In This Issue

Piedmont Park Chef Demo Features Chris Blobaum

Catch Ray's on the Creek at Alpharetta Restaurant Week

13th Annual Afternoon in the Country at Serenbe

Osteria Cibo Rustico Opens in Toco Hills

Southern Food Tour at Monday Night Brewing

Emperor's Margaritas at RA Sushi

Atlanta's Most Autumnal Cocktails

Buffalo Wild Wings is on the Way to Grandma's House

#foodgram: @fordfry

Appetizing Aperture: Lacinato Kale Salad

What's New on Pinterest? Eat Your Veggies

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!

Fly the Coop for Last Pop Up Chef of the Year -- Bantam + Biddy on October 30

Feeling cooped up within office cubicles and walls? Seize these gorgeous autumn days and go cage-free, so to speak, by zipping over to Westside Provisions District for the last Pop Up Chef lunch of the season, prepared by Bantam + Biddy. Your $10 lunch will include a choice of two sliders (piri piri chicken salad or pastured chopped chicken liver) or six grilled piri piri wings. Either main comes with jalape�o slaw and iced tea or bottled water. Pop Up Chef lunches will be sold from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Get there early before the stash is all gone.

Eek, Halloween is This Week! Ring our Blog

for Tips and Treats

You could be a zombie, heading hither and yon with no real Halloween destination. Eek! Scary thought. Look to The Dish for enlightening tips on where to find thrills and chills (cold brews) and plenty of monstrously delicious treats to eat at Atlanta's top restaurants and bars. And, we've got your back with Spooky Treats, Ghoulishly Good Apps and Pick Your Potion boards on Pinterest, in case Halloween potluck parties have snuck up on you with a big "Boo!"

Piedmont Park Green Market Chef Demo Features Chris Blobaum of Legacy Restaurant Partners on November 2

Start your weekend with fall colors and fresh local foods at the Piedmont Park Green Market, Saturday, November 2. Chris Blobaum of Legacy Restaurant Partners mans the chef demo booth on the Community Center patio from 11 a.m.-noon. Stop by and gather up some exciting new ways to serve up the season's harvest. Legacy Restaurants is parent to Article 14, Der Biergarten, Game-X, Glenn's Kitchen, Max's Coal Oven Pizzeria, Olmsted, SkyLounge, STATS and more. Translation: you never know what Blobaum will have in mind.

Ray's on the Creek Offers Prix Fixe Deals during Alpharetta Restaurant Week, November 2-9

Beware of filling up on too much Halloween candy over the next few days. This weekend ushers in Alpharetta Restaurant Week with tantalizing prix fixe menus that rate much higher on the food chain at score-worthy pricing. Ray's on the Creek sets forth a three-course dinner menu for $25 per guest. Choose from three appetizers including fried green tomatoes; mixed greens with dried fruit, apples, walnuts and pecorino; or butternut squash ravioli with spiced pecans. Entr�e options include hazelnut-rolled pork tenderloin with port cherry sauce; petite swordfish; and roasted duck breast with Brussels sprouts, butternut squash and a bacon finish. Dessert choices couldn't be sweeter: smoked chili chocolate bread pudding, white chocolate and pumpkin cr�me br�l�e or gooey toffee cake. Prices exclude beverages, tax and gratuity. Restaurant weeks. We could eat them all right up.

13th Annual Afternoon in the Country at Serenbe Packs More Sunday Afternoon Fun in a Meadow than You'll Find in a City Block

Seriously. There will be so much going on under the big-top tents that it will spill out into the gardens and meadows around The Inn at Serenbe. The 13^th annual Afternoon in the Country, Sunday, November 3 from 1-4 p.m., will be a sight to behold and in which to indulge. Those lucky enough to get a ticket to the sold-out event can taste specialties from Aria, Bantam + Biddy, Gunshow, King + Duke, JCT. Kitchen & Bar, Marlow's Tavern, No. 246, The Optimist and plenty more! Presented by Les Dames d'Escoffier International - Atlanta Chapter (LDEI), the afternoon taps interests for all ages: food and fine wine, micro-brews, upscale retail, hayrides, children's activities and live bluegrass music by DriveTrain. The icing on the cake raffle is that Atlanta's top pastry chefs create the winnable sweets. A silent auction spreads woos and wows with exclusive dining and travel packages, food and wine goodies and artwork by prominent artists. Proceeds support LDEI Atlanta's philanthropic, educational scholarship and grant initiatives.

