ABOUT THE DISH
Looking for the latest restaurant openings, 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.
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up-to-date on new and ongoing restaurant events around Atlanta!
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You be the Judge as Ray's Restaurants Chefs Hold In-House Recipe Competition for
New Menu Dishes
Did you use Google the last time you wanted a new dish for your home menu plans? Not so at Ray's Restaurants. Executive chefs and sous chefs from all three restaurants - Ray's on the River, Ray's in the City and Ray's at Killer Creek - started developing dishes in September to spiff up the menu at Ray's at Killer Creek. Guests have been trying the new dishes and providing honest feedback. Now, each restaurant's top appetizer, entrée and side item will be offered at Ray's at Killer Creek for additional guest testing on Sunday, Monday and Friday of each week through November. Competing chefs include Executive Chef Ugo Okpareke and Sous Chef Phillip Sullivan from Ray's in the City, Executive Chef Josh Warner and Sous Chef Brian Goddard from Ray's on the River and Executive Chef Tracey Bloom from Ray's at Killer Creek. On Friday, November 30, the winning chefs and dishes will be announced at a grand reopening party at Ray's at Killer Creek. There's more than a menu on the line here as the winning chef will receive a weeklong vacation for two, and chefs placing second and third will receive monetary prizes.
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No. 246 Crafts Autumnal Cocktails, Toasts, Pastas and Plates
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Photo: Andrew Thomas Lee
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Fall's abundance is spread thick as leaves across the menu at No. 246 in Decatur. Look for toasts accompanied by house ricotta and arugula almond pesto or pork rillette, beet pickled farm eggs, whole grain mustard and local parsley. Harvest-fresh starters feature a salad of Mercier Orchard apples, radicchio, arugula, candied pears, cheddar and balsamic and a roasted local African squash soup with dried local apples. Meat and cheese plates are both local and global. Comforting full- and appetizer-portion pastas include agnolotti with roasted pumpkin, mascarpone, brown butter and sage; Maine lobster and local spinach join tortellini; and chestnut tagliatelle comes with braised duck legs, red wine agro dolce and roasted chestnuts. Outdoorsy plates feature trout with local braised greens and toasted farro; chicken with roasted Brussels sprouts, local apples and sherry bacon agro dolce; and flatiron Wagyu steak with roasted local autumn root vegetables.
Fall-ish beers range from draft Uinta Pumpkin Ale and Terrapin Easy Rider to bottled 21st Amendment Brew Free or Die IPA and Crown Valley Old School Pilsner ($5-$6). Tip a crafty cocktail such as Bewitched mixing pumpkin beer, house-made vanilla vodka, Strega, maple syrup and Fee Brothers Old Fashioned Bitters or the Pimm's Cup for Fall swirling Pimm's No. 1, lemon juice, Cynar, house-made limoncello, Georgia apples and cinnamon ($8-$12). |
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New Cocktails and Nightly Promotions at The Pinewood in Decatur
New fall promotions and a signature cocktail menu at The Pinewood in Decatur are full on must-see, must do. First the promos: half-price wine on Sundays; Laundry Night Monday specials of $5 NOLA cocktails (Sazerac and Hurricane) and a NOLA trio of gumbo, red beans and rice and jambalaya for $8; Tuesday deals BOGO on all entrées; Wednesdays slash whiskey cocktails to half price; and Thursdays cap weeknights with BOGO on all small plates.
Honor Fridays, Saturdays and any night with one of the nine autumnal cocktails ($7.50-$11) or one of the 15-strong roster of $7.50 classics. Newbies include Autumn Rivulets featuring Redston Hopped honey wine, Rothman & Winter orchard pear, Yellow Chartreuse and basil granita. Remember Ichabod's headless horseman? The pumpkin joins Bacardi Solera Rum in The Pinewood's Brom Bones Fizz. Oooh. Scary good. For a full list, check out the cocktail menu online.
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Be Secure in the Knowledge that October 20 Brunch at Watershed Benefits Collier Hills Community
Collier Hills residents will bring home the bacon to a safer community thanks to Watershed's benefit for the Collier Hills Security Program on Saturday, October 20 from 11:30 a.m.-3 p.m. Fifteen percent of sales will go to the program. Browse the entire menu from sausage gravy and biscuit to farm eggs any style with tomatoes and fried polenta, a crabby shrimp burger to pain perdu with bananas, peanuts and candied bacon and coconut pancakes |
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Chef Ford Fry Hosts Lunch Break for Kids Fundraiser on October 18 for Childhood Nutrition Education
Chef Ford Fry is a firm believer that brain food begins with power-packed lunches. He's joining 75 chefs nationwide, the makers of Hidden Valley Original Ranch and the American Culinary Federation's Chef & Child Foundation in a national, weeklong effort to raise money for nutrition-based education materials for kids and families. Last year's Lunch Break for Kids effort was so successful, it's back for seconds. On Thursday, October 18 from 11 a.m.-2:30 p.m., dine in or grab lunch to go at JCT. Kitchen & Bar, and your lunch money will help generate nutrition education resources for schools and community centers. The goal is to encourage families to eat healthier, include more vegetables on their menus and build healthy family ties over the table. More national event information and recipes are online. Tweet with your mouth full at #LunchBreakForKids. |
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Be a Winemaker for a Night and CreateYour Own Blends at Fleming's Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar on October 19
Give in to your inner vintner and partake in the "Winemaker for a Night" creative event co-hosted by Fleming's Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar and Napa Valley's award-winning Raymond Vineyards on Friday, October 19. Celebrate the centuries-old art of wine blending with premium varietals from Raymond Vineyards in Rutherford, Napa Valley. Guests will enjoy wine blending instructions, activities and generous selections from Fleming's Small Plates and Bar la Carte menus. Fleming's Director of Wine Maeve Pesquera will be there to coach, and no special wine knowledge is necessary. The evening includes a rare tasting of barrel samples of three single varietals by Raymond Vineyards: Sonoma County Cabernet Sauvignon 2011, California Cabernet Sauvignon 2011 and Napa Valley Merlot 2011. $65 per guest (excluding tax and gratuity). Call Fleming's at 770-698-8112 to make reservations.
