Saturday, June 1

Day Two of the Atlanta Food & Wine Festival certainly packed some heat. (You can check out our notes from Day One here.)

• Alyssa Pointer
• Got wine glass lanyards?

• Alyssa Pointer
• Fried chicken-score.

<< At Freebird, White Oak Pastures farmer Will Harris partnered up with chef Anne Quatrano to explain the pastured poultry movement over some good ole' fried poultry.

• Alyssa Pointer
• Oysters and beer, please.

During Oysters and Beer >> guests learned all about shape and cup size; that citrusy, grassy beers pair well with oysters; and that there is truth to the "R Rule" (eat local oysters in months with an "r" because of cooler water temps.) But the most impressive part of the seminar might have been when chef Brian Caswell realized he did not have a beer opener and popped open a bottle using his forearm. Don't mess with Texas. Fact: When a menu reads "Gulf Oysters" that means the oysters can come anywhere from Apalachicola, Fla., to Galveston, TX; ask to see the tag if you want to know exactly what you're eating.

CL contributor Madison Lee and I spent the weekend learning, eating, and drinking our faces off at the Atlanta Food & Wine Festival this past weekend. Here's what we remember what you missed from Day 1:

(UPDATE: Check out highlights from Day Two here.)

Friday, May 31

• Stephanie Dazey
• Bacon.

Bacon from Pine Street Market ^^. Delicious cured, glazed bacon. In abundance. And a hog's head. Pretty much heaven.

Mon., June 3

Dr. Bombay's Underwater Tea Party Mon., June 3, 7 p.m. A Taste of India Enjoy the tastes of Authentic Indian Cuisine and help Dr. Bombay's enroll their Darjeeling scholars into University this semester. $20 buys you a four-course meal. 100% of proceeds go to The Learning Tea's life scholarship program. Details

Blue Moon Pizza June 3-8 10th Birthday Celebration Blue Moon Pizza will celebrate its big Birthday, giving thanks to their loyal customers with great give-a-ways, drink "specials" and fun for all. All day on Friday, June 7th, a complimentary slice of Birthday Cake will be given to each eat-in diner, which is the actual Birthday of Blue Moon Pizza Restaurant. Details

Seven Lamps Mon., June 3, 7 p.m. Monday Night Brew Seven Lamps and Atlanta-based craft brewery Monday Night Brewing are giving everyone a good reason to look forward to a Monday. On Monday, June 3, the Buckhead restaurant is hosting a five-course Monday Night Brewing beer dinner. Details

Wed., June 5

Ray's on the River Wed., June 5, 6:30 p.m. Wine Dinner Join Ray's on the River for a farm-to-table wine dinner. Enjoy dining while overlooking the Chattahoochee River from the event lawn. Details

Bantam & Biddy Wed., June 5, 6:30 p.m. Wild Heaven Beer Dinner Bantam + Biddy will be working with local brewery Wild Heaven Craft Beers to offer a four-course beer dinner. Chef Lance Gummere has created dishes to complement all four beers, and Wild Heaven's brewmaster will be available to discuss the beers and upcoming plans for the brewery. The evening begins with an hors d'oeuvre at 6:30 p.m. followed by dinner at 7 p.m. Details

• Courtesy of SweetWater Brewery
• Sweetwater Sunday tour launch Sun., Jun. 2

Wine dinner? Beer Tasting? Cooking Class? Let us know. Create a CL account and submit your Food and Drink happs here.