Buon Appetito! Osteria Cibo Rustico Opens November 4 in Toco Hills

Atlantans flock to the fun, casual atmosphere of Tin Lizzy's Cantina and beachy The Big Ketch Saltwater Grill. When Osteria Cibo Rustico opens in Toco Hills on Monday, November 4, the crew behind these popular restaurants will add rustic Italian fare to the family tree. Promising a welcoming dining experience with reasonable pricing for everyday dining, seven days a week, Cibo will serve lunch from 11:30 a.m.-2 p.m. and dinner from 5:30-10 p.m. (11 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays). Beer and wine will be available with full bar privileges coming soon. Quick glances at both menus reveal antipasti, $5.95-$10.95; insalate, $6.95 and $8.95; piadine (focaccia bread sandwiches) at lunch, $7.95-$9.95; and pasta dishes priced from $9.95-$15.95. Dinner pulls the sandwiches and offers pasta plates and secondi sharing plates where guests can select a protein and accompaniment to suit ($12.95-$17.95). A protein could be thinly pounded chicken breast or veal, house-made meatballs, pan-seared whitefish, grilled Atlantic salmon or jumbo shrimp. Accompaniments include polenta or mashed potatoes served with vegetables and sauces. This place has cold weather comfort for the whole crowd written all over it.

Southern Food Tour is a Brew Y'all Y'all at Monday Night Brewing Company on November 9

Go ahead. Do it right now. Send a "bless their hearts" shout out to those planning the Southern Food Tour evening coming up Saturday, November 9 from 6:30-9:30 p.m. at Monday Night Brewing Company. The event is part of an ongoing culinary celebration of Southern culture and traditions that extends through the generations. American Spirit Whiskey, hot toddies and a fire welcome guests to the porch. Next, guests will sit down to dinner prepared by two stars known for their regional cuisine, executive chef Joe Schafer from King + Duke and executive chef E. J. Hodgkinson from JCT. Kitchen & Bar. Get this, the dinner with beer pairings and Frozen Pints craft beer ice cream will be served IN the brewery. Tickets are $85 each and may be purchased online through November 8. All proceeds go to the Giving Kitchen Initiative.

Emperor's Margaritas Pack a Royal Punch

for Only $6 at RA Sushi during November

This powerful potion packed with premium spirits will take the edge off the holiday craziness and perhaps brighten up the cool days and early nightfalls. Throughout November, RA Sushi Bar Restaurant is offering its top-shelf Emperor's margaritas for only $6 each instead of the usual $9 price tag. Oh, what a bargain for this black-belt blend of Patron Silver tequila, Cointreau, fresh lime juice, Japanese yuzu and agave nectar. Uno is not enough. Try them in flavors such as traditional, mango, cucumber or strawberry and get ready to say "sayonara siesta, hola mighty Emperor." By the way, this concoction is part of RA Sushi's revamped cocktail menu featuring upgraded spirits, fresh fruit juices, natural mixers, craft beers and more wine choices.

Rake in Atlanta's Most Autumnal Cocktails

Shades of red, orange, gold and brown are commanding views this fall, and they aren't all on trees. Atlanta mixologists are harvesting spirited fall cocktails by the martini glass, highball and snifter. Leaf through this tipple list:

Ecco pulls off The Red Wedding, in which Olivares Dulce Monastrell marries house-made sweet vermouth under the tutelage of Fidencio Mezcal Clasico.