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Rise Above and Visit Alon's Bakery and Market Locations for The Bread Bakers Guild of America's 2nd Annual International Bakery Open House on October 20
Who do you trust for locally made artisanal crusts? Start with Alon's Bakery and Market, whose two locations are participating in The Bread Bakers Guild of America's 2nd Annual International Bakery Open House on Saturday, October 20. Fifty-five bakeries spread out across 27 U.S. states and three Canadian provinces are taking part in "The Cereal Series, Going With the Grain," which aims to draw communities to bakeries and locally made bread. Both Alon's locations are hosting open house events where guests can look, learn and taste. From 8 a.m. - 12 p.m. at the Dunwoody location, Alon's Owner Alon Balshan bakes flatbread and focaccia in the wood-burning oven and offers samples of flatbreads, cheese and hummus. Balshan moves to the Virginia Highland store to mix and bake baguettes from 1-5 p.m. Throughout the day, guests can sample Alon's treats such as cookies, beverages, house-made hummus, marmalade and more. Events are free and open to the public, but online RSVPs by Wednesday, October 17 are needed due to limited space.
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Woodfire Grill Dinner Highlights Five Craft Beers from Stone Brewing Company on October 23
Versatile beer can hop right in there as the beverage of choice to go with fall's heartier fare. Such is the case as Woodfire Grill Chef de Cuisine E.J. Hodgkinson plans his four-course menu to complement five Stone Brewing Company craft beers at the restaurant's Tuesday, October 23 beer dinner. The evening begins with a 6:30 p.m. reception followed by dinner at 7 p.m. Paired California brews include: Stone Cali-Belgique IPA (California-style IPA with a Belgian influence); Stone Ruination IPA (big, bold, bitter character on a refreshing malt base); Stone Smoked Porter (dark, smooth and complex with rich chocolate and coffee flavors, balanced by a subtle smokiness); Stone Imperial Russian Stout (intensely aromatic with notes of anise, black currants and coffee) and Stone 16th Anniversary IPA (a double IPA with rich toasted malt character punctuated by hints of spicy rye and subtle lemon). $80 per person, not including tax or gratuity. Limited seating means reservations required; call 404-347-9055.
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14th Annual Marlow's Tavern Golf Classic Tees Off for Special Olympics on October 24
Since its start in 1999, the Marlow's Tavern Golf Classic has raised more than $323,000 for Special Olympics Georgia and has enabled its share of good excuses to hit the greens on a weekday for a good cause.
This year's Classic tees off at the Country Club of Roswell and wraps up with an after party, awards dinner and silent auction at Aqua blue. For more information, contact Susan Skolnick at 770-414-9390 x111 or Susan.Skolnick@specialolympicsga.org. More on Facebook.
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Gobble, Gobble - White Oak Pastures is Taking Pre-orders for Thanksgiving Turkeys
It's never too early to start planning for Thanksgiving dinner. White Oak Pastures is taking pre-orders for turkeys, and to reward your lack of procrastination, they're offering a 5 percent discount on all orders placed before October 31. White Oak Pastures' free-range pastured heritage breed turkeys come in three sizes ranging from eight to 16+ pounds and will ship November 12-14. Visit the White Oak Pastures online store or call 229-641-2081.
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Eat it and Tweep: AtlantaEatsCBS Tweets Now and Hits Airwaves This Week
Steak Shapiro tweets (@AtlantaEatsCBS) food and restaurant action, promos and food facts, and he has quite a few celebrity foodie/chef followers. One tweet to note: starting October 20, AtlantaEats hits CBS and Peachtree TV as a 30-minute food, entertainment and social media show.
Sample Tweet: #Sushi for lunch. Where to go, what rolls to order? Suggestions, please... #ATLEats
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Appetizing Aperture
You say it's your birthday? Aqua blue says come on over and pick out a complimentary entrée to celebrate your special day. Don't forget your ID in all of the excitement!
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What's New on Pinterest: Chocolate Cravings
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Chocolate Souffle Cake from Alon's Bakery and Market
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Milk, dark, dark with bacon, straight up cocoa in a cup - how do you trick out your chocolate? Tough question with those bags of mini chocolate bars peering from Halloween supply shelves. If you're going door-to-door with little "gobble-ins," claim their choco-haul as a chaperone's fee then peruse our Pinterest board for more crave-worthy options.
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