Get Cracking on Reservations for Egg-ceptional Easter Feasts Plus More in this Week's Dish

This week, head up to Roswell to nosh on new spring menu items at Aqua blue and then hit up Buckhead to experience the new location of Bhojanic. Also, don't forget to make your Easter brunch reservation - yes, it's almost Easter! There are plenty of places to celebrate the holiday, plus much more in this week's Dish!

Atkins Park Restaurant & Bar Celebrates 10 Years and Braves Baseball

Can you believe Atkins Park Restaurant & Bar in Smyrna is already a decade old? Share in the celebration of the big "one-zero" on Wednesday, March 27 beginning at 6 p.m. Attendees receive a complimentary limited-edition anniversary t-shirt and have access to the limited open bar, tasting station and live music from Michelle Enix. This is a party you won't want to miss out on!

If for some reason you can't make the 10th anniversary party, or if you just cant get enough of Atkins Park - do not fret! Both Atkins Park locations in Virginia-Highland and Smyrna are taking you out to the ball game for the Atlanta Braves home opener. Take the field trip on Monday, April 1 for $50 per person. Atkins Park covers all the bases of pre-game hot dogs, ice cold Jägermeister and beer, bus transportation to and from Turner Field and a ticket to the game. Busses leave each restaurant at 5:30 p.m. Be sure to call your preferred Atkins Park location to reserve your spot!

What's New on Pinterest: Picnic Perfection

Picnic Perfection is as close as our Pinterest board, which happens to be as crammed full as a picnic basket with finger-licking recipes. Potent potables. Check. Packable finger foods and fork fillers. Check. Cute and useful tchotchkes such as ant-imated napkins. Oh yes.

RA Sushi Showdown: More Delicious Than March Madness

Sports competitions are alright, but over here we care more about food. So here's a competition we can really sink our teeth into: the RA Sushi Showdown on April 7. Athletes, sign up now and start training! Fans, mark your calendar and get ready for the show. The competition is from 3 - 6 pm and involves elimination rounds, timed Tootsy Maki eats, and prizes! One grand-prize eater will win "RA Sushi for a Year" (in the form of 12 $50 RA Sushi gift certificates - $600 value) as well as a year's bragging rights. Second, third and fourth place winners will take home $100, $50 and $25 gift certificates respectively. All participants receive a complimentary appetizer or lunch card for use at another time, and a RA Sushi sweatband for sweating it out in the competition. Limited to the first 24 entries so sushi lovers over age 18 should snag an application at RA Sushi in Midtown pronto. All are welcome to watch the competition and enjoy food and drink specials including Tokyo Tussle and Throwdown rolls ($6-$7), Free Throw Bombs ($5), sake ($1), Half Court Bombs ($6) and the Rim "RA"cker ($7). This is so much more fun than basketball.

10th & Piedmont Brings Big Table Big Screen Tuesday Tradition to Midtown

 

On Tuesday, March 26, 10th & Piedmont is rolling out Big Table Big Screen Tuesday to the Midtown crowd. With the high prices of movie tickets, popcorn and a drink, the restaurant brings a steal of a deal with dinner and a movie on the restaurants big screen every Tuesday night. On BTBS Tuesdays, guests shell out a modest $15 each (not including tax and gratuity) for a 10P salad, choice of two small plates from the selected menu and the dessert of the day. Drink specials include $6 Absolut cocktails. The fun doesn't have to stop there - the place stays open until 2 a.m. To reserve a table, call 404-602-5510. You know you want to! 

