In This Issue

Watsonia Farms Peaches Available Through Labor Day

Happy 12th Anniversary to Aqua blue

Live Music & Sierra Nevada Beer Headline at Atkins Park Restaurant & Bar

Kula Project #forthefarmer

SweetWater Save Our Water Beer Dinner at STATS

Adam Evans Plates Up at "Music Shoals" Premiere

Der Biergarten and Ormsby's at German Bierfest

Pong Wars Tournament at Atkins Park Restaurant & Bar

#foodgram: @whiteoakpastures

Appetizing Aperture: Big Green Egg Cooking Classes

What's New on Pinterest? Chicken of Choice

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!

Reserve Your Seat at King + Duke's

New Chef's Counter

The counter is the only thing coming between guests and the 24-foot open hearth and culinary action of executive chef Joe Schafer and his talented team at the King + Duke chef's counter. Schafer's five-course tasting menu garnishes the view. The cost is $75 per person, and the menu changes daily. Nightly seatings are at 6 p.m. and 8:45 p.m., and each seating can accommodate two parties of two. For reservations, call 404-477-3500 and let the staff know any dietary restrictions at that time. Valet parking is available.

Look for Watsonia Farms Peaches at Area Farmers Markets Through Labor Day -

Eat Now or Put Up Some for Later

Good news! Watsonia Farms' organically grown and conventional peaches are available at Atlanta-area farmers markets through Labor Day. Stock up on these orbs of summertime awesomeness and carry the warm season well into winter. The Monetta, S.C. farm offers plenty of ideas to make the most of your treasure. Try your hand at canning and preserving peach jam, conserve, honey, relish or marmalade or put up some peach pickles. Watsonia Farms suggests checking this link for how-tos. If you've already snapped up a basket too many and they're trending overripe, turn them into peach pie or cobbler, smoothies, pur�ed baby food or add to bread, muffins or pancakes. Try adding some to chicken stock with balsamic vinegar for a piquant meat glaze or sauce. Tuck away a few freezer bags of peach slices - you'll be so glad you did when winter's gray days are here.

Aqua blue 12^th Anniversary Celebration Culminates with Party on August 21

Party like it's 2001 while Aqua blue continues its 12 year anniversary celebration with a special three-course menu priced at $20.01 per person and a party on Wednesday, August 21. Open our blog for the menu and more party particulars including the live band, cake and champagne and the chance for party-goers to win free dinner for a year. More timeline events to celebrate include Aqua blue's new weekday lunch service and the advancement of longtime chef Kien Sam to operating partner.

Live Music and Sierra Nevada Beer Headline August 22 at Atkins Park Restaurant & Bar

The band plays, the beer flows, and you're settled in at your favorite neighborhood place. Such an idyllic scene becomes reality as Homefront amps up at Atkins Park Restaurant & Bar in Virginia-Highland on Thursday, August 22 at 10 p.m. Sierra Nevada is the beer of the night - at least one has your name on it. Hint.

Dine at Chicken and the Egg, The Optimist and King + Duke on August 22 to Help the Kula Project Assist Farmers in Africa

Buzzwords of "farm fresh," "local" and "sustainable" sprinkle throughout the conversation at 11 of Atlanta's top restaurants. While you might think they're discussing their own kitchen preferences, they're talking about supporting the Kula Project, a program that assesses conditions for farmers in Rwanda and Kenya and equips these farmers with innovative farming methods for sustainable agriculture. On Thursday, August 22, The Optimist, King + Duke and Chicken and the Egg are three of the 11 restaurants donating 20 percent of their sales to support Kula Project's farm sponsorship programs. Make plans to eat out and help out that night. You can also LIKE the Kula Project Facebook page and start using #forthefarmer on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook now through the day of the event for a chance to receive a $100 gift card to Fifth Group Restaurants.

STATS Scores SweetWater Save Our Water Beer Dinner on August 23

The Atlanta Braves are away on August 23, but STATS has plenty to light up your Friday night, including the SweetWater Save Our Water five-course dinner benefitting Chattahoochee RiverKeeper. Dinner begins at 7:30 p.m. and costs $45 per person, including tax, tip and a $10 donation. Link to our blog for the menu and details. After dinner, catch Braves game action on the restaurant's multiple viewing screens.

Adam Evans of The Optimist Plates Up at "Muscle Shoals" Premiere on August 24

This weekend, August 23-25, Shindig No. 5 is going down in The Shoals, Ala. The Shoals is an area comprised of Muscle Shoals, Florence, Sheffield and Tuscumbia along the Tennessee River in Northwest Alabama - home to some hellacious music, art and down-home Southern culture. Adam Evans of The Optimist and Josh Habiger, last year's Food & Wine "Best New Chef" winner, will fix up small plates for VIPs before the premiere of the movie "Muscle Shoals" on August 24. Guests are advised to keep one hand free to tip back Bulleit Bourbon cocktails at the Billy Reid-sponsored event.

Der Biergarten and Ormsby's Join 10th Annual German Bierfest on August 24 at Woodruff Park

What began as a quaint way to celebrate German culture has grown into an authentic, family friendly German Bierfest welcoming thousands of beer enthusiasts and featuring nearly 50 beers, German food, kids' zones, sports games and more. Der Biergarten and Ormsby's are right in all of the oompah as sponsors of the 10^th Annual German Bierfest on Saturday, August 24 from 2-7 p.m. at Woodruff Park. Purchase Bierfest tickets online. Free for designated drivers! The event benefits the non-profit German American Chamber of Commerce of the Southern U.S., Inc. More on Facebook.

Paddle Faster Toward Pong Wars Tournament and Fat Tire Beer at Atkins Park

in Virginia-Highland

Speed, agility, accuracy and New Belgium Fat Tire beers will all play a big part in who wins the Pong Wars Ping-Pong tournament at Atkins Park Restaurant & Bar in Virginia-Highland on Wednesday, August 28. Balls start flying at 9:30 p.m., and only the tournament victor will take home a brand new New Belgium Fat Tire cruiser. Sorry, no cruiser for the loser, but all who enter are sure to have a ball and a few beers. Registration is free after a New Belgium Brewing purchase. Plus, a dollar from every New Belgium product purchased will be donated to the Atlanta Bicycle Coalition to help fund Atlanta Streets Alive.

#foodgram

White Oak Pastures (@whiteoakpastures) posts a downright homey mix of photos snapped on the 145-year-old farm. Scroll through to see a yummy supper shot taken at White Oak Pastures' Pavilion, which recently made the list of The Daily Meal's World's 25 Best Farmstead Restaurant Experiences. You'll also see where the chickens roost, s'mores roast, puppies hush and what cows do when they are coming home (nibble rearview mirrors).

Appetizing Aperture

Big Green Egg cooking classes at Ray's on the Creek elevate the outdoor classroom concept to a whole new level. In our photo, note the covered deck with woods, nice "desks" set with delicious foods and the apron-wearing chef/professor delivering a very enthralling and appetizing lecture. Can't wait to sign up for BGE Cooking 102.

What's New on Pinterest?

This week, the cluck is all about chicken feed on our

Chicken of Choice board. This Southern staple pleases all and saves many a budget and time-strapped cook. No wonder, with ideas such as these: petite chicken and waffle sliders, big chicken and waffle breakfast sandwiches, cola-glazed wings to nibble and an oven-fried chicken that specifies "do not lose this pin!" -- meaning it is sinfully good.