In This Issue

Wednesday Pint Nights at Atkins Park Virginia-Highland

The Optimist Makes Bon Appétit's "Hot 10 2013" List

Happy 12th Anniversary to Aqua blue

The Big Ketch Deck Party

The Mill Kitchen & Bar Offers Monday Night Brewing Specials

Der Biergarten's Schlager Party

STATS SweetWater Beer Dinner

#foodgram: @marlowstavern

Appetizing Aperture: The Big Ketch

What's New on Pinterest? Scrumptious Sandwiches

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!

Good Times Overflow During Wednesday Pint Nights at Atkins Park in Virginia-Highland

The glass is full, and you can take it home from Wednesday Pint Nights, every Wednesday night in August at

Atkins Park Restaurant & Bar in Virginia-Highland. Picture drafts of New Belgium brews frothing at the top of each icy cold glass as you hoist your very own keepsake to your lips and quench that parched throat. For each New Belgium draft sold, the Atlanta Bicycle Coalition receives $1 to help fund Atlanta Streets Alive. Ride on! (Remember, ride or drive responsibly.) This week's Wednesday Pint Night pulls in on August 14.

The Optimist Makes Bon App�tit's

"The Hot 10 2013" List

Photo from Bon App�tit's Andrew Knowlton

It's another prized catch for The Optimist. This time the West Midtown seafood restaurant has made Bon App�tit's "The Hot 10 2013: The Best New Restaurants in America." Andrew Knowlton, the magazine's restaurant and drinks editor, spent the last year traveling 26,333 miles in 22 states to compile the illustrious list. According to Knowlton, "The 2013 restaurant scene is being reinvented by a band of young chefs. The results are not only delicious...they're inspiring." Look for The Optimist and other "Hot 10" restaurants in the September issue. Congratulations!

Happy Anniversary to Aqua blue -

Celebration Spans August 14-21

With so many friends contributing to 12 successful years at Aqua blue in Roswell, the restaurant is stretching its anniversary celebration over seven days beginning August 14 and culminating with an anniversary party on Wednesday, August 21. Guests dining at Aqua blue from August 14-21 can enjoy a special three-course menu for $20.01 per person that features a tasting plate, entr�e and dessert. Main plate options include Maine lobster ravioli with portobello, fennel, chives and lobster knuckle sauce; wild shrimp and scallop grits with Nora Mills stone-ground corn grits, roasted tomato beurre blanc and julienne vegetables in a chardonnay cream sauce; or grilled beef tenderloin pan-seared with whipped potatoes, asparagus and Harvey's Bristol Cream mushroom sauce. Additionally, each table of guests will receive a thank you card containing a surprise such as 10 percent off, a free appetizer or entr�e or a $50 gift card. The official anniversary party on August 21 boasts live music from the band Open the Skye, complimentary cake and a champagne toast. That evening, each guest will receive a raffle ticket for a drawing of free dinner for a year (must be present at the night's drawing to win). In addition to marking 12 great years, Aqua blue also is commemorating the recent start of its weekday lunch service and the excitement over longtime chef Kien Sam becoming an operating partner.

Would You Rather "Get Hooked" to Your Desk or a Deck Party at The Big Ketch in Buckhead

on August 15?

What a difference a "c" makes, turning a desk view into a deck party at The Big Ketch Saltwater Grill in Buckhead.This Thursday, August 15, detach from your desk/desktop/laptop and coast into The Big Ketch Saltwater Grill where a "Get Hooked" deck party washes away that workday stress from 5-7 p.m. How can that inbox compare to $2 Sam Adams Whitewater IPA, $4 Montevina wine, a party-special summer cocktail for $5 and two-for-$2 grilled garlic-Parmesan oysters? Kontraband delivering your favorite tunes live beats voicemail any day. Heck, you could even turn that smartphone off and totally succumb to the beachfront vibe. That desk will be there tomorrow, and you'll return with a much more relaxed perspective. See you on the deck!

The Mill Kitchen & Bar Offers Monday Night Brewing Specials during Roswell's Alive After Five on August 15

Savor summer's lingering twilight hours at Roswell's family friendly Alive After Five event, coming up on the third Thursday of the month, August 15. Stroll through the shops and galleries of Roswell's historic district while enjoying live music from 5-9 p.m. Check out the evening's craft specials at The Mill Kitchen & Bar - the handcrafted brews of Monday Night Brewing. This local brewery operates under the mantra of "brewing for the weeknights." Last time we checked, Thursday nights qualify. The Mill will offer its regular menu of farm-to-fork regional fare served in smaller tastes and bar snacks on up to full entr�e plates. Parents, note to self that kids eat free from the kids' menu from 5-8 p.m. on weeknights.

Do You Know Schlager? Maybe, if You Hum a Few Bars at Der Biergarten's Schlager Party

on August 17

Karaoke has met its match! At Der Biergarten's Schlager Party, German pop-country music from the hip '60s and '70s will roll off lips as easily as $9 liters of Krombacher pilsner and Weihenstephan hefe go down on August 17 from 7 p.m.-midnight. Put on your best German attire, and you're a shoe-in for Schlager swag and prizes. Whether you say "Ich bin ein Berliner!" or "I am an Atlantan," you'll have a grand time. Read more on our blog.

Take Me to the River by way of STATS SweetWater Beer Dinner to Benefit

Save our Water Campaign

"Can't make good beer without good water," confess the brewmasters at SweetWater Brewing Company. No wonder this Atlanta-based brewery has been dedicated to protecting local waterways for more than a decade. Jumping in the boat to help the Waterkeeper Alliance's Save Our Water Campaign, STATS is hosting a five-course dinner with SweetWater beer pairings on Friday, August 23 at 7:30 p.m. Georgia trout roe and house-made potato chips pair up with SweetWater Waterkeeper Hefeweizen; SweetWater Blue is a natural alongside an arugula, fig and blueberry salad with homemade ricotta; IPA-brined crispy quail arrives with SweetWater IPA; porcini-rubbed hangar steak and SweetWater 420 team up well; and SweetWater Georgia Brown complements Krispy Kreme bread pudding, incorporating more of the same brew. $45 per person including tax, gratuity and a $10 donation to the Save Our Water Campaign. To reserve a spot, call 404-974-2944 or email Mary Jo Schmidt at mjs@legacyrestaurantpartners.com.

#foodgram - @marlowstavern

What's for lunch? Or dinner? Marlow's Tavern

(@Marlowstavern) puts the power of suggestion right out there in living color on your smart device.Of course, you'll have to decide which of the 10 Atlanta-area Marlow's Tavern locations (not to mention Orlando and Winter Park, Fl.) to visit.

Appetizing Aperture

Americana varies on who fried up the first hushpuppies, but the principal is the same - toss bits of cornmeal cakes or balls of fried cornmeal dough over to the yapping pups to hush them up. Hushpuppies at The Big Ketch Saltwater Grill in Buckhead are way too addicting to toss to Fido. Although, table chatter may give way to happy munching sounds after you order a basket of hushpuppies with remoulade dipping sauce ($2.95 half/$4.95 full basket). They're also an awesome side with shrimp and grits, Charleston-style lump crab cakes, a big salad or anything else on The Big Ketch lunch and dinner menus.

What's New on Pinterest?

The best thing since sliced bread? Our Pinterest board dedicated to Scrumptious Sandwiches in honor of back-to-school days and National Sandwich Month. Funny how that works out. We're on a roll with a lunchbox bonanza, hearty two-handers and even breadless wonders that are sure to cut the mustard in your household.