Atlanta Community Food Bank Roasts Four Atlanta Restaurant Legends on Nov.17

“A Legendary Roast” honors four men who have made innovative and enduring marks on the Atlanta restaurant scene over the years: Pano Karatassos, Bob Amick, Tom Catherall and George McKerrow, Jr. Howard Halpern, Chairman of Halperns’ Purveyors of Steak and Seafood will take the lead by roasting Pano Karatassos.

Start the event, which goes from 6-10:30 p.m., with a drink at the cocktail reception. Later, guests will have the chance to enjoy a three-course dinner prepared by well-known chefs Peter Kaiser, Carvel Gould, Jamie Adams, and Jonathan St. Hilaire. End the night with something sweet to balance out the roast by attending the dessert reception.

Hosting the roasting is the Atlanta Community Food Bank at its warehouse located at 732 Joseph E. Lowery Boulevard, NW. The event benefits the Atlanta Community Food Bank, which provides meals for the elderly, shut-ins, and others in need of assistance in Atlanta.

Taster tickets are $300 each, Foodie tickets are $500 each, and both may be purchased online and by calling 678-538-9000.

Eating Regionally

Each month, Portofino features a special a la carte dinner menu that focuses on a specific region of Italy. This month’s regional menu spotlights “Piemonte,” the nation’s Piedmont region, and the menu offers appetizers, entrees, desserts and wines all inspired by the regional cooking of Piedmont.The culinary trip starts with an appetizer such as Bagna Caudo – tempura-fried vegetables topped with a sauce blend of anchovy, garlic and olive oil. Entrée choices include Carbonada – a rich, hearty veal stew scented with truffles over potato hash. Land in the sweet spot at meal’s end with mocha cinnamon bonet – a flan custard dessert with crushed Amaretto cookies and Amaretto di Saronno. Specially selected wines from the Piedmont region include the crisp, white Pio Cesare, Cortese di Gavi, ’07; Fontanafredda, Barbera, Briccotondo, ’06 with its hints of pepper and chocolate; and Pinot Noir-like Massolino, Langhe Nebbiolo, ’04.

I haven't made it in to taste this month's menu yet, but I was in recently and had a bruschetta appetizer topped with braised short ribs, creme faiche and what I think was a pesto. Oh my deliciousness, it was can-not-stop-eating-this-just-box-up-my-entree-because-I'm-so-full good. I'm looking forward to seeing if this menu lives up to my now very high expectations.

Field of Greens Festival at Whippoorwill Hollow Organic Farm

What better way to enjoy this wonderful fall weather than at Whippoorwill Hollow Farm at the Field of Greens festival, 11 a.m. - 5 p.m. on Saturday, November 15. Envision 74 acres lush with organic greens just east of Atlanta. Enjoy locally grown chow demoed by chefs from Woodfire Grill and other Atlanta farm-to-table restaurants, green-themed booths on recycling, clean energy and more, pony rides, raffles, arts and crafts, face-painting and a farmers’ market.
Cost is $3 for adults or FREE if you buy a food ticket ($10 per person; $20 per family). Free for children under 12 years old. All proceeds benefit Georgia’s local organic farming community and Slow Food Atlanta.
Whippoorwill Hollow Organic Farm is 35 miles east of Atlanta in Walnut Grove; 678-625-3272.

Before You Bail Out on Lunch or Dinner, Review the Opentable Appetite Stimulus Plan for November 17-21

So we all know that times are tough and though we may disagree on the reasons why, all parties can agree that the OpenTable Appetite Stimulus Plan, in effect November 17-21, is a terrific value now with dining point benefits that extend into the future. Ask for the special three-course menus at top restaurants then enjoy your meal for just $35 at dinner and $24 at lunch (per person, excluding beverage, tax and gratuity). Additionally, you'll receive 200 Dining Rewards Points for every Appetite Stimulus Plan reservation that you honor! OpenTable rewards members with points, redeemable for dining cheques, for making and honoring reservations. Some of our favorite Appetite Stimulus Plan participants are Dogwood, Eclipse di Luna, South City Kitchen Vinings, and Woodfire Grill. Under the OpenTable Appetite Stimulus Plan, you'll enjoy not only specially priced, three- course menus at these restaurants and others, but you'll also earn double Dining Rewards Points when you book through OpenTable. Points add up quickly and can be redeemed for OpenTable dining checks to be redeemed at OpenTable restaurants.

