In This Issue

Top of "the Ridge" Peaches from Watsonia Farms

King + Duke Hosts ACFB Supper Club

Summer Fun at The Mill Kitchen & Bar

Kevin Gillespie Serves Up the Menu at BB&T Atlanta Open Charity Night

Ray's on the Creek Big Green Egg Classes

Drew Belline at NYC's City Grit

Downtown Restaurant Week

Ray's on the River Summer Lobster Boil

#foodgram: @attackofthekillertomatofest

Appetizing Aperture: STATS Slushies

What's New on Pinterest? We All Scream for Ice Cream

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.

up-to-date on new and ongoing restaurant events around Atlanta!

Peachy Top of "the Ridge" View Gives Watsonia Farms Peaches the Best Flavor

Whole-y terroir? The unique combination of earth and air qualities is considered when growing the best grapes for wine production, and it also has a place in peach orchard selection. Watsonia Farms rolls across an elevated terrain affectionately called "the Ridge" by local farmers. The agricultural region rises up along the Savannah River north of Augusta and spreads eastward along the fall line from the piedmont of upstate South Carolina to the coastal plain. Perhaps Joe H. Watson had a peachy premonition about the land when, back in 1918, he purchased the first parcel of what would be Watsonia Farms and began planting peaches in 1925. Sweet nectar. Today, Joe's great-grandson Jeph Watson continues the peach orchard tradition along "the Ridge." The peach buzz is that the four counties spanning this area of South Carolina produce more peaches than the entire Peach State of Georgia! If you're traveling through the South Carolina midlands, stop in at one of Watsonia Farms' two stores for farm-fresh fruit, produce and fruit products.

Aqua blue Nightly Specials Boast Half-Price Bottles of Wine, Sushi and Drink Deals

and Live Music

When was the last time you evaluated your night-out options? Hit refresh and see what's going on at Aqua blue in Roswell. On Sundays, enjoy half-off savings on any bottle of wine on the wine menu. Say "ah, so sushi" to $1 nigiri/sashimi, $5 large sake pours and $3 Japanese beers on Tuesday nights. Girls night out dolls up Thursdays with complimentary appetizers in the bar from 5:30-7:00 p.m. and live music from 7:30-10:30 p.m. Friday night heralds the weekend with live music from 7:30-10:30 p.m. For inside scoop on Aqua blue specials and a coupon for $10 off your next dinner, join the Ambassadors E-Club. Aqua blue opens daily at 4 p.m.

King + Duke Hosts Atlanta Community Food Bank Supper Club on July 16

Double-icious! Attend menu of bites, starters, share-ables, hearth-cooked fish, fowl and farm, and incredibly satisfying desserts (oh, yeah). Make reservations online.

The Mill Kitchen & Bar has Plans for

"Alive After 5" on July 18 and a Wine Dinner

on July 24

Roswell hosts a historic district "Alive After 5" celebration each third Thursday from 5-9 p.m., April through October, and The Mill Kitchen & Bar is planning both restaurant and outdoor tent specials for the July 18 community party. In conjunction with SweetWater Brewing Company's "Shoot the Hooch" fundraiser, The Mill will feature SweetWater beers both in the restaurant and outside in the tent. Chef Ben Castro is preparing a trout special and brew pairing with a portion of sales going to the cause. Guests who purchase SweetWater beer at the event's special reduced price will receive a SweetWater-branded pint glass to take home. On Thursday, July 24, the restaurant will host a wine dinner featuring five courses. Joe Herrig of Atlanta Beverage Company will pair up the wines and answer guests' wine questions. For reservations, call 770-817-9345 or use OpenTable.

Kevin Gillespie Serves Up the Menu at July 20 BB&T Atlanta Open Charity Night for the YMCA

Chef Kevin Gillespie wants to help out Atlanta youth through Y youth tennis. He's the celebrity chef creating the menu for the 2013 BB&T Atlanta Open "Tennis on the Town" charity event on July 20 at Atlantic Station. The event will benefit Y youth tennis programs for the YMCA of Metro Atlanta. The Bravo "Top Chef" celebrity and man behind recently opened Gunshow in Glenwood Park will prepare recipes from his "Fire in My Belly" cookbook and will mix up the evening's signature cocktail. Additionally, he's tossing in an in-home cooking class and dinner for 10 guests (and Gillespie) for the evening's live-auction bidding. Gillespie admits he's more comfortable with a cheese raclette than a tennis racket, and his YMCA connections are second hand. Wife Valerie joined in the Guinness Book of World Records' "largest YMCA dance" at Southwest Missouri State College (a.k.a. Missouri State) -- and The Village People came. And, Gunshow general manager Blake Morley grew up traveling all over with his grandfather who ran aquatics for the Y. Who knew? Always good to ask "Y!" Register for the event at www.atlantaymcatennis.org by July 18; $150 per person or $250 for two.

