The Dish December 05 2001

Return of the Indigo
Star Steaks & BBQ has pulled up anchor. Indigo Coastal Grill has returned and features seafood with all kinds of accents — Asian, Caribbean, American and more. Whether you want to dine or just get filled to the gills at the Tiki Bar, Indigo Coastal Grill is back in the swim. 1397 N. Highland Ave. 404-876-0676.

Green fairy in Midtown
Delectable absinthe, nicknamed the “green fairy,” and banned all over the world has found its way to Cavu in Midtown. Starting Dec. 5, Cavu will devote Wednesdays to serving the legendary, reputedly madness-inducing emerald-green elixir of French lore, associated with great, tormented artists such as Hemingway, Baudelaire, Manet and Toulouse-Lautrec. The 19th-century custom called l’heure verte or the green hour, is re-created, complete with artists’ models on the patio. Don’t worry about being driven mad though, Cavu’s absinthe is sans wormwood. 5:30 p.m. 794 Juniper St. (across from SPICE). 404-875-2229.

Joël Noel
Treat yourself and a friend to a fabulous lunch at Joel. Prix-fixe lunch menus of two or three courses are now available ($23.95 and $29.95 respectively). Mon.-Fri. 11:30 a.m.- 2 p.m. Or spend Christmas Eve under the twinkling lights of the Joel dining room unwrapping four courses of delectable morsels with your tongue. $65 per person. 8:30 p.m. Piazza at Paces, 3290 Northside Parkway. 404-233-3500.

Ritz-Carlton Christmas
There’s lots of holiday cooking going on at the Ritz-Carlton. For Christmas Eve or Christmas Day dinner in The Cafe, choose from three prix-fixe menus: Christmas in America, France or Italy. Includes a dessert buffet. Adults $75; children 12 and under, $35. Dining Room darling Chef Bruno Menard prepares a four-course Christmas Eve Dinner. $145 per person for wine drinkers, $95 per person for teetotalers. And on the big day itself, stop by for Christmas Day Brunch. $62 per adult; $32 children 12 and under. Reservations required. The Ritz-Carlton Buckhead, 3434 Peachtree Road, 404-237-2700. www.ritzcarlton.com.

Up on the rooftop
On some rooftops, reindeer pause. At Nikolai’s Roof, there’s no cause for pause over Chef Johannes Klapdohr’s sumptuous seven-course Christmas Eve Dinner.

On the menu: Wiener Schnitzel with warm fingerling potato salad; pancake of goose confit and chestnuts topped with glazed red cabbage salad and sauteed duck breast; maultaschen of quail, sweetbreads and celery in oxtail consomme, flavored with black truffle; roulade of rainbow trout and crawfish on split pea puree in light Riesling creme sauce with topinambur chips; sauerbraten of venison with forest mushrooms, hazelnut spaetzle and braised Brussels sprouts; a cheese course of German cheeses; and, for dessert, chocolate strudel with apple-quince compote and vanilla ice creme. Feast your eyes as well, on the panoramic penthouse view of the city bedecked in lights. $85 per person. Dec. 24, 6:30-9:30 p.m. Reservations are recommended. 255 Courtland St. on the 30th floor of the Hilton Atlanta. Complimentary valet parking available. 404-221-6362.

Feed your head
Entree in parchment (or in this case, regular ol’ paper) Atlanta Cooks cookbook featuring more than a hundred recipes from Atlanta’s finest is in stores now. In keeping with the cult of the celebrity chef, participating chefs will be signing books at various Chapter 11 Bookstores from 7-8 p.m. On Dec. 6, Chef Scott Crawford of Food 101 will be at the 6237 Roswell Road location in Sandy Springs. That same day, 1848 House’s Chef Tom McEachern will be at the 2900 Delk Road location. The Dec. 11 lineup has Executive Chef Jay Swift of South City Kitchen at 1544 Piedmont Ave. in Ansley Mall and Executive Chef Eddie Garcia-Guzman of Van Gogh’s at the 885 Woodstock Road location in Roswell. Project Open Hand receives $1 for every Atlanta Cooks ($29.95) cookbook sold.

jane.catoe@creativeloafing.com??






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