How Do You Like Our New ‘Do?

Tonight, splash some wine in a glass, open your browser and visit our new website. Wow-ser, browser! Our new ‘do gives a better reflection of all that we do and can do here at Melissa Libby & Associates. Catch up on our Pinterest posts, tweets and social skills and meet the faces getting the word out about the places and events where Atlanta loves to eat and drink. We owe a big shout-out and thank you to Jenkins Creative, our neighbors here at the Lumberyard Lofts, for helping us create our fun, new website!

Tickets for Atlanta Food & Wine Festival

 

 

 

The Atlanta Food & Wine Festival is coming to Midtown the weekend of May 28-31, 2015, and the ticket line opens Friday, February 13. A couple of reasons to buy now: tickets step in as a sweet last minute Valentine’s surprise, and if you wait, you’ll forget and event history points to sell outs. Your ticket accesses full-fledged tastes of Southern cuisine and culture, whether you’re choosin’ fusion or going for down-home goodness. Sample highly desirable wines and on-trend bar faves. Sign up for exclusive wine and cooking classes at the Loews Atlanta Hotel, see cooking demonstrations, meet Atlanta and regional chefs and more. More feel good factors besides the food and wine you’ll ingest? Festival proceeds benefit organizations that promote Southern culture and history, opportunities for women in culinary arts and increasing access to organically grown produce. Whet your appetite by viewing AF&WF on Pinterest. 

Get Meaty with Your Sweetie at HOBNOB February 11-24

 

Heartily timed to hit during Valentine’s week, HOBNOB Neighborhood Tavern zings in with its second-annual Ribs & Brews dinner menu that delivers fall-off-the-bone tenderness and opportunities to reach across the table and dab sauce off your dearest’s chin. From February 11-24, Midtown diners can delve into baby back ribs with SweetWater Blue-honey barbecue glaze, braised short ribs with Duck-Rabbit Milk Stout demi-glace and Saint Louis-style pork ribs doused in Guinness beer barbecue sauce ($16-$18), all paired with mouthwatering Southern-ish sides. The Ribs & Brews menu suggests ideal rib-brew duos including SweetWater Blue, Eventide Nitro stout and Terrapin Liquid Bliss chocolate peanut butter porter. Leave some room for a happy ending of homemade cobbler of the day with vanilla ice cream ($6) and perhaps a moonshine cocktail from the bar. By the way, the regular HOBNOB menu still stands during this Ribs & Brews special. 

What's New on Pinterest

Curling up with a good cookbook is quite a palatable pastime. Splattered pages verify tried-and-true recipes, margin scribbles remind us what worked and when we served it, and seasoned chefs offer wise words and pictures showing exactly how it’s done. Turning the pages of vintage cookbooks is like taking a culinary trip through time. So inspired, we’re turning a Pinterest board into a virtual library of Cookbook Creations with volumes such as Kevin Gillespie’s “Pure Pork Awesomeness,” the classic “I Hate to Cook Book,” “The Unofficial Downton Abbey Cookbook,” and even all you need to know about creating your own family cookbook. This board’s sure to be a page turner. 

Appetizing Aperture

A few Strawberry Kiss cocktails at Nikolai’s Roof might lead to something more. Sip one with your sweetie and dwell upon why you two are in need of an overnight night out. Hold that thought, write up your reasoning, snap a picture of you two and enter the Nikolai’s Roof Romantic Getaway Contest. On February 9, a winner will be announced to enjoy a Valentine’s Day four-course dinner for two at Nikolai’s Roof and that night’s stay at the Hilton Atlanta in an executive level guest room plus breakfast at Southern Elements the next morning. Read details and enter online.

#Foodgram

Hilarious! @foodbabyny leads one to wonder what is the apple of this dad’s eye -- the baby or the bagels? Food Baby’s dad, Mike Chau, captures the “cutest baby in NY” and the best chow in NY. Don’t laugh with your mouth full.

