In This Issue

Will Harris of White Oak Pastures Named GA Farmer of the Year

MLA Out and About

Take 2: Milton's Fork & Screen Rescheduled

Drew Van Leuvan of Seven Lamps Demos at Morningside Farmers Market

Celebrate The Glenn Hotel's 90th Anniversary

RA Sushi Tropical Pairing

Seven Lamps' Michael Jones Crowned New Merlet Sidecar Champion

#foodgram: @bantamandbiddy

Appetizing Aperture: Aqua blue Flatbread Sandwich

What's New on Pinterest: Nutty for Nuts

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!

TomatoFeast! Bursts on Scene at South City Kitchen - Vinings and La Tavola Trattoria

Tomato vines laden with their bodacious fruits are spurring TomatoFeast! celebrations at two Fifth Group Restaurants, La Tavola Trattoria and South City Kitchen - Vinings. In Virginia-Highland, La Tavola Trattoria's TomatoFeast! is 11 years strong and fills this year's calendar from July 31-August 10. Executive chef Brent Banda showcases the versatile tomato in a menu that is available à la carte or as a three-course prix fixe meal for $35. Tomatoes hit all course options from appetizers ($8-$12) to entrées ($17-$24) to dessert ($6.50), and you can salivate over the entire menu on the trattoria's Facebook page. Reservations suggested, call 404-873-5430 or visit OpenTable. South City Kitchen - Vinings' menu, available August 1-10, invites heirloom tomato devotees to dabble in an array of small plates including appetizers, chilled soups, sandwiches, salads and even individual tomato pies ($5-$14). Large plates bring out entrées of blistered Sun Gold tomatoes with pecan-smoked scallops and Red Mule grits; Creekstone Farms flat iron steak with summer corn and tomato salad; Jambalaya Jaune with Gulf shrimp, chicken thighs, andouille, okra, tarragon and caramelized tomato jam, and heaps more ($17-$26). Plant your reservation on OpenTable and visit Facebook for more info.

Will Harris of White Oak Pastures is 2013 Georgia Farmer of the Year

Fourth-generation farmer Will Harris always wanted to be a cattleman, and he stuck with his vision. Now, White Oak Pastures in Bluffton, Ga. is the state's largest organic farm and the only farm in the nation to house both beef and poultry abattoirs on the same property. Not only that, Harris is the Georgia state winner of the 2013 Swisher Sweets/Sunbelt Expo Southeastern Farmer of the Year award. He joins a lineup of nine finalists, one from each of nine Southeastern states. The overall winner will be announced in October at the Sunbelt Ag Expo farm show in Moultrie, Ga. White Oak Pastures' sustainably farmed, grass-fed beef and pasture-raised poultry are available to purchase online, at Whole Foods Market and at more than 1,000 Publix supermarkets throughout the Southeast.

MLA Out and About

MLA's Tuan Huynh getting ready to crown the winners!

We have visuals on the victuals that triumphed at the July 21 Attack of the Killer Tomato Festival at JCT. Kitchen & Bar. Check out our Facebook photos. We witnessed hot, cold, neat and sloppy-good strategies taking tomatoes to their peak performance levels as the South's top chefs and mixologists dueled and doled. Some imposters showed up wearing tomato costumes, chefs put down knives and picked up guitars, and thankfully, the dunk tank held water and not tomato juice.

Take 2: Milton's Fork & Screen Reschedules

"My Big Fat Greek Wedding" Outdoor Movie

for July 31

Even Gus Portokalos' Windex problem-solver solution could not keep the rain at bay when Milton's Cuisine & Cocktails planned a Milton's Fork & Screen on the Green outdoor showing of "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" earlier this month. Rather than throwing in the towel, they've rescheduled! Toss your lawn chairs in the car because the big screen showing is now slated for Wednesday, July 31. Don't worry about planning a picnic on short notice because Milton's is putting together chef-prepared boxed dinners for $25 per person (sorry, no outside food or beverages permitted). Vixen Vodka cocktails and FIJI water will be available at the cash bar. Movie begins at dusk; no advance reservation needed. Planning for a group of eight or more? Contact Heather Testerman at 678-431-8753. Follow Milton's on Twitter and Facebook for updates or call 770-817-0161 for more information. By the way, the word umbrella is derived from the Latin word umbra, which has its roots in the Ancient Greek word ómbros. Thank you, Gus.

