Located in a huge space in Buckhead, Frank Ski’s restaurant has only been open several months. Frank Ski is well known for being a DJ on V-103 radio. But that personality isn’t just a facade. Mr. Ski is every bit a fun and gracious host as one would want. He welcomed us into his new restaurant for a media dinner on a recent Tuesday evening.

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

As much as I like to go hiking at and around Kennesaw Mountain, I had never made it to Mountain Biscuits. It just never seemed the right time with my eating schedule. I knew Mountain Biscuits must be a popular spot, having driven by at peak meal times and seen the parking lot just about overflowing. However, I paid them a visit recently in the name of the research.

I visited late enough in the day to know I had avoided the lunch crowd. Good thing as there is not much seating inside. There are only about five tables inside that seat four people per table. There’s also a row of about six bar stools at the counter. It was nearly empty at my visit, close to 2 pm on a weekday. I did appreciate the bright colors and the mural on the wall. When it is not crazy hot and humid, there’s a picnic table to enjoy your biscuit outside.

I tried the sausage biscuit with egg and cheese. It was HUGE. I could have easily split it with someone and been totally full. Super cheap at only around three bucks for such a mammoth biscuit, it was delicious too. I kind of expected the biscuit to crumble under the weight of the sausage but it held up rather well. I’m anxious to go back and give Mountain Biscuits’s Country Ham, and Chicken Biscuit a try too.

Note: They are closed on Sundays.

1718 Old 41 Hwy NW
Marietta, GA 30060
770-419-3311

This weekend-long event is sure to be a special treat for the area’s food lovers. On Friday August 12, the chefs will host a cocktail party in Park 75 Lounge. Some of Atlanta’s best bartenders and most talented mixologists will create cocktails with local spirits and favorite ingredients. Chefs Gerstenecker, Lee and Lewis will be serving an array of delicious appetizers to pair with these libations.

On Saturday August 13, the chefs will create a multi-course menu with wine pairings for an exclusive dinner for 80 people at the Four Seasons Hotel. Beginning with passed hors d’oeuvres and cocktails, the guests will have the opportunity to mingle with these celebrity chefs. After the meal is served, guests will have the opportunity to ask questions and learn more about the culinary world.

Tickets for Friday evening’s cocktail party are $50 per person, and Saturday dinner is $165 per person. Proceeds benefit the James Beard Foundation. Park 75 is located in the Four Seasons Hotel – 75 Fourteenth Street, Atlanta, Ga. To purchase tickets, visit www.celebritycheftour.com.

About the Chefs:
Celebrity Chef Edward Lee is a three-time James Beard semifinalist for Best Chef: Southeast. His food has been described as one part Southern soul, one part Asian spice and one part New York attitude. He has been featured in Gourmet, New York Times Magazine, Esquire and others, as well as appeared on the CBS “The Early Show.”

Celebrity Chef James Lewis was named Food & Wine Magazine’s Best New Chef of 2011. He is the chef and owner of Betolla, an Italian restaurant in downtown Birmingham. “Being an entrepreneur and making my own decisions lets me make the restaurant what I want it to be, everything from the food to the decor. It permeates in every aspect of what I do.”

Chef Robert Gerstenecker has helmed the kitchen at Park 75 for over five years. He has spend time working everywhere from his native Canada to Hong Kong, so it should be no surprise that Asian influences sneak their way into the menu at Park 75.

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.