ACT SWIFTLY TO GRAB 4TH AND SWIFT DEAL ON MY DAILY THREAD TODAY!
 Take advantage of this My Daily Thread bargain to dine at much-talked-about 4th and Swift! Through midnight tonight, June 1, $25 purchases a $50 value at 4th and Swift -- that's basically buying dinner for half price! Icing on the cake? When 120 people make the purchase, everyone receives a free dessert on a Friday night (second visit).
4th and Swift: 621 North Avenue, NE; 678-904-0160.
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THIS IS IT! NICKY'S WEEK IS NOW AT RA SUSHI! EAT, DRINK AND FROLIC FOR ST. JUDE CHILDREN'S RESEARCH HOSPITAL
 The sixth annual Nicky's Week is underway through Saturday, June 5 at RA Sushi! Join Asian-fusion aficionados across the U.S. during Nicky's Week as they roll with the tootsy maki, tuna tataki and chicken yakitori, and pack in the edamame, shrimp nigiri and pork gyoza to raise funds for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. During Nicky's Week, tossing back drinks brings dollars to the cause when you're downing Captain Morgan Kool-Aid, 1800 Memphis margaritas or SKYY Charitini cocktails; Shock Top wheat beer; Red Guitar Spanish blend or Geyser Peak Sauvignon Blanc; or non-alcoholic drinks of FIJI bottled water, Strawberry Lifesaver lemonade, Red Bull and The Republic of Tea acai berry red tea. One hundred percent of the proceeds from all of these Nicky's Week menu items goes to St. Jude. Nicky was a young nephew of one of RA Sushi's founders -- and a longtime St. Jude patient who lost the fight against brain cancer at age 13 back in 2005. Since then, RA Sushi has held Nicky's Week each year to provide funds for St. Jude for research and to provide treatment to children struggling against cancer, sickle cell anemia and HIV. At St. Jude, families never pay for treatment not covered by insurance.
RA Sushi: 1010 Midtown at Peachtree and 12th Streets; 404-267-0114. |
IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD
FOR THE VIRGINIA HIGHLAND SUMMERFEST? LA TAVOLA & EL TACO SAY "SWEET!" ATKINS PARK OFFERS COLD ONES! You can only fit so much info in a
headline. The Virginia Highland 2010 Summerfest is "Celebrating 27 Years of Art, Food & Fun" the weekend of Friday, June 4
through Sunday, June 6. On Friday night,
impersonate your favorite movie character and be a part of the opening parade. Register
online then be at the start, Inman Hardware at Drewry and North Highland at
6 p.m. The parade ends up at the Inman
Park field for a community/volunteers dinner with prizes, an outdoor movie and
sweet dessert treats courtesy of La Tavola
Trattoria and The Original El Taco. When you've had too much parading, sun and
fun, park yourself at Atkins Park Tavern on Friday, Saturday or Sunday for tasty
appetizers, ice cold brews and cocktails, perfect wine and delectable
fare.
Atkins Park Tavern -
Virginia Highland: 794
North Highland Avenue; 404 -876-7249. La Tavola Trattoria: 992 Virginia Ave, NE;
404-873-5430. The Original El Taco: 1186 North Highland Avenue, NE;
404-873-4656. |
WHEN IT'S TOO HOT IN
THE KITCHEN, FOLLOW PACCI CHEF KEIRA MORITZ TO PIEDMONT PARK GREEN MARKET Pacci Ristorante
is one cool place to dine. As much as
she loves her Pacci kitchen, Pacci Executive Chef Keira Moritz enjoys cooking
al fresco whenever she gets a chance.
Her opportunity arises on Saturday, June 5 as she leads the Piedmont Park Green
Market cooking demonstration from 11 a.m. until noon under the patio at the
Community Center. Come see what garden-fresh
goodies she's picking up and tossing around, then head over to nearby Pacci for
lunch!Pacci Ristorante: 866 West Peachtree
Street, NW, adjacent to the Hotel Palomar; 678-412-2402.
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RISE ABOVE AND EXPERIENCE
LIFE ON THE MIDTOWN MILE -- FROM THE SKYLINE POOL DECK OF 1010 MIDTOWN  The Park. The Garden. The Arts. Restaurants, bars and shops. You thought you knew all of the angles on
Midtown. Here's a different way to
explore Midtown: "Experience
Life on the Midtown Mile." The
Thursday, June 10 event affords a summery skyline view of this vibrant area
between Buckhead and Midtown from the pool deck at the glamorous 1010 Midtown building. Socialize from 6 - 8 p.m. while enjoying
tastes from many of Midtown's favorite dining spots, including South City Kitchen Midtown, RA Sushi and Marlow's Tavern-Midtown. Musician Troy Cono provides tunes. Ticket
proceeds benefit the Piedmont Park Conservancy.