Ready. Set. GO! Game-X Opens in Downtown Atlanta on March 27

7..6..5..4..3..2..1..And they're off! Gamers are zeroing in on Game-X, a 12,000 square-foot home to more than 60 of today's most exciting games as well as fun food and beverages for all ages. Multi-faceted Game-X serves as an energizing in-town destination for families, a convenient play-scape for young professionals and downtown office workers, and an ideal location for parties and team building activities. The spot is easy to find on the ground floor of the Park Pavilion Building, directly across from the Georgia Aquarium and overlooking Centennial Olympic Park. Once inside, guests can purchase and load X-Cards with dollar amounts to play state-of-the-art games including The Big One Crane Game, Nothin' But Net, Big Bass Wheel, Dark Escape 4-D, Pac Man Smash, Connect 4, SnoCross, NBA Hoops, Temple Run, Space Ballz, Dead Heat, QuadAir Hockey, Fruit Ninja, Monster Drop Extreme and many more. X-Cards also store e-ticket wins, which can be redeemed for prizes such as electronics, mountain bikes and local attraction packages. Fast-casual food, mixologist-created cocktails and craft microbrews play a big part in the Game-X experience. For a true gaming getaway, plan to "stay and play" by booking a room at the adjacent Hilton Garden Inn or another nearby hotel. Great idea for a not-so-typical meeting site! 

Game-X opens on Wednesday, March 27, and is open Sunday through Thursday from 11 a.m.-10 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Convenient and validated self-parking for three hours is available at the parking deck within the Game-X building. Guests under 18 must be accompanied by an adult, and guests must be at least 21 years old to remain in the building after 9 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. Score more details on the website, Facebook or by calling 404-525-0728.

Get Ready to Sniff, Sip and Swallow at Seven Lamps Whiskey Dinner on March 26

  

Learn to sip whiskey like a pro at  Seven Lamps on Tuesday, March 26. The Buckhead restaurant is teaming up with Heaven Hill Distilleries, America's largest independent and family-owned producer of distilled spirits and the second-largest holder of aging bourbon whiskey in the world, to host a five-course whiskey dinner from 7-9 p.m. A few reasons you'll be kicking yourself if you miss out on this: 

• This isn't your typical whiskey dinner. Not only will you get a half-ounce pour of whiskey or bourbon, you'll also get a cocktail specially crafted by beverage manager Arianne Fielder with each course.  
• The food. Just to give you an idea of what you're in store for, the first course is baked clams with andouille, jalapeno and fried bread. Check out the rest of the menu for more details.
• Whiskey professor Bernie Lubbers will be there to guide you through every sniff and pour, making sure you get a little knowledge to go with that buzz.

The cost is $65 per person. While experts might recommend taking your time when tasting whiskey, seating is limited for this dinner, so don't put off on reserving your spot. Call 404-467-8950 and make that reservation today! 

Atlanta Restaurants Provide Tasting at High Museum Wine Auction Vintners' Reception on March 23

Dinners, tastings and seminars frame this week's 21^st High Museum Wine Auction. Capping the week is the magnum event of them all, this Saturday's Vintners' Reception and live auction. Many of the world's top wineries will be appreciated by wine aficionados sampling generous pours. Dozens of Atlanta's best restaurants -- including Chicken and the Egg, Seven Lamps and Aqua blue -- will be there with choice morsels from their mouth-watering menus. Tickets to both of these events are only available to High Museum Benefactors. Find out how that could be you by calling 404-733-4543.

Chow Down and Win at RA Sushi Championship Showdown Plus More in this Week's Dish!

There is plenty to do this week in ATL! 10th & Piedmont launches a brand new Midtown tradition of dinner and a movie that you won't want to miss out on, while The Optimist hosts famed food writers Matt and Ted Lee for a book signing and menu feature. Check out all of the city's offerings plus more in this week's Dish!

Charleston's Matt & Ted Lee Join The Optimist for a Cookbook Signing and Dinner

Looking for something fun and delicious to do next Tuesday night? Join Matt and Ted Lee at Esquire magazine's Best New Restaurant of 2012, The Optimist, for a distinctly Southern dinner and signing of their newly released cookbook on Tuesday, March 26. "The Lee Bros. Charleston Kitchen" is filled with the brothers' favorite recipes and provides Optimist Executive Chef Adam Evans with a wellspring of offerings for the night's menu. Guests can enjoy a kumquat-tini, Low Country limoncello, moonshine martini and muscadine sangria when cocktail hour begins at 7 p.m. Dinner, served family style, follows at 8 p.m. Tickets are going fast - buy yours online now for $65 per person, including tax and gratuity. Purchase the cookbook that night for $35 plus tax and let Matt and Ted Lee personalize your copy.

