GUSTO! TEAMS WITH THE LEUKEMIA & LYMPHOMA SOCIETY TO FIGHT FOR A CURE

Posted by Liz and John Attaway, 7/9/20

Chastain Shop to Match Guest Donations During July 11 Fundraiser

WHAT:

Nate Hybl, creator of gusto!, is thrilled to partner with the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) for an impactful fundraising event at its newest shop near Chastain Park on Saturday, July 11.

Supporters who visit gusto! Chastain on Saturday, July 11 will have the opportunity to add a donation at checkout, and gusto! has pledged to match every donation dollar raised with all funds benefitting LLS. These funds will impact the lives of the 1.3 million patients living with or in remission from a blood cancer, who are patiently waiting for better treatments and ultimately for a cure.

“We are very grateful for generous partners like gusto!,” says Kristen Ryan, campaign manager for LLS Man and Woman of the Year. “This year is especially important since COVID-19 has impacted so many patients. These patients have seen delays in treatment, transplants and research due to the global impact of the virus. Now, more than ever, we need support to ensure their lives are not put on hold.”

WHEN:

Saturday, July 11, 2020
11 a.m. – 9 p.m.

WHERE:

gusto! Chastain
4365 Roswell Road
Suite 4371
Atlanta, GA 30342
404-549-2584
www.whatsyourgusto.com

WHERE TO WATCH MLS MATCHES THIS SUMMER 2020

Posted by Liz and John Attaway, 7/9/20

Photo credit: David Danzig

Kick Off Game Day with Fan Favorites at Dantanna’s Buckhead:
Located in the heart of Buckhead, Dantanna’s is celebrating the return of MLS with the ultimate tailgate experience for fans to cheer on Atlanta United and their favorite teams.  Beginning Wednesday, July 8th with the first match of the MLS is BACK Tournament, soccer fanatics can socially distance on Dantanna’s patio, in the dining or at the bar (reserved seating only) while enjoying a special menu created by Executive Chef Brad Parker.  Inspired by fan favorites, guests can enjoy each match while diving into “Leave Everything On The Pitch” Fries with shredded braised short ribs, bacon, fresh jalapeño, and more; “Bundesliga” Bavarian Pretzels served with Golden Spiked mustard and smoked gouda sauce; “Game of Two Halves” buy one get one free fresh oysters on the half shell for $3; “and “Close Range” fresh peel and eat shrimp, $4.50 for a half dozen and $9 for a dozen; and “Finish With Aplomb” dessert offerings. Every goal can be celebrated accordingly with beer buckets, half-off wine, and cocktail specials. Dantanna’s full menu will also be available.  Dantanna’s Buckhead is located at the Shops Around Lenox, 3400 Around Lenox Rd NE #304, Atlanta, GA 30326. For more information or to make a reservation visit www.dantannas.com or call 404.760.8873. Walk-ins are welcome. Stay connected on Twitter and Instagram at @dantannas.
MLS and Park Tavern are the Perfect Match This Season:
Soccer-lovers are invited to raise a glass at Park Tavern’s MLS is Back Tournament Viewing Parties.  Beginning with Orlando City SC vs. Inter Miami CF on July 8th, 2020 at 8 p.m. and followed by Atlanta United’s first home match against the New York Red Bulls on July 11th at 8 p.m., fans can catch all of the action at Park Tavern no matter rain or shine on the spacious covered patio that has plenty of seating and hi-definition flat-screen TVs with top of the line sound systems. Fans can also celebrate each goal while enjoying refreshing drink specials, frosty brews, wings, burgers, tacos and more.  On July 16th, Park Tavern is hosting a special viewing party for the Atlanta United match against Cincinnati set for 9 a.m.  Opening early for the occasion, fans can start their day cheering on The Five Stripes with a Bloody Mary special that includes shrimp, bacon and a slider. Park Tavern is located on the Atlanta BeltLine in the heart of Midtown on the corner of 10th Street and Monroe overlooking Piedmont Park and the Midtown skyline. For more information, visit  www.parktavern.com  or call 404.249.0001. Stay connected on Facebook at  www.Facebook.com/ParkTavern  and on Instagram, Snapchat and Twitter @parktavern.
Get Fired Up For The MLS is Back Tournament at Firepit Pizza Tavern:
Gear up and kick off the start of the MLS Tournament at Firepit Pizza Tavern, located in Grant Park. Fans can celebrate the return of the season when Orlando City SC takes on Inter Miami CF tomorrow, July 8th at 8 p.m. while enjoying $5 cheese pizza, well cocktails, house wine, and draft beers. Owned by Leslie Cohen, an Atlanta native and winner of Food Network’s “Cutthroat Kitchen” and with Chef Shaun Whitmer at the helm of the kitchen, Firepit churns out mouthwatering pizzas using the freshest ingredients and hand-tossed, signature pizza dough that’s made daily, with gluten-free crust also available. For more information or to view the full menu, visit firepitatl.com or call 404-495-4777. Firepit Pizza Tavern is open daily for lunch and dinner and is located at 519 Memorial Drive, Atlanta, Georgia 30312. Stay connected on Instagram at @firepitatl and Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/pages/firepitatl.

