Beef Jerky Bar???

Wandered into Biltong Bar at Ponce City Market recently and was very surprised/excited/impressed. This South African snacks bar has great ambiance with huge windows and bar seating overlooking Ponce and part of the Beltine.  Great music selection and craft cocktail menu.  Perfect place to unwind and have a "Something Something DANGER ZONE" or a "See You Space Cowboy".  Check out the beef jerky menu and definitely have the red bean hummus!

http://biltong-bar.com/

Address: Ponce City Market, 675 Ponce De Leon Ave NE ne152, Atlanta, GA 30308

Phone: (678) 515-0620

Mercury 1/2 priced Monday's

Labeled one of the “hottest new bars” in Atlanta by Zagat, this Ponce City Market spot will start serving half price cocktails ($5 – $7) all day on Mondays. Look for favorites such as Moscow Mules, Manhattans, Kir Royals and more. If you’re in a hurry, you can get drinks to go too.

675 Ponce de Leon Ave. N.E., Atlanta. 404-500-5253, www.TheMercuryATL.com.

Happenings at Eclipse Di Luna

We popped by the Miami Circle in Buckhead location this weekend for lunch and learned a few great things:  1)  They allow dogs on the patio 2) They have painting classes on Sundays from 6-8 pm for $25 and 3) They have 1/2 off Tapas and Well Drinks Mondays-Thursdays from 4-6 pm.  I highly recommend these dishes we had for lunch:

• Estofado de col Rizada: Braised Kale with Sundried Tomatoes, White Beans, Manchego Cheese and Crispy Potato Shavings
• Ceviche de Pescado Blanco: Gulf Coast White Fish Ceviche in a Habañero and Orange Marinade with Cilantro and Avocado 
• Salmón a la Parrilla: Grilled Salmon with a Smoked Paprika Piquillo Pepper Relish and Kalamata Tapanade  

View menu here:  www.eclipsediluna.net

Bar Margot

                       

We stopped by Ford Fry's restaurant within the Four Seasons Hotel last night to get the holiday week started off right. He's the guy behind Superica and The Optimist.  This was the first time I've checked it out. We had awesome blue cheese-stuffed olive martinis and some yummy bar snacks:  tuna tartare, the deviled eggs with Serrano ham and the crab fried rice.  Loved the decor and bar and will be back again for sure soon.  

Sample menu here:  http://barmargotatl.com/images/barmargot_menu.pdf

Some Events at Wisteria in Inman Park

Start your week off with these special events at our bar.    Mussels Mondays All you care to eat Mussels! Join Ryan at the bar on Mondays. $15 per person Check out our special wines by the glass on Mussels Mondays.     Tapas Tuesdays Enjoy our special small plates menu at the bar with Andrew, all tapas only $5. Small plates of wonderful southern goodness. We will have a special cocktail every Tuesday night for Tapas Tuesdays.     Wine on Wednesdays Half off all bottles of wine priced $70 and under when dining at the bar. Clifford can assist with answering your vigneron questions.     Fine Print:  Our promotional event and pricing is for those dining at the bar only. First come first serve as some inventory may sell out due to demand. Offer limited to the number of seats available at the bar. We do not take reservations for seating at the bar.

The Porter Beer Bar

                               

I love this little hidden gem in Little Five Points. On the outside it looks like a tiny bar but when you walk through it's actually a pretty big space with tables. They have over 800 beers so this is a beer lover's paradise. My friend had a beer that tasted like chocolate. I had the beer flight (pictured above) which was awesome.  We also had the hush puppies with apple sauce, which is almost like a dessert.  Check it out, I highly recommend it!

Full menu here:  http://www.theporterbeerbar.com

Wine Tasting in South Buckhead at Watershed

This could be fun for you wine lovers!  Watershed is doing a 20 for $20 Wine Tasting on on Tuesday, December 8.  For $20 you can try 20 tastes of various wines for only $20 (plus tax + gratuity) along with small bites from Executive Chef Zeb Stevenson. Be sure to RSVP for your spot:  rsvp@watershedrestaurant.com.

Last Word in Inman Park/ Old 4th Ward

                               

Last Word is a cute spot on the corner of Sampson and Highland Avenue that has cocktails and food with Middle Eastern and Mediterranean influences.  They have a yummy glass of Sancerre and a great tagliatelle pasta with mushrooms.  I also just realized they have a happy hour special, which is even more of a reason to stop by and see them:

Last Word Classic Cocktail Hour

Tuesday-Saturday 5:30-7pm

Last Word is excited to announce our new Classic Cocktail Hour, Tuesday through Saturday from 5:30pm to 7pm. We will offer a rotating menu of our favorite classic cocktails, along with an assortment of bar snacks from the kitchen to go with them. The cocktails will be priced at a very retro $6 apiece.

