Free Lunch For TWO at Copeland’s Atlanta Restaurant

You read it right!  This is our greatest promotion of the year.

How would you like to win SIX months of FREE lunch (For TWO) from any Atlanta area Copeland’s Of New Orleans Restaurant? (First Prize)

How would you like to win THREE months of FREE lunch (For TWO) from any Atlanta area Copeland’s Of New Orleans Restaurant? (Second Prize)

How would you like to win a FREE two hundred dollar ($200.00) gift certificate valid at any Atlanta area Copeland’s Of New Orleans Restaurant? (Third Prize)

Sound to good to be true? Well it’s not. This is our way of saying THANKS for connecting with us on Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, You Tube, etc.

What do you have to do you ask? Simple….

Shoot a video of you, your friends, your spouse, whom ever you usually bring to Copeland’s with you for great food, talking about your best experience at an Atlanta area Copeland’s of New Orleans Restaurant. You can sing a song, create a dance, or just speak from the heart. You can even shoot your video from our restaurant while dinning. (PLEASE understand that all content MUST BE rated G. Any video sent to us that we deem inappropriate will not be considered).

Now that you have a video, upload it to YOUR You Tube Channel, send us the link (the url at the top of the You Tube page) at eat@copelandsatlanta.com and we will review your video.  If your video is approved, we will share it on our Facebook account and Tweet it out to our followers.  On a side note, if you would like, please send us a friend request via You Tube. We will make sure to FRIEND you back:)))

Once we have reviewed your video we will reply to you that we have received your video and whether or not it is eligible for the contest. REMEMBER…your video must be rated G. Any video that is not deemed G will be refused.

Video will be judged on originality, content, creativity, sincerity, and how well it shows what Copeland’s means to you.  When you think of Copeland’s Restaurant’s, what do we mean to you?  Please share it with us.

Best of luck to anyone who enters and we look forward to hearing from you soon.

Winners will be picked November 15th, 2010

LEGAL TERMS and CONDITIONS:

Lunch offer will start the week of announcement and stop on the week of the sixth month or third month. This promotion can not be combined with any other offer.

Winner will receive one free luncheon entree per week for the specified time frame.  Includes coffee, tea or soda with lunch.  Does not include dessert or appetizers.

Winners can order from LUNCH menu ONLY and award is valid Monday through Saturday from 11:00 AM to 4:00 PM.  Not valid on Sunday.  Dine in only.

If a free lunch is missed durning one week, that lunch is lost.   Non transferable.

Valid at the following store locations ONLY:

• Buckhead – 3365 Piedmont Road, Atlanta,
• Cumberland – 3131 Cobb Pkwy S.E. Atlanta,
• Kennesaw – 1142 Barrett Parkway NW, Kennesaw.

An Atlanta Boy’s New Orleans Rite of Passage

I have lived in Atlanta for close to 13 years but New Orleans will always be home to me. I don’t think that will be the case for my 9 (soon to be 10) year old son Matthew. He was born and is being raised in Atlanta and isn’t bombarded like I was with regional sense of values as it pertains to food and cooking like I was growing up.

This weekend we did something spur of the moment that was going to be a rite of passage for him, whether he realized it or not. I think for 90% of Americans eating like a modern-day New Orleanian is a special occasion, which begs the question what is a special meal for a New Orleanian??

I don’t think any region in the country has the culinary calendar that New Orleans has, from Sunday Jazz Brunches, Revillon Dinners and Crawfish Boils we adhere to the unwritten calendar better than the ancient Mayans. I decided that we would have a shrimp and soft shell crab fry on Saturday night and Matthew was going to help to me fry the seafood.

My wife’s parents live in Atlanta having moved to Duluth after Katrina in 2005 and have really helped to solidify Atlanta as home. They were going to come over but before they arrived, Matthew and I would have to do the preparation for this event – his first seafood fry!!

We peeled the 5 lbs of 21/25 Shrimp without incident.  At some point he will have to pick up his speed in this regard but he did a fine job of taking the shells off of the beautiful white gulf shrimp.