Take Us Out To Live! At The Battery

Posted by Liz and John Attaway, 7/6/20

The pitcher comes up to the mound and the crowd grows silent in anticipation. Here’s the pitch! The ball sails through the air and with the crack of the bat, the ball is going, going, GONE. Next to Truist Park, Home of the Braves, Live! At The Battery knocks it out of the park with margarita pitcher specials, fun cocktails, and an array of bites for any sports or social occasion. Really, the minute you walk up to the Battery, you feel the electricity that the stadium brings and being literally a stone’s throw from Truist Park, it’s one amazing patio and sports enthusiast space. Nestled in Live! At the Battery is Sports & Social, Todd English Tavern, and late-night haunt, PBR. The complex has a little bit of everything from sports watching, the biggest TV you’ll ever see, a good array of dishes, cocktails, drinks, and even a mechanical bull. Take us out to Live!

The word we’d use to describe the cocktails at the Live! Complex would be eye-catching. In our time on the patio, we got The Wave and Blackberry Ginger Margarita. The Blackberry Ginger Margarita was reddish in color and was sweet, tangy, and finished with a slight ginger beer after taste. It was the right mix of all those flavors to make one tasty margarita. Plus, you could get a whole pitcher for only $25 when we were there! A steal! We also sipped on The Wave. It was tropical style margarita with blue curacao and garnished with a pineapple. Pleasingly blue and green hue, topped with yellow pineapple, it was a sweet, yet refreshing patio drink perfect for the hot summer days. Eat the pineapple WITH the pineapple for the best flavor!

Surprisingly good were all the dishes! Our favorite bite of our adventure were the skillet meatballs. Perfectly cooked beef and pork mix, they were topped with melted cheese and accompanied by stewed tomatoes and crisp, herb-buttered bread. We loved that the tomatoes were fresh and really complimented the meatiness of the entire dish. Pile up the bread with some of the meat, cheese, and tomatoes. It’s a creamy, earthy, deep, and rich crescendo of deliciousness. This is a must try.

Looking for a bite to pair with a refreshing beer while watching the game? You should check out their Sweet Thai Chili chicken wings! Hefty wings that are deep fried and slathered in a sweet and spicy sauce that’s so messy, you’ll need to have a ton of napkins handy. The messier the better we say. Then, just imagine on top of that the crunch of perfectly fried and breaded skin for an all-around good bite. It’s just so meaty, spicy, sweet, and crunchy, you don’t even need the blue cheese or ranch for any additional flavor. Now, as you eat them, they get spicier, so this is where you could dip it in the blue cheese or ranch for a cooling creaminess. Yum.

For our handheld, the Ahi Tuna Tacos were light and crisp with tangy pineapple and sweet soy sauce. The ahi tuna itself was very tender and mild, a great bite on it’s own and paired with slightly charred and tangy pineapple. Piled on top of that is the sweet of the soy, and the crunch of the wonton shell and slaw. The wonton shell really drew the bite together for a crunchy, sweet, tangy, meaty dish. This goes great with one of the featured margaritas or even a glass of white wine.

You know that feeling when you get home from a big Braves’ win? That’s the feeling you get when you leave Live! At The Battery.