Red Heart Rolls on RA Sushi Limited-Time-Only Menu

Red Heart rolls and Passion Punch Bowl comprise a heavenly Valentine month food and drink match up at RA Sushi Bar Restaurant. They’re just two of the items on the Midtown restaurant’s limited-time-only menu featuring spicy and brightly hued items created to help Atlantans break free from winter’s cold clutches. Look for chili garlic shrimp for $11.25, $9 crunchy yami rolls and Red Heart rolls for $10.95 to warm innards. While king crab salad with avocado and mixed greens for $17.50 and seared ahi tuna on grilled asparagus remind us that spring will soon be here. Cocktails to perk up a wintry day or night include a light and slightly sweet lychee margarita and the blue ginger martini that shakes together Pinnacle Blueberry vodka, crushed blueberries and fresh ginger for $8.50. Sake hounds, sip on the $16 Ty Ku Coconut Nigori premium sake or opt for a flight of three specially selected two-ounce sake pours for $9. Rendezvous at the tropical Passion Punch Bowl for two (or the Baby Passion for one) and sail away on Amaretto Di Saronno, pineapple vodka, passion fruit and aged rums charged with coconut water and juices. Keep these tempters on your RA-radar through March. 

Chick-a-Biddy Woos Waffle Lovers with New Varieties

Tender waffles, tough decisions. We’re seeing some waffling on the horizon as Chick-a-Biddy guests decide which of the three new chef-inspired waffles they’ll want to fork into first. Savory applewood smoked bacon and cheddar, cinnamon roll with vanilla icing and a red velvet Southern classic with cream cheese icing are $10 each and come with honey butter and syrup. Pair any of these wonderful waffles with three fresh and local chicken tenders for $14. From the get-go, folks have gone crazy for the Atlantic Station eatery’s original cheddar waffles, and chef and co-owner Shaun Doty knows they’ll love these fun, scratch-made renditions. Fly by the fast-casual restaurant for lunch, dinner or weekend brunch and choose one for yourself or order all three for the table. Might be some mental gridlock over which is your new favorite flavor.

Nation’s Restaurant News “Power List”

Nation’s Restaurant News (NRN) recently released “The Power List 2015: Reader Picks,” its second annual list of the most powerful people in foodservice -- leaders who are affecting change in the restaurant industry landscape. The source of that list? NRN research and nominations submitted by those in the industry. The peer-nominated Reader Picks list includes many leaders right here on our own Southern turf. Sure, we’ll name drop some list-ees: Steven Chan, founder and CEO of Tin Drum Asiacafé; Shaun Doty, executive chef and co-owner of Bantam + Biddy; chef, cookbook author and Gunshow owner Kevin Gillespie; Tom Gray, chef and owner of Moxie Kitchen + Cocktails in Jacksonville, Florida.; Chris Hadermann and John Piemonte, co-founders and partners at Southern Proper Hospitality Group; White Oak Pastures owner Will Harris; and John C. Metz, executive chef of Marlow’s Tavern and Aqua blue. Congratulations, gentlemen! We can’t wait to see what you’ll have for us next.

Atkins Park Holds Sierra Nevada Beer Backpack Raffle

Atkins Park Restaurant & Bar in Virginia-Highland is giving away a sturdy Sierra Nevada backpack on February 28. Boost your chances of winning by frequenting Atkins Park and ordering Sierra Nevada beer before February 28. Collect a raffle ticket with every Sierra Nevada purchase then cross fingers, arms and bottles in hopes they’ll pull your number on the last day of the month. 

Georgia Restaurant Neighbor Awards for Marlow’s Tavern and Ray’s on the River

Marlow’s Tavern and Ray’s Restaurants / Ray’s on the River have been serving up heaping helpings of hospitality in their dining rooms and out in the community for years, catching the  attention of the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation (NRAEF). The organization has come knocking with its prestigious Georgia Restaurant Neighborhood Award to honor these good neighbors and inspire other restaurateurs to be more involved in their local communities.

