Hot and heavy might describe a summer beach read, but food fantasies for the next couple of months? No way. RA Sushi Bar Restaurant rolls with this tide, laying out a new appetizer and tempting sushi and hand rolls geared toward summer appetites. And by the way, these menu items are only available through September 30. An order of lightly fried edamame wontons coasts onto the appetizer list as an ideal shareable ($8). New roll models include a seared dill salmon roll featuring cool cucumber, avocado and arugula topped with seared salmon ($11) and the chili shrimp roll with kani kama crab mix and cream cheese rolled in rice and seaweed, lightly tempura battered and topped with spicy kani kama crab mix, crispy shrimp, cilantro and jalapeño ($12). A tropical lobster salmon roll brings mango, avocado and cucumber into the fold ($13.25). Shrimp-calamari tempura roll also encompasses cucumber, avocado and cream cheese rolled and comes topped with crunchy tempura and a drizzle of sweet eel sauce ($9.50). Three of RA Sushi's most popular hand rolls from menus past are making guest appearances at $5.50 each, just right as a light dinner for one or lunch to go. Try all three before summer wanes: the spicy tuna hand roll, the chili ponzu yellowtail hand roll with a little heat from chili ponzu sauce, and the shrimp tempura hand roll with shrimp, kani kama crab mix, tuna mix, creamy wasabi sauce, avocado and cucumber. The only thing cooler would be to eat them in the pool.

Relax. It's Friday. Ray's on the River is hosting this month's Sunset Wine and Cheese tasting on June 20 from 5:30-7:30 p.m., and you have a seat on the patio. Call some friends and then call Ray's on the River at 770-955-1187 to save a spot. $20 per person, all-inclusive. Sip, sample and send all of those workweek cares floating on down the Chattahoochee.

Have Wheels, Will Travel: Bar Meatball Food Truck Revs Up Sidney Marcus Park Concert 

on June 20

We know two restaurant guys who are as excited as 16-year-olds with car keys and a whole summer stretching out before them. Bar Meatball chef-owner Joey Masi and cousin Joe Federici are pulling out of their Virginia-Highland home base and onto the streets of Atlanta in their own signature food truck. One of their first stops will be the Morningside Phamily Jam concert at Sidney Marcus Park going on from 6-8 p.m. on Friday, June 20. Mosey up to the Bar Meatball truck for classic meatballs with sauce, meatball sliders with fries and Italian-American pasta topped with meatballs. Select a meatball from the menu, such as the classic beef, arancini or chicken and rosemary, and then add a sauce -- perhaps tomato, mushroom gravy, fredo or pesto. All combo plates are priced at a wallet-friendly $7. The food truckers will scoop up made-to-order ice cream sandwiches using house-made chocolate chip and spumoni ice cream ($5). A signature Zeppole Joey's "bag o donuts" with Nutella costs just $3. Keep on truckin', guys, so the rest of us can navigate through summer without taking on too much heat in the kitchen.

Make Tracks to JCT. Bar Summer Bar Bash Series on the Upstairs Patio June 21

 

JCT. Bar is your junction for Atlanta-based bands, food and drink specials and chef grill-outs as their Summer Bar Bash series kicks in Saturday, June 21. JCT. Kitchen & Bar is strategically located alongside the Westside Provisions train tracks, affording the upstairs bar with an outstanding Midtown skyline view.  Bash series opener band Moontower turns back time for a "Throwback Summer"of 60s, 70s and 80s beats. Flag upcoming Saturdays of July 5, August 23 and September 20 for more and put a tomato on Sunday, July 20 when the Attack of the Killer Tomato Fest after-party plants itself on the roof. 

Those photo spreads where everyone's clinking wine glasses at a dining table set amid rows of veggies/grapes/fill-in-the-edible are no longer exclusive to California wine country. Milton's Cuisine & Cocktails hosts them in historic Crabapple. Experience seed-to-fork dining from the ground up at Milton's Garden Dinner on Sunday, June 22. Dinner guests can follow resident-grower Peter Kohm along on a tour of Milton's Acre & Strawberry Fields, the source of much of the restaurant's locally obtained heirloom vegetables, fruits and herbs. A gathering reception with hors d'oeuvre and libations opens the evening at 5 p.m. followed by a seated four-course chef's dinner with wine planned out by chef Derek Dollar. $125 per person, including tax and gratuity (non-refundable, rain-or-shine event). Purchase tickets online. Call 770-817-0161 for more information.