Sara in the City: West Scrambled Eggs

I'm loving the Westside resurgence - great interior design and art stores, trendy boutiques and unique loft living spaces are popping up all over the area. And the revitalization doesn't stop with shopping and housing - Some of the best restaurants in town, including acclaimed Bacchanalia, The Real Chow Baby and my personal faves Figo and Taqueria del Sol, are located on the west side of town.

So when my beau and I went looking for a great breakfast, we traveled westward towards West Egg Cafe. Launched in 2004 by a "recovering attorney," West Egg is the perfect mixture of new culture and down home cuisine. A bakery, coffee house and restaurant all in one, the cafe displays original artwork and was voted "Best Breakfast" and "Friendliest Wait Staff" by Creative Loafing and Taste of Atlanta, respectively.

The wait was long, but when you're the Best Breakfast in town, that's not a surprise. Luckily, we got bottomless cups of coffee to sustain us til were seated. When it came time to order, I decided on the Peachtree Platter, a unique take on the bacon and eggs breakfast. Scrambled eggs were complimented by a fresh biscuit, fried green tomatoes, pimento cheese grits (they found a way to make grits more Southern) and a little slice of heaven on earth, brown sugared bacon.

My beau, perfering a simpler meal merely told the waitress he wanted "standard bacon, eggs, biscuit." Living up the "Friendliest Wait Staff" title, she knew exactly what he needed, "You want the blue plate with grits," and served up a great, homemade breakfast with extra, extra cheese on his eggs. (Just the way he likes it!)

The bill hit the spot too - at under $20 for two, this breakfast should also be named the "Best Steal" in town!

Visit West Egg Cafe seven days a week, from 7 a.m. on weekdays and 8 a.m. on weekends to 4 p.m. every day.

1st Annual Midtown International Wine Crawl Set For Saturday, November 15

I always complain that there’s not enough time in the day to hang out with my friends and get the amount of exercise a woman, ahem, my age, needs to maintain her girlish figure. Someone at AtlantaBarTours.com must have heard my rants, because this weekend, they are creating an opportunity to combine one of my favorite pastimes (hanging with my friends) with one of my least favorite (exercising) – well, sort of.

Saturday, at the first the 1st Annual Midtown International Wine Crawl, walk from restaurant to restaurant to enjoy wine and/or beer and food specials, including $5 glasses of red and white wines from West Coast wineries at Marlow’s Tavern - Midtown. Tickets are $5 in advance, $10 at the door. Buy tickets online or register at Eno Restaurant & Wine Bar from 1:30-5 p.m. on November 15. A portion of the proceeds will go to the Small Dog Rescue and Humane Society.

Marlow’s Tavern - Midtown: 950 West Peachtree Street; 404-815-0323.

The Cook's Warehouse in Midtown Hosts Pre-holiday Sale and Celebration November 14

Two weeks until Thanksgiving then it's a blink until New Year's Day! Perfect timing for the Friday, November 14 pre-holiday sale at The Cook's Warehouse Midtown, featuring discounts on Wusthof Trident knives and 10 percent off on Staub enameled cast iron cookware. Shoppers who stop in between 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. that evening can sample wine and appetizers, watch cooking demos by Chef Michael Harnage from Toulouse and Chef Tony Ballester from Morton's Buckhead, and meet Staub Cookware Marketing Manager Matt Mozzer. Harold Wüsthof, seventh generation knife maker and president of Wüsthof Trident knives, will be at the store throughout the day. Add some $5 raffle tickets to your shopping basket for chances to win prizes and help Open Hand.

Open Hand helps people prevent or better manage chronic disease through Comprehensive Nutrition Care, which combines home-delivered meals and nutrition education as a means to reinforce the connection between informed food choices and improved quality of life.

