I incorrectly assumed I knew about all the terrific patios in Atlanta. How did I not know about Basil’s patio? It’s been written up in Open Table as having the best deck and on the night I visited, not a soul was indoors, instead outside enjoying the beautiful Atlanta evening. Special thanks to owners Kim and Joseph for inviting us to sample their dishes and enjoy their patio. Basil’s has been in business for 24 years, serving up tantalizing Mediterranean cuisine to loyal customers. Most of the recipes come from Basil’s owner, Joe, who is Lebanese.

The recipe for Joe’s hummus and Baba Ganoush is a family recipe kept under wraps. We, of course, sampled that and the stuffed pepper and lamb ribs recommended by him as well. I usually enjoy hummus more than Baba Ganoush, but there was a unique smokey flavor to the Baba Ganoush that made it irresistible. And the stuffed pepper was so tasty, I was a bit bothered I had to share it with Mr. ARB. The lamb ribs, meaty and juicy were served up with a side of cilantro lime slaw that shouldn’t be missed.

We also sampled the mushroom flatbread and the artichoke. Both of these were just exquisite, the mushroom flatbread being one of the highlights of our meal. I only wish I had ordered a glass of white wine to enjoy with them. The wine list is carefully chosen to pair with food, however we were too busy enjoying our cocktails to swap to wine.

Mixologist Shawn dazzles guests with unique drinks like the Jalapeno Margarita, and Cucumber and Basil martini. There’s even a dessert drink: Andes Candies (see the video below for how to make it). He is also skilled at wine pairing recs, turning us onto a Malbec to compliment our veal and lamb dishes. And only $28 a bottle was extremely reasonable for this Malbec.

Lamb is really the star of the show here. Veal is good, but the lamb chops were the better of the two. I wasn’t crazy about the risotto served with the lamb chops, but the house made grits are to die for. Love ‘em. Get yourself over to Basil’s patio pronto before it gets too hot to really enjoy it. And don’t forget to get an Andies Candies from Shawn for dessert.

Basil’s Website
2985 Grandview Avenue
Atlanta, GA 30305

First Annual Buckhead Wine Festival This Saturday, April 28 at Andrews Entertainment District. Sip, Savor and Enjoy the Best in Wine, Local Shopping and Entertainment. There will be Food Trucks, Book Signings, including moi, signing my book, Food Lovers’ Guide to Atlanta. Pick it up if haven’t already! There will also be live music, a silent auction and food seminars. See move details information on the Buckhead Wine Festival Below.

WHAT: An afternoon of wine tastings, tasty treats from local vendors, music and more. Donations and canned food will be accepted for the event’s charity beneficiary, The Atlanta Community Food Bank.

WHEN: Saturday, April 28, 2012, VIP Entry: 2 p.m., Regular Admission: 3 p.m.

WHERE: Andrews Entertainment District – 56 East Andrews Drive

Cost: $25 advance; $35 at the door; $40 VIP admission (advance sales only)
Buy tickets at www.BuckheadWineFest.com

Wine & Sign: Eagle Eye Book Shop’s mobile book store will feature culinary, cocktail and wine books, as well as signings by featured authors including:

· Malika Harricharan, A Food Lover’s Guide to Atlanta
· Sonja Jones, Sweet Auburn Desserts
· Nancy Waldeck, Taste & Savor

Food Trucks:
· King of Pops, custom “Mimosa Pop” just for the festival!
· Mix’d Up Food Truck
· Yoli’s Street Food

Seminars:

· 3 p.m. – Sushi & Sake
o Chef Saito Saito of Czar Bar and Chef Jeff of Andrews Entertainment District share the art of pairing sake with the many flavors of sushi

· 4 p.m. – Georgia Terroir
o Craig Kritzer, Wine Maker at Frogtown Cellars will discuss Georgia’s wine growing regions and how growing grapes in Georgia differs from California. Frogtown Cellars is located at the foot of the Appalachian Mountains in Dahlonega, Georgia. The vineyard recently achieved the distinction of being America’s most awarded winery located outside of the State of California in Major U. S. Competitions for premium dry wines; receiving 73 Medals, including 12 Gold Medals in California for 11 different wines in 2011.

· 5 p.m. – Champagne Camp
o Kelly Wheeler, Certified Sommelier, CS, CSW will lead an interesting discussion on sparkling wine, focusing on French Champagne. Learn how Champagne is made and how it differs from Prosecco. Enjoy a tasting of the premium Henri Giraud Bland de Blanc and Brut Champagnes.

Silent Auction: Bid on some of the following wine and food themed packages:

· Wine Train Winery Tour and Tasting Experience in Napa Valley
· Sommelier Wine and Cheese Experience in Napa Valley for two
· Le Cordon Bleu Paris Culinary Experience for two
· HaGafen Kosher Wine Tasting Experience in Napa Valley for two
· Private home or office wine tasting parties from Grape Crush Productions.

