Beer Bourbon & BBQ, Joy Cafe Top Mid-week Restaurant News

Each Wednesday, Patch brings you a wrap-up of restaurant news, notes and nuggets throughout our community.

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The 2016 Beer Bourbon and BBQ Festival returns to Atlantic Station on Saturday, May 21, 2016 from noon to 6pm.

All You Care To Taste Beer and Bourbon Tastings are available as you stroll from table to table and tent to tent. There are 40 bourbons and 60 beers on tap. The first 200 guests in line for each session receive a free collectible bag.

VIP Session & Area with more food and more tastes. They will be serving up Bacon hot right off the griddle along side some of your favorite Atlanta Area restaurants serving up great southern dishes!

VIP BACON & WHOLE HOG SESSION: $85 Advance Valid Saturday Noon – 6pm. In addition to the all of the features above, the VIP Bacon and Whole Hog Session offers an exclusive tasting experience in the VIP Area. ALL VIP guests will get 2 extra hours of sampling. Each guest will also enjoy 10+ Tasting Stations featuring gourmet bacons from all over the country and local restaurants serving up their favorite BACON DISHES during the first session.

REGULAR SESSION: $35 Advance Valid Saturday 2pm – 6pm Includes a souvenir tasting glass, unlimited sampling of beer and bourbon, and all live entertainment.

DESIGNATED DRIVER TICKET: $29 ADVANCE ONLINE OR ON-SITE. Valid during any session. Includes admission into the event and all live entertainment. This ticket cannot enter the VIP areas.

KIDS 12 & UNDER ARE FREE. But this event is not designed for children.

The 2016 Beer Bourbon and BBQ Festival participating restaurants include The Smoke Ring, Smoke Belly BBQ, Salted Competition, G.C. BBQ, Hard Rock Cafe, Pit Boss BBQ, AngelFire 7 BBQ and Zeke’s B-B-Que.

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Joy Cafe has announced a new location in Midtown.

"We are coming to midtown just a few blocks away, opening in late summer/early fall," according to a post on the Buckhead restaurant's Facebook page.

Joy Cafe co-owner Jon Beber told What Now Atlanta that an exact location will be announced sometime over the next couple of weeks, and that a late summer or early fall opening is expected.

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Tap, in Midtown, has announced the hiring of Tyler Williams as executive chef.

"I am looking forward to showcasing the best of my expertise at TAP," Williams said. "The two floors and spacious patio offer a lot of potential to wow Atlanta’s diners.

"It’s going to be fun."

After graduating from the Western Culinary Institute in Portland, OR, Williams returned to the Midwest and worked at Homaru Cantu’s Moto, Graham Elliot, and Gemini Bistro. He then moved to Atlanta, where he was brought on as Anne Quatrano’s Sous Chef at Bacchanalia which led to his appointment as executive chef at Abattoir.

It was there that he was applauded as Atlanta’s 2012 Rising Star Chef and Eater’s Chef of the Year – an accolade he was awarded for two consecutive years, the second during his time at Woodfire Grill. Following Woodfire, Williams became known for a unique series of pop ups and avant garde dinners throughout Atlanta. More recently, he created Byhand, a neopolitan pizza concept coupled with an organic farm in Lake Burton.

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Miller Union doesn't want its diners bringing in their own birthday cakes for celebrations.

Neal McCarthy, co-owner and general manager, has created a private Instagram account on which to mock the offensive cakes, according to Food & Wine.

"These people sought out a nice restaurant, yet they undermine it by bringing in the world's most hideous cakes!” he told the New York Times.