In This Issue

Trader Vic's Atlanta Live Music and Mai Tai Thursdays

Whole Foods Market Buckhead Cherry Fest

Bar Meatball Atlanta Street Food Festival

Der Biergarten World Cup Finale

Nikolai's Roof Belgian Artisanal Spirits Dinner

Ink & Elm Orphan Barrel Whiskeys

#foodgram

Appetizing Aperture

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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!

Foggy Ridge Cider Dinner is the Apple of Our Eye at Aria on July 8

They're ugly and hard to grow. Foggy Ridge Cider folk fess up that their American, British and French heirloom apples aren't lookers. Flipside, they certainly do turn heads once they are transformed into the bodacious ciders emerging from Foggy Ridge, all tucked away in southwestern Virginia's Blue Ridge Mountains. Meet acclaimed grower and Foggy Ridge cidermaker Diane Flynt over a five-course dinner menu created by chef Gerry Klaskala and paired with four ciders at Aria on Tuesday, July 8 beginning at 7 p.m. $80 per person (excluding tax and gratuity). Please call 404-233-7673 for reservations.

10th & Piedmont Flexes its Mussels & Martinis Promotion July 9-22

10 th & Piedmont executive chef Javier Viera is working out in the kitchen, devising incredible appetizers and entr�es for the Mussels & Martinis promotion, which sails through the Midtown restaurant July 9-22. There's a whole lot of moving and shaking going on behind the bar as well, resulting in a slew of suggested martini pairings. Mussel specialties vary in price; all martinis are $10 each. Fried mussel poppers plate up with basil aioli, lemon wedge and fresh parsley ($8). A basil lemon drop martini complements the bright flavors of this irresistible appetizer. Braised mussels come with French bread to sop up every drop of the broth seasoned with fresh herbs and lemongrass ($12). To sip, order a Kai Lemongrass cosmo. Angel hair pasta and mussels are dressed with garlic butter, fresh basil and Parmesan cheese ($16). Divine harmony when joined by an Angels Envy Manhattan. Mussels Provencal has rustic tones with fresh tomatoes, rich marinara, fresh parsley and capers ($13). This one plays well with a cucumber tomato martini. Roasted mussels, heady with fresh garlic, white wine, fresh herbs and chipotle broth ($12) make a dynamic duo joined by a chipotle caipiroska martini.

Live Music and Mai Tai Thursdays are So Much Fun, You'll Want to Send a Postcard Home from Trader Vic's Atlanta

Leave concrete and asphalt behind. Escape to Trader Vic's Atlanta, located downtown in the Hilton Atlanta, for a mini-vacation of Polynesian cuisine, tropical cocktails and vintage island d�cor (right down to the tiki torches). Yes, the mai tai cocktail was born at the original Trader Vic's in California, and the Trader Vic's mixologists will be pleased as punch to prepare one or two for you. Even better, on Mai Tai Thursdays, legendary mai tai cocktails are $6 all night long, and they're accompanied by live musical entertainment from 7-11 p.m. On July 10, Lloyd's Rocksteady Revue relieves city stress though island music and soulful sounds of 60s and 70s Jamaica. The silken voice of Tracey Wolfe and high-powered island funk of Tongo Hiti make up the molten hot musical mix that is The Volcanauts on July 17. Hawaiian shirts are the rage when Big Mike and Tongo Hiti ride the stage on July 24, diving into Polynesian favorites with vocals, bass, guitar and drums. On July 31, Bogey & the Viceroy Quartet belts and croons through the 60s, 70s and 80s, hitting everything from retro Sinatra to current chart toppers. Positive, powerful and entertaining, their music will keep spirits high for days.

Only the Cherry Best for You at Whole Foods Market Buckhead Cherry Fest and One-Day Sale on July 11

Hi, ho, cherry-oh! The 5th annual Cherry Fest is coming up at the Buckhead Whole Foods Market this Friday, July 11. See red, save green at the one-day sale on red cherries. Shoppers can fill shopping baskets with cherries to eat one by one at home and sample and purchase Cherry Fest-featured items throughout the store all day long. Branch out on your lunch hour and visit the Prepared Foods department from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. for special cherry dish tastings. Cherries also punctuate recipes hand-picked by Whole Foods Market team members. Who knows what entertaining ideas will stem from this cherry news!

