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Few of us would tag tall, lean Abraham Lincoln as a foodie. But apparently he was a man with a passion for oysters. Reports say he distributed fried oysters at his first inauguration in 1861. The bill of fare for his 1865 inaugural ball included oyster stew and pickled oysters.

For Valentine’s Day, there are alternatives to chocolate when it comes to showing your love. Let’s face it: At any given time, many of us are on diets or at least watching what we’re eating. And a box of chocolates isn’t exactly helping out.

From the menu of . . . South City Kitchen Vinings, 1675 Cumberland Parkway, Smyrna. 770-435-0700, www.southcitykitchen.com/vinings Q. I ate at South City Kitchen and had the Sticky Toffee Pudding for dessert and it was to die for. I wanted to pick up the plate and lick it when I finished.

Replacing the Thorn Tree, a short-lived African safari theme restaurant in Norcross, Firenze Ristorante recently opened in the sprawling Peachtree Parkway shopping center space once occupied by Tomas. Andrea Montobbio, an Italian chef who’s worked at Pricci, Enoteca Carbonari, NEO and Taverna Fiorentina, is in the kitchen with a multicourse menu featuring antipasti, wood-fired pizza, handmade pasta, and a variety of fish and meat dishes.

Valentine’s Day may be the ultimate date night. But getting a reservation at your favorite romantic restaurant at that magic seven-to-eight-o’clock hour requires some advance planning. If you haven’t clicked on Open Table or picked up the phone, yet, you may need to settle for a table on the early or late side.

Napa cabbage may be the Chinese vegetable we know best. It’s become as familiar on restaurant menus as beets or Brussels sprouts. Napa cabbage, also known as celery or Chinese cabbage, is a stocky barrel-shaped cabbage that can weigh up to 10 pounds. Napa cabbage leaves are very different from the relatively uniform leaves of our familiar round heads of white cabbage.

From the menu of . . . Buckhead Diner, 3073 Piedmont Road, Atlanta. 404-262-3336, www.buckheadrestaurants.com/buckhead-diner/ Q: I would love to have the recipe for the butternut squash soup. It’s very delicious. Thank you! -- Kelly Denton Young, Atlanta A: Chef Charlie Schwab from the Buckhead Diner sent us this recipe.

As anyone who has ever experienced a masterful food and wine pairing knows, the sum is greater than its parts. Great food and wine matches can happen by chance, but more often, they come from seasoned pros who have a higher batting average in such matters.

Horseradish has one of those flavors you either love or hate. I fall in the camp of horseradish lovers, enjoying the sharp, pungent flavor in everything from sandwiches to bloody marys. Really, what would seafood cocktail sauce be without the bright sharpness of horseradish? Most of us buy our horseradish already prepared.

Judging from the online commentary so far, Burger Tap has both delighted and confounded blogger critics with its rectangular-shaped burgers, wall of beer taps and eclectic-modern build-out. The new Asian-influenced fast casual spot, which opened in Morningside in December, is the creation of a Los Angeles team that includes executive chef Sean Park and some of the original founders of the frozen yogurt chain Yoforia.

For someone who hadn’t quite tapped his first commercial beer, Twain’s new brewer David Stein had created quite a buzz. In early December, 28-year-old Stein took over from longtime Twain’s brewer Jordan Fleetwood, publicly announcing his plans to “clean out the lines” and “make the best damn beer Atlanta has to offer.

Here’s something really useful the Georgia Legislature could do: Work a waffle into the official state seal. Peaches, pecans, even Vidalia onions … We’ve been rightly hitching our proverbial wagon to those signature Georgia foodstuffs for years. But not the waffle, which arguably is as integral to Georgia’s image as, well, Waffle Houses are to every street corner from here to Valdosta.

Cooking with alcohol seems a little retro, doesn’t it? To me, it conjures the liquid sounds of Miss Peggy Lee (“if that’s all there is, my friends, ...  let’s break out the booze”) and the kitsch factor of copper fondue pots and Mama’s ’50s Melmac dishes.

