The second annual Food That Rocks is a unique food festival. It’s a collaboration with the City of Sandy Springs and the Taste of Atlanta. The experiences include individual tasting in two tents, which offer an all-you-can-eat (and drink) opportunity to taste twenty unique restaurants in Sandy Springs.
In addition to the food and drinks, it offers live entertainment by DJ Brettski playing the top 40 and the biffs playing old school music.And a few local Non-profits like Second helpings n Georgia Ovarian Cancer Alliance and Ian’s Friends Foundation were also there.
Each guest received a guide of the twenty restaurants along with a guitar-pick to choose the best restaurant in Sandy Springs. Here are my favorites restaurants that stood out.
First, Kaiser’s Chophouse. Not even a week old, it opened May 2nd had there Allen Brothers strip steak sandwich dipped in their secret Kaiser’s Steak Sauce. Along with their house-made buns. It was the perfect sandwich: very moist and the horseradish blended well with the steak.
Gus Fried Chicken had their fried chicken legs, wings, and tenders for sample. This popular Tennessee chain opened their second location in the city in 2016.
Savior Bar and Kitchen. This amazing restaurant is Tucked away inside the Westin hotel. They had Truffle Lobster Mac n cheese. Braised Beef short rib with Potato Poutine. Let me say, their portions were very generous. Everything was delicious. And they had one of the longest lines and second place.
Cafe Vendome had Chocolate Macarons, an assortment of pastries and fresh bread. The macarons were the favorite!
Rize Artisan Pizza have two samples. First was the charred cauliflower florets. It consisted of Maple Sesame Dressing, Spiced Walnuts and Pomegranate Seeds. It was nice and light.
Last. Grilled Pork Meatballs. I had these meatballs before at their second location in Sandy Springs a weekend ago. Amazing and different. Review on Rize here: goo.gl/Rm9gHB
Chef Rob’s Caribbean Cafe. I haven’t been to this Jamaican restaurant in over 10 years now 11 years old. They had samples of their famous Jerk Chicken, rice and peas and rum punch. This is legit it reminds of the meal I had in Jamaica. Very spicy, the chicken wasn’t dry and the peas complemented it well.The rum punch was strong and sweet. And I wasn’t surprised they won the contest. Be sure to look for them at other festivals with their new food truck.
Overall, I was very impressed with the second annual Food That Rocks festival. The price of admission, fifty bucks, with alcohol included is not bad. And with 20 restaurants, there was something for everyone. I can see this event growing over time.
Food that Rocks Hammond Park 705 Hammond Dr. NE Sandy Springs, GA 30328 FoodThatRocks.org
Sandy Springs Hospitality & Tourism 5920 Roswell Road, Suite A-118 Sandy Springs, Ga 30328 visitsandysprings.org
Taste of Atlanta Historic Fourth Ward Park 680 Dallas St NE, Atlanta, GA 30308 6400 Powers Ferry Rd. NW, Suite 390 Atlanta, GA 30339 TasteofAtlanta.com