Seven Lamps' Drew Van Leuvan Demos at Morningside Farmers Market August 3

Get up, get out, get some produce and get some new recipe ideas from Seven Lamps executive chef and managing partner Drew Van Leuvan at the Morningside Farmers Market this Saturday, August 3 at 9 a.m. Market hours are 7:30-11:30 a.m., so you'll still have plenty of Saturday left, even after shopping the stalls for certifiably organic produce brought in fresh that morning from local farms.

The Glenn Hotel Marks 90th Anniversary

throughout August

The Glenn Hotel in downtown Atlanta's Luckie Marietta District reasons that a one-day party is way too short-lived for a 90^th anniversary. Only a grand, month-long celebration will do, and the Glenn has lots of festivities in store, from mini-cupcakes at check-in and a signature birthday cocktail to a getaway deal. The Glenn's 90^th Anniversary Package includes an overnight stay in a historic guestroom and special welcome package. Book it for $90 through August 30. Birthday backgrounder: built in 1923, the Glenn was named after John Thomas Glenn, a prominent businessman and the 31^st mayor of Atlanta. The building originally housed offices, and its 10 stories made it a skyscraper during that era. Too bad there wasn't a SkyLounge rooftop bar back then for folks to imbibe city views and handcrafted cocktails or Glenn's Kitchen where they could sit down to seasonal American South comfort food.

Ride Pineapple Express to Paradise with

RA Sushi Tropical Pairing

Throw on a Hawaiian shirt or a pareo wrap before cruising into RA Sushi Bar Restaurant in Midtown for the newest Tropical Pairing cocktail and entrée combo surfing August 1-September 30. Jalapeño-pineapple shrimp packs heat underneath the refreshing medley of chilled shrimp, diced fresh pineapple, jalapeño, red bell pepper and green onions united with pineapple sauce ($10). That Coco Kanpai cocktail in your hand is a good stand-in for a tropical sunset, muddling fresh lime juice and mint with Kai Coconut Pandan vodka, St. Germain Elderflower liqueur, fruit juices and a splash of ginger beer ($8). Order separately or enjoy the pairing for $18. Coconut sunscreen and flip-flops might complete the fantasy; sand pails can stay home.

Seven Lamps' Michael Jones Crowned

New Merlet Sidecar Champion

Photo by Eduardo Simeon

Seven Lamps bartender Michael Jones competed against some of the best bartenders in the U.S. and was named the 2013 Merlet Sidecar Cocktail champion at the annual "Tales of the Cocktail" event on July 20 in New Orleans. Bartenders in the competition were asked to create two different drinks using Merlet Cognac and another spirit from the Merlet portfolio - one celebrating the timeless spirit of the sidecar and the other a drink entirely of their own creation. Jones let Merlet liqueurs shine in his winning drinks - the Cuvee du Merlet and the Brennus Suppressor #3 - earning him and a guest a trip to Paris and the Borderies/Fins Bois French countryside area of Cognac to visit the Merlet distillery, spend time with the Merlet family and learn how to distill Cognac. Way to go, Michael!

#foodgram

Slide right into Bantam+Biddy on Instagram (@bantamandbiddy) to visualize slider night. Full-color glory for $3 sliders, $3 seasonal beer punch and $1 Miller High Life ponies.

Appetizing Aperture

Who says a flatbread sandwich has to be flat? Sure wish we could use 3-D printing to generate a multi-dimensional view of this chicken club at Aqua blue in Roswell. See how the bacon, lettuce and ripe tomatoes cozy up next to grilled chicken and all stack up nicely between flatbread handholds? We can't wait to get a grip on this one -- plus plenty more from the new lunch menu!

What's New on Pinterest?

Call us nutty for nuts - they're so good for us and worthy to be elevated above the coffee table nut dish. We're shelling out ways on Pinterest to work nuts (and that legume/nut wannabe -- the peanut) into every meal. Rib-eye steaks with pistachio butter and asparagus, cashew chicken, and zucchini and walnut skordalia bruschetta are savory takes. Pistachio marble cake, pine nut brittle, and apricot and almond tart bring on nuts that are oh so sweet.