Atlanta Movie Tours had its first ever tour on Saturday, March 31. The first tour takes participants on a four-hour jaunt around Atlanta touring locations where the popular AMC show, The Walking Dead was filmed. I was privy to a media preview of the tour, and it was loads of fun!

The tour begins in Castleberry Hill at the Castleberry Point parking deck (FREE). Meet at the entrance to the deck (facing the fire station). No need to worry about parking availability as there is plenty of space in this deck. From there, you’ll meet your guide, and you’ll walk to a couple infamous spots with plenty of time for photo ops, before boarding you luxury bus.

Atlanta Movie Tours recruited some really good talent for the tour. Ours was Tony Gowell, someone who has actually worked on the set of The Walking Dead. So, besides being able to point out scenes from the show, Tony also gave us some information that only those on the set would know. And of course, there was lots of tongue-in-cheek humor from him too.

Besides visiting some of the downtown spots where the show is filmed we got to visit the mansion in Buckhead where Billy Murray filmed “Zombieland” as well as the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre. The Centre was actually used as the CDC in the filming of The Walking Dead.

One of the highlights for me was visiting The Goat Farm, the site where the episode “Vatos” was filmed. There are real live animals walking around. We were even escorted out by a resident Turkey.

The four-hour tour has a stop for lunch at Diesel restaurant, however this is not part of the tour price. Diesel is a big supporter of The Walking Dead, even having viewing parties. Of course, no tour is exactly the same with the possibility of surprise guests or locations. We were greeted with two “workers” from the CDC offering us immunization against zombies.

Tours are $45 and are on Saturdays departing at 10 am. Lunch is not included in the tour price, so remember to bring payment for that. Tour operators Patti Davis and Carrie Burns hope to add additional tours like a sports tour (The Blind Side and We Are Marshall were filmed here) as well as a Real Housewives of Atlanta tour. For more information or to book a tour visit Atlanta Movie Tours.

Guest Post by Cindi Kurczewski

With gas pushing $4 a gallon, think of this as your Spring Break staycation. The second annual Atlanta Hotel Restaurant Week (AHRW) runs from March 31 to April 7 and gives us a chance to eat like a well-heeled tourist at some of the city’s best restaurants that just happen to live inside some of the city’s best hotels. There are 10 eateries in this year’s lineup (full list below), each offering three courses for just $30 (excluding alcohol, tax and gratuity).

I was pleasantly surprised at the variety in the week’s menus. Most venues offer a choice between two or three appetizers, entrees and desserts, which almost leaves Spice Market’s just-one-choice-in-each-course menu in the dust. Cheeks are in this spring as BLT Steak tempts with braised veal cheeks and Livingston is doing a balsamic pork cheek. I’m also telling friends who were just talking about their lamb craving to check out the spring lamb ravioli at Room at Twelve Centennial Park.

Salmon fans will find it grilled (The Mansion on Peachtree, Room at Twelve Centennial Park and Lobby Bar and Bistro) roasted (Southern Art) and parmesan crusted (Paces 88 American Bistro). Park 75 offers scallops, Spice Market’s only entree is a thai basil cod, while BLT Steak includes a sauteed branzino, not found on its regular menu, in its AHRW options.

I’m a big fan of appetizers, so I plan to try the cauliflower soup at either Southern Art or Livingston, grilled asparagus with egg at Room at Twelve, the smoked trout salad at Southern Art and definitely the chicken and waffles with maple syrup and tabasco at Lobby.

Dessert? Oh, I couldn’t! Well, it’s included in the deal, so maybe the THIN apple tart at Eleven. Like the aftermath of any vacation, my staycation $30 indulgences will require some extra time on the treadmill.

Atlanta Hotel Restaurant Week’s website advises that reservations are highly recommended. Visit the site to check out the menus and book early to make sure you get in on this yummy event.

2012 Atlanta Hotel Restaurant Week participating restaurants:

* Park 75 at Four Seasons Hotel
* The Mansion on Peachtree
* Room at Twelve Centennial Park
* Livingston Restaurant + Bar (Georgian Terrace Hotel)
* Lobby Bar and Bistro (Twelve Hotel & Residences Atlantic Station)
* Spice Market (W Hotel Midtown)
* Paces 88 American Bistro (St. Regis Hotel)
* BLT Steak (W Hotel Downtown)
* Eleven (Loews Atlanta Hotel)
* Southern Art (InterContinental Hotel Buckhead)

I was contacted by the Dishtrip crew about a week before they came to Atlanta. As Dishtrip was started by a Philly blogger, they like to meet up with bloggers in each city and find out why they love some of the restaurants they do. I accompanied these fine folks to some of my favorite spots they had picked to hit up: The Shed at Glenwood and Bottle Rocket.