For the past 16 years, Marlow’s Tavern and Sterling Spoon Culinary Management have teamed up to host an annual golf tournament benefiting Special Olympics Georgia (SOGA) and its athletes. Additionally, each time Marlow’s opens a new location, it hosts a friends-and-family “sneak preview” event, encouraging guests to donate to SOGA in lieu of paying for their meals. These joint efforts have raised over a half-million dollars for SOGA.

Ray’s on the River has partnered with the Fragile Kids Foundation for more than 20 years to provide wheelchair lifts, ramping, bathing and toileting equipment, therapy bikes, strollers and much more to Georgia’s medically fragile children. Ray’s hosts two big annual events for Fragile Kids Foundation: a golf tournament fundraiser and a breakfast with Santa where families benefitting from the foundation enjoy complimentary brunch and a visit with Santa at the riverside restaurant. 

State winners compete nationally, and four national winners will receive $5,000 awards for their favorite charities or community projects. Thanks, y’all, for your good works and best wishes for bringing home the national bacon for your causes!

New Manager and the band Soldado at Trader Vic’s Atlanta

Malik Diop is the new captain (a.k.a. general manager) at the helm of Trader Vic’s, downtown Atlanta’s legendary tiki bar and port of call for Polynesian cuisine. Eighteen years of hotel and restaurant management experience anchor Diop. He cruises southward to Trader Vic’s from Chateau Elan, where since 2004 he served as manager for the 3,500-acre resort’s seven restaurants, as well as its bar and room service. Diop is very familiar with Atlanta’s tastes, having spent eight years as restaurant supervisor at the J.W. Marriott Buckhead. More news: the band Soldado entertains the Trader’s guests on the first Thursday evening of each month -- grab a sound bite on their website. Tie up your outrigger and hula on in this Thursday evening to rock with Soldado, try exotic dishes such as volcano shrimp and cocktails like the popular mai tai ($6 on Thursday nights), and say “aloha!” to the new GM. 

Marlow’s Tavern is Atlanta Jewish Film Festival Sponsor

The 15th annual Atlanta Jewish Film Festival is filling screens at theaters across Atlanta with a reel-time exploration of Jewish culture, history, life in Israel and more. Last year, more than 31,000 people visited theaters across Atlanta to view films that seek to entertain, educate and challenge conventional perspectives on issues facing Jewish and global communities. This year’s festival runs through February 19. Festival sponsors include Atlanta restaurants Marlow’s Tavern and The Pig & The Pearl. Which reminds us, when was the last time you went out for dinner and a movie? Hint, hint. Browse the film schedule, then purchase tickets and make those dinner reservations while you’re at it. 

White Oak Pastures is Savory Institute 2015 Hub Candidate

White Oak Pastures is one of nine organizations nominated as a 2015 Hub candidate by the Savory Institute, an international, U.S.-based nonprofit that promotes large-scale restoration of the world’s grasslands through holistic management. White Oak Pastures and the other eight Hub candidates expand the roster of 20 Savory Network Hubs already providing holistic management education and support to land managers in their region. The Savory Network Hubs represent 17 countries on all six habitable continents. As a Hub candidate, White Oak Pastures will send staff to participate in advanced holistic management training, a leadership boot camp at the Africa Centre for Holistic Management in Zimbabwe and participate in October’s Savory Institute International Conference slated for San Francisco. Sustainable land stewardship is a core value at White Oak Pastures. The multigenerational family farm in Bluffton, Georgia practices the Serengeti Grazing Model, rotating complementary animals through its pastures. Learn how you can give your own homestead a sustainable edge by attending the Composting Workshop at White Oak Pastures on Saturday, February 7 from 10:00 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Register online to throw your name in the heap. $60 per person, includes lunch. Class size limited to 25 students. 

