Restaurant of the Week

My friend and self-proclaimed stalker, Amelia, is as easy to talk to as anyone I know and just as likely to sniff out a drink special. So it didn't surprise me when she became best friends with the owner of a new Atlanta restaurant that is offering $1.00 Ketel One drinks (ALL DAY EVERY DAY ALL SUMMER). She didn't let up until I agreed to review the restaurant. Alex and I attended the opening of Zaya a few months back, and it's hard to get a feel for a restaurant at its opening party. So I went back with Amelia and Alex to sample the Mediterranean cuisine.

After a few Ketel and sodas (that are conveniently priced at $1.00) we had a huge sampling of appetizers (still 1/2 price until 7:00 pm M-F). My favorite were the cheese fingers and the drunken halloumi (cheese flambe on a tomato with garlic sauce). We also had a huge bowl of yogurt salad and a totally new (to me) dish called stuffed kibbeh. It is lean beef and onions surrounded by lamb and cracked wheat. It's an item I'm sure Ill order again and again.
For the main course we had a series of kabobs and lamp chops. TRY THE LAMB CHOPS! They were tasty meat lollipops!

Finally, Tarek, brought out not one, not two but four desserts: progressive, flavored Crème brûlée, cheesecake flan and the heavenly molten chocolate cake. The absolute winner was the ashta. it is his twist on a traditional eggless custard. They make it with rose water and orange blossom, wrap it in a filo purse and bake it. It comes topped with homemade syrum and sprinkled with pistachios. If I hadn't eaten so much already, I would have finished it myself.
We left the restaurant stuffed just as the gays started filing in. It was really busy (especially for a Tuesday), so I'd call ahead for a reservation. It doesn't look like things are going to slow down this summer.

In summary, the service is about the only thing that can beat the great food (and $1.00 Ketel One drinks). Get your table before the place is too booked.

Zaya Restaurant
240 N. Highland, Atlanta, GA 30307
404.477.0050
www.zayarestaurant.com

What's Going On?

Premiere Party

· Georgia Freight Depot

· Sunday, June 29, 5:00pm – 9:00pm

· $35 in advance, $45 at the door

· 100% of the ticket sales go to help LGBT homeless youth (CHRIS Kids)

· Eat, drink and dance the night away

· www.premiereparty.org

They Had it Coming: The Music of Kander & Ebb

· Alliance Theatre at the Woodruff Arts Center

· Friday @ 8:00 pm, Saturday @ 2:00pm & 8:00 pm

· $25, $35 and $45 (matinee are $15, $25 and $35)

· Enjoy the music from the duo who brought us Chicago, Cabaret and Kiss of the Spider Woman

· www.agmchorus.org

Corndog-a-Rama

· All weekend (see site for times)

· Lenny’s (468 Decatur Street)

· $20 per day (multi-day passes available)

· Three stages, one bar and tons of corndogs

· Live music all weekend with new and established bands

· 404-577-7721

· www.corndogorama.com

DukesFest and Hazzard County Fair

· Atlanta Motor Speedway

· Saturday 9:00am – 10:00 pm, Sunday 9:00 am – 5:30pm

· $20, $35 for both days, <12>

· Meet the people on your lunchbox

· Get autographs from the cast, see hundreds of 1969 General Lees, stunt shows and Daisy Dukes contests

· 770-946-4211

· www.dukesfest.com

Peachtree Road Race Block Party

· Tap (14^th St. and Peachtree St.)

· Friday, July 4 @ 6:30 am

· FREE to sit (but you gotta buy your own beer!)

· Watch the healthy people run by and you eat cotton candy & hot dogs washed down with a beer

· Water for the runners both in bottles and squirt guns

· Brunch, lunch & dinner served all day

· 404.347.2220

· www.tapat1180.com

Atlanta Gay Pride

· Boisfeuillet Jones Atlanta Civic Center

· July 4 – 6 (see site for times and calendar)

· FREE (but your donations keep it that way)

· Parade on Sunday, booths, festival food, march, run, so much to do so little time

· Want to know my favorites, visit my blog for details on HGJ’s Pride Picks

· 770.491.8633

· www.atlantapride.org

Restaurant of the Week – Zaya

· Inman Park (240 N. Highland)

· Lunch, dinner and brunch

· Mediterranean classics (baba ghanuj and kibbeh) and some new twists (cheese fingers, yogurt salad and drunken halloumi)

· If you don’t have dessert, you are missing out – the Ashta is an amazing eggless custard wrapped in philo and drizzled with a homemade syrup and pistachios

· Don’t forget, $1.00 Ketel One drinks ALL DAY ALL SUMMER

· 404.477.0050

· www.zayarestaurant.com

Be sure to check back for all the juicy details and pictures!