The menu mostly remains the same except that the Roasted Red Pepper soup has been replaced with an Asparagus soup and the Waygu Cheeseburger has now been replaced by Shrimp with Piquillo Peppers. I loved the soup – I expected it to be cold but it was warm and hearty without being too heavy. It is my favorite soup to date that I’ve sampled from Capital Grille. It left me lots of room to savor the other menu addition, the Shrimp. The shrimp were huge and perfectly spiced. They were served on a bed of Risotto. And don’t let the looks fool you, it was quite filling. In fact I took half of it home for a meal later that evening.

Out of the options, I still feel like the steak sliders are a better bet. They are tender with just a bit of seasoning and cheese and practically melt in your mouth. And the spring vegetables are tasty alternative to the fries.

Both with backgrounds in the food industry, the Slaters opened the first Blue Moon Pizza nearly ten years ago in Marietta. Since then, they’ve garnered a loyal following and expanded to four locations in the Atlanta area.

As I sat down at Blue Moon Pizza, I spied the Slaters walking around, tending bar, and making sure customers were happy. I was surprised at the large Blue Moon beer logo on the wall of their bar and asked them about any copyright issues with the beer company of the same name. The Slaters said they get along splendidly with Blue Moon beer manufacturers and they even came out to paint the logo on the wall. Speaking of Blue Moon beer – the winter abbey (available now) is a fantastic pairing with their pizzas!

Looking over the appetizers, the garlic rolls with parmesan looked appealing as did the Bruschetta. However, as I was about the be eating a lot of dough, I decided to get the stuffed mushrooms. These are basically Portabellas filled with a Bruschetta ingredients (they refer to it as “Grandma Sauce”). Normally they come with goat cheese, but I got mine sans any cheese and they were still rather tasty.

Build your own or choose from the 14 specialty pizzas they offer. We ordered three specialty pizzas in the personal size. These ain’t no Pizza Hut personal pan pizzas. They are 10 inches in diameter and have six slices per pizza. For two, you could order an appetizer and easily share one of these pizzas and leave very satisfied. Most personal pizzas are around $11.50. Medium pizzas (16″) are around $21 and the large (18″) are around $25.

It is worth noting that you can even get pizzas as small as the personal size divided in half. We got: The Luna (chorizo sausage, caramelized onions, jalapenos, spicy ranch, black olives, cilantro) and Sante Fe (Seasoned black beans, chicken, jalapeno peppers, red onions, spicy ranch, cilantro, fresh avocado) on one pizza and the Jerk Chicken (Seasoned chicken, caramelized onions, bell peppers, cayenne-candied bacon, with a Jamaican jerk sauce) and Thai Chicken (Seasoned chicken, spicy sesame peanut sauce topped with bean sprouts, carrots, and cilantro) were on another. As the Grandma sauce is the Slaters favorite we ordered that sauce on top of one additional personal pizza. The Grandma pizza is actually a 16″ Sicilian style pizza but they will let you put the sauce on a smaller size if you like.

Each pizza was unique in its own way, and ALL the ingredients were quality but my personal favorite was the Luna. I’m a sucker for chorizo, so I kind of knew I was going to love that one. The Sante Fe is rather similar and is a good alternative if you don’t do pork. Mr. ARB’s favorite was the Thai Chicken, although I didn’t care for the peanut sauce on a pizza. We both agreed our second favorite was the Grandma. With its simple ingredients of tomatoes, basil and roasted garlic, it was lovely too.

Thinking of stopping in for lunch? They have some great lunch specials. Mandy shared with me that they’ve had the same lunch special since they opened and have never gone up on the price. $4.99 for two slices of cheese pizza and a drink.

One of the new things they are doing is offering Take and Bake pizzas. They’ll pre-load the pizza with all the toppings and you take it home and bake it for your party or evening in. The pizzas are generally good for three days in the refrigerator. This is especially good information for those who may get a Blue Moon Pizza craving on Sundays (when they are closed). Your uncooked pizza comes wrapped tight and complete with baking instructions, fresh condiments and a tray to bake it on. Cost is the same as dine-in.

Want them to come to you? They’ll do that too! They’ve taken a 1961 International Harvester Fire Truck and converted it into a pizza machine, complete with a stone pizza oven, a refrigerator and a sink. The cost for Blue Moon Pizza to come out to your site is $12 per person and a minimum of 50 people. I asked Mandy about this and she said they’ve gone as far as Helen, GA. The night I visited they had a movie crew booked to go and feed. Blue Moon Pizza has locations in Buckhead, Sandy Springs, Vinings and Marietta.

Blue Moon Pizza Website

Extras: There are $5 Martinis at each Blue Moon Pizza location on Thursdays and offer a variety of gluten-free menu items.

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