New Waffle Flavors at Chick-a-Biddy, New Menu Items at RA Sushi and More in This Week's Dish!

We're back and better than ever with a new and improved Dish! This week, we're flying the coop and heading straight to Chick-a-Biddy at Atlantic Station for a trio of new waffles. New flavors include savory applewood smoked bacon and cheddar, cinnamon roll with vanilla icing and red velvet with cream cheese icing for just $10 each. Pair them with three tasty tenders for $14. In Midtown, RA Sushi Bar Restaurant is rolling out a new menu of their own with romantic rolls and more. Pair the Red Heart Roll with a Passion Punch Bowl for a memorable meal with your favorite valentine, then heat things up with chili garlic shrimp before cooling off with a blue ginger martini. All that and more in this week's Dish!

#Foodgram

Los Angeles-based photographer @hiramcamillo admits he has a thing for plants. The vegan spares words and satiates followers with photos synthesizing a garden of plant-based good eats. Hiram Camillo's vibrant shots, some tagging recipes, cleanse those midwinter blues right out of your system.  

Appetizing Aperture

Photo Credit: Erica George Dines

Atlas is now open in The St. Regis Atlanta! If only we could bite into this photo. Jamison Farm lamb loin and roasted garlic lamb kielbasa flanked by lentils, curry-cauliflower purée, roasted cauliflower and tapenade reflect the kitchen artistry of chef de cuisine Christopher Grossman and consulting chef/restaurateur Gerry Klaskala as the gents draw inspiration from a seasonal, locally sourced culinary palette.     

What's New on Pinterest

Super Bowl Sensations pits healthy against hedonistic in a game-day snack table showdown. Our Pinterest picks meet in the middle to appease both factions. Toss out the double-dipping conundrum by layering dips in individual cups. Turn food into mini-footballs by adding "laces" using white chocolate on chocolate-dipped strawberries or chives on deviled eggs. Mix up Game Day Pep Corn. Perhaps the ultimate edible centerpiece is a pan-sized football field turfed with guac anchored by opposing queso and salsa end zones, all flanked by adoring tortilla chip fans. 

Wine, Food & Fun at Fundraising Event to Benefit Michael Bryan

We often take our legs and feet for granted...until a prosthesis-clad Peachtree Road Race runner bounds past, giving us at least 5K to mull over how much they've endured and persevered. Since being diagnosed with stage 3 pleomorphic sarcoma cancer in 2012, Michael Bryan has persevered through chemo, radiation, surgery, months of rehabilitation, the removal of his left leg at the hip, the addition of a prosthetic leg in its stead plus more rehab and therapy. Medical expenses have piled up beyond insurance allowances for Michael and wife Lelia, who had opened Vino Venue three weeks before the diagnosis. Vino Venue/The Atlanta Wine School, Flavors magazine and Atlanta Homes & Lifestyles magazine are collaborating to help out by hosting a Friends of Michael Bryan FUNdraising benefit, and The Giving Kitchen is providing a matching grant. Block out the hours of 3-6 p.m. on Sunday, February 8 to hang out at Vino Venue in the Georgetown Shopping Center located off I-285 at Chamblee-Dunwoody Road. Top chefs collaborate in the wine school's kitchen, and guests will savor a contrast of sushi and Brazilian "low 'n slow" charcoal-grilled meats along with fine wines and craft beers. A silent auction, raffle and bottle pull play out over the course of the afternoon. Buy tickets online, $75 per person.

