Vinings Heritage Day is a special event created to celebrate Vinings Village’s past, present and future. Vinings Heritage Day will be staged at four different locations within walking distance of the heart of Vinings.

Admission to Vinings Heritage Day is free. Proceeds from the sale of food, beverages, pumpkins and maps will all benefit the Vinings Historic Preservation Society “Save the Chimneys” fund for repair of two chimneys on historic buildings in the community.

In my continued quest to investigate mall food, I decided to check out another of the new restaurants that came about from Cumberland Mall’s “Extreme Mall Makeover”. Always having had an affliction to eating at the mall, my family enjoyed a superb dinner at Stoney River a couple months ago.

This time around, my wife and I decided to check out Maggiano’s Little Italy for lunch. My wife went for the salad and sandwich. She started off with a very nice Cesar salad followed by the Prosciutto, Fresh Mozzarella & Pesto on Flatbread, which consisted of sliced imported Prosciutto di Parma, fresh mozzarella, tomatoes and arugula folded together with pesto sauce in their homemade pizza dough. It was quite good, but the Prosciutto seemed a little flat (in terms of flavor).

I went for a nice bowl of tomato basil soup (yum!) and their house specialty Braised Beef Cannelloni, which was fresh pasta stuffed with braised beef, Asiago and Parmesan cheeses. This dish was hot enough to burn my tongue and even when it cooled a bit, it really didn’t do much for me. It really isn’t more than what I described above. Shredded beef with cheese oozing out of the cannelloni. Was on the heavy side and not much flavor.

We both enjoyed a wonderful glass of Brancott Sauvignon Blanc from Marlborough County in New Zealand with our lunch and the ambience is quite nice. Maggiano’s has done a great job of creating a brand new restaurant that has the feel of New York and is a great spot for large parties who can take part in their family style dishes.

We finally moved on to dessert and settled on splitting a Tiramisu and enjoying a nice cup of cappucino. The Tiramisu was the highlight of the day. Very nice flavor, texture and just the right mix of ingredients, although I do believe it was alcohol-free. Not the way Grandma used to make her Tiramisu, but perfect for the kids and tasted great.

So when you’re thinking about that next dinner out, be sure to check out Maggiano’s, a recent addition to the Smyrna Vinings restaurant scene.

Move over Jonquil Plaza, here comes Jonquil Village. Above is a photo taken this week and Jonquil Plaza has been demolished and the debris is being removed. It suddenly looks like a gian parking lot and the images of the worn Jonquil Plaza are fading.

The $181 million, 14-acre Jonquil Village project has an approved $26.2 million tax allocation district subsidy. This subsidy has been the cause for much heartache over the last few months as the Cobb County School Board sued the City of Smyrna over the project.

In June, six of the seven Cobb school board members filed a lawsuit in Cobb Superior Court against Bacon, the Smyrna City Council and Smyrna City Clerk Susan Hiott for allegedly violating the Georgia Open Records Act.

The suit was brought after the city allegedly failed to provide the school board with financial documents it requested concerning the $26.2 million Jonquil Village TAD subsidy and how city officials calculated its $181 million value for the project. A TAD is an incentive for developers to build in economically distressed areas to increase property values, which results in more tax revenue and requires cooperation between the city, county and school district to quickly repay project bonds.

Both sides are currently in talks to resolve the lawsuit.

In the meantime the Jonquil Village project moves on. The mixed-use project includes retail space, a Publix grocery store, office space, an underground parking deck and more than 300 condominiums. A. G. Armstrong Development is the developer for the project.

Once demolition is complete, construction should be on an 18- to 24-month schedule. But don’t expect to see much being built up for awhile. The first structure to be built will be the 1,000 space underground parking deck. Everything else will be built on top of this structure.

On a recent trip to the Georgia Aquarium, we decided to try out the Luckie Food Lounge, just north of the aquarium at the corner of Luckie Street and Ivan Allen Junior Boulevard, across the street from the aquarium parking deck.

From outside, you get a unique vibe of the restaurant, an Asian fusion feel to the landscaping and a real contemporary feel due to the architecture of the building. Upon entering, the shere size of the place is amazing and you can see that while it does have the appearance of a chic nightspot, it’s going to equally be loved by kids.

When you walk in the front door, you immediately notice the large aquarium tank and the kids are pulled to it like a magnet. Luckie also features two other large aquariums and it’s clear that they didn’t one to be outdone by their neighbors. Their intimate aquariums don’t have to serve the masses like the Georgia Aquarium and feature very exotic sea life that you won’t find next door.

If possible, get one of the booths at the front of the restaurant to really enjoy the aquarium or sit in the sushi bar in the back, which is home to the other large tanks. Luckie definitely plays off the aquarium theme with plasma TVs everywhere portraying ocean life, including in the bathrooms.