Website:  http://lastwordatl.com/

Atlanta Food & Drink Specials

After living in Southern California and then moving back home to Atlanta, I realized how much people love happy hour drinks on the East Coast.  There are so many social events that evolve around drinking here.  Why not take advantage of some of the drink specials around town then?  I broke down by day what I know of in town.  Some of this changes around from time to time.  Let me know if you have recommendations to add to this list:

Sunday's

• 1/2 off bottles of wine at Industry Tavern
• 1/2 off bottles of wine at Parish starting at 5:30
• Bottomless mimosas at Venkman's
• 1/2 off bottles of wine at Kyma 

Monday's

• 1/2 off bottles of wine at Barcelona Inman Park
• 1/2 off bottles of wine at Poor Calvin's
• /2 off bottles of wine at Baraonda
• 1/2 off bottles of wine at Einstein's
• 1/2 off bottles of wine at Olive Bistro
• 1/2 off Classic Cocktails at The Mercury
• 1/2 off well drinks Eclipse di Luna

Tuesdays:

• 1/2 off bottles of wine at Venkman's
• 1/2 off bottles of wine at Einstein's
• $3 glasses of sangria at Calle Latina in Decatur
• $3 margaritas at El Bandidos in L5P
• $3 select beers at Olive Bistro
• 1/2 off well drinks Eclipse di Luna
• 1/2 off bottles of wine at Osteria 832 

Wednesday's

• 1/2 off Whiskey cocktails & $5 burgers (3-5 pm) at The Pinewood
• The Lawrence:  3 oysters and a cocktail for $10
• 1/2 off bottles of wine at Gekko Sushi
• 1/2 off bottles of wine at Wahoo Grill in Decatur
• 1/2 off bottles of wine at Wisteria 
• 1/2 off bottles of wine at Olive Bistro
• 1/2 off well drinks Eclipse di Luna
• 1/2 off bottles of wine at Mediterranea in Grant Park
• 1/2 off bottles of wine at Campagnolo

Thursday's

• 1/2 off bottles of wine at Cypress Street
• 1/2 off cocktails at Poor Calvin's
• 1/2 off bottles of wine and sake 5-9 at Steel Restaurant
• 1/2 off well drinks Eclipse di Luna

(updated 6/28/17)

First Ever BeltLine Pub Crawl

**ON SALE FRIDAY, October 16th**

From Krog Street Market to Park Tavern, the East Side Trail on the Atlanta BeltLine connects some of the best restaurants and bars in town! Join us on Saturday, December 12th to try them all! 

Get into the festive holiday spirit, recruit your friends and come crawl along the Atlanta BeltLine! Enjoy a complimentary beverage at each location along the crawl in addition to some awesome food and drink specials. Bundle up, it’s the Beltline Pub Crawl!

Participating Bars and Restaurants (Additional Bars TBA!): Pure Taqueria Inman Park, Parish, Two Urban Licks, Park Tavern in Piedmont Park, and F.R.O.G.S. 

Ticket Information: 
Includes a Pub Crawl on the Beltline wrist band, 5 complimentary drinks along the pub crawl route, and a map of participating bars and specials.

Early Bird: $10 - Ends 10/23
Regular: $15 - Ends 11/27
Late: $20 - Ends 12/11
Door: $25 - If Available

Cocktail Workshop

Octane Coffee on the Westside is going to have a cocktail/barrending workshop which could be something new and fun to do! It's going to be on October 23. Details above.

1/2 off Thursdays at Cypress Street Pint and Plate

It's perfect patio weather right now and a really good place to meet up for a drink and some food is Cypress Street Pint and Plate in Midtown. They usually have tiki torches outside and sometimes a fire burning.  I'm a big fan of Thursdays because they have half off bottles of wine from 7 to 11 PM. Try the BBQ eggrolls. Filled with BBQ pork, collard greens and a Siracha ranch sauce on the side.  I had to feature a picture of the "Sublime Burger" below- a burger with bacon inside of a split doughnut.  I had to tell my visitor from Denver that not all Atlantans eat like this!

Zagat's 10 Best Happy Hours and Drink Deals in Atlanta

This list from Zagat was published on Monday.  Pronounced "Za Gawt".  The Pinewood that was mentioned here yesterday made the list for their "Whiskey Wednesday's".  I think the Ra Sushi specials sound like a good deal and with so many people working in Midtown there should be a crowd.  3-7 every day but Sunday.  Can you think of any other good ones Zagat forgot?

Here's the list:  Zagat List

Neighborhood Discounts? Yay it's about time!

Mason Tavern is a new restaurant owned by Concentrics Group (The Folks behind  ONE. midtown kitchen, TWO urban licks, TAP, PARISH, The Spence, Lobby Bar & Bistro, ROOM at TWELVE located in Decatur.  It's not in Decatur Square but more Emory area by N. Decatur and Clairmont.  It's been on my list to try out and they also apparently have Trivia Night on Tuesday.  Love the 10% off for locals!

Best Dirty Martini in a while

The Bookhouse Pub.  That martini.  It was shaken so that there were tiny ice shards in the glass.  Yummy.  Their veggie burger, salad and vegetable plate are all amazing.  Very dark and lodge like.  It's usually crowded and seems to attract a lot of Hollywood types.  After living in LA I can spot the film crew a mile away.

Grain

Grain is a great spot to meet in Midtown for an online date or even work happy hour. This spot is on West Peachtree but the address is on Spring Street.  Limited food menu but they do have a few tapas and some oysters as well.  Great ambiance with indie music piped in.