He got antsy during the peeling but stayed on task as we talked the Braves, the Saints, and his upcoming season in fall baseball. After the shrimp were peeled we had to get the flour ready along with the egg wash and start the grease.

We have an electric fryer which is wonderful to fry the shrimp in compared to the pots of oil that I learned with. There is no need to be innovative when frying shrimp and softshells- I go by the same recipe that my Grandmother and Father showed me when I was Matthew’s age, season the flour, salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, and a dash of cayenne pepper, never over power the taste of the seafood with over seasoning the flour.

As I explained in painstaking detail how to season the flour (a sprinkle of this and a dash of that) I really started to lose Matthew’s attention. I still had hope as we were getting close to the fun part, frying the shrimp and crabs.

We fried the soft shells first, and under coating of plain flour egg wash (2 eggs in a quart of milk mixed up with a wire whip – My Grandmother probably flipped in her grave that I used skim milk!) then our perfectly seasoned flour.

The fryer fit 3 soft shells that started to float after a few minutes then were ready to come out. Now it was Matthew’s turn, he was very diligent about flouring the crabs, it took a while but he did a good job. He was concerned that the flour had caked up on his hand, he quickly grabbed the towel and tried to get as much off as he could.

I held the basket as he set in each crustacean. I gave the basket over to him and he set it in the grease. This is where I lost him, a violent rumbling of grease popped a few stray drops into the air in his direction, he looked at me like I was asking him to walk across hot coals. I understood his hesitation and did the frying for the rest of the evening.

He proudly brought each batch in for his Grandparents Mother and Aunt to eat, after we were finished he sat down and enjoyed his shrimp. I think he will remember this rite of passage, at least I hope he does with as fond of memories as I have of the evening. This is the type of meal that is special to a New Orleanian, one that is centered around family and unwritten rules that are passed along from generation to generation.

It is time for you to start your own tradition at Copeland’s in Atlanta – our new menu is in full swing with the best most innovative dishes Atlanta has to offer!!

Who were you with when you cooked your first meal for your family??

Thanks to Bobby and All of America’s Heroes

The first half of the first year of the new decade has flown by and we are on the cusp of the Fourth of July. I used to think about Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, George Washington and the rest of our Founding Fathers when July 4th rolled around. Not anymore.

I will still watch a ton of History Channel programs the next few days, try and get some facts about the Revolutionary War that I didn’t know before, but it won’t be my main thought. My main thought will be the young Men and Women who are serving our military overseas and are in harms way. My main thought will be with my nephew Bobby and the other heroes who are keeping our freedom secured right now.

I turned 18 in 1981 when the military was not needed in this country. I was happy to go register for the selective service but had no intention of joining any branch of the military. I went to the University of New Orleans, worked in restaurants and planned the rest of my life. I had no idea what it meant to lay your life on the line for your country or how anxious family members of the young men and women overseas feel every day that their loved ones are in harms way.

That all changed when my Brother Roy’s oldest son, Bobby, decided to join the Marines in 2005. Bobby was 22 or so when he decided to join The Marines. He signed up before Hurrican Katrina and went into basic training during the aftermath of the storm.

When I found out that he was going into the Marines I had my doubts. I worked with him doing catering and restaurant work long enough to know that he was very observant but questioned every decision made that affected him. This trait led to him loosing a job with Louisiana Power and Light over who should get repair service first. I didn’t think this was a good fit for him to join The United States Marine Corps!!

Bobby was the oldest person in his Basic Training Class and he prospered. He seemed to take to The Marines like a duck to water. I spoke to him a couple of times and he was transformed into a new person, into a Marine!!

Bobby has served several tours overseas and has come back fairly unscathed either physically or mentally each time. I think he may be a lifer. He loves it …he loves being a Marine, he loves our Country and he loves serving to keep us free and safe.

Bobby and his wife Katie spent a night with us in Atlanta a couple of years ago when they were on their way to New Orleans from North Carolina, I was amazed at his war stories, told not in a braggadocios manner, but in a calm matter of fact manner that indicated he would prefer not to share those experiences but did so out of respect for his uncle who was fascinated by them.