Diana DeGarmo @ WetBar

Diane DeGarmo is performing @ WetBar this Saturday to benefit Atlanta Cotillion. Give me a reason you shouldn't go. Click the link for a larger image. Your $10.00 cover helps provide housing for people in Atlanta living with HIV/AIDS.

Don't have TOO much fun.

Movies Under The Stars

This Saturday @ 9:00 pm Star 94 is coming to your neighborhood with FREE Movies on Saturday nights this summer! Movies start at sundown, around 8:30pm. This time will change as the sun sets later. It's Star 94's Movies Under the Stars. We'll bring our giant 40-foot screen to a park near you. Bring your blanket, lawn chairs, a picnic basket and your kids for Bee Movie at McCurry Park in Fayetteville. More info @ www.Star94.com.

Screen on the Green

This week is your last chance for Screen on the Green at its new (and hopefully temporary) home, Centennial Olympic Park. If you are interested, pack some goodies and leave early - MARTA is your best bet. There are two stops: the GA Dome/GWCC/Philips Arena/CNN Center station on the East-West line and the Peachtree Center station on the North-South. More event info below.

• Show starts @ sundown (usually 9:00 p.m.)
• NO pets, NO glass and NO booze (but they do sell it there)
• NO high-back chairs, NO grills (as if), and NO umbrellas

Set a Record

"I'm not a doctor, but I play one on TV, and while I'm surfing the interwebs, I only use Firefox. It's cleaner, faster and leaves no oily residue."

OK, that's not totally true, but it is faster and cleaner - you have to take care of the oily residue yourself. I do use Firefox because it allows me to add on helpful scripts or plug-ins that make browsing easier and less time-consuming, it is more secure and easier to mersonalize that some other, un-named browsers. Plus it doesn't hurt to stick it to the big guy every once in a while.

Today is Firefox Download Day. You can get in on the action by downloading the latest version of Firefox to your computer while setting a world record for the most downloads in a single day! Some other crazy records are included here. Are you ready to try? I promise it won't hurt!

Screen on the Green

Take a flight with ET. This week Screen on the Green returns to Centennial Olympic Park, as it will every Thursday evening Through June. If you are interested, pack some goodies and leave early - MARTA is your best bet. There are two stops: the GA Dome/GWCC/Philips Arena/CNN Center station on the East-West line and the Peachtree Center station on the North-South. More event info below.

• Show starts @ sundown (usually 9:00 p.m.)
• NO pets, NO glass and NO booze (but they do sell it there)
• NO high-back chairs, NO grills (as if), and NO umbrellas

What's Going on?

Friday, June 13, 2008 – Thursday, June 19, 2008
Coming out with Hot Gay Joe

Mamma Mia!

• Fox Theatre
• Nightly through Sunday
• $35.00 - $64.00
• ABBA’s best songs told on the big stage
• 404-817-8700
• www.FoxTheatre.org

True Colors

• Chastain Park Amphitheatre
• Monday, June 16 @ 7:00 p.m. (doors @ 5:30 p.m.)
• $39.50 - $79.50
• Time to drop names, Cyndi Lauper, B-52’s, Rosie O’Donnell and Carson Kressley
• A great show that also benefits the Human Rights Campaign (www.HRC.org)
• www.turecolorstour.com

Vietnam Traveling Memorial Wall

• Ball fields at Heritage Park (101 Lake Dow Road in McDonough)
• All weekend (see website for times)
• FREE
• Regardless of your political views on the current wall, this is a powerful memorial
• 3/5 scale of the monument in Washington, D.C.
• https://hcwebb.boca.co.henry.ga.us/news/articles.aspx#924

Summer @ Zaya

• 240 Highland
• $1.00 Ketle One Drinks ALL SUMMER (I didn’t stutter)
• 1/2 price appetizers during the week
• Stay tuned for a review of the food
• 404.477.0050
• www.zayarestaurant.com

Taste of Brookhaven

• Oglethorpe University
• Saturday, June 14, 6:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.
• $40.00 in advance, $50.00 @ the door ($350 gets you a table for six)
• Food and wine from Bones, Hudson Grille, Nava, Four Seasons Hotel, Repast, Spice Market, W Hotel and more
• Live jazz music, silent and live aution and chef demonstrations
• http://www.brookhavenartsalliance.com/tob/tobMain.html

Where in the World is Hot Gay Joe?
Martinis & Imax

• Fernbank Museum
• Fridays 5:30 – 10:00 p.m.
• $15.00, $10.00 for members
• What is there to explain – drink a martini and watch an Imax
• This week is Antarctica
• 404.929.6400
• www.fernbankmuseum.org

Restaurant of the Week – Parish

• 240 N. Highland (in Inman Park)
• I had the duck (and about three martinis)
• Alex had the (amazing) gumbo
• 404.681.4434
• www.parishatl.com

Think you know what is hot in Atlanta? Have a favorite restaurant for me to try? Submit it here or send me an e-mail and let me know about your upcoming event or favorite restaurant @ HotGayJoe@gmail.com.
Want to know what’s going on when I am not on the air? Check out my blog at http://lifesabechely.blogspot.com – leave me a voicemail, send me a message or make me your homepage.

