When you think of farm to table it’s easy to think of high-end in-town restaurants. But surely it makes more sense that a restaurant closer to the clean country air in a place like Lawrenceville should also feature in that conversation. That’s what Local Republic is.

But more than locally sourced food, the specialty of the house is pimiento cheese, which is good with just about anything…grits? Check! Sandwich? Check! Bacon? Check!

Chef Scott Smith aims to have you roll out from your dinner with a full belly, and with a rotating menu of great dishes like the Mr. Jones burger, and daredevil plates like the Patrick Swayze (a burger that is dressed with ghost peppers, the hottest peppers you can buy), there’s a bunch of reasons to return to this corner of W. Crogan Street.

Van Gogh Vodka: Imported from Holland.
The best flavored vodkas. Period.

Pink Martini:

Ingredients:

• Ice
• Club Soda
• Van Gogh Blue
• Lime juice
• Cranberry Juice
• Pineapple Juice
• Raspberry Liqueur
• Lemon-Lime Soda
• Lime Wedge

Directions:

• Fill Martini Glass with ice and club soda to chill, set aside.
• Fill shaker with ice, add Van Gogh Blue Vodka, lime juice, dash of raspberry liqueur, cranberry juice, pineapple juice and shake well.
• Empty martini glass, and strain in mixture from shaker.
• Top off with lemon-lime soda and garnish with lime wedge.

Enjoy Responsibly!

History
Introduced in 2008, the artfully crafted Van Gogh Blue Triple Wheat Vodka is a smooth and inviting blend of premium European wheat sourced from Holland, Germany and France.

Process

Van Gogh Blue Triple Wheat Vodka hand-crafted in small batches through a unique triple distillation method, which maintains the integrity of the natural ingredients, and ensures Van Gogh Blue Triple Wheat Vodka is everything you’d expect in an ultra-premium vodka.

Notes From Tim Vos, Master Distiller

“The exceptional triple wheat Van Gogh Blue offers subtle flavors of grains from three countries, each bringing their own unique characteristics to the spirit. In Holland, the wheat is cultivated near the Dutch coast and is therefore a bit salty and dry from the maritime influence. The harvest in France comes from the center of the country and possesses a sweeter profile. While in Germany, the wheat is grown in an area where the water comes from the melted ice of a nearby mountain, providing the grain with a mineral taste. The aftertaste delivers a delicate and consistent essence of wheat grains and some minerality for a dry and polished finish.”

Lure: To attract or entice. By Merriam-Webster’s definition, Lure, Fifth Group Restaurants’ Midtown fish house, is aptly named.

Like Ecco and Alma Cocina, two of Fifth Group’s other Midtown restaurants, Lure boasts a gigantic bar which is great for dining with a friend or two, or sampling some delicious craft cocktails. The restaurant itself deftly bridges the gap between elegant fine dining and friendly, accessible, low-key dinner. Stylish but approachable, Lure is the George Clooney of Atlanta’s restaurant scene.

Obviously, this being a fish house, the menu is heavy on the seafood, and you’re going to find some of the freshest fish in the city in Lure’s kitchen. And if your preference is for oysters or calamari…then Crescent Avenue in Midtown is where you need to be.

H. Harper Station in Reynoldstown is a specialty bourbon bar and restaurant that has a strong local-focus.

Deceptively simple dishes with Southern favorite ingredients like pork belly, beets, and brussels sprouts can be found all over the menu in this just-off-the-Beltline restaurant, appropriately modeled with old-time railway buildings in mind.

Whether you’re looking for the Beltline burger, or something more refined…like, say, a salad of brussels sprout leaves, seasonal mushrooms, with a ricotta and parmesan dumpling,and topped with grated parmesan…this modern watering stop on Memorial Drive is a great reason to head to Reynoldstown.

On Main Street in downtown Buford, there’s a cute store front with a black awning with a white chicken on it, and the words Aqua Terra Bistro.

