A really radical DJ will be spinning your favorite 80′s tunes, and the bar will be pouring classic 80′s cocktails.  For $6 each, try a Long Island iced tea, Mai Tai, Blue Hawaiian or one of the new concoctions from Fadó’s winter drink menu. 

don't forget these bad boys!

Start the evening with the Atlanta Dance Marathon from 7:00-10:00 p.m.!  Join this fun-lovin’ group donning their best 80′s outfits for non-stop dancing to raise money for Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. 

Cost is ONLY $15 per person + includes a pint of beer and all-you-can-eat complimentary appetizers.

yessssssss

There are few things that LK + I love more than a good 80′s party…

rock? ON!!

Sounds so super fun! 

xx, L

Fado Irish Pub + Restaurant
273 Buckhead Ave.
Atlanta, Georgia  30305
404.841.0066
http://www.fadoirishpub.com/atlanta/

Also FACT: My most delicious meal was eaten at Aria. 

This Buckhead institution is known for its delicious food, excellent service, extensive wine list, and super-exclusive wine room table.  It’s a restaurant that I think of for celebrations.  Turning 30 was an appropriate one.  I was treated to this fantastic dinner by my fantastic friend, Gorms.  You are going to be so disgusted impressed by how much we ate!

We began our feast by polishing off Pastry Chef Kathryn King’s Warm Focaccia Bread and a glass of pinot gris.  If there was a such thing as a winter coat made out of bread – I’d want it to be this bread. 

Next up was Aria’s Creamless Celery Root Soup with black truffles and parmesan.

Potato and Goat Cheese Ravioli with lamb and mushroom bolognese and reggiano parmigiano followed.

Warm Lobster Cocktail with butter braised Maine lobster, broccoli, and black truffle potatoes were next.  This was incredibly delish!  Gorm’s favorite, in fact.

For entrees, we shared the Blue Ridge Mountain Trout with sweet potatoes, black trumpet mushrooms, Maine lobster, and white corn…

…and the Painted Hills Ranch Natural Beef Short Rib with celery root whipped potatoes, tender carrots, sugar snap peas, and celery hearts.

They were cooked to perfection.  So many lovely flavors!

Dessert began with a sensational Warm Apple Tart with caramel ice cream to share…

…and ended with a delightful birthday plate of chocolate surprises! 

The meal was OUT OF THIS WORLD (as predicted)!  If you have something to celebrate – celebrate here.  I would also tell you to order exactly like we did.  We had such a nice variety of savory and pastry, and I really feel like it was an excellent sampling of Aria’s menu.  I’ve never heard anything negative about this restaurant, and I only have very positive praise to add!  So well done! 

Enjoy, restaurant-goers!  And, thank you Gormsie, for such a delicious night!

xx, L

Aria
490 E. Paces Ferry Rd. NE
Atlanta, Georgia  30305
404.233.7673
www.aria-atl.com

…and the space that was once inhabited by Au Pied de Cochon has now become Art Smith’s new restaurant, Southern Art.

The restaurant is absolutely gorgeous and our meal was good…but allow me to skip to the best part:

12. Layer. Red. Velvet. Cake.

Is this real life?

xx, L

Southern Art and Bourbon Bar
(404) 946-9070
3315 Peachtree Road NE
Atlanta, GA 30305

If you DON’T know, you might get in a car wreck (like I almost did on Sunday night heading home from Kev’s work holiday party)…

The beautiful Buckhead house on the corner of Peachtree Dunwoody + Winall Down has decked out their front lawn with Christmas inflatables.  I’m talking maybe 100 or so if I had to guess.  There isn’t ANY walking room!  It’s hardcore.

The little Jewish girl in me who wasn’t allowed to have Christmas lights or inflatables in my yard growing up wanted to jump out of my moving vehicle and hug each + every one of these colorful, holiday blow ups!  (My brain pretty much exploded…) 

Instead of completely actin’ a fool in my holiday party-appropriate dress + heels, we U-turned and snapped as many photos as we could.  And, we weren’t the only ones. 

