November 2010 - Posts

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Dine Like a Local

• Five Festive Fares - Atlanta’s Top Thanksgiving Day Menus

  The holidays are upon us, and it is officially the Month of Food! As that giddy anticipation slowly bubbles to the surface, your plans begin falling into place ... and then you realize that somehow, between booking flights, shopping for gifts and cleaning up the guest room, you forgot about dinner. Whether you need to impress the in-laws on short notice, or just a quiet meal for two before relatives arrive, try one of the city's top five feasts served on Thanksgiving Day.
  
  (As the entire menus are they're quite lengthy, I've plucked my personal favorites as well as a few standout items I'd love to try.)
  
  If simple sophistication is your ideal Thanksgiving fare, try:
  Sun Dial Restaurant, Bar & View

  $49 per person
  Prix-fixe 3-course meal served 12-8 p.m.
  
  In addition to the traditional turkey and dressing, my favorite combinations are:
  1) Starter: Duck Confit with sweet potato cakes and lingonberry jam.
  2) Entree: Stuffed Trout with cornbread, chorizo and oyster stuffing and sweet potato mash topped with pecan butter and sage cream.
  or
  1) Starter: Sun Dial Waldorf Salad with cider dressing.
  2) Entree: Braised Short Rib with cheese grits cake and roasted root vegetable ragout.
  
  (Dessert is TBD, but I'd recommend the Fried Apple Pie served with fresh vanilla ice cream, topped with caramel sauce and almond brittle.)
  
  Sleuth Secret: Sun Dial is spearheaded Atlanta's movement to include more vegetarian-friendly dishes right on the menu. This Thanksgiving, they're featuring a pleasing Pan-seared Tofu with quinoa, winter vegetable fricassee and butternut puree.
  
  Livingston Restaurant + Bar
  $45 per person
  Buffet served 11 a.m. - 7 p.m.
  
  Featuring a carving station, a hot buffet, cold buffet and dessert buffet, it's nearly impossible to pick a favorite. However, I'm a huge fan of Chef Zeb's feats of flavor, so I'll definitely have seconds of the:
  
  1) Carving Station: Smoked Turkey with lemon/thyme gravy and orange-cranberry sauce.
  2) Hot Buffet: Confit Turkey with parmesan crust, Green Bean Casserole with fried sweet onions, Caramelized Brussels Sprouts with apples and sage, Chestnut and Cornbread stuffing, and Braised Collard Greens with pancetta.
  3) Cold Buffet: Traditional Caesar Salad with focaccia croutons, Fresh Fruit with ginger syrup, and Artisan Breads.
  4) Dessert Buffet: Pear Crumble with whipped crème fraiche and Bourbon-Pecan Caramel Tarts.
  
  For a savory Southern feast, try:
  South City Kitchen (Midtown and Vinings)
  
$39.95 adults, $19.98 children under 12 (plus tax and tip)
  
Prix-fixe 3-course meal served 11 a.m. - 7 p.m.
  
  Online reservations available - Midtown
  Online reservations available - Vinings
  
  As a bonafide Southern sweetheart, I'm craving either:
  
  1) Starter: Fried Green Tomatoes with goat cheese and sweet red pepper coulis.
  2) Entree: Roasted Turkey with giblet gravy, cornbread dressing, collard greens, whipped potatoes and orange cranberry sauce.
3) Dessert: Traditional Pumpkin Pie;
  or
  1) Starter: Old Charleston She-Crab Soup with fresh cream and sherry.
  2) Entree: Seafood Jambalaya with shrimp, crawfish, mussels, fish, Carolina Plantation rice and andouille sausage in a spicy tomato broth;
  3) Dessert: Cheesecake Bread Pudding with a cranberry compote.
  or
  1) Starter: Butternut Squash Ginger Bisque with nutmeg cream.
  2) Entree: Grilled Salmon with roasted cauliflower and Brussels sprouts and pecan chive butter.
  3) Dessert: Warm Apple Cobbler with fresh cream.
  
  For a non-traditional twist, try:
  Spice Market
  $35 per person
  Prix-fixe 3-course meal served 4 p.m. - 9 p.m.
  