Inside the restaurant are three separate dining spaces which can be rented out for private parties, and a menu of Southern food like crab cakes and burgers, with some imported favorites like seared scallops on risotto, and penne alfredo with crilled chicken, corn, and spinach.

If you’re in the neighborhood for lunch or dinner, there’s a whole lot of shopping to be done at the Mall of Georgia. If that’s not your scene, there’s usually something going on at the Lake Lanier Islands Resort a few miles away.

During season 1 of our show, we asked our friends on Facebook, “Where should we go for season 2?” The #1 response, and it wasn’t close, was Henry’s Louisiana Grill in Acworth. So we went there.

Chef Henry is a super star. Imagine Dennis Hopper mixed with a little of Jeff Bridges’ The Dude. A little bit crazy, a lot talented, and a huge personality. And the food at his Louisiana Grill? Well, it’s a little bit crazy, has a lot of flavor, and a huge personality. And it’s Henry’s personality that brought the neighborhood together to paint, scrape, and generally lend a hand to open the restaurant in 2000.

This award-winning Bayou-style eaterie on historic Acworth’s Main Street serves up all the classic fare you’d expect from a place with Louisiana in its name: we’re talking etouffee, po’ boys, shrimp and grits, and jambalaya; but you’ll also find filet mignon medallions,New York strip steak, and grilled center-cut pork chops that rival any of the city’s celebrated steakhouses.

On this week’s episode of Atlanta Eats we’re hauling in some of the town’s best seafood at Lure in Midtown, then it’s off to Reynoldstown to sample some gastropub food and craft cocktails at H. Harper Station. We hike up to Henry’s Louisiana Grill for some Cherokee County Cajun, then we race to Lawrenceville to see what Local Republic is all about.

Hey, look at that, you’ve tweeted three pictures from the Taste of the Highlands festival. Nice going!

So here’s the deal: You’re getting one raffle ticket for taking the pics, but if you give us your email address we’ll give you two more. We’ll notify the winners by email so  you don’t need to be present to win, but we’ll also announce them as loudly as we can at the event.

Our drawings will be at (or around) 3:45pm and 4:45pm. All the non-wining tickets from the 3:45pm drawing will be entered into the 4:45pm drawing.

Good luck!

If you take the Buford Highway exit off I-285, head north past the Buford Highway Supermarket and take a left at the Burlington Coat Factory and you’ll find one of those fabled Buford Highway restaurants everyone is always talking about. And they have good reason to talk about Gu’s Bistro. Whether it’s your favorite dish from the American Chinese menu, or if you’re chasing a Cheng-Du Spicy Bone-In Rabbit from the Traditional Chinese menu (which is as legit as you’ll find translated into English), you’re going to find something to make your belly happy. While you’re in the area, you might want to try any of the dozens of other restaurants on Buford Highway, or maybe swing by Tower to check out one of the best selections of adult beverages in the city. If that’s not your thing, head to Silverbacks Park and watch Atlanta’s professional soccer team in action, or head five minutes west on I-285 to Perimeter Mall to do a little shopping.

Van Gogh Vodka: Imported from Holland.
The best flavored vodkas. Period.

Coffee Dessert Martini:

Ingredients:

• Ice
• Van Gogh Blue Vodka
• Irish Cream Liqueur
• Hazelnut Liqueur

Directions:

Fill Shaker with Ice
Add Van Gogh Espresso Vodka, Irish Cream & Hazelnut Liqueur
Shake well and strain into Martini Glass.

Enjoy Responsibly!

History
Introduced in 2008, the artfully crafted Van Gogh Blue Triple Wheat Vodka is a smooth and inviting blend of premium European wheat sourced from Holland, Germany and France.

Process

Van Gogh Blue Triple Wheat Vodka hand-crafted in small batches through a unique triple distillation method, which maintains the integrity of the natural ingredients, and ensures Van Gogh Blue Triple Wheat Vodka is everything you’d expect in an ultra-premium vodka.