Showing that this isn’t just a cool place to get a drink after work, Luckie has a great children’s menu. The kids can see their menu using a ViewFinder. I haven’t seen one of these for years and found it to be a neat differentiator and a fave of the kids. For the rest of us older folks, we get a traditional menu (oh well).

One thing I will tell you is that Luckie does not fall short. Many restaurants have a great ambience, but the food lacks and some don’t worry about the ambience because they know their food kicks butt. But at Luckie, they wanted both.

My kids selected the cheeseburger and the macaroni and cheese from their ViewFinders, then quickly turned their attention back to the aquarium located by their seat. The colletion of exotic fish is simply amazing.

My better half went for the fish tacos, which consisted of grilled Chilean sea bass, a jicama poblano slaw, tomatoes, sour cream, avocados and cilantro rice. It was quite tasty, but could use a little more zip to it. I decided to try out their shrimp and grits. That’s right, my continuing quest to find the world’s best shrimp and grits.

Their shrimp and grits are served with a mound of cheddar grits in the middle of the bowl and surrounded by shrimp, Shitake mushrooms, bacon, scallions, tomatoes and a lemon butter sauce. From the menu, I was hoping for something a little different. My two faves to date have been South City Kitchen’s cream-based shrimp and grits and Goldfish’s tomato-based shrimp and grits (why they switched to a cream-based I’ll never understand).

I was hoping that this was a little different. And wow, it was. It was not as heavy as the typical cream-based shrimp and grits and the unique ingredients create a fabulous taste explosion. The replacement of the typical Andouille sausage with bacon added a different spin on the traditional recipe. The lemon-butter sauce pulled the flavors together and made the dish a sheer delight and firmly places Luckie on the top of my list for shrimp and grits.

Finally, we decided to check out their dessert menu and opted to go see firsthand their large selection of homemade cakes and pies. We settle for two to share at the table. The Twelve Layer Chocolate Cake and the Lemon Raspberry White Chocolate Cake. The two provided a nice variety and were finished in a flash.

So the next time you head down to the Georgia Aquarium, stop by Luckie Food Lounge for lunch or dinner, you won’t be disappointed.

Smyrnabration,brought to you by Q100 and The Bert Show, is back tonight at Smyrna Market Village from 5-11pm tonight. Smyrnabration is billed as the ONLY carnival just for 21 and up. Come mingle with Atlanta’s sexiest singles. Ticket price includes unlimited rides on the Speed Dating Ferris Wheel, Love Slide, Makeout Moonwalk, Twister and unlimited plays on the carnival midway. Tickets are $20 in advance and $25 at the gate.

Carnival games and prizes, hot carnival food, ice cold beer, delicious funnel cake and much more! And…someone will win a free trip for two to Las Vegas! And don’t worry, the Georgia and Alabama game will be televised inside Atkins Park.

So come on out to Smyrnabration tonight at Smyrna Market Village!!!

Smyrnabration,brought to you by Q100 and The Bert Show, is back tonight at Smyrna Market Village from 5-11pm tonight. Smyrnabration is billed as the ONLY carnival just for 21 and up. Come mingle with Atlanta’s sexiest singles. Ticket price includes unlimited rides on the Speed Dating Ferris Wheel, Love Slide, Makeout Moonwalk, Twister and unlimited plays on the carnival midway. Tickets are $20 in advance and $25 at the gate.

Carnival games and prizes, hot carnival food, ice cold beer, delicious funnel cake and much more! And…someone will win a free trip for two to Las Vegas! And don’t worry, the Georgia and Alabama game will be televised inside Atkins Park.

So come on out to Smyrnabration tonight at Smyrna Market Village!!!

It was just a matter of time. The lack of rain this year has been bad and combine it with our record hot August and it created a situation that could no longer be denied. We’re in the middle of a serious drought and water restrictions needed to be increased.

Effective immediately, the Cobb County-Marietta Water Authority is requesting its customers to enforce the Level 4 Drought Response, which is essentially a total ban of outdoor water use. This is a water supply issue, as Lake Allatoona, one of our two water sources, has dropped to dangerously low levels for this time of year.

If the drought persists into a multi-year condition, it is unlikely that Lake Allatoona will re-fill during the winter and spring. Lake Lanier, which supplements flow in the Chattahoochee River, our other water source, is also being depleted by low inflows and required releases to meet downstream flow requirements.

• Current water supply conditions are as follows:
• Lakes Allatoona and Lanier are near record lows for this time of year.
• Lake Allatoona currently at El. 828.0, almost 9 feet below average for this time of year.
• Lake Allatoona is expected to be at El. 823.0 by mid-October, two months ahead of normal winter drawdown schedule. May drop below winter pool.
• Lake Lanier currently at El. 1059.9, over 6 feet below average for this time of year.
• Lake Lanier is expected to be at El. 1054 by mid-October, 11 feet below average for that time frame.
• Rainfall deficit is 16 inches below average year to date.
• 3-month outlook: normal to above normal temperatures; below normal precipitation.
• Potential for drought to become multi-year and lakes not refill to “full pool” during winter and spring.

