In This Issue

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!

Glad Tidings of Christmas and New Year's

Dining and Cheer

Christmas Day is almost here, and New Year's Eve nips on the heels of Santa's shiny black boots. Honor Christmas by dining out or relax and carry in a chef-prepared dinner, casting someone else as head kitchen elf. Perchance you're looking for a change of scenery and a cup of cheer on Christmas Eve and Christmas night -- we have some ideas for you. Of course, we have to ask, what ARE you doing on New Year's Eve? Find the answers to these queries and quandaries just a click away on our blog.

Winter's Finest Wows on Marlow's Tavern Menu

Interesting how seasonal eating complements our hankerings. Winter's cold spells send us seeking foods entrenched with depth and flavors that warm souls and bellies yet light enough to entice a brisk walk rather than entering hibernation mode. Marlow's Tavern is winter ready, showcasing seasonal ingredients in revamped classics and new menu items. The crispy chicken stack, long a favorite, now snuggles alongside Parmesan-barley risotto with caramelized mirepoix, seared wild mushrooms, saut�ed spinach and roasted thyme gravy. Beef eaters will rave over the melt-in-your-mouth tenderness of the crispy short rib with jalape�o and corn grits, saut�ed kale and red wine demi reduction; and the grilled "center cut" filet with roasted fingerling potato, seared butternut squash and a red wine shallot reduction. Cold seas yield more riches for this time of year: pan-seared snapper with celeriac pur�e, asparagus, tomato fondue and parslied olive oil; and Marlow's popular lump crabcake, served with baby arugula, grapefruit, pickled onion, fresh avocado and jalape�o to heat up your palate. Sweet and zesty citrus shines in the new lemon olive oil cake -- a moist, spongy cake topped with fresh grapefruit, vanilla syrup and candied orange. Rumor has it that an old family recipe inspired this slice of sunny Italy on a plate. Iffy that Santa's leaving a Cancun escape in your stocking? Who cares! Get away to your neighborhood Marlow's Tavern where the glad-to-see-you vibe, a new menu to explore and a full bar shaking up tricky drinks warm your heart, and you won't have to try on swimsuits in winter.

Red Hot and Raring to Go: Twin Smokers BBQ Opens in Downtown Atlanta December 27

Downtown Atlanta boasts a smokin' hot new lunch, dinner and drinks destination this week. Twin Smokers BBQ opens Saturday, December 27 at 300 Marietta Street (a few doors down from Der Biergarten) in the Luckie Marietta District. The newest member of the Legacy Restaurant Partners family, the Twin Smokers BBQ opening comes as Legacy marks 20 years of serving the downtown area. Football fans, Twin Smokers BBQ is only a gridiron length away from the newly built College Football Hall of Fame and Chick-fil-A Fan Experience. Legacy corporate chef Chris Blobaum's menu of smoked meats, fresh sides, craft beer and strong cocktails will please 'cue connoisseurs, no matter where they call home. Blobaum's culinary team traversed the U.S. on a reconnaissance mission to uncover the nation's best barbecue. They brought back their favorite styles from Texas, the Carolinas, Kansas City and Memphis to connect with signature rubs and a touch of Georgia flair and flavor. Southern-style barbecue, hickory-smoked chicken and pork, and Texas-style mesquite-smoked beef brisket start with locally sourced meats. Smoky meats love smoky spirits and cold brews, hence Twin Smokers commands an extensive bourbon and beer program. What's in a name? "Twin Smokers" refers to the restaurant's two custom, fire engine-red Oyler 700 smokers -- one for chicken and pork and one for beef. These smokers are designed to strengthen the individual flavors of each meat, especially when stoked with mesquite, hickory, white oak or post oak from the restaurant's "wood library." True 'cue lovers will want to check out Twin Smoker's BBQ Club for fired up perks.

Team Hidi 3.0 Tickets Now Available for

January 25 Tasting-Fundraiser

Think beyond New Year's Eve and flag Sunday, January 25 for Team Hidi 3.0 (TH3 for short). Click here to buy your tickets to this highly anticipated tasting-fundraiser at the Georgia Freight Depot. Now in year three, TH3 gathers 50-plus celebrated Atlanta restaurants and bars, live and buy-it-now auctions, the fun-loving Yacht Rock Review and a depot full of guests to raise dollars for The Giving Kitchen (TGK) emergency assistance program. TGK is a legacy of chef Ryan Hidinger. The visionary behind Staplehouse lost his battle against cancer in January but not before he, wife Jen and chef Ryan Smith started The Giving Kitchen, a safety net for restaurant and hospitality workers facing unanticipated crises. All event proceeds go to TGK, a 501(c)3 organization -- as do the profits from Staplehouse restaurant. Numbers? Last year TGK aided more than 60 of the 200,000+ employees within Atlanta's restaurant industry.

Appetizing Aperture

The bison, a strong American icon and symbol of Big Sky Country, thunders across the menu at Ted's Montana Grill. Yet, like any rancher, Ted's has a sweet side. Ted's fresh-baked cookies -- snickerdoodles, oatmeal raisin, chocolate chip or double chocolate -- may cause a stampede at your table. Order up a herd ($2 each) to pal with coffee or an adult shake or sidesaddle your pick with H�agen-Dazs vanilla ice cream ($6).

#Foodgram

Natalie Migliarini lights up this toasting season with nice and naughty cocktails that entice you to raise a glass of something bubbly besides champagne on New Year's Eve. Bar none, this lover of all occasions that begin or end with beautiful cocktails fills a colorful album on Instagram. Recipes on her Beautiful Booze website.

What's New on Pinterest

Our Boozy Bites board is a softy for the hard stuff, like whiskey, rum, stout and other libations. Appetizers, mains, desserts -- we've spiked them all. Buffalo chicken beer cheese is a fast party fix. Bacon bourbon BBQ burgers and Guinness-braised short ribs carry the theme to the next level. Dark chocolate and Guinness cookies, bourbon brown sugar ice cream and no-bake Bailey's bonbons are sweet nothings with something extra, and that honey chamomile hot toddy tea cake might just knock that winter cold into next year.