Thursday, June 2, 2011

Caption This: We have our BlackStock Winners!

Thanks to everybody who submitted photo caption entries for our contest to win tickets to BlackStock Vineyard and Winery’s Georgia Wine Festival.  You guys are so funny and we loved reading them!

After careful deliberation and voting, we have decided on two winners: Tate and Ginger.  Please email atlantadish@gmail.com to claim your prize – two tickets each to Sunday’s Georgia Fine Wine Festival!  Congratulations and enjoy!

The photo is above and our two winning captions are below, in case you missed it!

Tate:
"You kids didn't know about this step in wine-making, did you?"

Ginger Carter-Miller:
"Here, hold this, will you?"


Cool Off the Summer Heat with Spice Market’s “90 Degree Freeze”

Since this summer looks like it will be a hot one, Spice Market is offering a “90 Degree Freeze” to cool off the “Hotlanta” area. During the months of June, July and August, Spice Market is giving away complimentary ice cream with a $5 minimum purchase when temperatures reach or exceed 90 degrees. The Weather Channel serves as the approved weather gauge for the “90 Degree Freeze,” so make sure to check out www.weather.com and The Weather Channel broadcasts to confirm when the heat has reached 90 degrees or above. Spice Market churns a variety of ice creams including green tea, Vietnamese coffee, banana cashew, fresh mint and caramel plus mango, passion fruit and coconut sorbets. Flavors change daily, so you never know what new ice cream you will get to try. This sweet deal applies to dine-in guests only, and only one ice cream per person will be given with a purchase of $5 or more. Not valid with any other offers.

Spice Market:  In the W Atlanta-Midtown, 188 14th Street, NE; 404-724-2550.

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Downtown! Ray's in the City is waiting for you at Downtown Restaurant Week!

We've got a yummy dinner game idea for you and your friends to make the most of Ray's in the City and Downtown Restaurant Week, which runs through Sunday, June 5. Draw up a tic-tac-toe grid. Each row becomes a course -- appetizer, entrée or dessert -- that you fill with a selection from Ray's $35 prix-fixe Downtown Restaurant Week menu. With three options for each of three courses, you have nine ways to dine...and only five more days to do it. Better bring friends and start checking off Ray's mouthwatering combinations! $35 per person, not including beverage, tax or gratuity. Make Downtown Restaurant Week dinner reservations online.

Ray's in the City:
240 Peachtree Street, NW; 404-524-9224

Tweet Your Way to Winning Sushi for a Year

If you're a sushi fan, there is no better way to get a chance at winning sushi for a year while supporting a great cause than RA Sushi's Nicky's Week Twitter Contest. Just follow RA Sushi on Twitter (@RAsushi) and re-tweet Nicky's Week tweets to be entered in the contest, which ends this Saturday, June 4. RA Sushi is hosting its annual Nicky's Week fundraiser through June 4 and will donate 100% of proceeds from Nicky's Week menu items to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. Nicky's Week menu items include edamame, Tootsy Maki, shrimp nigiri, pork gyoza, tuna tataki, chicken yakitori and select beverages, so it's easy to find something you like for charity. This fundraiser was created in memory of St. Jude Patient Nicholas "Nicky" Mailliard, the 13-year-old nephew of one of RA Sushi's founders who lost a long batttle with brain cancer in 2005. RA Sushi has raised more than $700,000 for the hospital since 2005, and Nicky and other local St. Jude children continue to inspire us. Click here to learn more about Nicky's story and go get your sushi fix at RA Sushi this week!

Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Fadó Goes Euro

Don’t miss your chance to try an array of European beers paired along with tasty plates at Fadó Irish Pub & Restaurant’s upcoming Euro Beer Dinner next Thursday, June 9 at 7 p.m. This special event also includes guest speaker Dan Kahn, senior brewmaster for Anheuser-Busch, Inc. The evening’s menu starts with a welcoming pint of Bass Pale Ale to enjoy with BBQ applewood-smoked shrimp over colcannon mashed potatoes and veggie slaw. Dinner includes Stella Artois paired with summer strawberry spinach salad; blackened chicken and shrimp boxty with tomatoes and mushrooms in a spicy cheese sauce served with a side of fresh vegetables paired with Leffe Blonde; and Hoegaarden paired with Eve's pudding dessert that includes sweet and tart rhubarb in a sugar cookie crust served with vanilla ice cream, mint and rhubarb syrup.

Come fill your mouth with marvelous food, your belly with amazing beer and your mind with enough facts to champion any pub quiz. Tower Beer, Wine & Spirits and Anheuser-Busch InBev join Fadó in sponsoring the exciting evening. Purchase tickets online for $45 each.

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

Tuesday Thinking Cap: Enter to Win Georgia Fine Wine Festival Tickets

Already making plans for this weekend’s fun?  Maybe you could win your way into a fabulous experience at BlackStock Vineyards and Winery’s Georgia Fine Wine Festival!
It’s easy – just head to BlackStock’s Facebook page and take a look at the photo posted as part of their official contest.  Head back here to our blog and leave your best caption in the comments!  (While you’re there, make sure to “like” the page and explore all BlackStock has to offer, too.)
Funny, dry or sweet – get your thinking cap on!  We’ll pick our favorite caption entries this Thursday, June 2 and two winners will receive two tickets each to attend the festival this Sunday, June 5.  Make sure to check back here this Thursday afternoon to see if you are our winner!
Even if you don’t win – you don’t want to miss the festival!  Wine is the draw, but folk craft demonstrations, art, live music by the Kip Dockery Jazz Quartet, a complimentary petting zoo for the children and tractor-pulled vineyard tours (additional fee) will entertain all ages.  
Entry includes a festival glass for wine sampling and two food tickets to try tapas servings from 25 North Georgia restaurants.  One-day tickets are $50 per person; children and designated drivers are admitted free.  For questions, call 706-219-2789 ext. 223.

Friday, May 27, 2011

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


Simply Buckhead is Tweepexactly 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

New York Butcher ShoppeThere'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.

Thursday, May 26, 2011

She's a Real Spice Girl


Spice Route Supper ClubTake 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.

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

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.

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

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.

Monday, May 23, 2011

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.