The Cook's Warehouse - Midtown: 549-I Amsterdam Avenue; 404-815-4993.

The Glass and Bottle are Full, but the Price is Half Empty Thursday Nights at Woodfire Grill

Wow. A wine lover's wish come true. A restaurant with an amazing wine list is offering the deal of our dreams! The entire vast wine list, representing 11 different countries. By the glass, by the bottle. All, half off on Thursday nights in November and December at Woodfire Grill. Now, there's a pre-holiday gift that will ensure even Scrooges will see the world through a rosy glass...or white...or red. Woodfire Grill fans know Chef Kevin Gillespie's menu changes with the harvest. Same goes for the wines as Woodfire Grill is constantly bringing in the best new releases! Open for dinner Monday through Saturday at 5:30 p.m. Woodfire Grill: 1782 Cheshire Bridge Road; 404-347-9055.

DailyCandy Definition - One Word, Two Meanings

First glance has you thinking this has something to do with your email inbox. Not quite. Remember, we talk about food and drinks here and so is The DailyCandy Lexicon in addressing the characteristics of a high-end and lower-end spammelier.

Spammelier: n. 1. a sommelier who gives you too many choices. 2. Someone who’s an expert on canned meats.

Splurge: Her head was spinning from the long list of wines the spammelier had just reeled off…maybe she’d just stick with the house wine.

Budget: As they stood facing the long aisle of canned meats, poultry and fish, they wished the store’s personal shopper spammelier was not tied up with another customer.

Save a few dollars and eat at Dogwood!

Monday through Friday after 8 p.m. Dogwood is offering an appetizing deal that all guests will enjoy! Guests can relish a three-course dinner for only $35 per person (excluding tax and gratuity). This three course meal consists of an appetizer, salad or soup, entrée and any dessert. The only exclusions are the grits bar, soup flight and cheese offering. For such a good deal sharing and substitutions are not allowed, but who needs them! For the perfect drink to accompany that food, grab a Smirnoff martini or cosmopolitan for only $5. Just want to grab a drink? Come in Monday, Wednesday, and Friday to check out the half-price wines by the glass or $5 John Daly’s Firefly served from 5:30-7p.m.

Les Dames Afternoon in the Country

The 8th annual Afternoon in the Country event was held this past Sunday at Serenbe, near Palmetto, Georgia. More than 35 chefs from Atlanta's best restaurants, select retailers and local wineries set up tastings inside the tents on this beautiful property. This is certainly not your run-of-the-mill food and wine event, instead of wearing formal attire, jeans and boots were encouraged! It was a gorgeous day to be outside, and especially enjoying tasty cuisine and fine wines.

Other highlights of the event included live music, a one-of-a-kind cake auction, hayrides and silent auction. Among my favorite tastings of the day were bbq sliders from Holman and Finch, braised beef from White Oak Pastures, Low Country boil with pickled okra (yum!) from the restaurant on Serenbe and desserts from Joel. Proceeds from the event went to benefit the Atlanta Chapters of Les Dames d'Escoffier.

Ecco Carries On Spanish Tuesday Night Tradition

It’s so easy to push everything to the weekend and then have good intentions swallowed up by to-do’s. Enough of it, we say! Be like the Spanish and embrace Tuesday nights as your night to get together with family and friends. Ecco makes it easy, setting forth a glass of wine, live Spanish guitar (6-8:30 p.m.) and a heaping bowl of housemade cocido, a hearty Spanish stew – all for only $24 per person plus tax and gratuity. Reservations are recommended, but not required; call 404-347-9555 or click here. Ecco: 40 7th Street, NE; 404-347-9555.

Midtown Shop and Dine Week November 14-21

Two of my favorite past times, eating and shopping, come together this week during Midtown Shop and Dine Week. Two can dine for $25 at The Original El Taco and other casual restaurants. At fine dining spots such as Ecco, La Tavola Trattoria, South City Kitchen Midtown and VITA, guests can sit down to three courses for $25 per person. Making reservations is so convenient through opentable.com. What a deal?!

Ecco: 40 7th Street, NE; 404-347-9555.

