Smile and Go Green, It's St. Patrick's Week in Atlanta

St. Patrick’s Day greens are sprouting up all over town this week, from cabbage and green beer to emerald fountains and outdoor shindigs. No wonder shades of green are topping the Pantone color chart this season. We are so ready for the wearin' of the green and the cheer that goes along with it.

Atkins Park Restaurant & Bar in Smyrna is Dublin’ down for two days of St. Pat’s festivities with the Smyrna St. Patrick’s Day Festival at Market Square this Saturday and Sunday, March 16 and 17. Mayor Max Bacon will be dyeing the fountain green, which makes for a nice photo op to go with the lineup of live music, a redhead contest, games and rides for children and adults, beer pong, cornhole, a 65-foot inflatable obstacle course - plus magically delicious foods, Guinness, Harp and Irish Car Bomb drinks. Friendly toward Irish setters and other pups looking to get in on the festivities. Buy tickets online for $5 or pay $10 at the door. The traditional Irish classics are also conjured up across town in the dining room and bar at Atkins Park Restaurant & Bar in Virginia Highland, including Guinness and Magners to mark St. Pat’s Day.

Midtown restaurants 10th & Piedmont, HOBNOB Neighborhood Tavern and Gilbert's Cafe & Bar are all part of the Communitas Hospitality family, and on St. Patrick's Day, they are coming together to offer the same food and drink specials in addition to their regular menus. Green $3 Miller Light beer, $6 Lucky Leprechaun cocktails that leap to your lips with Midori, vodka, OJ and Sprite, and plates of rib-sticking corned beef brisket with mashed potatoes, braised cabbage and Pommery mustard ($13.95) will all put a little Irish spirit in your step. Visit one or all three for a rollicking good time.

In Buckhead, Fadó Irish Pub colors the whole week green with activities and food and drink specials each day, building up to the St. Practice Day celebration on Saturday, March 16. Of course, the biggest blowout comes on St. Patrick's Day itself with a party that starts inside Fadó in the morning and spills out into the street by afternoon. Bookmark our blog for more detailed information on this biggie so you won't miss a drop of the fun or the chance to win the trip to Dublin, Ireland.

Looking for a way to sweeten up your St. Pat’s weekend? The charming cupcakes at locally owned The Little Cake Bakery come richly endowed in top-shelf ingredients, and are sized right for grown-up leprechauns. Stop in the shop this Friday and Saturday, March 15 and 16, to nab some slightly tipsy Baileys Irish Cream chocolate cupcakes and the regular menu’s Guinness cupcakes made with Guinness beer. The new spring menu is in play at the Buckhead bakery with different flavors each day. Stop in on Saturday for Guinness, s'mores, cookies and cream and strawberry varieties. At $2.50 each or 12 for $27.50, these little treasures won't eat much of your cash stash. Minis are $11/dozen. More prices on the website.

New Promotions at Gilbert's for Every Night of the Week

Executive Chef Brett Ring has developed a feast of new Mediterranean-oriented dishes for the menu at Gilbert's Café & Bar in Midtown, but the good news doesn’t end there. Each night, the Communitas Hospitality restaurant is featuring a different special for patrons to enjoy. On Mondays, 12 wine selections have half-off bottle status with any food purchase. Tuesday is “Industry” night, which brings out complimentary pizza and 20 percent off the bill for industry members from 10 p.m.-2 a.m. Unleash your inner star with karaoke on Wednesdays from 10 p.m.-2 a.m. From 6:30 p.m.-9:30 p.m. on Thursdays, guests receive half glasses of three featured wines along with a full glass of their favorite wine and a personal cheese platter - all for $19. Come in Saturday between 11 a.m.-4 p.m. or Sunday between 10 a.m.-4 p.m. to enjoy an $11.95 all-you-can-eat or cooked-to-order brunch featuring hearty dishes such as blackened chicken omelet, gyro burrito, pancakes, country steak with gravy and French toast, all while sipping $4 mimosas and Bloody Marys. Stick around and cap off your weekend with Sunday karaoke from 6:30 p.m.-11:30 p.m.

Dine Your Way Through Atlanta's "100 Signature Dishes" and More in This Week's Dish

The Atlanta Convention and Visitors Bureau celebrates 100 years of hospitality, sharing 100 signature must-eat dishes in the ATL while Hearth Pizza Tavern and Gilbert's Cafe & Bar roll out some sweet new specials. There's plenty to eat up in this week's Dish! 

Time to Revisit Gilbert's Cafe & Bar

"New year, new you" is such the January expression, but in the case of Gilbert's Café & Bar in Midtown, it's true for 2013. The Communitas Hospitality restaurant has been an Atlanta fave since opening in 2000. Even so, Communitas Owners Sean and Gilbert Yeremyan are always open to ways to better serve their guests. The two gents have brought in Executive Chef Brett Ring, also chef at HOBNOB Neighborhood Tavern and 10th & Piedmont, to update and broaden the Mediterranean-focused menu for a full night-on-the-town dining experience. New meze items for sharing include diver scallops with haricot vert, crisp applewood smoked bacon, caramelized onion and citrus champagne; lemon avocado hummus with black sesame and smoked coconut; skate wing with artichoke, capers and lemon brown butter; and lamb shank börek with spinach and feta ($8-$12). For seafood lovers, Ring has seafood paella with mussels, shrimp, calamari, chicken, peas and haricot vert ($16 for one person; $30 for two) and almond-crusted tilapia with sautéed spinach and Parmesan risotto ($14). Other entrées include bacon-wrapped pork tenderloin with spinach ginger risotto and sweet Thai chili jus ($16); lamb shank with chickpea polenta, cherry tomato confit, Swiss chard and corn bread gremolata ($18); and the popular chicken kebab now composed of dark meat on a large skewer for a more exciting presentation. Ring, a Georgia native, nods to his Southern heritage through seasonally inspired plates and smoked foods such as smoked coconut atop lemon avocado hummus.

Check Out a New Year of New Restaurants, Menus, Demos and More

Start the new year off right by trying something new! Stop by Gilbert's Cafe & Bar to taste a bite from the revamped menu, or be inspired by Brian Stanger, Woodfire Grill's bar manager, and concoct your own season-appropriate grapefruit cocktail. There are plenty of new things to experience and more in this week's Dish!