Oh, bag it! Back-to-school time is eating into summer vacation. Thankfully, the Whole Foods Market team is prepping brain food recipes for fast and nutritious breakfasts, lunches, snacks and suppers that excel in covering those extracurricular activities. Their scintillating syllabus includes apple oatmeal in a jar, sunrise breakfast smoothie, whole grain toaster waffles, beef taco pizza, no-cook zucchini "noodle" salad, veggie and tofu scramble, PB&J bites, one-dish roasted brats with apples and butternut squash, Texas sheet cake cupcakes and more. Whole Foods Market chalks up more healthy ideas on their Pinterest boards and website collections of Back-to-School Breakfasts, Surprising Sandwiches, After-School Snacks, Slow Cooker Recipes and Perfect Recipes for Tailgating (that season following back-to-school), to name a few. Yes ma'am and yes sir, your friends at Whole Foods have the whole parent-teacher-student food organization thing under control.

Every corner of the globe has its own comfort food. In Asia, night markets, noodle shops and street stalls beckon appetites to fill up on longtime favorites. With the recent opening of Makan in downtown Decatur, Atlantans can savor the same dishes of Hong Kong, Taiwan and Korea as created by Makan co-owner and executive chef George Yu. Lucky us! With Makan's opening, Taiwanese beef noodle soup, house made dumplings, Korean barbecue, whole roasted ducks and kimchi made in house from local veggies, are lunch and dinner options seven days a week. Look for a Banchan cart with rotating small plate selections and a full beverage menu to round out the experience. Located in the Courtyard Marriott Decatur Downtown, Makan opens out to a large patio with a night market feel on Clairemont Avenue. Inside, an open kitchen, chef's counter, table service and a lively vibe please families, groups and soloists alike. Reservations accepted; walk-ins welcome. Follow on Facebook. 

Wanting to bring an "Art of Modern Japanese Cooking" dinner theme to NYC's James Beard House, the James Beard Foundation turned to Umi chef Fuyuhiko Ito and his wife, Umi pastry chef Lisa Matsuoko Ito. These two culinary powerhouses drive the Buckhead restaurant's edgy Japanese fare and flair at 7 p.m. on Thursday, August 21. See the special menu with wine and sake pairings that guests will enjoy at this tasty event! 

                                                         Credit: Clayton Morey
 

Travel Channel's Chow Master hosts, chef Sam DeMarco and Hollywood director Frank Coraci, set out to find the best chicken and waffles "flying under the radar" in Hotlanta. A tough task in a Southern city where everyone has his or her favorite nesting place for fried chicken. The two caught wind of fried chicken and waffles on a stick flying out of the kitchen at 10th & Piedmont. Executive chef Javier Viera impales marinated chicken breast on a stick, wraps it up in applewood smoked bacon, submerges the whole thing into homemade waffle batter then fries it up all golden crispy. Demarco and Coraci couldn't get enough of the savory/sweet/juicy/crunchy contrast with Viera's dipping trio of hot sauce, powdered sugar and North Georgia sorghum syrup. Competition was stiff, but in the end, 10th & Piedmont flew away with the $10,000 prize for the tastiest fried chicken in Atlanta! Watch the Chow Masters Hotlanta Chicken episode and drool! Gotta have some? 10th & Piedmont offers the winning dish on its lunch, dinner and weekend brunch menus.