That Nutty Pinterest Board

From peanut butter and bacon cookies to Thai peanut pork noodles, our Pinterest board is nuts! Check it out if you have a nutty craving this weekend. Watch out for squirrels!

John Metz of Sterling Hospitality Receives 2013 IFMA Silver Plate Award

Pop the champagne and give a round of applause to Sterling Hospitality for receiving this year's International Foodservice Manufacturers Association (IFMA) Silver Plate award. John Metz, CEO, executive chef and co-founder of Sterling Hospitality, has been recognized for excellence in the Independent Restaurants/Multi-Concept category. Metz, along with Silver Plate award honorees from seven other foodservice operations categories, is up for the coveted Gold Plate award. One of the eight will be awarded the foodservice world's Oscar at the 59^th Annual Gold & Silver Plate Celebration, May 20 in Chicago. Congratulations, John, and best wishes toward winning the gold to sit next to the silver!

Smile and Go Green, It's St. Patrick's Week in Atlanta

St. Patrick’s Day greens are sprouting up all over town this week, from cabbage and green beer to emerald fountains and outdoor shindigs. No wonder shades of green are topping the Pantone color chart this season. We are so ready for the wearin' of the green and the cheer that goes along with it.

Atkins Park Restaurant & Bar in Smyrna is Dublin’ down for two days of St. Pat’s festivities with the Smyrna St. Patrick’s Day Festival at Market Square this Saturday and Sunday, March 16 and 17. Mayor Max Bacon will be dyeing the fountain green, which makes for a nice photo op to go with the lineup of live music, a redhead contest, games and rides for children and adults, beer pong, cornhole, a 65-foot inflatable obstacle course - plus magically delicious foods, Guinness, Harp and Irish Car Bomb drinks. Friendly toward Irish setters and other pups looking to get in on the festivities. Buy tickets online for $5 or pay $10 at the door. The traditional Irish classics are also conjured up across town in the dining room and bar at Atkins Park Restaurant & Bar in Virginia Highland, including Guinness and Magners to mark St. Pat’s Day.

Midtown restaurants 10th & Piedmont, HOBNOB Neighborhood Tavern and Gilbert's Cafe & Bar are all part of the Communitas Hospitality family, and on St. Patrick's Day, they are coming together to offer the same food and drink specials in addition to their regular menus. Green $3 Miller Light beer, $6 Lucky Leprechaun cocktails that leap to your lips with Midori, vodka, OJ and Sprite, and plates of rib-sticking corned beef brisket with mashed potatoes, braised cabbage and Pommery mustard ($13.95) will all put a little Irish spirit in your step. Visit one or all three for a rollicking good time.

In Buckhead, Fadó Irish Pub colors the whole week green with activities and food and drink specials each day, building up to the St. Practice Day celebration on Saturday, March 16. Of course, the biggest blowout comes on St. Patrick's Day itself with a party that starts inside Fadó in the morning and spills out into the street by afternoon. Bookmark our blog for more detailed information on this biggie so you won't miss a drop of the fun or the chance to win the trip to Dublin, Ireland.

Looking for a way to sweeten up your St. Pat’s weekend? The charming cupcakes at locally owned The Little Cake Bakery come richly endowed in top-shelf ingredients, and are sized right for grown-up leprechauns. Stop in the shop this Friday and Saturday, March 15 and 16, to nab some slightly tipsy Baileys Irish Cream chocolate cupcakes and the regular menu’s Guinness cupcakes made with Guinness beer. The new spring menu is in play at the Buckhead bakery with different flavors each day. Stop in on Saturday for Guinness, s'mores, cookies and cream and strawberry varieties. At $2.50 each or 12 for $27.50, these little treasures won't eat much of your cash stash. Minis are $11/dozen. More prices on the website.

