restaurants

What can “guac” your world more than the idea of not having to cook may be the idea of ditching the kitchen to embrace your inner foodie by dining out during Sandy Spring’s upcoming Restaurant Week, Nov 4-10.

Soon we’ll be overindulging in our favorite holiday dishes as we celebrate Thanksgiving. What could be better? What about not having to cook?

I’m loving all the options for dining at The Battery, the mixed-use development at SunTrust Park. Satisfy that hankering for fried chicken at the new FEED Fried Chicken + Such, serving the South’s favorite bird with three heat levels: Southern Fried (no heat), Atlanta Hot (mild or medium) and Cluck’n Inferno (very hot).

Atlanta is beginning to feel fall this week and a scenic rooftop bar is the best way to enjoy it and get your best buzz of the week.

Buttermilk fried chicken wings served with a side of unbeatable views of the field at Mercedes-Benz Stadium? Sounds like my kind of lunch spot.

If your week was as crazy as mine, you need an extra strong cocktail to help you wind down. Luckily, I’ve got you covered.

Work hard, play hard – that’s the saying, right? Everyone needs a relaxing breather after a long week of work; that’s why I have decided to search out Atlanta’s “Best Buzz of the Week,” finding new must-have cocktails as my weekly reward.

Since 2012, Saltyard in South Buckhead has focused on what it calls “the ethos of sharing.” Beginning October 3, its signature shared plates will be a lunch-time option.

I have found my biscuit soulmate. Unlike the tasteless, lumpy concoctions I usually encounter, the biscuits at Holler & Dash are layers and layers of flaky, buttery goodness.

Ladybird Grove & Mess Hall is getting two sister restaurants – Golden Eagle and Muchacho – both set to open this fall and created by Ladybird owner, Michael Lennox.

Everything is made in-house at Shami Kitchen, a new Mediterranean, fast casual restaurant now open in Sandy Springs. Order your shawarmas and falafels online before you go for fast pick-up.

If you have made a restaurant reservation within the past 10 years, it’s likely you’ve booked a table through the reservation app, OpenTable. But heavy booking fees and monthly charges are causing Atlanta restaurants to look elsewhere for quality reservation services.

It has no fancy ingredients – just the basics of mozzarella, marinara, pecorino romano cheese, oregano and basil. It comes in one size, 16 inches square. It doesn’t even have a trendy name — it’s called Grandma Pie.

Forsyth County’s most anticipated mixed-use village, HALCYON, recently announced several new restaurant and Market Hall tenants. Two restaurateurs are going a step further and creating new Market Hall concepts in addition to traditional free-standing restaurant space.

Kevin Rathbun teamed up with longtime friend Chef Peter Kaiser to open Kaiser’s Chophouse in Sandy Springs. Originally from Liechtenstein, Peter has been in Atlanta more than 30 years, working at Buckhead Life Group and Here to Serve restaurants. Kaiser’s menu items include batter-fried lobster tail, prime steaks, grilled seafood, burgers and beef short ribs.

Help Maggiano’s grant its 1000th wish to the Make-A-Wish program by eating brunch. Yes, it’s just that easy to make a difference. For every brunch entree you order through August 2, Maggiano’s donates $1 to this non-profit that grants wishes to children with life-threatening illnesses.

For a person who suffers from MI — menu indecision — the list of possible choices at Upbeet was nearly overwhelming. You can choose from dozens of options to build your own salads and grain bowls, with organic fruits and vegetables. Proteins include tuna poke, turkey meatballs, tofu and vegan meatballs in addition to the usual steak, chicken and shrimp.

We got off MARTA at the Midtown station and were surprised to see a new location for Dancing Goats Coffee Bar. It opened in April and was just joined by Babalu Tapas & Tacos next door. Yes, it’s named after Ricky Ricardo’s song from “I Love Lucy” and serves “Latin-American dishes with Southern touches.”

Atlanta’s newest addition to the food hall family, The Canteen, opened earlier this month offering a quieter, more relaxed option compared to Krog Street Market.

Stacy Brown started Chicken Salad Chick out of her home kitchen in Auburn, Alabama, and now the casual chicken salad restaurant has grown to 146 franchises in 70 locations. The fifth Atlanta location, the first in the city, opened this week in Buckhead.

Condesa, one of the hottest coffee shops in town, recently launched a weekly series called Pups & Pints on the Patio, a weekly dog-friendly mix and mingle at its Old Fourth Ward location.

Many of my favorite restaurants often have long waits. So I’ve become a huge fan of online reservation platforms, especially when they offer an iPhone app.

James Beard Award winners Gina and Linton Hopkins are opening the steakhouse C. Ellet’s this July at The Battery at SunTrust Park. Chef Hopkins will be teasing that menu with a steak takeover of Restaurant Eugene on Father’s Day, June 18 from 5:30-9:00PM.

When he was stationed in Southeast Asia while serving in the Marines, Greg Bauer developed a love for the food. That inspired him to open CO in 2012, which opened its first location in Atlanta this week. Other locations are in Savannah, Charlotte, Myrtle Beach and Charleston.

It’s undeniable that spring and early summer in Atlanta means incredible weather. Late summer, however, is another story.

They had me at the $3 mimosa. That’s reason enough to try brunch at 5 Church. A few other reasons include the hearty A La Brasa, crab cakes with poached eggs, Belgian waffles and an oyster poboy. The biscuits are supersized, stuffed with wild mushroom, asparagus, truffle cream and a sunny-side-up egg. Omelets, sandwiches and a lamb burger round out the menu.

Giving a whole new meaning to taking communion, Kevin Gillespie opened Communion Cantina on May 5 at 4PM in the backyard of Revival in Decatur.

In 1999, the top-rated restaurant Bacchanalia moved from Buckhead to a forsaken, run-down warehouse district, pioneering its transition to the now-trendy Westside. The restaurant just moved again to a new custom-built building the owners, Anne Quatrano and Cliff Harrison, helped design.

While I love sushi, eating my fill of California rolls often costs more than filling my gas tank. For ever-ravenous foodies, it’s not cost-efficient eating.

The weather was warm, the margaritas cold and the food just the right amount of spicy at Jefe’s Tacos and Tequila.