The Original El Taco: 1186 North Highland Avenue, NE; 404-873-4656.

La Tavola Trattoria: 992 Virginia Avenue, NE; 404-873-5430.

South City Kitchen Midtown: 1144 Crescent Avenue; 404-873-7358.
VITA: Vita: 2110 Peachtree Road; 404-367-8482.

2009 Will Welcome Marlow’s Tavern to Duluth

I enjoyed a delish lunch at Marlow’s this week, and I must say that I am excited for diners in Duluth. Yes, there will soon be six Marlow’s Tavern locations around metro Atlanta when Marlow’s opens its Duluth location in January 2009 at 1950 Satellite Boulevard and Sugarloaf Parkway near the Arena at Gwinnett Center. Neighbors can look forward to stopping at the tavern for cold drinks and upscale American tavern fare, lunchtime through dinner and into the night. Marlow’s Tavern offers a long list of wines, cocktails and bottled beers, including local favorites Sweetwater 420 and Terrapin Rye Pale Ale. Once the new restaurant opens, come at any time you like because there are no reservations and plenty of parking.
Marlow’s Tavern: Alpharetta at 3719 Old Alabama Road, 770-475-1800; Kennesaw at 745 Chastain Road, NW, 770-425-8777; Midtown at 950 West Peachtree Street, 404-815-0323; Vinings at 2355 Cumberland Parkway, 770-432-2526; Northlake at 4156 LaVista Road; 678-987-1197; and coming in January to Duluth at 1950 Satellite Boulevard.

White Oak Pastures Fall Festival on Saturday

Everyone around here knows that I jump at any excuse to visit White Oak Pastures. And considering it's 3.5 hours one-way, that's saying a lot! But there's something so, well, American, about being out on a farm in the sun, socializing with friends, and eating a delicious grass-fed burger. So, I'm pretty bummed that I'm going to miss this one, but the pilot on my flight to Santiago refused to budge on the departure time. Those Delta employees can be so bitter!

Will Harris has planned a Fall Festival for tomorrow, Nov. 8, and it's sure to be a wonderful day. You can tour the ranch White Oak Pastures, try your hand at skeet shooting (I suck at it), listen to music, and enjoy local food samples from 11 a.m. – 3 p.m. in Bluffton, Georgia. Have a burger for me and I promise to have a glass of Chilean wine for you!

Click here for directions. Find out more about grass-fed beef and Georgia’s other sustainable food sources at Slow Food Atlanta.White Oak Pastures: 22775 Highway 27, Bluffton, Georgia; (229) 641-2081.

Enjoy the Twilight Hours with Aqua Blue

I can’t remember the last November in Georgia that started out this beautifully. The time change typically indicates a long period of short, chilly days on which the sun is veiled in thin clouds. On days when the sun escapes the clouds, it usually bids goodnight long before time to shut down the computers and head home from work. The weather this week has given us the opportunity to enjoy the twilight of the day, without the requisite scarf and gloves of years past, by slipping outside and taking in a deep breath of the crisp autumn air during a late noon stretch.

Another, more delicious, way to savor the twilight of the day is to stop by Aqua Blue for their Twilight Dinner special. Offered every Monday through Wednesday from 4 - 7 p.m., the Twilight Dinner let’s you can create a menu from a wide variety options: for starters, a choice of Aqua blue house salad, Caesar salad or soup du jour; for entrees, choose from chicken Marsala, bourbon- glazed salmon, ginger-glazed yellowfin tuna, pork tenderloin with Creole crawfish sauce, or blackened white tuna with citrus reduction (all entrees include garlic mashed potatoes and thin beans). End with a personal-sized dessert. Limited time menu is $19 per person (not including tax and gratuity. I plan to hurry and check it out, because, like the gorgeous weather of late, I’m, sure this generous offer won’t last forever.

Aqua blue: 1564 Holcomb Bridge Road; 770-643-8886.

