Street, NW, adjacent to the Atlanta Renaissance Midtown Hotel.