  Online reservations available
  
  Nothing excites taste buds more than the vibrant, enticing spices of Southeast Asian cuisine! Try the:
  
1) Starter: Butternut Squash Soup with ginger and pumpkin seeds or Roasted Baby Sweet Potatoes in a gula jawa (Indonesian sugar) glaze.
  2) Entree: Roasted Turkey or Confit Turkey Leg. Both are served with Chestnut Sausage Stuffing, gingered cranberry sauce and Stir Fried winter veggies in ginger and soy.
  3) Dessert: Spiced Pumpkin Cake with praline cream and pumpkin seed brittle.
  
  Need a break from family festivities? Celebrate your post-Turkey Day feast at
  Meehan's Public House
  Friday Nov. 26 - Sun. Nov. 28

  All weekend long you can "Kick Your Thanksgiving Hangover Cold Turkey" with sumptuous starters, enticing entrees and great Guinness specials!
  
  Weekend fare includes: Fried Pickles, "Hair of the Dog" Omelette with scottish bangers, green peppers, Vidalia onions, jalapenos, chantrelle mushrooms and grafton cheddar; and Drunken Irish Nachos with waffle-cut fries, black beans, corn, lettuce, pico, avocado, jalapenos and Guinness Stout Queso.
  
  Sleuth Savings: On Friday, Nov. 26 Meehan's offers 50% off your bill and $5 glasses of Guinness just for wearing your Thrashers jersey! All weekend long, any guest who donates a fleece jacket or blanket receives a $10 voucher valid on return visits.
  
  Meehan's is opened Fri. from 1:30 p.m.-3 a.m., Sat. from 11:30 a.m.-3 a.m. and Sun. from noon - midnight. 
  

  Posted Nov 23 2010, 11:11 AM by Alyson Kate with no comments

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• Phenomenal Fall Fare from Livingston Restaurant + Bar

  In celebration of his recent promotion as executive chef, Zeb Stevenson has out-shined himself with the latest Fall fare at Livingston Restaurant + Bar. Combining his love of simple, succulent flavors with Livingston's progressive American cuisine, Chef's latest menu features a straightforward elegance that's refreshing in its own right.
  
  Now for a tasty tour! The starters from the Fall menu are simply irresistible, which is I had the Maryland Style Crab Cakes, Housemade Chicken Brautwurst and the Tuna Crudo. These creamy crab cakes are served atop gaufrette potatoes (thin, crispy waffle chips) with a vegetable relish for a slightly sweet, tangy finish. Garnished with caraway sprigs, the Chicken Brautwurst with brussels sprout florets is a heady, spice-infused housemade sausage that can't be missed. Finally, the lightly seared Tuna Crudo is served with pistachios and a hint of lemon, topped with mustardo (a tangy jelly of candied fruits spiced with mustard powder.)
  
  Before the main course, be sure to try the menu's most popular, pre-entree request - the Local Apple Salad. Made of endive leaves for a bit of an acerbic kick, the house smoked trout and apple mix is a crisp, chunky salad cleverly coated in a tangy walnut mayonnaise. While I'd recommend trying each and every entree, the House Smoked Duck tops my list. Pan-seared then served with sauteed Swiss chard and hazelnuts, this moist meat arrives topped with another mustardo.  
  
  While Chef Stevenson's food speaks for itself, I can't pass up such an endorsement opportunity. I'm not a big fan of seafood anything - we've just never caught on. However, Zeb's creations had me reaching for seconds and scheming for thirds! His ability to construct such tender-textured, delicious dishes with not much more than a flavorful garnish to banish that dreaded "fishy taste" is simply astounding.
  
  Sleuth Savings: Once a week, Livingston Restaurant + Bar offers its Millionaire Monday menu - for just $16 per person, you can enjoy a buttery whole lobster or juicy filet mignon, plus your choice of celery root soup or baby spinach salad and one side. What better way to beat those beginning-of-the-week blues than to treat yourself to a decadent dinner?
  
  Can't make a Monday? You can also find savory savings on The Livingston Theatre Menu, served nightly. For $29, you can enjoy your choice of any dinner menu soup or salad, plus one of the four Theatre Inspiration entrees (such as the Georgia Mountain Trout or Shrimp and Corn Ravioli.) To sweeten the deal, this offer also includes your choice of a glass of wine or dessert.
  
  Keep an eye out for next week's Thanksgiving Day savings! The swanky buffet is rumored to include Artisan breads, braised collard greens w/ pancetta and bourbon-pecan caramel tarts, as well as the star of the day, served at one enticing price.
  Posted Nov 19 2010, 01:21 PM by Alyson Kate with no comments

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