Love those tanks and shorts, but they'll soon be a memory when we turn the corner into sweater weather. Tastes change with the seasons as well, and Midtown's trendy RA Sushi Bar Restaurant is right on cue with warm-you-up dishes and gem-toned cocktails. Settle in for heartwarming lobster ceviche ($12.75) served on a bed of guacamole and sliced avocado all topped with chili garlic salt or share spicy Asian chicken wings ($9.50) tossed in a spicy Asian sauce. Lobster and salmon layer up for fall and winter. Lobster nigiri ($9.25) wears a dill and lobster cream sauce while mushroom cream sauce tops grilled Salmon Kinoko and asparagus ($13.25). Three new, seasonal cocktails take on deeper colors, flavors and spices. The sweet and sour Blackberry Crush ($8) marries Hendrick's gin with blackberries and fresh sours; the Red Bellini ($8) is a festive mix of Fizz 56 Sparkling Red, strawberry purée and orange juice; and the golden-hued Spiced Mule ($8) packs Russian Standard vodka, Gosling's ginger beer and apple cider. You may want to buy one of RA Sushi's signature copper Spiced Mule mugs for $15 and make it your RA fall signature drink! Copper is a perfect autumn accessory, right up there with RA Sushi's new cocktails and fall dishes.

Kevin Gillespie Rises Early for Morningside Farmers Market Demo on October 11

 

This weekend's 44th annual Atlanta Pride Festival plans a full agenda for Piedmont Park and Midtown streets. On Saturday and Sunday, October 11 and 12, the park will be abuzz with two stages for bands and entertainment while the marketplace promises shopping adventures. A march and a dash set off down nearby streets on Saturday, and on Sunday, the Atlanta Pride parade steps off at 1 p.m. from the Civic Center MARTA station making its way toward Piedmont Park. Sapphire sponsors Bantam + Biddy (Ansley Mall and Crescent Avenue) and Chick-a-Biddy are participating in the VIP tasting tents that those with a VIP festival pass will enjoy. Three Communitas Hospitality restaurants are merely footsteps away from the action: 10th & Piedmont, HOBNOB Neighborhood Tavern and G's Midtown. All three offer weekend brunch, dinner and late night chow on Fridays and Saturdays. Another Piedmont Park neighbor, RA Sushi Bar Restaurant, is ready to "RA"ck and roll out sushi, sashimi, Japanese fusion dishes, specialty cocktails and adult libations. Lots to be proud of in Atlanta -- good eats included!

Placing a pasture-raised turkey on your Thanksgiving table costs more than grabbing one of those glacier-like frozen masses at the grocery store. Oh, so worth it if you're looking to giving thanks for a healthier, tastier bird. White Oak Pastures is carving 5 percent off the price of their pastured turkeys through November 2. During the sale, a small turkey (8-12 lbs.) that's regularly $75 is $71.25; a medium (12.1-16 lbs.) bird that's regularly $100 is $95; and a large (16.1 and up) bird that's regularly $125 weighs in at $118.75. These gobblers are humanely raised using ecologically sound and sustainable practices just down the highway in Bluffton, Georgia. Heck, since White Oak Pastures has the only onsite processing facility in Georgia, Alabama, Florida, Tennessee and Mississippi, these birds stay down on the farm their entire lives until they're ready for your kitchen. Thanksgiving begs reflection on family traditions, core values and blessings, and the Harris family has a big one: White Oak Pastures has been the family farm for 150 years!

 

Excitement is building in Alpharetta with the opening of restaurants and retail stores in the new Avalon business and lifestyle community. Whole Foods Market is planning sneak preview tours for its Avalon location on Friday, October 10 from 11 a.m.-7 p.m. and Saturday, October 11 from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. The team invites you to drop in for a 45-minute tour of the area's newest store. Mission-minded Whole Foods Market is always looking for ways to assist the community, and they hope you'll make a $5 donation to support local nonprofit organizations Chattahoochee Riverkeeper and Foster Care Support. Online registration is required for the tours. Besides taking in some healthy eye candy and ideas, attendees will take away samples and goody bags -- even though it's still a few weeks ahead of the trick-or-treat goodie bag rush. The store officially opens to the public on October 14. 

As southern as sweet tea, a dollop of pimento cheese makes everything better. Chick-a-Biddy in Atlantic Station has their pimento cheese recipe down pat. It's right at home on their weekend brunch menu with eggs, grits, black pepper bacon and toast in The Southern brunch plate ($11) or added to a build-your-own biscuit ($6.50). At lunch and dinner, it's comfy as shown with veggies and crackers ($6), in the Southern Breakfast All Day ($11) or as a zesty extra on the fried chicken sandwich ($11). Slather it on!

 

The world's gone Crazy for Caramel! Disable your calorie-counting app and join us for a caramel apple tart or touchdown brownies with caramel, pecans and pretzels, and spoon into a vegan caramel banana cream parfait. Salted caramel is a crave-able prefix for buttercream frosting, apple pie pizza cookie, apple French toast casserole, Oreo icebox cake and hot chocolate. Just can't get enough!