 Y'all Come to the Peachtree Road Farmers Market Second Annual Sunday Supper on June 22

 

 

Blessed are those who choose to dine at the Cathedral of St. Philip at 6 p.m. on Sunday, June 22 for that's when the Peachtree Road Farmers Market will hold its second annual Sunday Supper. Victuals and drinks come courtesy of a host of Atlanta restaurants, a local bakeshop, cheesemaker and brewery, Willamette Valley Vineyards and more. Shop the live and silent auctions and sway to live music by Sailing to Denver. Tickets are $70 each and may be purchased at the market or online (you will need to create a login). Proceeds go toward the market's Wholesome Wave Georgia program and procuring their city-required police officer.

Chick-a-Biddy Hosts Atlanta Community Food Bank Charity Night on June 23

Summer vacation alludes to beaches and reunion road trips. For many children, it means hunger pangs without school lunches. The Atlanta Community Food Bank (ACFB) strains to meet these additional needs, especially with many donors and helpers on their own vacations. Chick-a-Biddy has an easy way for diners to step up to the plate and help on Monday, June 23. Stop by the casual eatery in Atlantic Station for a drink, appetizers or dinner after 5 p.m., and 10 percent of your tab will go directly to the ACFB. Scratching the surface on menu suggestions reveals all-natural chicken dishes of piri piri wood-grilled chicken, fried chicken, blackened chicken burgers, chicken tenders, falafels, wood-grilled fish tacos, an eight-ounce stacked sirloin burger, wings, veggie plates and salads. Your chickies will love the Little Biddies kids'menu so herd them along!

Grill or Be Grilled. Opt for the Marlow's Tavern Annual Grilling Contest and You Might Win

Someone asks if you have any smokes, and you immediately respond "cedar plank or applewood?" Your conversations are peppered with words like rub, ribs, rest and remote thermometer. Marlow's Tavern knows your species. The Marlow's Tavern Annual Grilling Contest -- now in its fifth year -- has your name seared all over it. Entries must be submitted by Friday, August 1. Marlow's co-founder/executive chef John C. Metz will pore over the entries and select the winners, who will be announced at the grill party slated for September 6 at Marlow's Tavern in Dunwoody. First place wins a golden, err, Big Green Egg and bragging rights. Next in line receives a $200 Marlow's Tavern gift card, and third place picks up a $100 Marlow's Tavern gift card. Give it a go and earn your stripes

Summertime calls for a little less structure in the day. Play more. Frown less. Game-X summer hours work more (air-conditioned) playtime into your days and nights. Downtown's total gaming experience is open Monday through Thursday from 11 a.m.-10 p.m., Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m.-11 p.m. and Sunday from noon-10 p.m. More than 60 of the latest and hottest games, sports experiences, simulations and retro favorites keep gamers happy. When players need a break, Game-X offers a casual American menu, craft beers, cocktails and wine, and the mezzanine-level lounge provides city and game-floor views. This is not your usual summer enrichment program. This is Game-X.

Start your engines and steer toward Smokebelly BBQ for something new -- lunch! Receive a free starter (a.k.a. appetizer) when you cram three or more fellow lunch-goers in the car, Monday through Friday, 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Choose from Snacks, Belly Bites or Skinny Fixin's on the menu. (Not valid with any other offer; one per table.) For lunch, fill up for the afternoon with a crisp chopped salad with bacon ($7.50) and add protein power from smoked turkey or chopped pulled pork for a little bit more. Eyes light up over the smoked salmon club sandwich and a side ($12.25) or the smoked pulled pork plate with two sides ($13.75). Plug 128 East Andrews Drive, NW in your map app to zero in on Buckhead's newest 'cue zone. File-a-delicious-fact: Smokebelly also serves lunch on Saturday and Sunday. 

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                                                Credit: Jack Deese 

Watsonia Farms peach season is here! Peaches are the main crop at Watsonia Farms, and they're especially keen on organic yellow and white peaches. These luscious Southern belles cover 900 acres on the Monetta, S.C. farm (another 550 acres are devoted to other fruits and veggies). Look for Watsonia Farms peaches at local farmers markets, including the Peachtree Road Farmers Market, and at Watsonia Farm stores when road trips take you through Monetta or Gilbert, S.C.  

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Merfolk, we confess. We've named our latest Pinterest board Under the Sea without including a little red crab or lobster belting catchy Disney tunes. If you're headed seaside, throw us in with the sunscreen and magazines. Something as simple as margarita shrimp tacos could help you swim, not sink, come happy hour or dinner time.