Purchase your tickets for $10 each when you RSVP to http://lifeonthemidtownmile.eventbrite.com.
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GEORGIA PEACH FRIED
PIES AND WHITE CHOCOLATE ICE CREAM ARE JUST TWO SUMMER NEWBIES ON JCT.'S MENU It's a peachy time to head to JCT. Kitchen & Bar. The
Westside haven for Southern farmstead eats is swapping out menu items to take
advantage of the season's best ingredients. That means the fried fruit
pie will ooze juicy gobs of peach to go alongside white chocolate ice
cream. Local farm fresh fruit knocks the bananas out of banana cake --
whatever's best goes in the cake. Golden banana pudding gives gingerbread
pudding a warm weather heave-ho. JCT. is also offering funnel cakes with
local fruit and 10X sugar. For those who don't eat dessert first, note
that crispy chicken "oysters" fill the small fry dish alongside fried green
tomato pickles, and the delicious dayboat fish atop Beaufort Ruby Red shrimp
"creamed" Carolina Gold rice served with a local arugula salad. Other new
dinner items include Georgia white shrimp toast with peanut and fresh herb
salad (also available during lunch), and rabbit leg with expensive mushrooms and
Vidalia onion and fontina-filled pasta. New lunch menu items include a
Maine lobster roll (Friday and Saturday lunch only) and a Beaufort Ruby Red
shrimp and oyster po' boy. We can't wait to try these fresh pickings from
JCT. Chef Ford Fry!JCT. Kitchen &
Bar: 1198 Howell Mill Road, Suite 18;
404-355-2252.
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AQUA BLUE THROWS
TAILAPALOOZA! NO NEED TO CLAW YOUR WAY
IN; THERE'S PLENTY OF LOBSTER TAIL TO GO AROUND!
 The main thing is the Maine thing at Aqua blue's
Lobster Tailapalooza. Straight from the
cold waters off Maine's rocky coast, these hard-shelled tough guys of the deep
are really delicate softies inside.
Through July 3, they grace every course (except dessert) on the special Tailapalooza
menu at Aqua blue. For starters, there's roast lobster bisque
with a Maine lobster dumpling ($6); a Maine lobster roll with sweet shrimp,
avocado, teriyaki and lobster glaze ($8); and butter-poached lobster salad
($9). Top that by ordering the one or
two tail combo featuring one or two six-ounce lobster tails, house-made lobster
mac 'n cheese, lemon-garlic butter, summer vegetable sauté and lobster knuckle
sauce ($25/$35); or the Maine surf & turf combo, which adds a grilled filet
mignon to the one tail combo dish ($30).
Lobsters thrive in salt water, but Aqua blue has something much more quenching
for Tailapalooza guests: mango tango
lemonade with Absolut Mango and a splash of Watermelon Pucker, Villa Sandi
prosecco or William Hill Chardonnay, all $7 a glass.
Aqua blue: 1564 Holcomb Bridge Road in Roswell; 770-643-8886.
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WOLF MOUNTAIN VINEYARDS PAYS TRIBUTE TO
TUSCANY DURING JUNE
 The picturesque hills of Tuscany have a lot in
common with the rolling hills and mountains of North Georgia. Both have Honey-get-the-camera-out views,
plenty of vino and a mouthwatering array of Italian cuisine. Wolf Mountain Vineyards &
Winery themes June Sunday brunch menus around a "Tribute to Tuscany,"
loading the tables with dishes such as Mediterranean salad tossed in white
balsamic vinaigrette; house-made minestrone soup; roasted red pepper and olive
tapenade; tomato, basil and mozzarella tapenade; garlic bread and bruschetta;
prosciutto eggs Benedict; chicken Marsala; linguine with clam sauce; mini
vegetable stromboli with pomodoro sauce; and a carving station with leg of
lamb. Save room for tempting desserts of
tiramisu trifle, mini Key lime tarts and cheesecakes and chocolate-covered
strawberries.
On Father's Day,
June 20, Wolf Mountain Vineyards puts Tuscany on hold to honor fathers with a
hearty Father's Day brunch menu full of Southern favorites. There's more to come on this one, kiddos!
Wolf Mountain
Vineyards & Winery: 180 Wolf Mountain Trail in Dahlonega;
706-867-9862.
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BECOME A PINKBERRY
GROUPIE TO STAY IN THE PINKBERRY OF THINGS (AND GET AN INVITE TO THE
PRE-OPENING PARTY)
 You say you're a fro-yo fan, and you are
counting the days until Pinkberry opens
its first ATL location?
