News You Can Eat

 Midtown'sChocolate Pink Pastry Cafe Chef Christian Balbierer is doing sweet business at the new Chocolate Pink Pastry CafÈ at 905 Juniper St. in Midtown. Cakes, tarts, petit fours, brownies and cookies are housed in imported cases from Italy and packaged in pink boxes. The two-level eatery has space upstairs for special events. The cafÈ is open Tuesday – Friday, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Saturday, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Sunday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. (404) 745-9292 or www.chocolatepinkcafe.com.

Kevin Rathbun has leaked a few details about his new restaurant to be called Kevin Rathbun Steak, slated to open in spring 2007. The 180-seat eatery will be at 154 Krog Street, just down the street from his eponymous original Rathbun’s and Krog Bar. Bill Johnson Studios (Aria, BED BluePointe, Canoe, Echo, Nan just to name a few) is designing the space, which will feature an open kitchen, bar and two private dining rooms. www.rathbunsrestaurant.com.

The Glenwood Park community, just off Glenwood Avenue, continues to bring exciting new eating choices to the southeast quadrant of the city. Vino Libro – a cross between a bookstore, a bistro and wine bar – opened there last month at 933 Garrett St. The eatery has more than 40 boutique wines available and plans to host wine tastings and other events. The menu – featuring cheese and antipasto plates, beef tips with Gorgonzola fondue and pecan pie creme brulee – was designed by Alex Rosado, formerly with Mix and Rathbun’s. Castleberry Hill favorite Slice has opened a new location of its hip pizzeria in Glenwood in September’ and Vickery’s plans to open in December. www.vinolibra.com.

Five Guys Famous Burgers and Fries continues to make inroads into the Atlanta area with a locations already open in Lindbergh City Center on Piedmont Avenue in Buckhead and on Windward Parkway. Another location is set to open by year’s end on Caroline Street in the Edgewood Retail District. Originally launched in Washington, D.C., the chain has been opening locations up and down the East Coast. The big, juicy burgers have won dozens of awards and are Zagat-rated. www.fiveguys.com.  

Jeff Safaris, one of the creators of Compound on the West Side, is opening Thrive at 101 Marietta St. before the end of the year. The eatery will serve breakfast, lunch and dinner but will change from a power-lunch spot to hipster scene at night. The 6,000-square-foot venue will be across the street from the Glenn Hotel, home to BED.

Fresh ’n Fit Cuisine is now delivering food for dieters in Atlanta. For about $17 a day, a chef prepares healthy meals ranging from 1,200 or 2,000 calories per day. Items on the menu include salmon, Parmesan chicken, spiced beef medallions, manicotti and more. The kitchen is headquartered in Cumming, but deliveries are available throughout metro Atlanta or you can pick up meals at a number of distribution centers, including Ansley Mall, Toco Hills, Buckhead and Chastain Park. For more information visit www.freshnfitcuisine.com.  

Steinbeck’s Outdoor Oyster Festival is set for Saturday, Nov. 11, starting at 2 p.m. The event will feature live music, oyster shucking and eating contests, oyster education, hot sauce tasting and plenty of beer. Steinbeck’s is located in Oakhurst, 659 East Lake Dr., Suite B. www.steinbecksbar.com.

QUICK BITES: The Oakhurst eatery Mulligan’s, which got national attention for its Hamdog (an artery-clogging hotdog/hamburger combo smothered in cheese) when Jay Leno mentioned it on The Tonight Show, has closed.... Agnes & Muriel’s in Midtown will once again serve its Thanksgiving home-style buffet from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. featuring turkey, roast beef and all the fixins’. For priority seating, call (404) 885-1000.... In other turkey news, Return to Eden on Cheshire Bridge Road is offering all-natural and organic Thanksgiving goodies, such as vegetarian turkeys (known as "tofurkeys" and "unturkeys). Call (404) 320-3336 to reserve....Grant Park favorite Six Feet Under has announced it will open a second location in mid-2007 on 11th Street in Midtown....The old McDonald’s at the corner of Central Avenue and Martin Luther King Jr. Drive is now Mama Rosa’s Pizza & Grill.... Carbo’s Cafe in Buckhead has closed after more than 25 years in business.... Shaun Doty – formerly of MidCity Cuisine and Table 1280 – may open Shaun’s in the old Inman Park Patio spot on Edgewood Avenue.... After a decade in business in the Old Fourth Ward, Roman Lily CafÈ on Highland Avenue closed last month.... Philadelphia-based Italian ice chain Rita’s has announced it will open locations in Midtown and College Park in 2007 at locations to be announced.... MetroFresh, owned by actor Mitchell Anderson, on Monroe Drive in Midtown celebrated its one-year anniversary last month.... Eclipse di Sol on Highland Avenue in Poncey-Highland is now offering a special half-off menu from 10 p.m. to midnight Thursday through Sundays.... Edible Atlanta, a new magazine dedicated to discovering and showcasing locally grown and produced foods, hits newsstands on Nov. 15. www.edibleatlanta.com.