Ph’East: Stamp Your Passport to Eastern Flavors

Posted by Liz and John Attaway, 7/5/20

Being a hot day in Summer, we opted for the little bit of shade on a patio around the corner from Truist Park. Far to our right, there’s a guy with his guitar singing the greatest 80s and 90s rock and pop hits. As he sings, people tap their toes, sip on bowls, dig into poke, and try new beers and cocktails at the recently opened Ph’East. Just outside Atlanta in the Battery complex, Ph’East has several hawker stalls that includes our new friends at Poke Burri and Lifting Noodles Ramen, as well as the Tap at Ph’East. We sipped, slurped, and noshed our way to an international journey outside American, right from Atlanta. These days, we could all use a little vacation, so join us on a little trip to Asian flavor and tiki islands. Do you have your passport?

At the heart of Ph’East is the Tap at Ph’East beer bar where you can grab a cocktail, an IPA, a stout, and even a glass of wine. They have something fun every day of the week, our favorite is Tiki Tuesday and they have the perfect drink for it: Scorpion. It’s Tiki Heaven! Marrying a taste of the islands with rum, cognac, orange, lemon, and more, it reminds us of a drink you would sip under at a beach bar on a hot Summer day. Don’t forget the little umbrella. Plus, we sampled some new local beers like John’s favorite the Nolan IPA from Reformation, which he describes as refreshing and slightly hoppy on the back! I (Liz) got a new stout, The Breury Bakery BA Stout with vanilla, cinnamon, and cherry. It’s a hefty and boozy stout! Overall, they have a great assortment of cocktails and beers for any drink lover!

We’ve been anticipating visiting Poke Burri ever since we had a sample at Atlanta Food & Wine Festival a few years ago. They won best of the fest and we remember why! From spicy tuna nachos, sushi donuts, poke burritos, poke bowls, and even dumplings, Poke Burri has some of the best poke and sushi in all of Atlanta. Everything in our feast was delicious, but our favorite has to be the spicy tuna nachos. It has to do with the addition of the fried wonton chips. The spiciness and richness of the tuna juxtaposed with the creaminess of the avocado and spicy mayo then comes in the crunch of the fried wonton chips all comes together to make a wonderfully complete bite. Something that we really wanted to try was the sushi donut. The delicate salmon and avocado wrapped around rice with hints of creamy mayo and spicy siracha. What really made this bite was the sriracha dollops. I added it to the top and dipped in soy sauce for one great mouthful. Tip: pick it up like a donut and dip in sauces! It’s so fun.

If you know us, Poke bowls have long been a favorite of mine (Liz) and this one didn’t disappoint! It was everything you’d imagine from the meatiness of the salmon and spiciness of the tuna to the avocado to the rice and soy base, it is a spicy, creamy bite. Add some soy sauce to complete it! Perfection. Going from sushi to traditional Asian fare: dumplings. These packed a punch with meaty and delicious pork middle, the perfectly fried crunch of the shell, and you add in soy sauce. That’s some fried goodness. Let’s not forget what Poke Burri does most: sushi burritos. We actually got the spicy fried chicken and it was perfectly spicy and crisp that mixed well with the crunch of the carrot and tender sushi rice. Yum.

Pivoting to ramen, we were floored by the ramen and brussels sprouts at Lifting Noodles Ramen. The build your own ramen bowl can be vegan, vegetarian, or as meaty as you want! The pork base is Tonkatsu style, which means the bone has been soaked in broth to give it an almost milk-like consistency. We opted for the pork base because of this cloudy, creamy base that’s perfect for the earthiness of the kale noodles and the meatiness of pork belly. Yes, we said kale noodles. Get them. Now. Noodles can just be an additive to the bowl, but the kale really brings a unique, earthy, and delicious flavor to the entire bite. We added almost everything you could to get as much flavor and textures to round out the experience. We called it everything and the kitchen sink. Plus, this bowl packs a ton of rich, deep, crunchy, earthy flavor without being salty. So smooth and delicious, you’ll slurp to the bottom. As far as the brussels sprouts are concerned, they were perfectly crispy and earthy topped with sweet and spicy chili sauce that was the right balance of both sweet and spicy. Overall, it was a wonderful side. Something fun we tried to put some of the brussels sprouts in the ramen. Do you think we liked it?

Now that you’ve stamped your passport, what’s the one thing you’d love to try from Ph’East? Where would you go first? Invite us, we could use another trip soon.