Fri., May 31

Loews Atlanta Hotel May 30-June 2, 10 a.m Atlanta Food & Wine Festival 2013 Back for its third year and bigger than ever, the Atlanta Food and Wine Festival will take place at the Loews Atlanta Hotel in Midtown. This year's expanded programming will include more than 100 educational seminars over the course of the weekend led by the region's leading chefs and experts. With more than 100 participating chefs, attendees will have the opportunity to explore the rich culinary traditions of the South at the festival's well-stocked tasting tents. This year, tasting "trails" include Southern Grown, Seafood, Craft Beer, Bourbon, The Next Wave, Southern Sweets, Snacks and Sandwiches, and favorites from other Southern regions around the globe. Details

• AFWF/Rafterman
• The third-annual Atlanta Food & Wine Fest: May 30-Jun. 2

The Atlanta Food & Wine Festival (Thurs., May 30-Jun. 2) kicks off tonight with a launch party at JCT. Kitchen followed by a weekend filled with foodie seminars, cooking demos, and tasting tents held at and around the Loews Atlanta Hotel. (Check out the festival map and tasting tent directory here.) Inspired by the country's finest food festivals - and the only one to specifically showcase the culinary traditions of the South - it's kind of a big deal. Hungry for more? CL asked festival founders Elizabeth Feichter and Dominique Love about the philosophy behind the festival, what they're most looking forward to this year, and, the money thing.

• Courtesy Atlanta Food & Wine Festival
• Atlanta Food & Wine Festival founder (from left) Dominique Love and Elizabeth Feichter

You mentioned that you were inspired by the Food & Wine Classic in Aspen. What exactly is the Atlanta Food & Wine Festival?

Elizabeth: The Atlanta Food & Wine Festival is a celebration of the Southern traditions. It takes place over the course of four days. [Tonight] we'll launch with our Pig Out: Tailgate Style party at JCT. Kitchen. And then we'll officially kick off our daytime activities on Friday morning with a toast at the Loews [Atlanta] Hotel. (Loews is our official host hotel and where all of our Learning Experiences take place.) Our Learning Experiences are our seminars and our cooking demonstrations, any of our in-classroom activities. And then every afternoon we will have our Tasting Tents, which are just about a block to the left of the hotel...So those will happen each day, our learning experiences at the hotel and our tasting experiences outdoors on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

Dominique: In a nutshell, the Atlanta Food & Wine Festival is the first culinary weekend in the country that focuses exclusively on the South. Our ultimate goal was to really put the South on the national stage and to showcase the rich food and beverage traditions of our region in a very meaningful and authentic way.

Can you describe a typical day at the festival?

• Atlanta Food and Wine Festival May 30-June 2, 2013

Wine dinner? Beer Tasting? Cooking Class? Let us know. Create a CL account and submit your Food and Drink happs here.

Tues., May 28

Cypress Street Pint & Plate Tues., May 28, 7-11 p.m. 2nd Annual Beer Geek Carnival Cypress Street Pint and Plate and Clown Shoes Beer are bringing back the "Cypress Street Beer Geek Carnival" to Midtown Atlanta. The Beer Geek Carnival will take over Cypress Street and feature performers from the OPA Circus. Stilt walkers, jugglers, fire-eaters, and aerialists perform while beer lovers can enjoy Clown Shoes Beer. It wouldn't be a carnival without classics such as corn dogs and mini funnel cakes along with desserts like fried Oreos and Snickers. Details

Mac McGee's Irish Pub Tues., May 28, 7 p.m. Ardbeg's Ardbog Limited Release Party The release of Ardbeg's Ardbog Limited Edition 2013 with Mark Harvey, who is flying in all the way from the distillery, features a $30 Flight of Ardbeg 10 year old, Ardbeg Uigeadail, and the extremely rare Ardbog Limited Edition.

Barcelona Wine Bar Tues., May 28, 7 p.m. How to be a Guest at Your Own Cocktail Party Chef Shane will prepare items that can be made in advance or held hot so you can, in fact, be a guest at your own party. Items include Mini Albondigas, Tuna Tartar, and Smoked Salmon. Luke will also teach the class three different very easy sangria recipes $29 per person, plus tax and gratuity. Details

• James Camp/ CL file
• Join South City Kitchen for a three-course meal, followed by a concert by Michael Feinstein at the Atlanta Symphony Hall

Wine dinner? Beer Tasting? Cooking Class? Let us know. Create a CL account and submit your Food and Drink happs here.