Tin Drum Celebrates the Chinese New Year with New Dishes and Deals

Eager to get a jump on a holiday centered on "Lucky Days" with lots of peace, harmony and good fortune, Tin Drum Asiacafé is spinning out two takes on traditional Chinese dishes for Chinese New Year 2015. Famished guests won't have to drag on until February 19, the first day of "The Year of the Ram," to chopstick into Orange Ginger Chicken or Mongolian Fiery Steak because Tin Drum starts stirring up these comforting dishes on Monday, February 2. Served atop hot steamed white rice, one dish captures a colorful parade of crispy chicken, fresh red pepper and broccoli sautéed in sweet and tangy orange ginger sauce while the other sautés juicy steak and zesty green onions in spicy Mongolian sauce and caps the mix with crispy onion strings. Each dish is priced at $7.95 and is available for a limited-time only. Got a yen to save some money? Stop by Tin Drum on Fridays and request the Friday Meal Deal: fork out $6 for either of these two Chinese New Year entrées and a fountain drink.

White Oak Pastures Hosts Composting Workshop on February 7

Learn the nitty-gritty, down-and-dirty facts about composting at the White Oak Pastures composting workshop on Saturday, February 7. Done correctly, composting is stink-free, easy and economical, and it diminishes waste while building a nutritional jackpot for your plants. Early birds, show up at 10 a.m. for the optional farm tour. The workshop officially begins with a noon lunch in the Pavilion. Guests rake in heaps of fun after lunch when class digs into the nuances of composting, including an overview of composting and basic requirements, how compost heaps work and various designs, methods and monitoring. After guests warm to those topics, the agenda moves on to black soldier fly biology and vermicomposting (don't try to worm your way out of that one). A Q&A session wraps up the pile of information relayed during this fruitful day on the farm. $60 class fee includes lunch and optional farm tour. Class size limited to 25 students. Call 229-641-2081 for more information or to reserve a seat. 

Play Around with the X-Treme Combo at Game-X

Heard that right. Shouts of "Awesome! It's Monday!" resonating across Atlanta. X-Treme Combo days run rampant at Game-X in downtown Atlanta's Luckie Marietta District, shaving dollars off the price of food and fun. Monday through Friday from 3-10 p.m., Game-X guests requesting the X-Treme Combo when ordering any entrée can add a $10 value X-card to their meal order for $6. House rules: you must mention the combo when placing your order, it must be on the same check as the entrée, and the X-Treme Combo doesn't play at private events. Fuel up with American fast-casual burgers, wraps, sandwiches and salads ($8-$11), grab your Game-X card and tackle some of the 60-plus action-packed new-tech and classic games. Full bar stocks your favorite quenchers.

Join Der Biergarten for the 7th Annual SchlagerParty

The 1970s are so schlager-full, what with 70s schlager songs, 70s attire and schlager dance moves. This ever-popular music party boogies down at Der Biergarten when Atlanta's authentic German eatery hosts its 7th annual SchlagerParty on Saturday, February 7 from 7 p.m. until closing. Belt out your best vocals after lubricating those vocal cords with Krombacher pilsner or Weihenstephaner hefe, priced at $9 per liter for the party. What to wear? Considering Der Biergarten will dole out prizes for costumes, you'll want to throw on that kitschy, campy 70s wear or German costume crooning in your closet.

Atlanta Restaurants Share the Love on Valentine's Day

When you were a kid, Valentine's Day whirled around cheesy little cards (for the whole class), message-emblazoned candies, heart-shaped cookies smeared with really red icing and maybe a box of chocolates. Adult life sure is a lot more complicated, whether you're smitten or not. Hugs to Atlanta restaurants for stepping in to save the date with delicious terms of endearment on Valentine's Day menus.

10th & Piedmont and G's Midtown double date -- both offer a romantic Valentine's Day prix fixe dinner for two from 5-11 p.m. For $79 plus tax and gratuity, couples will enjoy a four-course menu that includes grilled Belgian endive salad, a shareable chef's tasting of smoked salmon mousse cups and mini crabcake bites, as well as an entrée choice for each person, such as cumin-crusted duck breast, roasted lamb loin or a surf and turf with lobster tail and filet medallions. Spoon a swoon-worthy dessert, chocolate soufflé for two. Make reservations online or by phone: 10thP.com 404-602-5510 or GsMidtown.com 404-872-8012.