Sara in the City: Bacon Across Atlanta

You all know the ladies of Atlanta Dish can't get enough bacon in our lives. Bacon Salt, the Fabada Asturiana (chorizo with bacon and white bean stew) at Eclipse de Luna, the wonderful green tomato and bacon salad dressing at Dogwood, we even love the Italian version of bacon, pancetta, on a wood fired pizza from Ecco. Ever vigilant as we are, we strive to get bacon in our lives through any means necessary and we want to enable your bacon habit too!

First, begin your morning by flossing with Bacon Floss, a brilliant invention combining oral health and bacon flavor. Then, stop by The Flying Biscuit for a healthy bacon option - their breakfast dishes use fresh, crispy turkey bacon. Next head to work and review this bacon flowchart courtesy of an Atlanta Thrashers forum on bacon:

With all this hard work, you'll be ready for lunch in no time. Try the Fried Egg and Grilled Cheese B.L.T. from Buckhead Diner for your midday bacon fix. Add the house specialty, homemade potato chips with blue cheese, for an extra sinful and mouth watering meal. Get back to work and renew your membership to the Bacon of the Month Club, which sends fresh gourmet bacon right to your doorstep! Don't forget to join the I LOVE BACON Facebook group and check out your favorite bacon blogs: I HEART BACON and Bacon Unwrapped.

What's for dinner? Bacon, of course! For bacon-y tapas, I love Fuego's Dream Dates - dates stuffed with gorgonzola, wrapped in bacon and grilled to gooey perfection. For those of you with fancy bacon taste, the bacon wrapped chicken and steak at Fogo de Chao is sure to please.

Finally, try and make some time to visit your local YMCA and hop on the treadmill to prevent clogged arteries. Just a suggestion from one bacon lover to another...

South City Kitchen's "Power of Pinot" Wine Dinner

Tomorrow night, South City Kitchen Vinings will host “The Power of Pinot” wine dinner - covering the range from the rich berry red of Pinot Noir to mellow golden Pinot Gris - and the real estate from France through New Mexico to California and Oregon. The dinner begins at 6:30 p.m. Fifth Group Restaurants® are known for their dedication to wine education, and there’s no exception here! The four-course prix-fixe dinner costs $55 per person, plus tax and gratuity. For reservations, call 770-435-0700. On the menu: passed hors d’oeuvres of chopped chicken liver profiteroles, pickled beet and country ham skewer with pear accompanied by Domaine-Schlumberger, Pinot Blanc, Alsace, France ’04. The first course brings to the table pan-fried Georgia mountain trout with grapefruit-butter sauce and crisp capers and Solena, Pinot Gris, Oregon ’06. Move on to the second course of “Country Captain” braised lamb shoulder with roasted tomatoes, cured olives, dried cherries and Carolina plantation mushroom risotto served with Domaine Alfred, “Goss Creek,” Pinot Noir, Central Coast ’06. Dessert ends on a sweet note with warm pear crisp with cardamom sorghum ice cream and Greut, Brut Rose, Sparkling Pinot Noir, New Mexico NV. South City Kitchen Vinings: 1675 Cumberland Parkway; 770-435-0700.

Drink Up For the November Wine Specials

You won’t hear any complaining from me this month! Atlanta restaurants are offering some fabulous wine specials this November. It is a perfect time to go out and enjoy great food and even better wine specials!

Morton’s The Steakhouse Buckhead enjoys Wine Down Wednesday on the first Wednesday of each month from 5:30 – 7 p.m. in the bar area. Today’s November 5 tasting features Italian wines -- Donnafugata Anthilia, Frescobaldi Nippozzano and Guado al Tasso. For $12 per person you get to sample all three wines and nibble on complimentary appetizers. Can’t make it to the wine tasting? November is full of drink specials at Morton’s The Steakhouse! Drink specials include $5 glasses of Canyon Road California Cabernet or Chardonnay and $3 Samuel Adams “Octoberfest” every Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday from 5 – 6:30 p.m.

Morton’s The Steakhouse-Buckhead: Peachtree Lenox Building, 3379 Peachtree Road, NE;
404-816-6535.