When Sunday comes around and I head for Copeland’s in Buckhead to work our Brunch, my thoughts will be with all of brave young men and women who are serving to keep us safe and free. I will go with my family to the Duluth City Fireworks on Saturday and to the Atlanta Braves game on Sunday with a great fireworks display after the game. I will look at my children and know that for now its a great show to them, but in time they’ll better understand why the fireworks are really going off.

We live in a free country but that freedom comes at a price in both physical loss and mental anguish for  the members of the military and their families. Take a moment this July 4th to think about all we have as a country, how God has truly blessed us like he has no country in the history of the planet. Then thank the next young man or young woman you see who is serving in our military. They truly make our country the “home of the brave”.

Happy July 4th!!

New Orleans Saints Super Bowl Celebration at Copeland’s Atlanta

Living in New Orleans, The Saints have permeated every aspect of life from the time I can remember. In 1980, as a sophomore in High School, I watched every game that was on TV and listened to the others on radio, even as the Saints plunged to 0-14.  It is amazing the detail that I can remember.

Saints vs. Jets, the only national TV game the Saints would play that year. As I watched the snow falling on the TV my father just shook his head that I was living and dying with every play of an 0-14 team. Truth be told, he was watching and pulling as hard as I was for the Saints to win at least one game in the horrible season, he just wouldn’t admit it.

I didn’t understand at the time how being responsible for a family, having a job (he was on the New Orleans Police Department) tempers the degree that you can feel hurt or feel joy with your sports team, but my Father was as happy as I was after that game. We loved to watch the games together. The first and only argument I can remember my parents having in front of me was about me staying up late to watch Monday Night Football. My Mom wanted me in bed for 9:00pm, My Father wanted me to stay up and watch whatever game was on that week.

The highlight of the game was the halftime show, where week after week we were vindicated in our hate of Howard Cosell as he would either not show the Saints highlights or show them with slanted commentary against the Saints. If you have no idea what I am talking about you are under 40!! (This was before ESPN, NFL Network and Direct TV NFL Package)

The argument that my Mom and Dad had over my bedtime led to the first Man to Man talk with my Father. He told me that I could stay up as late as I wanted but I had to be ready for school and couldn’t miss even if I had a 110F fever. I thought it was a fair deal, and usually went to bed after my Father and I yelled at Howard Cossell during halftime anyway!!

My Father died in 1986 and he never got to see the Saints in a playoff game much less a Super Bowl. I don’t know how he would have reacted to last season outwardly, but what I do know is that he would have enjoyed it and I would have enjoyed sharing it with him.

We went to a ton of games together, he was in charge of the Traffic Division of the NOPD and he had access to tickets on a pretty regular basis. Going to the games was magical for me, it still is to this day.

As I entered college, and my brother became family men, it was harder for the entire family to spend time together. Watching the Saints play was the one thing that we all did together, My Mom, Dad, 2 Brothers and 2 Sisters. The Saints still bond us together

My wife and kids got sucked up into the season last year due in large part to Copeland’s in Cumberland showing the games in the 120” big screen TV and several hundred other Who Dat’s going crazy. My 7 year old Daughter Grace wrote in her journal after one of the first games about the Who Dat chant, she didn’t understand it but she understood that it was done out of pure exuberance and joy!!

As the final seconds of the clock ticked off during the last Superbowl at least half of the Saints fans at Copeland’s were in tears. Its hard to control 40+ years of pent up frustration, disappointment, and at times bafflement. The Saints didn’t just lose a lot of games during those 40 years, but they found numerous ways to snatch defeat out of Victories jaws.

On that wonderful Super Bowl night it all changed as the Saints snatched victory this time. One of the biggest plays was the call to start the second half off with an onside kick. A move that was more likely to turn sour instead came up sweet thanks to the tenacious efforts of Chris Reiss, an Atlanta native. The rest is history that Saints fans will relish. Say what you want about the Saint’s first 40 years, but the second 40 will include the words Super Bowl Champions.

