Taste of Atlanta 2010

Blessed with a rare Saturday off, I was one of many who flocked to Tech Square for the annual Taste of Atlanta festival this weekend.  This was my first time experiencing the food fest since it moved to its current location and I had a great time.  I've never been much for huge crowds, but I was able to maneuver through the sea of festival attendees fairly easily. 

I decided at the last minute to "splurge" on a VIP ticket.  Although I missed out on the VIP swag bags (that's what I get for running late), I did enjoy some of the other perks.   Always up for a tasty cocktail, I sampled a mojito made with VeeV Acai Spirit that was absolutely fantastic. Also under the VIP tent was one of my favorite "tastes" at the event: a coconut panna cotta with Malibu rum, mango gelee and caramelized pineapple salsa served by Paces 88 American Bistro (so good that I have to admit to having a second "helping"). 

 

New Addition: The Foodie Event Calendar

What's up?  I'm finally getting over a pretty bad cold (my explanation for the lack of blog updates lately).  I'm ready to see what I can get into this weekend! 

I've added something new to the blog.  If you look above this post you'll notice an additional tab, the Foodie Event Calendar.  Every so often, I like to post about upcoming events in and around the city.  Now you can just click on the Foodie Event Calendar tab to find a list of upcoming events along with a description and additional information.   To view more information on a specific event, just click the event name in the calendar list for a detailed description.  You can also add the events to your own Google calendar by clicking the "copy to calendar" link just below the event description. 

I'll try to keep the calendar updated with new events as I learn of them.  As always, if you have an upcoming event you'd like me to add to the list, please drop me a line using the contact tab above.

Scenes From Atlanta Greek Festival 2010

The baklava sundae, one of the popular treats at the Atlanta Greek Festival

We were blessed with picture perfect weather along with some fun "foodie" events around town this past weekend.  There was the first ever Battle of the Burgers on Saturday and the Field of Greens festival (a celebration of locally grown organic and sustainable produce) at Whippoorwill Hollow Farm in Walnut Grove (Savory Exposure has some great shots from the event here).  Being the cheeseburger fanatic that I am, I had planned to attend Battle of the Burgers but my work schedule forced me to miss out.  I'd forgotten that Field of Greens was scheduled for this past Sunday (I hate that I missed it!), but I was not going to let this weekend go by without getting into something.  With that in mind, I headed out to attend the final day of the Atlanta Greek Festival.

It was a fun afternoon full of great music, great live entertainment and (of course) great food.  I enjoyed hanging out with fellow festival goers at the "sports taverna" set-up,  where we were able to catch up with the Falcons and Braves games simultaneously.  But let's get back to the grub-I mean, that was the main attraction as far as I'm concerned.  A friendly lady at the concession ticket booth urged me to try the Greek potatoes and the lamb sandwich.   Since I'd had lamb earlier in the week (more on that in an upcoming post), I decided to pass on the sandwich but I did heed her advice and tried the potatoes:  deep fried wedges tossed in lemon juice, herbs and spices and served with tzatziki sauce.  I'm glad I listened to her because these were very good!  However, by the time I polished them off I was too full to partake in any more festival treats.  I wound up taking home the rest of my Greek goodies: souvlaki (juicy grilled marinated pork) and a mezze sampler which included loukaniko (sausage), tiropita (cheese pie), spanakopita (spinach & cheese pie), kalamata olives and feta cheese.  I couldn't leave a Greek fest without taking home some sweets, so I picked up baklava and melomacarona (a delicious crumbly spiced cookie soaked in honey syrup).

Melomacarona

All in all, it was a great way to spend a beautiful fall afternoon.  I don't know why it took me so long to check this festival out, but I'm already looking forward to next year.