Notes From Tim Vos, Master Distiller

“The exceptional triple wheat Van Gogh Blue offers subtle flavors of grains from three countries, each bringing their own unique characteristics to the spirit. In Holland, the wheat is cultivated near the Dutch coast and is therefore a bit salty and dry from the maritime influence. The harvest in France comes from the center of the country and possesses a sweeter profile. While in Germany, the wheat is grown in an area where the water comes from the melted ice of a nearby mountain, providing the grain with a mineral taste. The aftertaste delivers a delicate and consistent essence of wheat grains and some minerality for a dry and polished finish.”

On the west side of Atlanta there’s a restaurant that’s been open for more than 20 years. In an industry where keeping your doors open for a decade is considered successful, doubling that number is no small feat.

Chance Evans started a restaurant called U.S. Bar Y Grill back in the 80s. Chance sold Bar y Geill and took an extended vacation in Mexico. When he came back, in 1992, he opened Nuevo Laredo Cantina. Chance can’t have expected the wild success that accompanied the new restaurant, because it won Atlanta Magazine’s Best of Atlanta before the end of its second year, and in every one of the 19 years since then it’s won Zagat’s Award of Distinction.

Serving up classic Mexican dishes, Nuevo Laredo wows diners with guacamole, enchiladas, fajitas, quesadillas, and everything you could possibly want in, on, or near a tortilla.

Until last fall, Mara Davis had been a staple of Atlanta radio for almost two decades. She spent the last eighteen years helming shows on 92.9FM (both as Z93 and DaveFM), before the station switched formats at the end of September. Since then, Mara has been patiently waiting for the right opportunity to come along.

This weekend, Mara joins the Atlanta Eats team, and in the coming weeks she’ll be hosting a restaurant segment on CBS Better Mornings every Friday, and contributing video blogs and other Web content, including features on local food purveyors and farmers, for AtlantaEats.com.

Mara says that when Atlanta Eats came knocking, it was an easy decision to say yes.

“I was thinking about branching out [from radio]. I’m not moving away from Atlanta. My name, my brand is here, and I didn’t want to take a job where I’d be a robot. I’m thrilled to be part of Atlanta Eats. I’ve been a restaurant fanatic forever, for no reason other than I love it, so Atlanta Eats is kind of a dream opportunity for me.”

Atlanta Eats founder and host, Steak Shapiro, is excited to add Mara to the show’s mix. “I’ve known Mara for a long time, and there’s nobody in Atlanta broadcasting that connects with people like she does. Mara has this great ability to make people very comfortable on air, whether it’s on radio or TV, and in our conversations about finding someone to host some of the segments on the show, we had a shortlist that only had one name on it.”

Anyone that’s paid attention to Mara’s career knows that she’s got a lot of love for the town she’s called home for 18 years. Since the last DaveFM broadcast, Mara has kept herself involved in Atlanta happenings, from regular spots on HLN and CNN to guest hosting at the Village Theatre and the Atlanta Humane Society; from emceeing events at AID Atlanta, PALS (Pets Are Loving Support), Quality Care for Children, Taste of Atlanta and the Atlanta Film Festival, to re-launching maradavis.com with regular blogs and podcasts with local businesses like Atlanta Movie Tours.

Already a big fan of Atlanta Eats, Mara has been tweeting about the show since the beginning, and, like many viewers, has found new places to eat by tuning in.

“I learned about Toscano and Sons from Atlanta Eats,” she says, “It’s one of those places I drove by a million times and wondered if it was any good — and then I saw it on Atlanta Eats and I went there.”

Thanks @atlantaeatscbs for turning me on to Toscano & Sons. Stopped by for a quick lunch and it’s amazing

— Mara Davis (@MaraDavis) March 1, 2013

Cody Hicks, Atlanta Eats’ Chief Brisket Officer, says “When we thought about mixing things up, it was important to us that we picked someone who was recognized in Atlanta, but more importantly, someone who is passionate about dining in Atlanta, and who could engage with people around food. Mara fulfilled all those criteria, and from the moment we heard she might be available we started working to get her involved.”