We found this, too! 

"dreidel, dreidel, dreidel, i made it out of clay..."

Y’all need to see this display at night.  It’s instant holiday cheer.  The kid in you will LOVE it!

xx, L

Maki Fresh is the newest fast-casual concept from John Cassimus, founder of Zoes Kitchen.  Offering both traditional and innovative Japanese menu items, Maki Fresh serves sushi, sashimi, rice bowls, salads, sliders + more.  Maki Fresh also offers meals-to-go and self-checkout stations within the store.  Catering and delivery are available.

I’ve eaten at Maki Fresh a number of times over the past three weeks, and I’m a huge fan.  It’s super casual – in fact, last night I threw on a bizarre mix of workout clothes and ski gear and met Gorms for dinner.  I did not question my outfit once while we ate. 

Most of all, the food is fast AND really good.  Here are some things I’ve eaten and would recommend…

Kokoyashi Maki Bowl w/ Brown Rice: ahi tuna, coconut, cucumber, scallions + light coconut lime dressing.  It’s my favorite thing on the menu.

Look at all of that food!  And, for only $8.95.  Yeah, you read that right.

Tokyo Maki Bowl w/ Not-So-Fried Brown Rice: chicken, carrots, edamame, yellow pepper, scallions + teriyaki sauce.

Ringo Maki Roll w/ Brown Rice: eel, strawberry, jalapeno + cream cheese.

How creative, right?!  It was gorgeous, too.  And, I love that brown rice is an option!

Their sushi-related offerings are numerous, but Maki Fresh also has beef, chicken salad + salmon sliders for the sushi adverse. 

Y’all need to try this place.  It’s fresh, it’s yummy, it’s fast – AND it has one of the Coca-Cola Freestyle machines!

yeaaaaaaaaaaaa boy!

Love it.  See y’all there! 

xx, L

Maki Fresh
2349 Peachtree Road NE
Atlanta, GA  30305
404.869.6600
www.makifresh.com

The Atlanta Foundation for Public Spaces will host its third annual Chastain Park Arts Festival in Buckhead on November 5-6, 2011.  Over 180 participating artists and artisans will display their works during this two day event. 

Visitors will enjoy fine art and crafts, a children’s area, and local food and beverage concessions including several “gourmet” food trucks.  Local acoustic musicians will enliven the atmosphere.  Best of all, it’s entirely free to attend!  

The Chastain Park Arts Festival will benefit Livable Buckhead, a non-profit organization dedicated to developing and maintaining greenspace and a sustainable community in Buckhead, as well as a scholarship fund for local artists administered by the Georgia Foundation for Public Spaces.

Here’s the Q+DD on the Chastain Park Arts Festival:
Location: In Chastain Park near the Chastain Park Amphitheater, the Horse Barn, and the Golf Course.
Times: Sat., November 5 from 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. + Sun., November 6 from 11:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Music: Acoustic music from local musicians.
Admission: FREE!
More Info: I seriously heart a fall festival!

Have fun, festival-goers! 

xx, L

Here’s the Q:DD: Former Ecco chef Micah Willix, with partners Kenny Perlman (Season’s 52 and Houston’s) and Emily Streib Marcil (Capital Grille, Second Growth LLC) have teamed up to create a cozy little resto featuring an innovative “globally-inspired” menu.  To be honest, I’m not sure EXACLY what that means…but I’m sure one of us will let you know once we’ve been able to sit down for a meal there.  What I can tell you is this: of all the passed bites last night, there wasn’t one I tried only once!

The space is, of course, cozy and intimate and it appears that the menu is concise.  I’m looking forward to what Chef Micah has in store for us!

xx, L

Latitude Food and Drink
(770) 309-9463
Atlanta, GA
latitudeatlanta.com

Here’s the Q+DD:  Local farmers and purveyors of locally made foods will team up to whip up custom dishes that incorporate their specialties and will be judged by CELEBRITY JUDGES*!  There are 10 competing teams including: Spotted Trotter, Red Queen Tarts and Indian Ridge, Hope’s Gardens, Riverview Farms, H&F Bread, Greenleaf Farms, & Il Bel Cuore!  

