Each week, we give you a calendar of upcoming dining events to help you navigate the week’s culinary festivities. This week, it’s Irish-time as we celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. Plus, we’ve got the dish on the inaugural Buckhead Restaurant Week, Inman Park’s equivalent, and the tastiest alternative to beer on St. Paddy’s weekend.
March 6–14
BUCKHEAD RESTAURANT WEEK
The first annual Buckhead Restaurant Week has arrived. Over twenty-five participating restaurants will dish out a prix-fixe, three-course menu including an appetizer, entree and dessert for $25 per person. Menu possibilities include a warm goat cheese custard with pistachios and sweet and sour beets from Market; a sweet potato, mascarpone, and barbeque pecan soup with baked gnocchi and farm chicken confit from Craft; or a Valrhona chocolate cream pie from Aria.
March 8–14
INMAN PARK RESTAURANT WEEK
Thirteen restaurants in Historic Inman Park will participate in this year’s restaurant week to benefit the Believe in Me Foundation, an organization led by Chef Shaun Doty that supports the education of children with autism and other developmental disorders. Enjoy a three-course dinner at restaurants such as Sotto Sotto, Sauced, and, of course, Shaun’s for increments of $15, $25, and $35. And if you’re feeling the luck of the Irish this weekend, purchase a $1 raffle ticket for a chance to win a party of hors d’oeuvres, beer, and wine for you and thirty friends.
March 13–17
ST. PATRICK’S DAY
Put on your green beads and line the streets for the 128th annual Atlanta St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Downtown. An array of bagpipers, Irish dancers, and Clydesdale horses will kick off at noon on Saturday, March 13, from Peachtree Street at Ralph McGill to Underground Atlanta. After the parade, head to STATS, the official parade headquarters, which will offer $2 pints, Celtic dancers, and live music from 2 p.m. to 2 a.m. If you’d rather watch the parade with a pint in hand, Meehan’s Public House on Peachtree is right on the parade route. Also on the route is Max Lager’s Brewery, which will kick off their Shenanigans party with the tapping of Imperial Mocha Oatmeal Stout (or IMOS). For more than just booze, venture to Terrace for some Guinness beef stew. To experience a full Irish meal, join Ellis’s restaurant on Wednesday, March 17, for a special $30 three-course meal of farm-to-table Irish specialties by chef Thomas McKeown. And yes, even Uncle Julio’s is getting in on the St. Paddy’s Day action with “super green” frozen margaritas for $5, Dos Equis green beer for $3.25, and special “Pot of Gold” queso dip for $3.
Sunday, March 14
PI DAY
If you grow weary of leprechauns and green beer this weekend, celebrate a more intellectual holiday: National Pi Day, in honor of the mathematical constant π (3.14 . . . and on and on). Morton’s will offer their popular Key lime pie (regularly $10 per slice) for only $3.14 from 5 to 10 p.m. at both their Downtown and Buckhead locations.
