I’ve eaten at the Capital Grille before and always have been impressed. With locations around the country (I believe they have 43), it is a restaurant you know you can walk into in any city and be treated with amazing service and have a damn fine steak too. So, when I was invited to the preview the Generous Pour Wine Event, I was thrilled? Terrific food, service and I get to be one of the first to sample some unique wines? You don’t have to twist my arm.

The Generous Pour Wine event offers guests the chance to taste nine varietals ranging from bubbly to full-bodied reds to a Port. These wines are selected by Master Sommelier, George Miliotes – Twitter @TheWineExpert – Tweet him, he’ll tweet you back! He even hosted a live webcast during the tasting where we were able to tweet to him and ask questions.

Ample servings of nine rare and limited vintage varietals – all for just $25 per person (with dinner entree purchase) from July 12 through September 4. The collection includes wines from all over – Spain, California, Australia and Italy. So no region is excluded. I loved that I was able to try wines that would normally be out of price range like the Freemark Abbey, Cabernet Bosche, 2003 which if I’m not mistaken is about $250 a bottle. The other thing I appreciated is that everyone at the Capital Grille is friendly and helpful and not snooty at all even if you don’t know much about wine.

I’m not usually a fan of white wine and Chardonnay is my least favorite but I’m so thrilled that I tried the Chateau St. Jean, Belle Terre, 2008. This wine was fruity and citrusy, with not a hint of oak that is typical of Chardonnays. It is my new favorite white. My favorite of the reds and the clear winner that night was the Chalk Hill Estate, Cabernet Sauvignon, Sonoma 2006. It paired nicely with my Kona Sirloin. I’d have put a picture of it below, but let’s just say the camera didn’t love it as much as I did.

Guests may sample all nine wines or they may choose to have multiple tastings of one or more of their favorites from The Generous Pour – their server will guide them through the experience, suggesting pairings for each course ordered and providing each person with a summary of tasting notes. The restaurant will also prepare custom wine flights upon request, for those guests interested in comparing and contrasting The Generous Pour selections.

The Generous Pour Wine Event Highlights from this summer’s collection of choice whites and reds are:

· Tarima Hill Monastrell, 2009 – Making its U.S. debut at The Capital Grille this summer, this spectacular varietal is setting a new standard for Spanish medium-bodied red wine.

· Chalk Hill Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, 2006 – Named for the volcanic chalk under the vineyard’s hillside surface, which gives a delightfully unique quality to the wine’s flavor, this rich, dense wine is one of Sonoma Valley’s best.

· Marquis de la Tour, NV – This sparkling “bubbly” hails from a vineyard in France’s Loire Valley, which has been producing excellence since 1885.

· Conte Brandolini Vistorta Merlot, 2006 – Harvested from 100-year-old vines in a small vineyard in Northeast Italy, this merlot epitomizes powerful elegance.

Don’t forget the Generous Pour Wine event at The Capital Grille ends on September 4, so you have just over a month to take advantage.

255 East Paces Ferry Road
Atlanta, GA 30305
The Capital Grille Website

Tantra, the somewhat new restaurant located in the old Ibiza space is a sexy, chic, Asian fusion restaurant. Tantra has been on my radar for a while, so I was stoked when they asked me in for a complimentary meal.

The parking situation can be a tad chaotic. Because of the short driveway, cars get backed up quickly. We pulled in but didn’t see a valet so just drove down the steep driveway ourselves. Expecting a scolding from the valet when we encountered him, he simply shrugged his shoulders and said it was fine.

Photo Courtesy: Tantra Restaurant

Photo Courtesy: Tantra Restaurant

Once inside, I loved the swanky decor. However, it definitely isn’t a place to bring your little ones. You probably don’t want them asking you about the Tantric chair or seeing the huge painting depicting Buddha fornicating. It is perfectly tasteful, just not for innocent eyes. There’s also a beautifully decorated bar to the left and I almost wished our table wasn’t ready as I could have easily enjoyed a pre-dinner cocktail.