Fri., May 24

Lobby at Twelve Fri., May 24, 7-9 p.m. Seafood cooking class Join Chef Russell Hays in Lobby's private cellar space and learn about buying, butchering, storing and cooking seafood correctly. Includes wine pairings with each dish. Details

South City Kitchen Fri., May 24, and Sat., May 25 Michael Feinstein Dinner and Show Join South City Kitchen for a three-course prix fixe dinner, followed by a concert by Michael Feinstein at the Atlanta Symphony Hall at 8 p.m. Reservations will be for 5:30, 6, or 6:30 p.m. Details

Amura Fri., May 24- Sun., May 26, 10 p.m. Sushi and Jazz This Memorial Day weekend, treat yourself to a jazz experience from legendary Chicago jazz club, Close Up 2 and the Atlanta Jazz Festival. Details

• James Camp/ CL file
• Chef Linton Hopkins will demonstrate how to create farm-to-table cuisine

Wine dinner? Beer Tasting? Cooking Class? Let us know. Create a CL account and submit your Food and Drink happs here.

Mon., May 20

Grant Park Farmers Market Mon., May 20, 5-8 p.m. Pop-up farmers market The Grant Park Farmers Market was canceled yesterday due to lightning in the area. To help out vendors with perishable products, Grant Park will be hosting a smaller pop-up market today, Monday, May 20, from 5-8 p.m. The event will be held at the GPFM's usual location in Grant Park at the historic Milledge Fountain at 600 Cherokee Ave. Details

Cook's Warehouse, Brookhaven Mon., May 20, 7 & 9 p.m. Simple Abundance Cooking Class with Chef Linton Hopkins Chef Linton Hopkins will demonstrate how to create farm-to-table cuisine by preparing a three-course meal based on the "surprise" ingredients of a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) box. Participants will discover the techniques and best practices of farm-to-table cookery. Details

Tue., May 21

Mac McGee's Irish Pub Tue., May 21, 7:30 p.m. Colonel E H Taylor Tasting A rare opportunity to taste the four of the first edition from the Colonel E H Taylor collection: Colonel E H Taylor Rye, Colonel E H Taylor Small Batch, Colonel E H Taylor Tornado, and Colonel E H Taylor Barrel Proof, all for $36. Details

Wed., May 22

Zucca Bar & Pizzeria Wed., May 22, 8 p.m. Wine Wednesday in Venice Paint, drink, and laugh with Get Creative ATL. Enjoy a two-hour painting class taught step-by-step and split a bottle of wine with one other person ... all for $30. Details

The Pinewood Tippling Room Wed., May 22, 6-11:45 p.m. Whiskey Wednesday Join The Pinewood Tippling Room for Whiskey Wednesday where all whiskey drinks are half off. Details

• Courtesy Grant Park Farmers Market

Today's pop-up event will be held at the GPFM's usual location in Grant Park at the historic Milledge Fountain at 600 Cherokee Ave.

RSVP to the Facebook event, or visit www.grantparkmarket.org for more info.

• Chef Scott's famous annual Crawfish Boil is making its return to the Old Fourth Ward

Wine dinner? Beer Tasting? Cooking Class? Let us know. Create a Claccount and submit your Food and Drink happs here.

Fri., May 17

Vino Venue Fri., May 17, 7 p.m. Hunger Games-Inspired Feast Come experience the Hunger Games trilogy inspired feast on Friday, May 17 from 7-9:30 pm at Vino Venue. Enjoy a unique selection of hors d ouvres as Chef Jessica Ray prepares a multi course, wine paired meal at the chef's table. Details

May Wine Dinner Fri., May 17, 7 p.m. Join Nikolai's Roof on Fri., May 17, for an intimate evening of food and wine pairings. The event will feature a multicourse dinner from chef Stephanie Alderete, with pairings from the Beaux Freres Vineyard from Oregon's Willamette Valley. Details

Sat., May 18

Battle & Brew Sat., May 18, 4 p.m. Competitors must arrive with cookies baked from scratch with a "Geek Power Up" theme to them, and will be judged by Battle & Brew staff and you. Details