We are going to relive The 2009 New Orleans Saints Championship Season on Saturday June 26th at 1:00pm. We will be joined by Chris Reis from the Saints, whose parents were regulars at our Cumberland location every Sunday last year. I can’t wait to see everyone who shared last year with us, to relive the highlights and look forward to the 2010 Saints.

I wish My Dad was still alive to see us replaying Saints games, because I bet the gruff old Policeman, who was very jaded, would still have a tear in his eye every time he saw Tracy Porter get to the end zone pointing to the Who Dats loosing their minds in the stands!!

What is your favorite Saints Moment? …Who Dat!

Glen Helmstetter is a partner in Copeland’s Atlanta and a native of New Orleans where he was raised on shrimp, crawfish, and the New Orleans Saints.

You’re Invited to Copeland’s Atlanta-area Restaurants for Super Bowl XLIV, Valentine’s Day, and Mardi Gras this February!

We at Copeland’s are so excited to have hit the HOSTING TRIFECTA! We’re loading up in February for back-to-back-to-back celebrations as we pull for the New Orleans Saints in February 7th’s Super Bowl XLIV, host intimate meals for Valentine’s Day on February 12th, 13th, and 14th, and launch Mardi Gras, or Fat Tuesday, on February 16th!

It’s the first time our home team, the New Orleans Saints, has ever made it to the Super Bowl so it’s GAME ON this Sunday. We’re pleased to bring our customers the sights and sounds of the season’s biggest game with our two 120” HD screens at Cumberland and new HD screen at Kennesaw!

Next we’re going to slow it down and dim the lights for a weekend of romance and dinner specials as we host Valentine’s Day for those deserved couples. And finally, we are going to gear up for the moment we’ve been waiting for all year long—Copeland’s famous Fat Tuesday celebration complete with our amazing King Cakes!

I have to tell you, as a business owner, having three back-to-back events like this is both exciting and a lot of pressure! I know many people who would just as soon skip an “event night” out because they expect long wait times, a harried staff, and food that’s been sitting far too long under the heat lamps before its brought to their table.

I understand this is an opportunity to WOW! our regular guests as well as our first-time diners and also a time when restaurants can make critical mistakes that lose customers. We are making careful preparations in the kitchen to have everything ready for our guests so the food rolls out hot and fresh. We’ve stocked the bars with the best beer, wine, champagne, and mixers so no matter what our customers’ preference, we have something to please everyone—and we’ve ramped up our waitstaff to make sure every detail of our customers’ experience is a pleasant one.

We hope you’ll join us for these February celebrations. Check out our menu at CopelandsAtlanta to see the tremendous selection we have for every palette. And while most of us at Copeland’s are die-hard Saints fans, it wouldn’t be fun without half of the house rooting for the Indianapolis Colts. So no matter which team you are cheering for, we hope you’ll join us for what promises to be an exciting evening! Super Bowl seating begins at 3 p.m.

Copeland’s Atlanta Area Restaurants Offering Famous “King Cake”

The King Cake, like most things New Orleans, is a quaint little tradition that when subjected to the creativity of the best chefs in the world, suddenly becomes a world-wide obsession. That little sticky, cinnamon-y cake pastry that originated in France in the 12th century has evolved into one of the iconic symbols of Carnival. The New Orleans Creoles merged the French’s passion for baking and the 12th Night Cake with the Spanish’s obsession of picking “Royalty for a Day” via chance into one of my favorite treats and something that brings back great memories of my childhood.

It is interesting why a King Cake looks the way it does- it is circular in shape to represent the route taken by the Three Wise Men when they visited Baby Jesus. They made a circle back to the east so King Herod would not know that they had found the Child King and have him killed. The colored sugars represent the colors of Mardi Gras and were chosen in 1872 by Rex himself. They are Purple for Justice, Green for Faith and Gold for Power. On an interesting side note, when Louisiana’s two largest universities (Tulane and LSU) picked their colors, they choose the colors of Mardi Gras.