Roses are red, and Aqua blue is equally romantic this Valentine's weekend. From Friday, February 13 through Sunday, February 15, a Valentine's three-course prix fixe dinner is $50 per person (excluding tax or gratuity), and the à la carte menu also is available for those who already have a "love" on the menu. Reservations: 770-643-8886.

In the heart of Buckhead, a four-course dinner at Aria sets the stage for romance on Saturday, February 14. Chef Gerry Klaskala's avant-garde take on fine American cuisine woos and wows for $95 per person. Reservations: 404-233-7673.

Book a date at Atkins Park Restaurant & Bar in Virginia-Highland and embrace the delicious chef's menu February 13 and 14. À la carte selections include flash-fried oysters, pan-roasted black grouper, grilled lamb porterhouse and crispy sweet ricotta ravioli for dessert ($6-$28). Reservations: 404-876-7249.

You flipped over each other, now flip over the creative burgers at FLIP burger boutique, especially the special Valentine's lobster burger available February 13-15. The loaded lobster roll burger hugs a topping of Duke's mayo, crème fraîche, shallots, chives, parsley, avocado and pecan-smoked bacon, all on a toasted brioche bun for just $19.

Whether you're going duo or solo, there's a Valentine's special to love at Midtown's HOBNOB Neighborhood Tavern. From 5-11 p.m., a couple's dinner featuring chef's specials plus the regular menu will be offered. From 10 p.m. to 2:30 a.m., the restaurant hosts a Broken Hearts Club singles party with all-you-can-eat pizza and all-you-can-drink beer and bubbly. Party tickets are $29 per person in advance; $39 at the door. Reservations: 404-968-2288.

Whisper a sweet "meet me at Marlow's" in your Valentine's ear (being sure you are both talking about the same Marlow's location). Each Marlow's Tavern will feature a special three-course prix fixe menu for $35 per person, as well as their beloved American tavern fare served in a refreshingly modern setting.

Lovebirds can roost at Milton's Cuisine & Cocktails in Historic Crabapple for executive chef Derek Dollar's special prix fixe dinner priced at $59 per person. Sip on specialty Valentine's Day cocktails while enjoying live music. Information and reservations: 770-817-0161.

Love is way up in the air on the 30th floor of Hilton Atlanta where an elegant dinner at Nikolai's Roof awaits weekend view seekers. Chef de cuisine Stephanie Alderete is offering a five-course prix fixe menu along with the regular menu on Friday, February 13. On Saturday, February 14, only the prix fixe option will be available. Featured dishes include jumbo lump crab terrine, seared foie gras, sautéed swordfish or braised short ribs, and a dark chocolate soufflé to finish. $110 per person, with a four-glass wine pairing for $55 or five glasses for $58. Go ahead and smooch a Strawberry Kiss cocktail ($10) before dinner. Reservations: 404-221-6362.

Your Valentine's a gem worthy of a multi-course meal at The Pig & The Pearl in Atlantic Station. Over February 13-14, both seafood and smoked meat lovers will adore the special three-course lunch and dinner menu. Fan the flames of desire with a shared appetizer course of smoked deviled eggs, poached shrimp and smoked salmon followed by a shared smoke stack of pork shoulder, brisket, wings, ribs, mustard greens, mac & cheese and Sea Island red pea "baked beans." Finish sweetly with flourless tuxedo chocolate cake served with bubbles. $80 per couple, plus tax and gratuity. Lovely additions: four seats will be available at the raw bar each night for a seven-course menu personally designed and prepared by chef Todd Richards and featuring the finest oysters, caviar, smoked meats and vegetables. $85 per person, plus tax and gratuity. Reservations: 404-541-0930.

Ray's Restaurants comprise a romantic trio, and all three locations have special menus in their quivers for cupid's big day. Call the individual restaurants for menu information and reservations. Ray's in the City: 404-524-9224; Rays at Killer Creek: 770-649-0064; Ray's on the River: 770-955-1187.