Ray's on the Creek Opens Up Two More Big Green Egg Cooking Classes

Only Big Green Eggs at these cooking classes -- any ham comes purely from class teacher and Ray's on the Creek chef Michael Gaylor or the expert from Big Green Egg during these special outdoor cooking classes on Saturday, July 20 and Sunday, July 21 from 3-5 p.m. A quick sell out of the first Big Green Egg class and popular demand prompted Ray's to add another two classes to the calendar. "Egg Head" students enjoy pulled sliders when they arrive then learn how to recreate them at home on their own Big Green Eggs. $15 per person. Call 770-649-0064 to reserve your spot.

Drew Belline Zips up to NYC's City Grit for Night of Rustic Italian Cuisine on July 25

Photo By: Frank Lazaro

Chef Drew Belline packs up his summer southern staples - foraged truffles, wild mushrooms, cucumbers, Georgia milk ricotta and fresh-caught Gulf Coast snapper - and heads up to City Grit, a NYC culinary salon, to show them how we do rustic Italian down South. The No. 246 chef and co-owner will put on his culinary show on Thursday, July 25 at 7 p.m. Heading up that way yourself? Dinner and Belline's culinary show are $85 for one, $150 for two; buy tickets online.

Eat, Play, Stay During Downtown Restaurant Week, July 27-August 4

Eat smart and save on brunch, lunch and dinner fare during Downtown Restaurant Week, sponsored by Central Atlanta Progress, Saturday, July 27 - Sunday, August 4. Alma Cocina, Der Biergarten, Game-X, Glenn's Kitchen, Max's Coal Oven Pizzeria, Ray's in the City and STATS are all participating in the week of $15, $25 and/or $35 three-course, prix fixe menus. Glenn's Kitchen covers two meals via a $25 lunch and a $35 dinner menu. Ray's in the City offers both $25 and $35 dinner menus and wine pairings for an additional $15. Tack on play time for the mind-boggling array of interactive games at Game-X where the week's special $15 menu includes a $20 game play card! Open up the stay-and-play link for a glimpse of the week's Braves action, movies, concerts and other downtown ATL happenings. Sneak away on a "Dine and Dream" mini-vacay with the Glenn Hotel and Glenn's Kitchen "All Access Package" (promo code: LVU). Prix fixe menu prices are per person and exclude alcohol, tax and gratuity.

Feast on Claws, Tails, Cobs and Cobblers at Ray's on the River Summer Lobster Boil

on July 27

The word's out. There's going to be a tail break. Lobsters are scheming a kitchen escape at Ray's on the River on Saturday, July 27. Sources tell us they'll make a break for the Summer Lobster Boil at Ray's Grand Pavilion along the shores of the mighty Chattahoochee where guests will be waiting to crack claws and bite tails from 6:30-8:30 p.m. Adding more incentive to pause for claws is a well-rounded menu featuring andouille sausage, shrimp, red potatoes, corn on the cob, onions, new potato salad, jalape�o coleslaw, tarragon-lemon rice pilaf, drawn butter and atomic cocktail and Cajun remoulade sauces. Maine blueberry cobbler, Key lime pie and assorted sorbets cap the meal. The cost is $50 per person ($45 with Dining Club card). RSVP to 770-955-1187 and have a credit card handy to hold your reservation. (Menu subject to changes and availability.)

#foodgram: @attackofthekillertomatofest

Inspired by campy movie posters and jack o' lanterns, @attackofthekillertomatofest invades

Instagram. Scary good what more than 40 chefs and 15 mixologists will conjure up when the Attack of the Killer Tomato Festival conquers JCT. Kitchen & Bar on July 21 from 1-5 p.m. The event looks like a sell out so check online for tickets now.

Appetizing Aperture

How sporting of STATS to create summery slushies with Deep Eddy Sweet Tea vodka and Deep Eddy Ruby Red vodka, handcrafted spirits distilled in Austin, Tex. Slushing around in tall Mason jars, these adult chillers throw some Texas-sized refreshment your way for cool sports viewing at STATS.

Pinterest: We All Scream for Ice Cream

Can we just skip the square meals and fill up on the scoops, 'sicles, sundaes and soft serves on this Pinterest board? Okay, so maybe Krispy Kreme doughnut ice cream will lead you astray. Blueberry coconut ice cream (gluten and dairy free), peanut butter and banana "ice cream," homemade summer sorbets, lemon blueberry yogurt pops and pistachio + rosewater ice cream more than make amends. Fresh watermelon sorbetto is so adorable we could spit (chocolate chip) seeds.