The first use of the 12th Night Cake, or Kings Cake, was by the Twelfth Night Revelers (TNR) in the 19th Century. It was a singles dance for the blue blood of New Orleans’ Society. Member of the TNR would roll the large cake into the ballroom and all of the single maids would be “called out” and brought to a masked member for the “call out dance.” Each woman would get a piece of cake. Whoever received the piece with the luck of the bean that was baked inside the cake would become “Queen of the Ball” and her escort would be “King.” The bean evolved into a plastic baby that represents Jesus. For those of us not born into the upper crust of New Orleans Society, receiving the baby meant hosting the next King Cake party!!

So now that the holidays are over and New Year has past, here comes Mardi Gras in all of her splendor. Starting on January 6th, Copeland’s Restaurants in Atlanta will be baking these ancient treats with a Creole twist. To order, come by any of our Atlanta area Copeland’s or go online to www.CopelandsAtlanta.com to order or have your cake shipped anywhere in the United States. See if you have the “Luck of the Bean.”

A Year ‘Round Commitment to Great Eats for Atlanta

Each January, people look introspectively at how to do things better in the year ahead. They resolve to work smarter, execute new diet or exercise regimens, adjust their work goals, or fine-tune their spending.

We at Copeland’s feel the New Year brings in a different kind of challenge, one to stay the course, remain consistent, and not fall prey to new-fangled ideas, short-cuts, or cheap deals. When distributors come up with “fresh” or “homemade” foods delivered to us in a carton straight from their freezers, we politely decline. When someone comes up with a quicker recipe for one of our signature items, we refuse to compromise our quality for the sake of time. And when suppliers come in with cheaper ingredients, we turn them away because they don’t understand Copeland’s picky standards on select, fresh ingredients.

We cannot be bought. We do not compromise. We believe there is only one way to deliver the New Orleans taste sensations people have come to love and expect from us—and that is with quality ingredients, time-honored recipes, and painstaking efforts in our kitchens.

This year, as always, we resolve to remain true to the high standards our founders set and not sell out on the quality of food or service we provide our customers. We always offer a fresh and homemade array of delicious foods in our menu so picky eaters and bold adventurers alike can find something they’ll love to eat.

For those of you who promised to cut back this year, we offer small tasting plates. They’re rich in color, texture, and flavor, but won’t leave you feeling stuffed. Enjoy savory dishes like Crabmeat Ravioli, Steak Labouchere, Paneed Eggplant with Shrimp Creole, and Pecan Crusted Catfish.

For those of you who want to live every moment to it’s fullest, we invite you to indulge in our brunch buffet, available from 10 a.m.- 3 p.m. each Sunday. Enjoy live Jazz music while filling and refilling your plates with mouth-watering Prime Rib, Honey Ham, Shrimp, Cajun Scrambled Eggs, Catfish, Wings, Hickory Wood Grilled Chicken, delicious sides, and fresh baked desserts.

Whether you’ve resolved to cut back, live life to the fullest, or try something new this year, Copeland’s is your spot. We promise we’ll never compromise on the very things that you and your friends and family have come to treasure when dining with us.

What did you resolve to do differently this year?

Cajun Fried Turkey at Copeland’s of New Orleans

All right, you asked for it and now we have it. You wanted to know what how we are able to deliver the best fried turkeys in Atlanta and with this video, we are sharing our secrets!!  Well, maybe not all of them.

Watch our video and let us know what you think. We hope you enjoy watching it as much as we enjoyed making it and we look forward to your comments.

 

Vodpod videos no longer available.

more about “Cajun Fried Turkey at Copeland’s of N…“, posted with vodpod

Copeland’s Deep Fried Turkeys

When talking about Cajun cooking you often look at a dish that is delicious and think, “who thought of this?” That comes to mind every time I see a turkey about to go into a fryer filled with peanut oil. There is no definite answer as to who or when the fried turkey was invented but it is safe to say that it hails from the bayous of Louisiana in the late 19^th or early 20^th century. Growing up in New Orleans, I never took the fried turkey seriously until Martha Stewart put a recipe in her magazine and fried one on her TV show in the mid 1990’s. The demand for this bird has escalated every year since. In the last 10 years we have fried over 20,000 turkeys in the Atlanta Copeland’s alone!!