At JCT. Kitchen & Bar, sip The Alpine, Mother Vine or The Boulevard, made with George Dickel Barrel Select whisky and Campari.

King + Duke stays true to the classics with its Sherry Cobbler.

At Milton's Cuisine & Cocktails, bar manager Ali Davis blends a sweet Fall Bourbon Apple featuring Ridgemont Reserve bourbon and amaretto.

The Tipsy Pig unites three of The Mill Kitchen & Bar's favorite "Bs" in life -bourbon, brown sugar and bacon. Not to divulge too much, but local Georgia Riverview Farms bacon does hold its own in this Manhattan-style cocktail topped with a house-candied cumin bacon and cherry garnish.

A cure for being one, Wallflower from The Optimist speaks up with Le Reviseur Cognac VS, Nux Walnut liqueur and Fleur Elderflower liqueur. The Mutiny sails smoothly with beer shrub, George Dickel Barrel Select and Domaine de Canton ginger liqueur.

Old Vinings Inn captures the Pumpkin Harvest, smooth and sweet with Crop Harvest Pumpkin vodka, Irishman cream, vanilla vodka, a little half-and-half and a smidge of nutmeg.

Ray's Restaurants puts a seasonal spin on a tropical favorite. Ray's Fall Mai Tai incorporates Ray's spiced rum, apricot-infused brandy, triple sec, house-made pumpkin spice orgeat syrup and cranberry juice for holiday happiness. Available at Ray's on the River, Ray's on the Creek and Ray's in the City.

At Seven Lamps, fly the Crimson Eagle, a blend of Eagle Rare bourbon and fig-infused red wine honey. Other newbies include My Sunup Girl and Shelter from the Storm with a cast of High West double rye, Gran Lusso vermouth, nocino and apple bitters.

South City Kitchen Midtown and South City Kitchen Vinings look to apple country for their Moonlit Orchard, cobbling together bourbon and apple pie moonshine with local apple cider, a splash of apple bitters and a smoked apple slice.

No. 246 conquers all with a Fall of Rome and Useless Precaution.

Even with SPF 50, you can get the Sunburn at The Big Ketch Saltwater Grill in Buckhead. No pain, just Fireball Cinnamon whisky, grapefruit juice and soda.

Over at Ormsby's on Atlanta's westside, the Heavenly Manhattan takes off with Angel's Envy, broVo Amaro No. 1 and Antica Formula sweet vermouth.

Buffalo Wild Wings is on the Way to Grandma's House If You're Flying through

Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport

Not trying to compete with the Thanksgiving Day turkey and all its regalia, but we're laying it out there that Buffalo Wild Wings, located in the Concourse D center point at Hartfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, is a best bet for passing time during layovers or extra time before a flight. Suggested game plan, arrive early and allow plenty of extra time to get through holiday travel security lines then relax on the other side over a cold beer and some real food (not wrapped in airplane cellophane) to sustain you on your travels. Spread out and get comfy, watch planes, cheer sports on big screens and enjoy the journey. Your gate is only an easy few minutes away.

#foodgram

What floats the boat for the man behind The Optimist, JCT. Kitchen & Bar, No. 246 and King + Duke? Instagram @fordfry gives a few hints about Ford Fry's life in and out of the kitchen. Looks pretty full.

Appetizing Aperture

Kale is a nutritional goldmine, and its versatility crosses menu borders from chips to salads to pastas and sides. Here's one of our current favorites, Lacinato kale salad at Hearth Pizza Tavern in Sandy Springs, studded with radish, fennel, pine nuts and spiked with American grana cheese, heartwarming Calabrian chili and a roasted garlic vinaigrette.

What's New on Pinterest?

You're all grown up and mom can no longer enforce the eat-your-veggies-or-leave-the-table rule. One look at the dishes on our "Eat Your Veggies" Pinterest board and you won't want to leave the table until you've devoured every healthy morsel.