Both Twain’s and the Iberian Pig have cooked up ways to help out the Atlanta Community Food Bank this month.  (Oh the bad and obvious puns, they hurt!)

First off, on Saturday May 15th, Twain’s will host “Springfest” for a second straight year, which will feature 14 bands, BBQ, Twain’s beer (of course), and a silent auction.  Tickets are $10 and available at the door the day of the event.  All proceeds benefit the Atlanta Community Food Bank.  Doors open at 12:45a and bands play from 1p-12m.  For a list of bands and more info, CLICK HERE.

Two days later, on Monday, May 17th, Iberian Pig chef Chad Crete will host a cooking class at Cooks Warehouse in Decatur as part of the Atlanta Community Food Bank’s Simple Abundance series.  The menu for the evening runs the gammut from Croquetas de Queso to bacon-wrapped dates.  Wine tastings and raffle prizes round out the evening.  For more info and to purchase tickets, CLICK HERE.

This morning, the AJC uses the Iberian Pig and the strategy of its owner, Federico Castellucci III, to launch into an interesting discussion on revived practice of bartering by businesses in a poor economy.

“In this time, banks aren’t even going to look at us — a new restaurant opening in a nasty recession,” Castellucci said of his family-run Decatur eatery, the Iberian Pig, which opened in October.

But Castellucci, whose family owns two other restaurants in metro Atlanta, built on an existing space on the Square by bartering services with contractors and other vendors.

He financed the opening through future sales and the fee he pays a trade exchange firm based in Lawrenceville, Castellucci said.

Castellucci tells the AJC he was able to barter “a little less than half” of his opening costs.  Impressive.

Business owners: how important is bartering to your business model?  And is it another one of those things that’s easier to arrange in a tight-knit community?

Creative Loafing’s Besha Rodell hopes the Iberian Pig will serve as a “stepping stone” for Spanish food in Atlanta, but also labels the popular Decatur spot’s offerings as “bastardized Spanish food” in her recent review.

A 90 minute BSP-style wait at the Pig on Saturday (“Do you have a reservation?” “Um…maybe?”) sent me and the wife down to Feast for a satisfying, walkable alternative.

Over on her AJC food blog, Meredith Ford Goldman reports that the Iberian Pig will officially open to the populace next Monday, September 28th.

Her post teases us with a couple of menu items and mentions this interesting feature…

The drinks sound winning too: a tempered ice block will rest on the bar for hand-chipped ice in the cocktails.

Wow.  Now that should be a sight to see!

P.S. Once the Pig has settled in a bit I’m thinking we should set up a “Thanks for Saving the Smith’s Shoe’s Sign” night when we can all show our patronage in thanks.  What’s everyone think about that?

Decatur Food and Wine Dude notes via Twitter that the Iberian Pig’s website, which includes menus and much more, is now up and running.

At first glance, my immediate reaction is – these folks know what they’re doing.

The menu is lengthy and detailed, each member of management has a decent bio attached to their name, and there’s already a nice “press” page that includes things like “menu concept” and “green initiatives”.  To give you a taste, here are the Pig’s stated “green initiatives”…

•A unique partnership with Whole Foods to compost our food waste. This is a partnership that we are very proud of, and we hope that we can encourage others to follow our lead in creating partnerships with other businesses that positively influence our impact on the planet.

•All of our excess cooking oil is converted into biofuel that is used in a variety of different consumer cosmetic products such as lipsticks, shampoos, and conditioners.

•All of our to-go containers and to-go cups are made from either sugarcane or corn and are 100% compost-able.

•We are committed to recycling all of our paper, plastic, and glass products

•We are committed to reducing our energy and water consumption.

•We are committed to buying locally and organically whenever feasible.

The site also predicts a “late summer” opening.