Toulouse American Bistro will host two Sunday wine tastings this month: Reserve wines ($40) on November 9 and Port/dessert wines ($35) on November 30. In just two hours the Toulouse Wine Guy will have you walking away feeling like a wine sommelier! Both tastings consist of a sample of 15 wines accompanied with palate cleansers.

Toulouse American Bistro: 2293 Peachtree Road, NE;
404-351-9533.

Tony LaRocco’s VITA hosts weekly Tuesday Tastings from 6-8 p.m. in the bar area. Branch out and go for the Italian feel by tryingTerre Valse Trebbiano d’Abruzzo, Vagnoni Vernaccia di San Gimignano, La Monesca Verdicchio di Matelica, Illuminate Riparosso Montelpuciano d’Abruzzo, Silver Palm Cabernet Sauvignon and Dona Paula Malbec. $15 per person includes 5 to 6 featured wines and of course delicious complimentary appetizers.

Tony LaRocco’s VITA: 2110 Peachtree Road at Bennett Street; 404-367-8482.

Woodfire Grill will offer up their advice on completing your Thanksgiving meal with the perfect feature wines. On Wednesday, November 19th at 6 p.m. for $15 per person you will have the chance to sample eight different wines! The perfect way to taste test for the upcoming holidays!
Woodfire Grill: 1782 Cheshire Bridge Road; 404-347-9055.

Georgia Leads the U.S. in Pecan Production! No Wonder Atlanta Chefs are Nuts About Pecans.

Wow, Georgia sure can produce the pecans! According to the Georgia Pecan Commission, Georgia farmers harvest 88 million pounds of pecans each year -- enough to fill 176 million pecan pies. Nutworthy news? Defi-nut-ly. Why should pecan pies be privy to all of the nuts? Atlanta restaurant menus are laden with a variety of pecan-infused dishes you'd be nutty not to enjoy!

Aqua blue has quite a catch: pecan-crusted trout served over sweet potato hash with sun corn, thin green beans and peach beurre blanc ($22).Aqua blue: 1564 Holcomb Bridge Road; 770-643-8886.

Eclipse di Luna tiptoes past the tapas to the dessert pages, where toffee, pecans and caramel sauce top chocolate fudge turtle pie ($6). Eclipse di Luna - Miami Circle: 764 Miami Circle; 404-846-0449. Eclipse di Luna - Park Place: 4505 Ashford-Dunwoody Road, Suite 11; 678-205-LUNA (5862).

South City Kitchen® Midtown cracks out of the dessert section to create southern steak frites ribeye, which comes with sweet potato fries, creamed Georgia greens and Abita Pecan Harvest Ale jus ($28.95); and grilled Atlantic salmon, swimming alongside butternut squash hash with country ham, toasted pecans, spinach and cider butter ($22.95).South City Kitchen Midtown: 1144 Crescent Avenue; 404-873-7358.

South City Kitchen® Vinings starts the meal with a mixed field green salad showing off toasted pecans under a balsamic vinaigrette ($6.95), then ends with an individual pecan pie with buttermilk caramel and vanilla ice cream ($6.75).South City Kitchen Vinings: 1675 Cumberland Parkway; 770-435-0700.

Uncle Julio's Casa Grande scoops out scrumptious bowls of cajeta -- vanilla ice cream with toasted coconut and pecans, topped with homemade caramel sauce and whipped cream ($6.25).Uncle Julio's in Buckhead: 1860 Peachtree Road, NW; 404-350-6767.

Woodfire Grill loves Georgia pecans and candies them to mix with julienne local apples and local lettuce salad served with buttermilk dressing ($9). Woodfire Grill: 1782 Cheshire Bridge Road; 404-347-9055.

Bold American Catering® sends pecans your way in this party- pleasing recipe. 404-815-1178.

Candied Rosemary Pecans
2 lbs. pecans
5 oz. butter
3 1/2 oz. light brown sugar
1 tsp. salt
1/2 cup corn syrup
4 sprigs fresh rosemary

Grind sugar and rosemary in a food processor. Melt the butter with the rosemary and sugar mixture. Pour over nuts and then drizzle with corn syrup. Bake at 325º for 15 minutes or until sugar crystallizes on the nuts.