Prince Charming? The Southern Gentleman, a new gastropub in the Buckhead Atlanta development, dazzles and delights guests with a three-course prix fixe menu rich with lobster and grits, black truffle-celery soup, flounder, petite filet of beef, chocolate buttermilk cake and strawberry cheesecake. Dinner is $65 per person. Reservations: 404-939-9845.

Aloha means love and Trader Vic's in the Hilton Atlanta invites you to bestow aloha on your Valentine this February 14. The Trader's special menu includes BBQ duck breast spring roll, Asian chicken breast salad, entrée choices of wok stir-fried strip loin or pan-seared yellowtail snapper and a sweet spot of white chocolate soufflé with passion fruit coulis for dessert. $60 per person (plus 20 percent gratuity and tax). Add two glasses of sparkling wine for $14.

Join The Shed to celebrate a romantic night out! There will be a three course meal served for $45 per person. There are four choices to start the night – shrimp and grits with chicken sausage, onions, peppers and baguette; tuna tartare served with ponzu gelee, cucumber, trout caviar, scallions and fried shallots; smoked beef brisket spring roll with baby corn, sweet potato, avocado puree, kung pao sauce  or Caesar salad. After that, indulge in a mouthwatering second course that includes options like pan seared bay scallops; NY strip; potato crusted flounder and Springer Mountain Farms chicken.  End this special night with a sweet treat like vanilla crème brulee, deconstructed ding dong, red velvet cheesecake or share the cheese plate for two that includes raisin toast, pecans and apple butter. 

Article 14 is the place to take your lover this Valentine’s Day. Abandon your normal routine and try the menu specifically created for this special night. Begin with a decadent appetizer of oysters and caviar, two choices of entrees: mouth watering diver scallop, asparagus and a petite herb salad priced at $29 or pan roasted filet of beef with cauliflower and hazelnuts for $34. Don’t forget to finish the night off with the $8 “Chocolate Love Affair” so amorous it may feel like cheating. 

Sneak away to Bluffton, Georgia for an idyllic Valentine's Day dinner at White Oak Pastures on February 14. Pavilion meal includes four courses for two, lining up an appetizer, salad, choice of entreé and dessert with a complimentary glass of Champagne for each guest. $85 per couple, $55 for singles, and those who partake in the dinner will receive 10 percent off lodging for the night. Reservations required: 229-641-2081.

Gotta love Willy's Mexicana Grill for this heartwarming special. On Valentine's Day, bring a homemade or store-bought Valentine's card to any Willy's location, and they will love you back with a special offer to use on a return visit.

Buy roses that make a difference this Valentine's Day: Whole Trade® Roses at Whole Foods Market help provide fair prices to producers, safe and healthy working conditions for farm workers and promote environmentally-friendly growing practices-plus each bunch provides a one percent donation to Whole Planet Foundation for poverty relief.

What's New on Pinterest

Your average Joe pomegranate holds 600 arils (seeds), rosy gems bursting with tart juice, vitamins, antioxidants, health benefits and a pop of tart juice to wake up winter recipes. Pick some Pomegranate Pleasures off our Pinterest board, beginning with a cutting and aril removal tutorial and progressing to a protein-packed pomegranate berry smoothie, five-ingredient pear and pomegranate salsa, sweet and savory baked brie, superfood salad with pan-seared salmon, pomegranate-glazed shrimp and so many more. We'll never take pomegranates for granted again. 

Appetizing Aperture

The pork schnitzel plate at Moxie Kitchen + Cocktails in Jacksonville, Florida is a testimony to locally sourced and house-made goodness. This dish stars range-raised pork, brought up specifically for Moxie at Cognito Farm in Starke, Florida. Pounded thin, coated in house-made cornbread crumbs and pan fried until golden, this Moxie star hangs with "redneck risotto" creamy with house-made pimento cheese and chow-chow. Snitch some at lunch or dinner, $18. 