There are few exemptions to this ban: for example, commercial outdoor uses of water, irrigation of vegetable gardens, and a 30-day exemption on commercially-installed landscapes. All recently-installed landscapes, even if owner-installed, will be granted a 30-day exemption. But the restriction does mean no lawn watering, no pool filling and no personal car washing.

The only thing we have to thank about this is that the water ban was not implemented during the heat of August which would have been disastrous to our trees. With the heat behind and most pools shutting down, the water ban should be a little easier for folks to follow. Now it’s just a matter of people heading to the local car wash instead of watering their driveway.

More information about the outdoor water use schedule can be found on the EPD website at www.gaepd.org. To learn more about water conservation, please go to the EPD Water Conservation website at www.conservewatergeorgia.net. Detailed information on the drought can be found at www.georgiadrought.org

I had a bit of an issue growing in my garage over the last few months, ever since recycling in Smyrna no longer accepted glass bottles. Being used to simply putting my glass into those handy blue recycling bins, I was not in a bit of a quandry. What was I going to do with all of this glass.

No reason to fill up the landfills of course. So I just kept filling up my garage. When it was no longer safe to walk through my garage for fear that touching one glass bottle might set off the world’s largest glass bottle domino effect, it was time to take action.

So I loaded up all the glass and head to the City of Smyrna Recycling Center, which is located at 645 Smyrna Hill Drive. For those of you not familiar with this location, either shame on you or you’ve stockpiled more glass than I have. Anyway, it’s just west of South Cobb Drive and south of Concord Road, across the street from Sparkles skating rink. It’s essentially tucked in back behind Howard’s Deli and the fire station.

They’re open Monday, Tuesday, Friday and Saturday from 8am to 4pm and on Thursday from noon to 8pm. They’re closed on Wednesday and Sunday. It’s pretty easy, just drive in and hand off your bins and they sort all of your glass into the appropriate bins. Also notice that there are lots of signs that you cannot recycle the lids with the glass. It’s their little reminder to people that they need to remove the lids before bringing the glass in to the recycling center.

Based upon the number of signs, I would say that this has been a difficult concept for some to grasp. Needless to say, it’s great that we’re still able to recycle glass and you can certainly bring a lot of other recyclable materials to the center, but it’s a lot easier just putting them into your blue bin and sticking it out at the curb. I have now made it a priority to no longer stockpile glass to the point of not being able to walk through the garage. So maybe I’ll see you at the Smyrna Recycling Center on my next trip.

Check out 3963 Harmony Walk Way in Concord Walk.

Wonderful Home in Concord Walk in Smyrna, just a short stroll from the Silver Comet Trail. Home has 4BR/3BA, one of the largest homes in the subdivision and is priced to move. Priced at $268,000.

Brand new carpet, interior and exterior recently painted, new HVAC and new dishwasher. Come check out this great home on Saturday.

Smyrna Vinings residents will soon be able to sleep a little better within the coming year. While trains are often considered nostalgic, a lot of people tend to differ on that opinion when the horn sounds at 5 am.

Both the City of Smyrna and Cobb County have been given approval for quiet zones to be installed. The quiet zones will require a four-arm gate system that fully blocks vehicles from entering crossings from both  approach and departure lanes. This ensures that no one can try to race through the crossing and beat the train. As a result of the implementation of these new crossing systems, the trains will no longer need to blow their horns.

These quiet crossings will be the first quiet zones set up in Georgia under a 2004 Federal Railroad Administration program that allows whistle bans on lines as long as extra safety measures have been implemented. The crossings where the new systems will be deployed are the crossings at Hawthorne Street, Spring Road (across from Smyrna Market Village and next to the up and coming Jonquil Village), Paces Ferry Road and Woodland Brook Drive.

The Vinings Quiet Train Campaign has been under way since 1995 and early this year had raised $441,000 in funds (including contributions by area devleopers such as Kairos and Weaver and Woodberry) and received an additional $300,000 in funds from Cobb County in Special Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) to cover the cost. CSX approved the installation on February 26, 2007 and the quiet crossings should be implemented by January of 2008.

In August, the City of Smyrna and CSV approved the installation of the quiet crossings as well. The City of Smyrna is funding the estimated $700,000 in construction costs with 80% coming from a federal transportation grant and the remaining amount from from SPLOST funds. The two crossings in Smyrna should be complete by the middle of 2008.

These quiet crossings have been in the works for years and have been eagerly awaited, both for current Smyrna Vinings residents and also by developers. The quiet crossings should have a beneficial impact on new Smyrna Vinings developments located close to the crossings such as Jonquil Village, Spring Street Village, Rileys Walk, Avignon at Vinings, Vinings Main and The Aberdeen.