Atlanta Magazine Stirs Up March Madness with Final Fork Voting

    

Before basketball brackets start making their way around the office, cast your vote for your favorite Atlanta restaurant in Atlanta magazine's Final Fork competition. The tournament started with 64 of Atlanta's top restaurants divided into four categories - "Gastropubs and Bars," "High Rollers," "Global Eats" and "Southern, Dressed Up or Down Home." Help your picks advance by voting for Round 2 contenders by 11 p.m. on Thursday, March 14. Our personal picks to go all the way include JCT. Kitchen & Bar, The Optimist and South City Kitchen.
Final round of voting concludes at 11 p.m. on Thursday, April 11. To vote, sign up to be an Atlanta magazine Insider. Each week you vote, you'll be entered to win one of four $100 gift certificates to the Final Fork restaurant of your choice. One grand-prize winner will score a Big Green Egg smoker and a bottle of Richland Rum.

Go Green with Plenty of Rollicking St. Patrick's Week Fun Plus More in This Week's Dish!

This week, fill your belly with sweet treats from Little Cake Bakery. They offer different seasonal flavors each day of the week -- just in time for the spring! Also in time for the season, Ray's on the Creek in Alpharetta is celebrating it's grand re-opening. Don't miss out on all the fun around Atlanta this week, plus much more in this week's Dish!

Shaun Doty Leads Bantam + Biddy Favorites Cooking Class at The Cook's Warehouse in Ansley Mall on March 12

 

Instead of borrowing a cup of sugar from Ansley Mall neighbor Bantam + Biddy, The Cook's Warehouse is borrowing their chef, Shaun Doty. The cluckmeister is coming over to share "Favorites from Bantam + Biddy" on Tuesday, March 12 from 7-9 p.m. Doty will prepare and share some of the eatery's trademark chicken recipes including chopped liver on toasts, chicken schnitzel and market salad with pastured chicken jerky. Class size is limited; sign up online. $45 per person.

Melissa Libby & Associates is Searching for Summer 2013 Interns

Are you a student who is passionate about food/wine culture and public relations? Melissa Libby & Associates is currently seeking two interns for summer 2013. Interns who join the MLA team will work with and learn directly from all agency functions, including media communications, social media, special events and client services. Creativity, positive energy, strong work ethic and great writing skills are important traits for this internship. 

The ideal candidate will also receive school credit for his or her experience with MLA. Internships are 15-22 hours per week from May to August and interns will be paid a $500 stipend at the completion of the program. Schedules are fairly flexible, although Monday mornings are required. Local candidates only. To find out more about Melissa Libby & Associates, please visit our website and our Facebook page.  If you are interested, please send your resume and availability to InternshipMLA@gmail.com.

Eat it and Tweep: Chesley Answers What's Up with the Weather and Other Ides of March

Spring is in the air and it's time to plan the days you will spend outside in the sunshine. Whether or not you follow 11 Alive Meteorologist Chesley McNeil (@Chesley11Alive) is up to you, but follow our tweet lead because you want him on your Twitter radar to know what's going on in Atlanta's ever-changing weather world. The "Wake Up with Chesley," webpage, builds more daily details such as a map of airport delays, lists of community events and the national weather map-in-motion.

Sample Tweet:  Cloudy skies this AM. Rain moving in this afternoon. High: 51 #gawx #news

What's New on Pinterest: Tastes Like Spring

Spring doesn’t officially begin until March 20, but our Pinterest board just couldn’t wait until then. An edible garden of recipes and ideas from accentuating asparagus to packing up for a picnic await. Oh, and a bevy of beverages and appetizers to enjoy when Daylight Savings Time shines the light longer on March 10. Yesss!

Buckhead Restaurant Week Starts Saturday

 

I'm so glad it's not Buckhead Restaurant Day. I'd have a hard time choosing! Luckily we have nine days to check out the great Buckhead restaurants during Buckhead Restaurant Week March 9 - 17. For a classic, we recommend Aria, in the heart of Buckhead, and for something brand new, check out Seven Lamps, in the Shops Around Lenox. Both have $35 menus filled with yummy options. And there are plenty of others to consider! It's a busy time so you'll want to make reservations online. Enjoy!