The Giving Tree at Ink & Elm is reaching out again this week to help an organization that's accomplishing much in the community. The Emory Village restaurant will pass along 10 percent of all tavern sales to the Junior League of DeKalb County on Wednesday, November 5 from 6-10 p.m. The tavern has your favorite cheer, be it a handcrafted cocktail, craft beer, a thoughtful wine selection or bourbon (they offer more than 100 selections of brown spirits). A locally driven menu flows with the seasons, offering satisfying appetizers, salads, entrées and sides. The women of the Junior League of DeKalb County are committed to improving the community through volunteerism, action and leadership of trained volunteers. Founded in 1934, the dynamic group assists hospitals, school children, battered women, immigrants, rape crisis centers and more.

Savor a Taste of Thanksgiving at Whole Foods Market Buckhead on November 8

Let the Thanksgiving menu tasting and planning begin. Whole Foods Market Buckhead is holding its first holiday menu tasting event of the season, a Taste of Thanksgiving, on Saturday, November 8 from 1-3 p.m. Walk the aisles and visit each department to sample holiday menu items. The Whole Foods Market team is ready to help you plan your Thanksgiving dinner and prepare for the festive season that follows.

When we say "fill," we mean "full," because this year's event is a sellout! The 13th annual Afternoon in the Country, presented by Les Dames d'Escoffier International - Atlanta Chapter, will spread out under big tents in the gardens and meadows surrounding the Inn at Serenbe on Sunday, November 9 from 1-4 p.m. Devotees know what's in store: a tasting format of dishes by Atlanta's best chefs and caterers (with local farmers) alongside fine wines and microbrews. Lucky are the ticket holders as they'll sample delectables from Aria, Bantam + Biddy, Chick-a-Biddy, Gunshow, Marlow's Tavern, Milton's Cuisine & Cocktails and many more. Layering on more fun, there's a cake raffle for sweets created by Atlanta pastry chefs, hayrides, a silent auction and bluegrass band DriveTrain. Event proceeds benefit Georgia Organics, Wholesome Wave, Global Growers Network, The Giving Kitchen, The Wylde Center, The Atlanta Community Food Bank and Atlanta Les Dames d'Escoffier International's scholarship fund for women in the culinary, beverage and hospitality arts.

Celebrity chef Marvin Woods channels experiences and a passion for "Coastal Soul" into Asante, his new restaurant opening Monday, November 10 in downtown's Luckie Marietta District. Woods culled his unique culinary genre after years of cooking, travel and studying the global influence of the African diaspora, the scattering of the peoples of Africa around the world as slave routes traveled from the west coast of Africa to Europe, the Caribbean and the Americas. Cultures influenced by this "Middle Passage" share common threads of cooking methods and healthy ingredients such as herbs, spices, seafood, citrus, chili peppers, okra, sweet potatoes and rice. Located in the two-story space that previously housed the Peasant Bistro, upscale-casual Asante will be open daily for lunch, dinner and weekend brunch. Its seasonally driven, reasonably priced menu features appetizers ($7-$16) such as Gulf Coast shrimp 'n' grits with circuit hash and chicharrones de pollo (Latin fried chicken), Bahamian conch fritters and piri piri Nigerian king prawns. Entrées ($17-$26) range from chicken sausage-stuffed wild boar to Creole-braised kingfish with Carolina Gold speckled rice. Lunch ($9-$12) reveals po' boy sandwiches with catfish, shrimp, chicken or a traditional Puerto Rican-style roast pork known as pernil. Salads, sides and shareable plates round out food offerings, and the bar pleases with handcrafted cocktails, beer and wine.

Foodies know Woods as the Emmy award-nominated host of the television show "Home Plate," host of Georgia Public Television's "Georgia Cooks," author of "Home Plate Cooking" and "The New Low-Country Cooking" cookbooks and lead chef for First Lady Michelle Obama's "Let's Move" campaign. He's also a James Beard Foundation "star" chef who dedicates time and talent to health-oriented organizations and products. Asante (ah SAWN tay) means "thankfulness" or "gratitude" in Swahili -- a reminder for diners to be grateful for daily blessings and thankful for the deliciously vast culinary influences of the African diaspora that we enjoy today.

Roll up your sleeves and use two hands to hoist the meaty brisket "Sloppy Joe" from plate to mouth at The Pig & The Pearl. Fries and slaw round out the plate for this lunch and brunch frontrunner ($12). Save some bun to sop up the sauce runoff -- way too delish to leave unattended.

Crisp fall days conjure up images of comfort foods that seize the season's goodness such as pumpkin sage alfredo pappardelle, delicata squash farro salad and cookies oozing chocolate. We must be envisioning acozykitchen where Adrianna Adarme shares her own recipes and successes from other 'grammers. She's writing a book, #TheYearofCozy and packs more cutes and cozies on her A Cozy Kitchen blog. 

The lid's off the jar and the spoon's in hand. Stop, purist! You'll inhale all the PB, the main ingredient on our Peanut Butter Lovers recipe board. Then again, if you're a true PB lover, you probably have a spare jar for Thai peanut butter chicken, peanut butter and Nutella cookies, Oreo and peanut butter brownie cakes, peanut butter granola and peanut butter sauce. Care to share? Fido will love frozen peanut butter and yogurt treats or homemade peanut butter treats. Hope Fido has his own jar.