But since our table was ready we sat down and perused the drink menu. All their specialty drinks and champagne looked incredible. It was a difficult choice, but I couldn’t resist the Tantric – made with Gin, Elderflower, Thyme and lime juice. Loved that they even included a stem of Thyme in my drink. It was heavenly and now makes me curious to try some of the other cocktail concoctions.

If you like hummus, then you must order the Hummus tasting. It comes with three types of hummus: Chickpea, Edamame, and Truffle. They were all unique and tasty in their own way but my favorite was the Edamame which was mixed with cilantro. Seriously, I could eat a tub full of that goodness. Love the unique Asian fusion take on Edamame.

Other appetizers we shared were the Foie Gras and Mussels. The broth and crusty bread was quite good. And oh how yummy was the Foie Gras! It is served with a spiced Apple Chutney and a Saffron-Ginger Gelee. Bite after bite was creamy and slightly sweet, just melting in your mouth.

We’d leaned on our server for recommendations and since he hadn’t let us down, we once again asked for dinner recs. He mentioned favorites were the Ostrich, Tuna and Short Ribs. I’d kind of been leaning toward the Basil Scallops but he changed my mind and I ordered Ostrich, while Mr. ARB ordered Tuna.

I asked for my Ostrich to be cooked medium but I think the kitchen may have been a bit backed up and it ended up more rare than I’d have liked but there was so much meat, I was still able to eat around some of the very rare pieces and been extremely full. The mushrooms and Cipolini added an extra layer of flavor I appreciated.

The Tuna was prepared perfectly and I was a bit envious of Mr. ARB that his meal came with a sampling of even more of that incredible Edamame hummus. Oh, and our server highly recommended ordering a side of the cauliflower, swearing how wonderful it was. With everything we’d eaten, I just sampled a small portion and thought it was decent. Mr. ARB took the leftovers home and reheated them the next night and said it was some of the best he’d had, with a slightly nutty flavor.

Too full for dessert, we left very content with our meal. It is also worth mentioning not only is the cocktail list terrific, but the wine list is well-selected as well. My Shiraz was one of the most delicious I’ve had, pairing well with my Ostrich. Definitely stop in soon.

Tip: At the time of this post, they are on Scoutmob and savings are substantial.

2285 Peachtree Rd.
Atlanta, GA 30309
Website

Earlier this year, I was approached by a publishing company, Globe Pequot Press, and asked if I was interested in writing a Food Guide book for Atlanta. I practically jumped out of my skin, I was so excited that they picked me. My publisher just sent me the cover of the book (pictured above) and I wanted to share it with you.

I’ve had so much fun over the last several months visiting restaurants around Atlanta and talking to staff and chefs. It has been a wonderful experience writing the book and I definitely have a new appreciation and respect for both authors and editors.

As you are reading this, I’m down in Florida for a short break and celebrating finishing the book!

Cheers!

About one and a half hours north of Atlanta, in Dahlonega, GA is a beautiful winery called Montaluce. I heard about it but never made it up until recently. I planned the trip a couple weeks in advance and was just praying that we’d have nice weather for our visit to Montaluce. As you know, in early April, we can have beautiful days, or sometimes cold, rainy days, but we lucked out and enjoyed temperature in the upper 70s. Disclosure: this was a complimentary meal for research for my book, Food Lovers’ Guide to Atlanta.

We had dinner reservation at Le Vigne, the restaurant on Montaluce’s estate, but arrived early to look around and tour the winery. We were dressed in jeans which was perfectly acceptable for an early Sunday evening dinner, but I would recommend dressy attire for a weekend dinner. Montaluce Vineyards is not only a winery but on site they also have homes for sale and have plans to build a Resort and Special Events facility. Right now, they are host to a lot of weddings as you may have already guessed, based on the beautiful scenery. And those events are actually held at Le Vigne which is a beautiful space for the Weddings.