When these crisply-coated, delicious birds make the news it is often for all of the wrong reasons! The conventional turkey fryer with it propane gas and gallons of hot oil often cause house fires, severe burns and death when not handled properly by it users. It is easy to see the allure of frying a turkey—it is a very social event, like boiling crawfish or grilling out with friends and family. The difference is that you are dealing with 350 degree oil and a large water-based bird that can cause the oil to overflow or spatter if the bird is not thawed and drained properly.

The safest and best way to obtain one these wonderful birds is to simply go to www.copelandsatlanta.com and pick a time for your holiday feast to be ready hot and ready to go! Copeland’s is your one-stop shop for all of your holiday needs. Fried Turkeys, great New Orleans holiday side dishes and the best desserts will make you a hit at any holiday function!

Glen Helmstetter

Copeland’s New Orleans Restaurant – Your Neighborhood Restaurant

There are three of us who partnered to bring Copeland’s restaurants to Atlanta. So far, you’ve heard from Bill Goudey, our Chief Managing Partner. Today we’d like to bring you a word from another partner, Michael Gray, about why maintaining that quintessential neighborhood restaurant feeling in Copeland’s is so important to him.

Growing up in New Orleans was such a unique experience. For most of America, New Orleans conjures up images of wild Mardi Gras celebrations, elaborate parades, and the ushering in of Fat Tuesday. But that’s really just a small part of life to those of us who grew up in New Orleans.

Many of my fondest memories are centered in New Orleans’ neighborhood restaurant and bar settings. Every neighborhood had that special place, whether you lived in Mid-City, Uptown, Garden District or on the Westbank. Places like Frankie & Johnnies, Uglesich’s, Domilises, or my personal favorite Liuzza’s are as much a part of New Orleans’ neighborhood culture as they were the culinary scene. These establishments were much more than just restaurants or bars, they were where the neighborhood gathered to share good times and bad, swap the daily news, and jibe each other while viewing college and professional sports games.

You could actually feel a transformation in the atmosphere based on the time of the day or week you went into your neighborhood restaurant.  During the week the after-work crowd stopped by for a drink before heading home. Lively discussions revolved around sports, politics, life in the city, and upcoming plans. It became a traditional way for folks to unwind after work and transition into the evening. On weekends, families wove in and out, catching up with generations of friends who also made it a tradition to dine regularly at the restaurant. And on crisp autumn Saturdays, sports fans would gather to cheer on Tulane or LSU, priming ourselves for Saints’ Sundays.

I discovered the ultimate New Orleans restaurant when I enrolled at Tulane in 1982. It was the Copeland’s tucked into the corner of Napoleon and St. Charles and it was the place for my friends and I to eat, socialize and soak in that unique New Orleans atmosphere. Even then, Copeland’s offered the finest foods at great prices in portions large enough to satisfy even the hearty appetites of my college friends. When the opportunity came to bring the essence and spirit of this New Orleans neighborhood restaurant to Atlanta, my wife Cindy and I were thrilled. As much as we enjoyed Atlanta, we longed for that taste and feel you can only find in New Orleans and were happy to bring it here and share it with our new friends and neighbors.

I’d like to invite you to spend a Saturday or Sunday at Copeland’s Cumberland location watching LSU or the Saints to experience firsthand what I am talking about. I am proud of how well our three Atlanta Copeland’s restaurants represent the best of New Orleans- from the Gumbo to Etouffee and Prime Steaks to Fried Seafood. Relax and enjoy the flavors and fellowship of your own New Orleans restaurant right here in Atlanta. And please, let us know, did we live up to your expectations? Have you been to New Orleans and an Atlanta-area Copeland’s? We’d love to hear how you felt about the two experiences.

Until next time,

Laissez Le Bon Temps Rouler, or Let the Good Times Roll!

Michael Gray
Owner
Copeland's Atlanta