The Truck Stops Here: Bar Meatball and More at Atlanta Street Food Festival in Piedmont Park on July 12

Pack up the picnic blanket and sunscreen and park yourself on the green turf of Piedmont Park for this Saturday's Atlanta Street Food Festival (ASFF). From noon until 8 p.m., more than 40 food trucks, local artisans, a family fun zone and musical entertainment by live bands and DJs will spill out over the park for the family friendly food fest (sorry, Rover, not you this time). Look for the Bar Meatball food truck among the mix, offering its tender orbs of freshly ground beef chuck and brisket, chicken and rosemary or vegetarian fried risotto balls. Order classic meatballs with sauce, meatball sliders with fries and Italian-American pasta topped with meatballs (combo plates are $7; single sliders are $3 each). Sauce options include classic tomato, arugula walnut pesto, fredo or mushroom gravy. Made-to-order ice cream sandwiches are $5, and an easy-to-share, signature Zeppole Joey's "bag o donuts" with Nutella is $3. There's no charge to enter the event; however, attendees are required to purchase a wristband to buy food from the food trucks and to purchase beer. Buy your wristband online before Saturday and receive $1 off each menu item over $6 at each truck. Wristband ticket prices are $10.50 each or 4 for $25. Kids ages 12 and under get in free. Event proceeds benefit The Giving Kitchen. Download the ASFF app to buy tickets, view food truck menus, get directions, watch the food cam and plan your strat-eat-gy.

Score with a World Cup Finale Party at

Der Biergarten on July 13

Der Biergarten has been downtown's soccer-watching and beer-drinking headquarters during the 2014 FIFA World Cup. On Sunday, July 13, the restaurant will throw a World Cup finale party to close out an exciting month of intense rivalries. The action starts at 3 p.m. with lots of televisions, plenty of seating and a host of food and beverage specials. Since the kick-off party in June, each Warsteiner purchase made by guests came with a raffle ticket. At the finale party, Der Biergarten will draw for the grand-prize winner of two round-trip Lufthansa airline tickets to anywhere in Europe and a second prize of an authentic German football jersey. SCORE!

Old World Meets New Finesse as Nikolai's Roof Hosts Belgian Artisanal Spirits Dinner on July 17

Quality without compromise. Both Nikolai's Roof and Distillerie de Bierc�e are masters of this highly sought domain: Nikolai's with its fine dining experience, contemporary menu and skyline view and Distillerie de Bierc�e with its artisanal eaux-de-vie and liqueurs. Jump on this occasion to experience both at a four-course dinner and cocktail pairing overlooking Atlanta on July 17 beginning at 7 p.m. Dinner begins with seared tuna, curry-infused mussels, petite heirloom tomato, sea beans and soy paired with a Peket cocktail of Peket d� Houyeu, Domaine de Canton, lime juice and kaffir lime simple syrup. The second course brings forth seared foie gras with pineapple gel�e, pearl onion, crispy duck skin and sherry vinegar paired with a cocktail centered around Griotte cherry eau-de-vie and Buffalo Trace bourbon. Veal cr�pinette with mustard demi-glace, young fris�e and charred tomato vinaigrette follows, paired with a Lemon Eau de Vill�e cocktail of Jack Daniel's Tennessee Honey, Eau de Vill�e and Patr�n Citronge. Chocolate crowns the meal in a frozen dark chocolate parfait with preserved lemon anglaise and espresso soil paired with Noir d'lvoire chocolate liqueur. $65 per person (excluding tax and gratuity). Seating is limited; call 404-221-6362 for reservations.

Ink & Elm Dinner Pairs Four Courses with Rare Orphan Barrel Whiskeys on July 23

Acquaint yourself with the legends and nuances of three rare Orphan Barrel whiskeys while enjoying a four-course dinner prepared by Ink & Elm executive chef Stephen Sharp on Wednesday, July 23 at 7:30 p.m. The Emory Village restaurant gushes that they are one of the few Atlanta restaurants to receive all three of these small batch offerings from the Tullahoma, Tenn. whiskey company. They're delighted to share their good fortune with bourbon whiskey lovers because when these bottles are gone, only their legends will live on. Master of whisky Kevin Mulcahy will lead guests through a flight of three Orphan Barrel whiskeys bearing prized years of maturity under their caps: Barterhouse, 20 years; Old Blowhard, 26 years; and Rhetoric, 20 years. Buy tickets online, $120 per person (excluding service fee, tax and gratuity).

#foodgram

#foodgram: If only these pictures were scratch and sniff. Visit @spoonforkbacon, compiled by Teri Lyn Clark and Jenny Fisher, two multi-talented food stylists/photographers/recipe developers. Photos of salted cantaloupe and ginger ice cream, blistered fava bean and butter lettuce salad and tri-tip beef pull you in, and a few clicks later you're lost amid a flotilla of recipes for all occasions on their blog by the same name.

Appetizing Aperture

Weekends are for sleeping in...unless you're frying chicken for fried chicken biscuits, a favorite on the Atkins Park Restaurant & Bar Virginia-Highland brunch menu. The tender union of bird and biscuit nestles down with scrambled eggs, cheddar cheese and tomato gravy and comes with your choice of fresh fruit (shown), Logan Turnpike stone-ground grits or skillet potatoes ($11). Maybe rethink sleeping in and be an early bird for this delicacy.

What's New on Pinterest

Pounding the sand to reach those 10,000 steps? Or maybe beachcombing and encouraging sandcastle architects is more your speed. Either way, beachy days are "shore" to activate appetites. Fish around and land some easy, portable yums on our Seaside Snacking board!