What’s New on Pinterest: Spring Cakes & Bakes

Spring blooms in riotous color. So does our Spring Cakes & Bakes Pinterest board. Fancies for grown-ups planning showers and parties. Fun stuff like a Peeps cake, Jello cookies and Easter Oreos for youngsters. We’ve thrown in a few healthy items for good measure. We may just skip the egg hunt and keep on baking.

Shop Atlanta-Area Whole Foods Market Locations April 8 -- The Giving Kitchen Receives 5 Percent

Save that grocery list! On Tuesday, April 8, all eight metro-Atlanta Whole Foods Market and Harry’s Farmers Market locations are uniting and designating The Giving Kitchen as the beneficiary of their citywide “5% Day.” Inspired by an outpouring of support from our town’s hospitality network when Atlanta chef Ryan Hidinger was diagnosed with late-stage cancer in December 2012, this homegrown nonprofit provides grants to members of Atlanta’s restaurant community facing unanticipated hardships and crisis situations. On “5% Days,” a store donates 5 percent of the day’s net sales to a local non-profit or educational organization, so stock up!

New South Family Supper Draws on Old and New South for Southern Foodways Alliance on April 6 at Summerland Farms

Pickled, distilled, fermented, preserved. Generations of Southerners leveraged these techniques to stockpile garden-fresh bounty for off-season eating. “New South” chefs and artisans respect the past while forging ahead into a deliciously diverse and inclusive future for Southern cuisine. Ford Fry and Kevin Gillespie epitomize this resurgence. The renowned chefs are two of the more than 35 chefs, artisans, mixologists and brewers flocking -- from all over the South -- to Summerland Farm to participate in the New South Family Supper: Preserving the Future of Southern Food on Sunday, April 6. Proceeds benefit the Southern Foodways Alliance, an institute of the Center for the Study of Southern Culture at the University of Mississippi. 

Tickets are $250 per person and include the full experience: food, beverage, programming and round-trip luxury coach transportation from Star Provisions in Atlanta to Summerland Farm near Cartersville. Hop on the bus at 3:30 p.m. and ride out for 4:30 p.m. cocktails and appetizers followed by an early supper. Buses roll south to Star Provisions at 7:30 p.m. 

If you can’t farm out, you can still enjoy Ford Fry’s style in town at JCT. Kitchen & Bar, No. 246, The Optimist, King + Duke and St. Cecilia. Gunshow, in Glenwood Park, is the place to go for Kevin Gillespie’s local and worldly wows.

Spring $25 for Three-Course Dinner during April at Aqua blue

Pan-Seared Trout at Aqua blue

For the entire month of April, Aqua blue serves up a $25 three-course, prix fixe dinner menu. Start with classic, creamy New England clam chowder or your choice of the Aqua blue house salad or Caesar salad. Mains include Parmesan chicken with cheese ravioli and tomato marinara; butcher’s cut hanger steak with garlic whipped potatoes, broccoli and green peppercorn sauce; salmon with polenta, grilled asparagus and roasted red pepper sauce; or pan-seared trout with sautéed mixed vegetables and lemon-caper butter sauce. Choose vanilla bean crème brûlée or warm chocolate cake to punctuate your meal. Priced per person; not including gratuity, tax, substitutions or alcohol.

Barks & Beers is Back at Der Biergarten on April 5

 

 

Load your furry friend in the car and head to Barks & Beers at Der Biergarten in downtown’s Luckie-Marietta District on Saturday, April 5 from 4-8 p.m. This canine-friendly patio-season opener at Atlanta’s first indoor/outdoor German beer garden features beer specials for the two-legged species and water and doggie treats for four-legged guests. Another tail-wagging thought – Barks & Beers benefits the Atlanta Humane Society. Circle back to Facebook for more details!

Appetizing Aperture: Bantam + Biddy

Photo by Tuan Huynh

It’s still too early for Christmas in July, but what about Thanksgiving in April without the stress of cooking and cleaning? Visit Bantam + Biddy’s location on Crescent Avenue in Midtown for Thanksgiving dinner Wednesdays from 5 p.m. to close. We’re talking perfectly cooked turkey, golden stuffing, homemade gravy, fresh cranberry sauce, creamy mashed potatoes, crunchy green bean casserole and, of course, Bantam + Biddy’s famous cornbread. What are you waiting for?