The Dish
In This Issue
Nikolai's Roof Opens February 28
HOBNOB $4 Specials Mark Fourth Anniversary
10th & Piedmont Oscar and Mardi Gras Parties
Ray's in the City Celebrates Mardi Gras
Ford Fry is a James Beard Award Semifinalist
King + Duke and Gunshow Make GQ's Most Outstanding Restaurants of 2014 List
#foodgram: @hearthpizzatavern
Appetizing Aperture
What's New on Pinterest
 
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. 
 
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Nikolai's Roof Reopens February 28 to Soar with New Look, New Menu, New Era

 

 

 

"High" points of the Sochi Olympic Games were many -- alpine skiing, bobsled, snowboard, luge. Atlantans' Russian views are reaching new heights, about 30 floors up above the city, when Nikolai's Roof reopens atop the Hilton Atlanta on February 28. After a $1 million renovation, doors open to show off modern sophistication framed by muted cream and grey walls and punctuated with walnut tables and glass ribbon chandeliers. Floor-to-ceiling windows survey a metropolitan landscape that has grown in global status since the restaurant opened its doors in 1976. For 38 years, white-gloved staff and silver-domed plates elevated Nikolai's Roof to the special occasion category for many diners.

 

Times change. The new, more relaxed atmosphere, of-the-moment menu and lower pricing move Nikolai's Roof into a more approachable weeknight dining experience. Caviar occasions are still very special here, and the restaurant continues to exude the impeccable service, cuisine and wines that have earned it critical acclaim over the years. Chef de cuisine Stephanie Alderete considers Russian influences in fresh-yet-timeless creations that may be enjoyed � la carte or in three-, four- and six-course options starting at $55. Wine selections will wow, and The lounge at Nikolai's flows with infused vodkas and signature drinks like the Russian coffee and Moscow Mule. Conversation areas affording a bird's-eye view of downtown Atlanta are ideal landings for drinks and signature piroshkies after work. Nikolai's Roof serves dinner Tuesday through Saturday beginning at 5:30 p.m. Dinner guests enjoy complimentary valet parking at the front of the hotel and a direct ride from lobby to restaurant in a glass express elevator.

HOBNOB Forecasts a Party and Four Days of $4 Specials to Mark Fourth Anniversary March 2-6

 

 

 

Entering the fabulous fours is a four-tuitous event, and fun-loving HOBNOB Neighborhood Tavern is ready to whoop it up. Considering itself four-tunate to have so many good friends and neighbors, the Midtown tavern is celebrating with festivities and food and beverage specials for all to enjoy. An anniversary party opens the week on Sunday, March 2, and HOBNOB welcomes guests to enjoy a complimentary drink, light appetizers, live music and more from 3-6 p.m. Over the next four days (Monday, March 3 through Thursday, March 6), $4 buys a Tavern burger, SweetWater 420, milkshake or cobbler during dinner hours (5-11 p.m.). Snatch these deals and four-tify your week!

 

 10th & Piedmont Parties Share Oscar Drama on March 2 and Mardi Gras Merriment on March 4

 
 

 

Two star-studded phenomena -- the Academy Awards and Mardi Gras occurring in the same week -- catapult 10th & Piedmont into revelry mode and put two big bashes on the event calendar of this Midtown restaurant, lounge and bar. Glitz and glam up for the Red Carpet Oscar Party on Sunday, March 2 from 7 p.m. until who knows when. Party host Angelica D'Paige hosts the evening where suspense unfolds on the jumbo screen and $15 bottomless Champagne enables congratulatory toasts and drowns disappointments. Guests stylin' gowns and black tie compete in the best-dressed contest, and everyone can mark his or her movie picks on Oscar ballots. Winners in both contests take home cash and prizes (better, we think, than a dust-catching statue). Reservations and information: 404-602-5510.

 

On Tuesday, March 4 at 6:30 p.m., the red carpet comes up and Mardi Gras colors of purple, green and gold roll out for a Fat Tuesday Bash featuring all-you-can-eat low country boil and all-you-can-drink select premium beers. Local singer/songwriter James Patrick Morgan performs. Tickets are $35 in advance and $45 at the door. Book a table for your krewe today and let the good times roll!