During our tour, Bill, the resident Sommelier, took us through the various rooms used in their wine-making and thoroughly described the wine making process. He showed us the different equipment used in making red vs. white wine and explained how the two differ in the process. FYI – they do free wine tours on Saturdays at 2 pm according to Bill. Tip: if you aren’t in the mood for a full meal, lounge on the patio and sample wines and cheeses.

I was pretty much famished by this point but I did want to taste some wine. What’s the point of visiting a winery and not doing a wine tasting, right? So we elected to try some reds and pair that with a cheese plate to assuage our hunger a bit. Interesting enough, Montaluce and Le Vigne don’t just offer their own reds but reds from select other wineries as well. So we opted to try two red flights, or tastings: one Montaluce, and one of their recommendations. This was a 2oz portion of each of 5 wines per tasting. The four cheeses paired were unique and served up with an accompanying honey or jelly.

The restaurant focuses heavily on locally sourced food and as such, the menu changes daily. The menu is set up for a 3-course prix fixe offering. Usually, I’m not a fan of limited options, but I felt the choices had a decent variety. If you think that because this isn’t in Midtown, the food won’t be creative, you’d be incredibly wrong. We started off with a Cauliflower soup and Chicarrone salad. Yep, that was salad that was topped with house made pork rinds. My salad was enjoyable but that Cauliflower soup was divine!

Mr. ARB chose the trout and boy was the presentation beautiful with the three pieces separated on the plate, skin side up. I had a taste and boy was it prepared perfectly. I opted for the pork tenderloin which comes with pork belly pieces as well. It was another wonderful meal and as far as I’m concerned you can never have too much pork.

Lest you start to think dessert was an afterthought, let me tell you about it. I was in the mood for chocolate and the cake sounded rich, yet simple. And it delivered just that, being moist but simple. The blood orange pudding was a show stopper. So creamy and tasty, I grabbed it from Mr. ARB after he was done and scooped out any remnants I could possibly get out.

Considering the multiple wine tastings, cheese plate, 3-course meal per person and wine pairings with the meal, the $158 tab was extremely reasonable. Montaluce and Le Vigne are a fantastic day trip from Atlanta if you are looking for a short getaway. Guys, if you want to impress your woman, this is a really terrific surprise, and I can assure you, she will be very appreciative. And if you are celebrating something special, this is a wonderful choice. If you live in the northern suburbs of Atlanta, your drive is only about an hour. Can’t wait until they build the on-site lodging, for the perfect overnight getaway.

Many restaurants in Buckhead are coming together for the second annual Buckhead Restaurant Week. Beginning on Saturday, February 26 and running through Sunday, March 6, the nine-day promotion will highlight some of the best restaurants in Buckhead. All restaurants are offering a prix-fixe, three-course menu consisting of an appetizer, a main course and dessert for $25 or $35per person excluding alcohol, tax and gratuity.

Participating restaurants include:

Aja
Anis
Aria
Atlanta Fish Market
Basil’s
Bricktops
The Big Ketch
Buckhead Diner
Capital Grille
Cellar 56
Craftbar
Coast
Davio’s
Gordon Biersch
the Grape
Kyma
La Fourchette
MARKET
Mosaic
Nava
Paces 88
Pricci
Prime
Ruth’s Chris
Shula’s
Tantra
Tuk Tuk Thai food

I scoped out the menus, and quite honestly, they aren’t the most exciting. C’mon restaurants, this is your chance to really wow us and I’m not really seeing it on these menus with the exception of a few participating restaurants. So far the most impressive are Bricktops, Coast, Pricci and Nava. Bricktops has Lobster Bisque and Chilean Seabass both seafood I love. Coast with their Calamari and Grouper sound tempting as well. A little pricier options are Pricci and Nava at $35 for the 3 course dinner. Pricci really delivers though with Pumpkin soup and 14 ounce Veal porterhouse. I fell in love with Nava years ago and they’ve never let me down. Oyster chalupas, Aji Chile Glazed Sea Scallops and banana enchiladas for dessert? I’m all over that!

Here’s the official website: Buckhead Restaurant Week