Following a summer of sneak peeks and a fall filled with delays, Slate Table and Tap finally opened in mid-December. The upscale pub is the second Roswell restaurant from the owners and culinary team behind Indigo, which was forced to close for repairs in October due to an after-hours fire.

From the menu of . . . Mediterranean Grill, 2126 N. Decatur Road, Decatur. 404-320-0101, www.mediterraneangrill.com. Q: Nothing offsets a gray, dreary day better than a big bowl of hot lentil soup from Mediterranean Grill. Any way you can get that recipe for me? Thanks.

With a nod to the upcoming Super Bowl, this week’s finds include a custom bottle opener, cypress serving trays and peppery sauces for your game-day gathering. Man of Steel Call him Atlanta’s Iron Man or Man of Steel. Andrew T. Crawford probably won’t object.

From the menu of ... Piccadilly Cafeteria, 1715 Howell Mill Road N.W., Atlanta. 404-352-1743, www.piccadilly.com. Q: I have many recipes for broccoli and rice, but my favorite is at Piccadilly Cafeteria. Could you get their recipe, please? Thank you! -- Jennette Barron, Decatur A: Requests for comfort foods like this broccoli and rice casserole fill the in box of the From the Menu of column.

One afternoon, Patrick Gebrayel pulled a hefty hunk of prime ribeye from behind a shiny glass case at Heywood’s Provision Company and pushed it toward a customer’s face. “Look how beautiful this is,” Gebrayel said to the startled man. “This is USDA Certified Angus Beef.

Monday marks the start of the Chinese New Year, ushering in the Year of the Dragon, named for the luckiest and most powerful sign in the Chinese zodiac. The new year is a traditional time for feasting with family and friends. Shi Yi Schroeder immigrated to Georgia from Guangzhou, China, formerly known as Canton.

Essentially fermented honey, mead may be the oldest form of alcohol known to man. For devotees, it evokes images of Vikings and medieval knights, and it is thought to be the inspiration for the word honeymoon. Though it’s appreciated in brewing circles, and deemed worthy of a separate category in the Beer Judge Certification Program style guidelines, mead remains a mysterious beverage -- rarely available in bars and package stores, and barely a blip on the radar of U.

From the menu of ... No Mas! Hacienda & Cantina, 180 Walker Street S.W., Atlanta. 404-574-5678, www.nomascantina.com Q: My boyfriend and I love the Margarita Chicken Soup at No Mas! Cantina on Walker Street in Atlanta. It's not on the menu on a daily basis, so when we go there to eat, we never know if it will be available.

By C. W. Cameron For the AJC CQ Tangerines. Satsumas. Clementines. Mandarin oranges. Beginning in October, these squat, easy-to-peel members of the citrus family start making an appearance at the grocery store. All members of the family, Citrus reticulata, what’s the difference between them? In my attempt to figure it out, I talked first with the folks at Sunkist Growers, a cooperative of citrus farmers in California and Arizona.

Smashburger, the Denver-based “better burger” concept, debuted its first Atlanta store in Buckhead in July. Since then, four more have sprouted up, including the newest on Roswell Road in Sandy Springs. The signature Smashburger is made from hand-formed balls of fresh Certified Angus Beef, “smashed-to-order” and seared on a flattop grill, and served on a butter-toasted bun with an imaginative assortment of toppings and add-ons.

Grammy winning artist Ludacris is closing Straits Atlanta, a Midtown eatery he has operated for four years with partner Chris Yeo. Ludacris, whose real name is Chris Bridges, made the decision after winning a contract to open a restaurant -- Chicken N Beer -- at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport with Atlanta Restaurant Partners.

Despite the dozens of different cool weather greens that are grown in the Atlanta area, spinach reigns supreme. “It’s the most popular green by far. It sells out the fastest,” said Celia Barss of Woodland Gardens, a certified organic market garden in Winterville.