 

Break Out Your Beads for Mardi Gras at 

Ray's in the City on March 4

 

Are your feet on Bourbon Street, NOLA or in Ray's in the City on Peachtree Street, ATL? Squeeze some Mardi Gras Fat Tuesday merrymaking into your week on Tuesday, March 4 -- right here in downtown Atlanta! From 5-8 p.m., Ray's in the City is rocking the Mardi Gras vibe with fun drink specials, live music and Cajun-inspired appetizers. Party hearty with no cover charge. Gaudy beads? If you have them, flaunt them!

 

Ford Fry is a Semifinalist for the James Beard Foundation Outstanding Restaurateur of 2014

 

 

 Photo by Richie Arpino

 

Ford Fry has been tapped as a semifinalist for the James Beard Foundation Outstanding Restaurateur of 2014 award. He's in good company, joined on the list by restaurateurs from all across our nation. Fry had already cheffed at The Ritz-Carlton properties in Naples, Houston and Aspen and put in corporate years at EatZi's before venturing out on his own to open JCT. Kitchen & Bar on Atlanta's Westside in 2007. Seven years later, Ford is helmsman for a boatload of acclaimed Atlanta restaurants, each with its own unique personality. In addition to JCT., there's No. 246, The Optimist, King + Duke and newly opened St. Cecilia. Along with providing unbeatable dining experiences, Fry values community involvement. Each summer he plans JCT.'s Attack of the Killer Tomato Festival that consistently grows the green stuff for nonprofit Georgia Organics. The Foundation will announce the final restaurant and chef award nominations in Chicago on March 19. Congratulations on receiving this honor, Ford, and best wishes toward being selected as a finalist!

 

In GQ's Top 10: Gunshow and King + Duke are Most Outstanding Restaurants of 2014

 

 

 

Spoiler alert: the March issue of GQ announces "The 12 Most Outstanding Restaurants of 2014." Atlanta's own Gunshow and King + Duke both rank in the top 10. Kevin Gillespie's Gunshow rolls in at number seven, and Ford Fry's King + Duke captures slot number five. The magazine's award-winning food correspondent Alan Richman dined his way across America to compile the list of 12 "must visits." During his meal at Buckhead's King + Duke, a revelation hit Richman. "I sat up straight and thought: This is the one. This is informal American dining, perfected.At Gunshow he noted, "I don't recall so many styles of cooking from one restaurant kitchen, and each dish is successful, because every cook specializes in the cuisine he or she knows best." He also credits the Glenwood Park restaurant with managing "to be the most intimate restaurant in America without candles, flowers, or post-dinner petits fours." Thanks, Alan, for finding two of America's best in our own backyard!

 

#foodgram

    

 

Warning. If you visit @hearthpizzatavern on an empty stomach, you'd better be on your way out the door headed straight to Hearth Pizza Tavern in Sandy Springs. Don't you wish you could reach into your screen and grab a slice of their pizza, a spoon of the seafood chowder or a few bites of roasted cauliflower? Not even mentioning the Tuesday Tini's snapshot. Act responsibly. Close the site before you get behind the wheel -- it's just too darn deliciously distracting.

 

Appetizing Aperture

 

 

 

Sea Monkeys ride the ides of March at RA Sushi Bar Restaurant. As in, when your server comes to the table say, "I'd like the Sea Monkey cocktail, RA Sushi's March $6 cocktail special." A few sips of this cheerful raspberry martini pumped up with Skyy Raspberry vodka, Chambord, and pineapple and cranberry juices promotes confidence that spring is berry nearly here.

 

What's New on Pinterest

 

 

 

Uncanny how easy it is to make pickles. No wonder early civilizations preserved foods this way and moderns have rediscovered the divine coupling of veggie and brine. Start easy with something like pickled curry carrots (no hot bath required) and ease your way into pickled zucchini or Brussels sprouts. Or, start with purchased pickles and take it from there. Stop by our Perfectly Pickled Pinterest board, and before you can say Peter Piper, you'll be in a fine pickle, too.