Chef Lance Gummere made up delicious Foie Gras with Pear Jam, Scallop Sliders, and of course, the house made Ding Dong. There was a Zombie Apocalypse party at Bottle Rocket and one of the crew couldn’t resist the complimentary makeovers being given by some talented folks from Adult Swim. As for the food, we noshed on Bottle Rocket’s specialty sushi rolls, their signature Tuna burger and their newest menu addition: PuPu platters. Hooray for Ocotpus skewers and Shrimp Toast!

The Dishtrip crew hit up many other restaurants in the ATL including: TWO Urban Licks, The Porter, Grindhouse, Sweetwater, Abattoir, Empire State South, Der Biergarten, Rise Sushi, West Egg Cafe and several others. Yes, they did all in three days. And they even brought me a gift from Philly: Victory IPA.

Want to see where they are headed next? Visit their website: Dishtrip.com or follow them on Twitter: twitter.com/dishtrip.

I did visit on a Wednesday, aka Slider night, but promised myself to sample some of the other menu items besides sliders. We had the Antipasto plate with meats, cheeses and the biggest olives I’ve ever seen. To bad we were a table of non-olive-eating people. Although the three of us in our party devoured the plate, this would be a terrific choice for five or six people to share with the amount of meat and cheese on the plate.

We also sampled some Foie Gras with pear jam. Words cannot describe how glorious this little piece of heaven is. Just go and get them. All of this was on our table before even looking at the cocktail or wine list. We soon corrected this and were sipping on the sangria and the winter margarita in a matter of minutes. The cocktail list rotates regularly, so if you are a cocktail aficionado, visit to sample some of the unique libations.

One of the things I appreciate about the Shed at Glenwood is that most wines are available by the glass and are pretty reasonably priced. Our server was able to make some wonderful recommendations to pair with our dinner including a Super Tuscan whose name escapes me now, but tasty nevertheless.

I was torn between the Wild Boar Dumplings and the Cane Marinated Duck Breast. Luckily one of my dining companions decided to order the duck and we shared. These two entrees are both available in half portions. And unless you are famished, the half portions will be plenty to fill you up. I did enjoy the dumplings ($12) but the duck ($15) was out of this world fantastic! The outside, crispy and the inside moist and tender and the cane adding just the right amount of sweet. Served alongside the perfectly cooked sunchokes, it was the highlight of our meal.

Our third in the group, never having been to The Shed, ordered a sampling of sliders. The evening’s specials were pork belly topped with baked beans, chicken pot pie, a Panini slider with bacon and brie among several others. Love that even after many years of the popular slider night, Lance Gummere doesn’t keep churning out the same old, same old. He’s always cooking up new and creative sliders. I guess that’s what keeps people coming back week after week.

Another reason to order half portions? The desserts! You can’t leave The Shed at Glenwood without having the house made Ding Dong. However, Chef Gummere hooked us up with some Pumpkin Cheesecake and Sheep’s Milk Yogurt with Honey too. Whew! If you’ve never been to The Shed at Glenwood or only been for slider night, it’s high time you explored some of the other delicious goodies to be found on the menu.

475 Bill Kennedy Way, Atlanta GA 30315
404.835.4363
Shed at Glenwood website

The space is stunning. A large dining room is to the left of the restaurant with a large bar area elevated and overlooking the dining room. There’s also a small private dinning room that looks like it would accommodate a group of about ten or so people.

Mr. Ski shared with us that there are several sofas around the restaurant for lounging because he wants people to feel they can come hang out for drinks and appetizers with their friends. And he wants to feed customers late into the night with the kitchen staying open until 2 am on weekends.

Our group started out meal with Calamari, Fish Tacos and Chicken Satay. The sauce for the calamari tasted house made – slightly sweet, slightly spicy it was so tasty, I would have slathered that all over the fish tacos if I could have. As it was the fish was crispy and tender.

For entrees, Short Ribs remained the most popular item at the table. They were prepared perfectly moist and tender. The salmon was another option along with chicken. Both were good portions and left us satisfied. However, I would be anxious to visit Frank Ski’s again and have the whole fried snapper.

Some Europeans visiting the restaurant, simply asked their server to “give us Atlanta” and Frank didn’t think twice about suggesting the Short Ribs. And to our group, he even served up one of his menu favorites: the sweet potato tots. So marvelous, we couldn’t get enough of them. If you visit Frank Ski’s promise me to order the tater tots.

2110 Peachtree Road
Atlanta, GA 30309