#Foodgram

Turning the tables on global eats this week. Pick your dream destination @travelandleisure. Visualize doing the shore thing, drifting in a crystal blue lagoon, rounding the corner and discovering a secret Mediterranean courtyard or whatever floats your boat. If you hunger for more, sleuth out the local cuisine in recipes, carryout or dine-in restaurants here in the ATL. 

Article 14 Docks Prices on Two Renowned Wines on Wine Wednesdays

Photo Credit: Dan Carmody

You be the judge, but we think this is a super deal for Midtown wine aficionados. Turning Wednesdays into Wine Wednesdays, Article 14 offers bottles of Jordan Vineyard & Winery cabernet for $35 (regularly $110 per bottle) and Cakebread Cellars cabernet for $65 (regularly $150 per bottle). Toast savings of 60-70 percent as you share a bottle or two with friends. Small plates and entrées on the Article 14 menu are delicious go-withs!

Enter to Win Tin Lizzy's Annual Taco Contest

Photo Credit: Jeremy Adamo

Caught you playing with your tacos again. Using that tortilla as a blank plate to capture Sriracha'ed shrimp and pineapple slaw, barbecued bison or roasted cauliflower and calamari. Now that's flexing your Mex-ination! Don't be taco shell-fish. Enter your "A" game ideas in the sixth-annual taco contest now underway at all eight metro-Atlanta Tin Lizzy's Cantina locations. Tin Lizzy's fans rave about this yearly opportunity to share their taco-coctions. Through February 27, customers can visit any Tin Lizzy's location and submit their creations online. By scanning the QR code on a Tin Lizzy's server's nametag, participants will be directed to the entry page. On February 28, Tin Lizzy's will select four finalists' tacos to debut on the March menu. The grand prize winner receives $500 cash and may even have his or her taco featured on the next menu. Second place wins $300 cash, third place takes home $150 cash and fourth place will be awarded a $75 Tin Lizzy's gift card.  Last year's winning taco, the Steak Out, corralled steak, crispy onions, lettuce and blue cheese crumbles drizzled with garlic aioli. Other winners have included the Southern Comfort taco and Big John's Low Country Boil taco.

Soar to Bluffton for White Oak Pastures' Bald Eagle Workshop on January 31

Sprawling White Oak Pastures in Bluffton, Georgia is home to more than grass-fed beef, pastured poultry and organically raised produce. America's bird, the majestic and strong bald eagle, finds this sustainable, idyllic habitat to its liking. Georgia Department of Natural Resources Eagle Coordinator Jim Ozier leads an all-American day of educational talks, bird watching walks and observations of bald eagle natural habitats on the farm on Saturday, January 31. The morning takes wing with a White Oak Pastures tour at 10 a.m. that nests at the Pavilion for a noon lunch before buckling down for the bald eagle workshop at 1 p.m. $65 per person includes lunch. Groups of 10 or more receive a discounted rate of $50 per person. For more information or to make reservation, please call 229-641-2081.

Once Upon a Time at Atkins Park Story Could Win $50

Everyone has a story. Think back over your life. Does Atkins Park Restaurant & Bar occupy a dot on your timeline? You know, did you meet your true love there, tie the knot on the Atkins Park patio or throw in a relationship towel (spare the messy parts) on the way out the door? Perhaps that's where you bumped into a long-lost friend, shared cornhole love or fell head-over-heels for a cause such as the Santa bike ride. Share your "Atkins Story" between Monday, January 26 - Wednesday, February 11 and you might win a $50 gift card toward Valentine's dinner at Atkins Park in Virginia-Highland. Email your story to info@atkinspark.com. The Atkins Park team will post stories on the tavern's Facebook page. There's a $50 happy ending for the storyteller gathering the most "likes" and "shares."