Atlanta Dining Event: Taste of Atlanta This Weekend!

Atlanta's largest food event, Taste of Atlanta, is this weekend at Tech Square. Have you made plans to go yet? 

Festivities kick off on Friday at 7:30 (or 6:30 with VIP tickets) with The Big Grill where top local chefs such as Ford Fry, Kevin Rathbun and Jay Swift will be grilling up a storm. Live entertainment will be provided by Yacht Rock Schooner, and cold beer, cocktails and tasty morsels will abound. The Big Grill will benefit Georgia Organics. Tickets are $60 for regular entry or $75 for VIP entry. A VIP ticket gets you entry an hour early for more chef schmoozing time. Get your tickets here.

Saturday and Sunday are filled with tasting and learning opportunities. You can enjoy:

• 80+ Restaurants
• 3 Live Cooking Stages
• Family Food Zone
• VIP Wine+Beer+Cocktail Experience
• The Kitchen Workshop
• Inside the Food Studio

Restaurants from all around the city and all price ranges participate in Taste of Atlanta, from Waffle House to The Optimist. Participating restaurants include:

• Barcelona
• Bhojanic
• Delia's Chicken Sausage Stand (if you haven't tried this place, be sure to check it out - I love it!)
• Desta (Ethiopian)
• Iberian Pig
• High Road Craft Ice Cream
• JCT
• Local Three
• Morelli's (had a huge line last year, so get it while you can!)
• Rosebud
• The Shed at Glenwood
• Sufi's

If you're an intowner, you might not be as familiar with Roswell's upscale restaurants, but I noticed quite a few of them are on the list this year as well:

• Little Steak Alley
• Salt
• Sugo
• INC Street Food

Inside the Food Studio is a chance to get the behind the scenes scoop from chefs as well as even more samples. This year's topics include:

• From Garden to Groceries - Saturday at 12 with panelists such as Serenbe Owner and Chef Marie Nygren and Love is Love Farm owner Joe Reynolds
• Breakfast Around the World - Sunday at 1:15 with panelists such as the chefs from Bhojanic and Iberian Pig 
• Cheers to Craft Beers - Sunday at 2:30 with panelists such as Ale Sharpton, and Hop City's Kraig Torres
• The Offal Truth - Saturday at 1:15 with panelists such as Muss & Turner's Owner and Chef Todd Mussman and Local Three's Owner and Chef Chris Hall

And of course there are demos galore in the Kitchen Workshop. Learn to make everything from California rolls, to chicken schnitzel (with Adventurous Tastes fave Lance Gummere), to bread and butter pickles.

A general admission ticket ($25 in advance $35 at the event) admits one and includes 10 tasting tickets. Restaurants will be set up with tasting tables around Tech Square and will be charging 1-3 tickets for each item. You can see the full list of participating restaurants and what they'll be serving here. Additional tickets are available for purchase. VIP tickets ($75 in advance, $85 at the event) also give you access to the VIP wine+beer+cocktail experience and receive 15 tasting tickets. Get tickets here.