FoodieBuddha.com

It’s Atlanta, it’s July, and it’s tomato season.  That can only mean one thing: it’s time for the annual Attack of the Killer Tomato Festival.  This highly seasonal food festival put on by the fine folks at Georgia Organics returns to the Westside Urban Market and neighboring Westside Provisions District on Sunday, July 17th.  From 1pm-5pm you’ll be able to consume, carouse, and cavort like it’s nobody’s business.

For those unfamiliar with said event, here’s the lowdown.  Basically, a bunch of chefs, farmers, and mixologists get together and put out their best tomato inspired food and drink.  Think of it as the most kid appropriate orgy you will find.

It’s a get it while you can type of event, so I suggest you arrive early and buy your tickets even earlier.  Tickets currently stand at $60 for non-members of GO and $55 for those that do subscribe.  After July 1st, all tickets are $70.

Though prices have gone up since last year, this festival, in my humble and honest opinion, is the best festival in town, bar none.  If that isn’t enough to wet your whistle, check out my recap of last year’s event and/or the Flickr set!

More details after the jump!

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Attack of The Killer Tomato Festival for $500 please Mr. Kebert Xela …

Answer: Jay Swift, Anne Quatrano, Hugh Acheson, Chris Hastings, Kevin Gillespie, Bruce Logue.
Question: Who are just a few of the awesome chef’s showing up at this years Attack of The Killer Tomato Festival?

Yes ladies and gents … it is that time again.  Thanks to the good folks over at Georgia Organics, the Killer Tomatoes are back.  Just like last year, the event will land at the Westside Urban Market, home to places like JCT Kitchen and Star Provisions.  From 1pm – 5pm on Sunday August 8th, you’ll be able to indulge yourself in a sea of all things red.

To further wet your whistle, check out Savory Exposure’s recap of last years event.  When you’re done with that, go check out Running With Tweezers flickr set.  Tickets are $45 for Georgia Organics members and $50 for those of you who are not.  However, prices go up this Saturday (to $65)… so I suggest you buy them now! Full details just after the jump!

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Last night, I posted on a troubling website that was trying to sell reservations to some of Atlanta’s most notable restaurants.  Well, a lot has happened since then.  Thanks to some amazing internet word of mouth, 911Reservations.com went offline within a few hours.  Then, the owners tried to get another scam site up under a sub-domain at mybigcommerce.com, but that too was soon killed off.  Not be be deterred, the owners still have a another site up, but it’s thin on the reservations (see below).  However, the story isn’t done there.

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[Update: Please view the bottom of the post for the most up to date list of fraudulent listings, Additionally, I will pin this post to the top of my site until Sunday]

Thanks to an email from the gang over at Rathbun’s (website), 911 Reservations, a website looking to pull a fast one over restaurants across the country, is having a hard time pulling off their scam.  The details are as follows:

Within the past few weeks, 911 Reservations started making a series of Valentine’s Day reservations at some of the most popular restaurants in several major cities across the country.  They used a handful of numbers and a group of fake names.  Primarily focused on the Atlanta restaurant scene, the “company” hoped to sell these highly desirable eating appointments for as much as $100.  Luckily, word is starting to spread and some of the bogus accounts are being taken off the books.  More details after the jump!

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Congratulations to Linton Hopkins of Atlanta’s Restaurant Eugene and Holeman & Finch!  Food & Wine magazine has just named Linton one of America’s best new chefs.  A handful of other Atlanta chefs have won the award.  Anne Quatrano and Clifford Harrison won for their work at Bacchanalia and Sotohiro Kosugi won during his time in the ATL.

While this wasn’t a big secret to everyone, it is great to see another Atlanta chef pushing the envelope while here in the city.  Congrats to Linton, Greg, Regan, and all the gang for this win! It’s a team effort!

I am going on vacation the first part of next week; however, when I return, I will be sure to hit up Restaurant Eugene as soon as possible.  They have a new small plates menu that looks very appealing (albeit very overwhelming)

From Food & Wine Website:

Restaurant Eugene and Holeman & Finch Public House, Atlanta
Restaurant Eugene: Restaurant Eugene Menu | Restaurant Eugene Reservations | Restaurant Eugene Website
Holeman & Finch: Holeman & Finch Menu | Reservations Not Accepted | Holeman & Finch Website

When Linton Hopkins was a kid, his mom once refused to make him hollandaise sauce for his eggs—so he prepared it himself, with a recipe from Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking. Hopkins still has the (egg-stained) cookbook, plus a vast collection of others including Junior League and community cookbooks.

We loved: Chicken livers, soft grits, pickled peaches (at Restaurant Eugene); the H&F burger, served only after 10 p.m. (at Holeman & Finch Public House).

Emory University has this awesome “Sustainable Initiative” series.  While the evening with Linton Hopkins has come and gone, there are still two lectures left.  Tonight is one such night.

These lectures give each chef an opportunity to discuss their participation in the sustainable food movement.  In addition, they hand out tips AND give you an opportunity to taste some food! Details after the jump.

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So I actually have a ton of work to do right now for my 9-5 … thus, this will be brief.  Maybe I’ll come back later to add some context and some links…but in the meantime check out the several Atlanta culinary establishments and personalities that are semi-finalists for the foodie equivalent of the Oscars.

While Atlanta lacks the culinary depth of a place like Chicago, we do quite well at the top.  The JBAs certainly seem to agree with me on the second part of that statement.

As an aside: we launched two-months ago today – and I really wanted to write a thank you post and include a little prize for one lucky reader.  I don’t have the time right now, so make sure to check back over the weekend (or perhaps Monday) for that post!  Okay, onto the list!

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