Love your logo!

The early bird gets the worm: only 250 tasting tickets are available for sale starting at 9:00AM for a mere $5 a piece!  The tasting will run from 10:00 – 11:00 or until they run out. 

*This year’s celebrity Judges include:

Kim Severson, Atlanta bureau chief of The New York Times and Author of Spoon Fed

Christiane Lauterbach, Dining Critic, Atlanta Magazine & Knife & Fork

Jennifer Zyman, Editor, The Blissful Glutton and Eater Atlanta

Emily Smith, CNN Eatocracy Contributor

The best part: The proceeds from the Market Mash-Up will help fund the Peachtree Road Farmers Market’s 2012 city permit fees and city required police officer.PRFM hopes to raise the $5,750 needed to cover these expenses so we can avoid raising vendor fees.

Guys, PRFM is not only a super cool and awesome way to get fresh, fabulous fare – but I think it’s really important to recognize the importance of supporting our local farmers.   

PRFM strives to support local farmers and provide a welcoming community for them, and believes it is “essential to the health and well being of this community to know the both the farmer and the food they grow.”  Lauren Carey, Peachtree Road Farmers Market Manager adds,“Accessibility to fresh local produce is a gift; it means so much more to shake the hand of the farmer that grew the vegetables on your dinner plate.”  How true!

I’ll be there – I hope to see you guys too!

xx, L

Special thanks to my dear friend Adrienne, Peachtree Road Farmers Market volunteer and all-around awesome person, for bringing this fantastic event to my attention!

LK + I had SOOOO. MUCH. FUN. at the Atlanta Food Rave at Mason Murer last year!  And, it’s where we got this Q+DD regular drawn up…

This year’s chef line-up includes: 2010 Rave Review Winner (+ Q+DD friend) Alex Friedman of P’cheen International Bistro & Pub; Executive Chef Monique Barrow of Buckhead Bottle Bar; Executive Chef Ryan Delesandro of Nava; Executive Chef Shane Devereux of Top Flr; and Executive Chef Willie Box or Straits.  Attendees are invited to sample each chef’s offerings in addition to catered fare that will be placed throughout four unique environments at the host venue.

Tickets are available here: Get Your Food Rave ON!

You won’t want to miss this!  Trust.

xx, L

East Andrews Entertainment Complex
56 East Andrews Drive
Atlanta, GA  30305
404.856.0157
www.atlantafoodrave.com
(Complimentary Valet Available)

On Sunday, October 2nd, you can relive the glory days of Elementary School Field Day – with an adult twist!

Get a team of 4 people together and come out to the Buckhead Saloon Parking Lot to enjoy the games, music, football, giveaways, free hot dogs + hamburgers, and $1 beer specials/ Sinless Margarita specials!

Events include: Dizzy Bat Beer Relay, 5-Legged Race, Beer Limbo, Obstacle Course, Flip Cup, Beer Pong and more!  The team with the best uniform gets bonus points!

Here’s the Q+DD on Adult Field Day 2011:

Why: Cause it’s AWESOME.  And, proceeds from the event will be donated to Bert’s Big Adventure!  BBA is a non-profit organization that provides a spectacular 5-day journey to Disney for kids with chronic and/or terminal illnesses and their families.

When: Sunday, October 2nd, Check In + Pre-game @ 1:00 p.m., Field Day Events Begin @ 1:30 p.m., Falcons Game Starts @ 4:00 p.m. – TVs will be showing the football games ALL DAY.

Where: Buckhead Saloon Parking Lot, 3227 Roswell Road, Atlanta, GA, 30305

Fees: $80 donation for a 4 person team ($20 per person) to Bert’s Big Adventure.

Registration + Info: http://sinlessadultfieldday2011.eventbrite.com

Questions??: E-mail sinlessevents@gmail.com

This is going to be such a total blast!  Can’t wait for October! 

xx, L