Awesomeness! But if you're all
talk and no action, who's to know and how are you going to get invited to the
Pinkberry pre-opening party? Here's
how: sign up to be a Pinkberry
Groupie. You'll be one of the first to
find out about events, new flavors and toppings, AND you'll get that coveted
invite to the pre-opener. Sign up before
June 25, and you'll be entered to win a free Pinkberry frozen yogurt every week
for a year! Pinkberry: Opening June 25 at 2937 Cobb Parkway in the
Akers Mill Shopping Center. |
"CHEFS'
SECRETS . . . UNCORKED!" COULD THERE BE A HOTTER HEADLINE? HAVE A
CLOSE ENCOUNTER OF AN EPICUREAN KIND ON JUNE 13  What sounds like a hot and heavy check-out line magazine teaser is
actually a very revealing afternoon of culinary adventure. From 3 - 6
p.m. on Sunday, June 13, Epicurean
Encounter participants will experience a unique wine tasting, food pairings
from Atlanta's top restaurants and an epicurean marketplace slam full of must
haves for Atlanta pantries and wine cellars. It all goes down on
Atlanta's Westside at Le Fais Do Do, 1161 Ellsworth Industrial
Boulevard. Besides bringing on pure epicurean ecstasy, this
Epicurean Encounter benefits City of Refuge and the 180˚ Kitchen, which
provides more than 19,000 meals a month to needy children and adults. A
nifty thing about the 180˚ Kitchen is that it offers a life skills and culinary
arts training program for 16- to 25-year-old students from at-risk environments
-- helping graduates make a "180 degree change" in their life direction.
Now that's a recipe for success! Purchase individual tickets for $75 each; VIP
tickets for $125 each. Dish readers receive a
special 10% discount on both general admission and VIP tickets when they
enter the code "DISH" on the event page. |
VOTE NOW OR FOREVER HOLD YOUR PEACE! VOTING FOR JEZEBEL'S 100 BEST RESTAURANTS 2010 IS UNDERWAY!
 Doesn't
matter which party you're in, as long as you like to party, dine out, drink up
and let your faves be known! Voting is
open for Jezebel magazine's annual
100 Best Restaurants issue. It's not
what they think, it's what you think, so don't sit on your hands, click here and
vote!
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NOT WANTING TO GET BIG HEADED ABOUT THIS, BUT YELPER FINDS
HEAD-SIZED BURRITOS AT RADIAL IN CANDLER PARK Too bad she was on a first date so she couldn't let
down her guard and simply devour the slam-packed breakfast burrito at Radial. Reasonable pricing and gargantuan
helpings will bring Yelper Kathleen
M. back for another morning burrito head rush soon! I went to Radial on
a date, and you better believe I ordered the breakfast burrito. A big-as-my-head, smothered-in-beans,
food-baby-for-the-rest-of-the-day breakfast burrito. On
a first date. I'm that kind of girl.
And it didn't let me down. Slam packed with goodies, heavy on the black beans
(love), and with a delicious sauce that made me want to eat more than what
would be considered ladylike in proper culture. Had no qualms
with service: given the lazy, rainy morning she was happy to let us sit and
chat a spell, refilling our drinks on the regular. Prices were totally
reasonable for what you got, making this a place I'll
be sure to re-visit in the future, especially during the week when I'm in no
mood to wait around for breakfast foodstuffs to be delivered directly to my
mouth.
Radial: 1530 DeKalb Avenue; 404-659-6594. |
EAT IT AND
TWEEP: THOSE LOOKING FOR SOME SAVORY
EXPOSURE WILL FIND IT HERE Atlanta blogster Broderick exposes a gamut of
fabulous foodie events, luscious links, gotta-eats and food photos on Savory Exposure. Time constraints? Stay exposed via Twitter. You won't see this photographer's up-close
and personal photos, but you'll get the drool-worthy gist in 140 characters or
less.Sample Tweet: Check
out @steamykitchen's revamped
blog - ATL's @virginiawillis
Coca-Cola wings on front page - http://www.steamykitchen.com |
| Looking for the latest restaurant opening, weekly wine tastings and drink specials, or other culinary happenings? Whatever makes your mouth water, Melissa Libby & Associates will point you in the right direction. Our monthly calendar, blog, flickr, Facebook page and Twitter feed will keep you up-to-date on new and ongoing restaurant events around Atlanta. |
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 Melissa Libby & Associates is an Atlanta-based public relations firm specializing in the restaurant, retail and hospitality industries.
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