A Case of the Mondays: Atkins Park and SweetWater host Madden Tourney

Play Madden and sip SweetWater brew on Mondays at Atkins Tavern!

Atkins Park Tavern goes gourmet and plays games with SweetWater Brewery

I loved that line in the comedy flick Office Space where the rosy cheeked receptionist said  to the disgruntled worker, “Looks like a case of the Mondays!” Although she was addressing his long face (left), I am using the phrase for solving the case of what’s poppin’ beer-wise on the  first day of the week. In the last installment, I gave a shout out to the new venture, Monday Night Brewing, and their first growler fills of the Eye Patch IPA (6.3% abv/46 IBUs) and Drafty Kilt Scotch Ale (7.2%/26 IBUs) at Hop City, followed by the after party at Ormsby’s (which was completely nuts!). Congrats again, J-Crew!

The Blueberry Glazed Smoked Pork Sliders were
pretty damn good with the Hopsecutioner too!

Anyway, let’s get up to date. The tavern called Atkins Park based in the chilled out Virginia-Highlands district has made quite an impression on me. On August 4^th, they had an awesome pairing of BBQ-themed fare with Terrapin Brewery and it was awesome! The setting was at the top of the main floor in what seemed like an intimate, classic dining room from something out of Gone With The Wind complete with the wooden dining set, white tablecloths, large windows, curtains and an overall down-home vibe. My girl/food writer Andrea Janise and I had a ball with the other cool guests at the table, licking our fingers and sippin’ good brew out of Athens. The pairings were perfect and, although it was a tough call, our favorite was the Grilled Beef Short Ribs with and Vanilla-Roasted Potatoes paired with the extremely limited Reunion Ale ’11: A Beer for Hope—a Terrapin collaboration with Shmaltz Brewery out of New York. The short ribs were incredibly tender, flavored with a unique Chocolate Chili BBQ Sauce thanks to Chef Andrew James Smith, and the brew featured an unprecedented fusion of cocoa, vanilla and chili peppers. Crazy!

So what does this have to do with Monday? Nothing besides the fact that the Atkins’s dinner rocked. Wait, I take that back. The segue is that Atkins is hosting something pretty damn inventive tonight and every following Monday until the NFL season starts and televisions show Monday Night Football religiously (September 1, 2011). Are you a PlayStation gamer and love Madden? How about brews by SweetWater? Well if so, you are in heaven. Check this out direct from Atkins and SweetWater:

“Every Monday until the official start of the NFL Monday Night Football schedule, Atkins Park Tavern in Virginia-Highland is partnering with SweetWater Brewing Company to host a Madden NFL 2011 PlayStation Football Tournament on the restaurant’s big screen television beginning at 8:30 p.m. The Monday Madden tournaments will be played in a bracket style, and entry is free. Each quarter will last three minutes, and players will have the chance to win Atkins Park Tavern house cash, SweetWater Brewery tour passes and gear. Play begins at 8:30 p.m. and lasts until someone wins.”

I will admit that I have never played Madden because I consider it a drug like crack and I will never be able to kick the habit. I am that big a sports fan. So if you are already hooked, get in there and make your addiction worthwhile! There are only a few weeks left.

Cheers!

Ale

Atkins Park Tavern in Virginia-Highland is located at 794 N. Highland Avenue.  For more information, call 404-876-7249 or visit www.atkinspark.com. For more information on Sweetwater Brewing Company, visit www.sweetwaterbrew.com.