In upcoming episodes, Mara will be seen talking to diners at places like Stone Soup Kitchen in Grant Park, Local Republic in Lawrenceville, and There at Town Brookhaven,

Along with her appearances on the show, Mara will be taking center stage for some online-only videos, including “A Minute with Mara,” in which she’ll be interviewing chefs and festival-goers around the city.

Mara will make her debut on this Saturday’s Atlanta Eats, on PeachtreeTV at 10:30am and CBS Atlanta at noon, and on Saturday afternoon, viewers can catch her at Taste of the Highlands. Mara will be making other personal appearances with Atlanta Eats, including hosting cooking demos at the Atlanta Food and Wine Festival.

The times I’ve met him, he’s never been less than impeccably dressed, not a hair out of place (if one was, it seemed intentionally out of place), and the conversation has been easy and intelligent. If there was ever a man who was the living embodiment of the company and restaurants he represents, it’s him.

Who am I talking about? Michael Erickson: Don Draper to Atlanta dining’s Madison Avenue.

Michael is the director of marketing for Fifth Group Restaurants, which comprises South City Kitchen (both in Midtown and Vinings), Ecco, Lure, La Tavola, Alma Cocina, and The Original El Taco. And that’s not including the El Taco and Ecco restaurants in Hartsfield Jackson, and more to come.

Lure, Ecco, South City Kitchen Midtown, and Alma Cocina can each claim at least a half-dozen hotels within a couple of blocks of their doors (and bars). “We love the hotels and concierges,” says Erickson, “and we love that they recommend our restaurants to hotel guests.”

And movies. Fifth Group and the movies go together like Bogart and Bacall, Hope and Crosby…PB and J. Somewhere like South City Kitchen Midtown is perfect if you’re getting some dinner while filming a movie about a 1970s local news anchor, while Ecco was featured in a couple of scenes in the movie The Changeup, which starred Ryan Reynolds and Jason Bateman.

Fifth Group recently moved their offices from King Plow to Peachtree Center, and despite living in Atlanta for 22 years, Erickson says that the move has led him to “discover the city all over again.”

For diners who haven’t discovered Fifth Group’s restaurants, it’s like this: Lure has an inventive and super-fresh seafood menu, Ecco carries the torch for European-inspired cuisine, Alma Cocina serves Mexican and Latin-influenced dishes, La Tavola has some of the best Italian food this side of the Atlantic, The Original El Taco is a family-friendly Mexican joint, and South City Kitchen is where it all began in 1993 with Southern food cooked from the heart. Phew!

This year marks Fifth Groups’s 20th anniversary, and they’re returning as presenting sponsor at Taste of the Highlands, as they have been since 2006.

In the sold out VIP area, Taste-goers will enjoy oysters from Lure, while the rest of the group’s intown restaurants will be scattered throughout John Howell Park.

Follow Michael Erickson’s Twitter account for musings on all things around Atlanta dining, and check out the Taste of the Highlands official event hashtag — #TOTH2013 — while you’re at the event.

On this week’s episode of Atlanta Eats we’re heading to the west side to chow down on some authentic Mexican at Nuevo Laredo (it’s Cinco all month, right?), then we head north to Canton (not Canton Street) to catch a fish dish or two at Goin’ Coastal. We stop for breakfast and a song at Stone Soup Kitchen in Grant Park, and end the day at the Brick Store Pub with a pint and a sandwich in Decatur.

So put some gas in the tank, we’ve got places to go!

Epicurean enthusiasts Todd Mussman and Ryan Turner only wanted one thing: to build the restaurant they would want to eat at. Turns out what they had in mind was just what Smyrna was craving, too: a gourmet deli and retail shop by day, full service beer and wine bistro by night. Using the finest fresh (and oftentimes local) ingredients, Muss & Turner’s menu is a gourmand’s fantasy. Without the gourmet pretense. After all, it’s a little hard to be pretentious while mowing on something like “The Bucky Goldstein.”