Movies Under The Stars

This Saturday @ 9:00 pm Star 94 is coming to your neighborhood with FREE Movies on Saturday nights this summer! Movies start at sundown, around 8:30pm. This time will change as the sun sets later. It's Star 94's Movies Under the Stars. We'll bring our giant 40-foot screen to a park near you. Bring your blanket, lawn chairs, a picnic basket and your kids for Shrek The Third at Hobgood Park in Woodstock. More info @ www.Star94.com.

D-Lister on the A-List

When I saw Mamma Mia! on Tuesday, I noticed Kathy Griffin was coming to the Fox on Friday, September 5 for two shows (7:30 and 10:30). I'm getting my tickets, and you should, too! Don't forget to watch her tonight on Bravo as she hosts the A-List Awards.

Mamma Mia! (Here I go again)

On Tuesday night Alex and I saw Mamma Mia at the Fabulous Fox Theatre. WHAT A SHOW! I saw it for the first time a few years ago in London's West End, so I didn't think it could get any better. The first time he saw it, Alex thought it was cheesy, so we sat with different expectations as the overture started. By the time Sophie came out on stage I remembered why this is one of my favorite shows; it took Alex until the title song started.

The show was just as great as I remembered, and there were some surprises that I forgot about. Apart from the occasional extra loud bongo, the orchestra rocked all the ABBA classics. For those of you who don't know the story, I won't spoil it, but the premise is that a wedding is about to begin on a Greek island (not Lesbos) and they manage to seamlessly weave all the best ABBA has to offer.

If you aren't on your feet dancing by the end of the show, you have left too soon. If you have seen it, leave a comment below or a voicemail in the column to the right - I'd love to hear your thoughts.

It plays at the Fox every night at 8:00 until Sunday, June 15. Tickets are going fast (the place was packed at Tuesday's opening night performance) so get yours now - that means you, Steve! They run $35.00 - $64.00. I thought I would share another ABBA favorite below. Enjoy.

Yeah, rain!

I can't wait to check the rain barrels when I get home!

Screen on the Green

Pop, Six, Squish, Uh-uh, Cicero, Lipschitz! This week Screen on the Green takes us to 1920s Chicago. Don't forget the new location, Centennial Olympic Park. The party continues every Thursday evening Through June. If you are interested, pack some goodies and leave early - MARTA is your best bet. There are two stops: the GA Dome/GWCC/Philips Arena/CNN Center station on the East-West line and the Peachtree Center station on the North-South. More event info below.

• Show starts @ sundown (usually 9:00 p.m.)
• NO pets, NO glass and NO booze (but they do sell it there)
• NO high-back chairs, NO grills (as if), and NO umbrellas

Where in the world is Hot Gay Joe?

Watching Mamma Mia, that's where! I will be be at the Fox Theatre tonight for the opening of Mamma Mia. If you haven't seen the show (or want to see it again), tickets are still available. The details are below. I guarantee you will be dancing in the aisles by the end of the show. I'll provide more details and a review of the traveling show later this week. Stay tuned! If you need a taste of the music, I posted a video below.

Fox Theatre
June 10 - 18 @ 8:00 pm
$35.00 - $64.00

Movies Under The Stars

This Saturday @ 9:00 pm Star 94 is coming to your neighborhood with FREE Movies on Saturday nights this summer! Movies start at sundown, around 8:30pm. This time will change as the sun sets later. It's Star 94's Movies Under the Stars. We'll bring our giant 40-foot screen to a park near you. Bring your blanket, lawn chairs, a picnic basket and your kids for Horton Hears A Who at Boundry Waters Park in Douglasville. More info @ www.Star94.com.

The Drought (isn't that over?)

No, it isn't, so quit washing your driveway with the hose!

If you missed the article in the AJC, then you might want to take a look. Sonny's praying wasn't enough to rid us of the drought (or the gays), so now it's time for us to bring in the the folks from whom we stole the land and see if they can fix it.

Below is a Google map created by Water Crunch. It outlines the locations of the water wheel that took place over the weekend. If you haven't installed your rain barrels like I did, you better get 'er dun!

[via Water Crunch]


View Larger Map

Screen on the Green

Screen on the Green is back with Big Momma's House. Its new home is Centennial Olympic Park. Every Thursday evening Through June. If you are interested, pack some goodies and leave early - MARTA is your best bet. There are two stops: the GA Dome/GWCC/Philips Arena/CNN Center station on the East-West line and the Peachtree Center station on the North-South. More event info below.

• Show starts @ sundown (usually 9:00 p.m.)
• NO pets, NO glass and NO booze (but they do sell it there)
• NO high-back chairs, NO grills (as if), and NO umbrellas