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by Gloria Lane

Twenty-Two Storys
There’s something new under the sun at the updated Hyatt Regency Hotel. Chef Martin Pfefferkorn has just opened a “beer forward” restaurant at Hyatt Regency Atlanta, which means entrees, appetizers and desserts are made with beer and ale — in this case local beer and ale from Atlanta breweries Sweetwater and JailHouse and Terrapin from Athens.

His restaurant, Twenty-Two Storys (named for the hotel’s height), also includes anecdotes and recollections from famous guests going back to the hotel’s opening in 1967 featured throughout the space.

Hyatt Regency Atlanta has deep roots in both Atlanta and American
history. It is the oldest major hotel in Atlanta and served as a center for
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the Civil Rights Movement. The first
events Hyatt Regency Atlanta hosted in 1967 were African-American group meetings, at a time when blacks were not welcome at other hotels and venues. Coretta Scott King was a preferred guest and never stayed at another local hotel. Its completion in 1967 marked the beginning of Atlanta’s rise as an international business destination (it was the first major hotel built in Atlanta in 40 years).

Chef Martin, a native of Austria, believes in locally sourced food and drink, but not just for forward-thinking restaurants. His goal is to bring the locally sourced movement to hotel dining, even the notorious rubber chicken dinner. Twenty-Two Storys pours not only local beer, but uses vegetables from local farms and bacon and sausage from a pork provider in Austell. Chef Martin is an avid roamer of local farmers markets (he prefers Buford Hwy.); a master home griller and smoker and a new devotee of Southern food. He’s on a mission to find the perfect biscuit recipe.

For more information about Hyatt Regency Atlanta, Twenty-Two Storys and the hotel’s transformation, please visit www.hyatt.com/gallery/atlrarenovation/.

BRAVO | BRIO Restaurant Group Celebrates National Lasagna Day
I bet you didn’t even know there was a National Lasagna Day. Well, maybe that’s because you’re not Italian. But there is such a day and in honor of National Lasagna Day, BRIO Tuscan Grille (BRIO) and BRAVO! Cucina Italiana will offer several lasagna entrees at half-price on Thursday, July 28. “Rooted in tradition and a secret family recipe, our lasagna has been a cornerstone of our menu since the beginning of BRIO and BRAVO!,” said Phil Yandolino, founding chef of BRAVO | BRIO Restaurant Group (www.bbrg.com). “Our guests love the dish: the flavor, the comfort and the generous portion.”

Guests are invited to participate in National Lasagna Day at BRIO and BRAVO! locations nationwide on Thursday, July 28, by enjoying all lasagna entrees at half-price. Housemade lasagna options include: Lasagna Bolognese Al Forno, originally $17.25, offered for $8.63 on National Lasagna Day.

Reservations are strongly recommended and can be made by calling BRIO in Buckhead or Dunwoody. BRIO Atlanta, 2964 Peachtree Road N.W., Atlanta, GA 30305, (404) 601-5555 and 700 Ashwood Parkway, Dunwoody, GA 30338, (678) 587-0017

For more information, check out the latest issue of Atlanta Social Season.