Ahhh, “The Bucky Goldstein.” House smoked beef brisket with a Carolina BBQ demi-glace, sliced sour pickles, and Dijon mustard, piled high with fried tobacco onion rings, and served on a French bun. Paired with a local craft beer, this enormous beef sandwich bursts with all the flavors you’re craving…and then some!

Not so big on beef? Try the open-faced NoMama Tuna Salad sandwich, which features albacore tuna, lemon aioli, kalamata olives, oregano, sun-dried tomatoes, and melted provolone, all atop a slice of heavenly honey wheat bread.

From poultry and fish to beef and bacon – oh, and plenty of fresh veggies! – And since everything is so delicious, Muss & Turner’s menu doesn’t make it easy to make a decision.

It would be thoughtless of us to not get serious for one second, and let you know that Ryan Hidinger, the sous chef at M&T, has been diagnosed with stage 4 gallbladder cancer. While he and his wife, Jen, remain upbeat and stay positive, your help is both needed and appreciated. Some 30 Atlanta restaurants are participating in fundraising for Team Hidi, with charity events and several have added a “Round Up for Ryan” line to guest checks, where diners can add a little extra to help the Hidingers pay for Ryan’s treatments. So please, head to M&T, Bacchanalia, Floataway Cafe, Abattoir, Local Three, Empire State South, and Five & Ten (which is in Athens), give them your patronage, and tell them you want to Round Up for Ryan.

Van Gogh Vodka: Imported from Holland.
The best flavored vodkas. Period.

Cherry Lime Shot:

Ingredients:

• Ice
• Van Gogh Blue Vodka (6-count)
• Sour Mix
• Grenadine
• Fresh Cherries

Directions
Directions: Mix together Van Gogh Blue Vodka with Sour Mix in shaker with Ice.
Strain into shot glasses.
Carefully pour Grenadine on top of slightly submerged cherries to help it settle.

Enjoy Responsibly!

History
Introduced in 2008, the artfully crafted Van Gogh Blue Triple Wheat Vodka is a smooth and inviting blend of premium European wheat sourced from Holland, Germany and France.

Process

Van Gogh Blue Triple Wheat Vodka hand-crafted in small batches through a unique triple distillation method, which maintains the integrity of the natural ingredients, and ensures Van Gogh Blue Triple Wheat Vodka is everything you’d expect in an ultra-premium vodka.

Notes From Tim Vos, Master Distiller

“The exceptional triple wheat Van Gogh Blue offers subtle flavors of grains from three countries, each bringing their own unique characteristics to the spirit. In Holland, the wheat is cultivated near the Dutch coast and is therefore a bit salty and dry from the maritime influence. The harvest in France comes from the center of the country and possesses a sweeter profile. While in Germany, the wheat is grown in an area where the water comes from the melted ice of a nearby mountain, providing the grain with a mineral taste. The aftertaste delivers a delicate and consistent essence of wheat grains and some minerality for a dry and polished finish.”

Few things say “fresh” quite like a good taco does, and that’s what Taqueria del Sol offers. With locations in West Midtown (in the Westside Provisions District), Cheshire Bridge, and in Decatur, you can feast on some of the tastiest guacamole in the city, order up tacos or enchiladas, and if it’s cold outside, get yourself a bowl of chili.

Unlike most taco shops, which seem to collect knick-knacks that evoke So-Cal or Mexico, Taqueria del Sol is clean, uncluttered, and each location has big windows and a bright covered patio. If you didn’t know better you’d swear you could hear the surf right outside the window.

This is a first-come-first-serve operation, so when you get in line (and there’s probably going to be a line, and that’s a guarantee at lunch time), pick up a menu and start figuring out what you want to eat. The amazing staff move the line quickly, so you won’t have to wait very long to order. If you’re in a hurry, and there’s room at the bar, that’s the place to go.