WE COULDN'T DO IT WITHOUT YOU, SO HOW ABOUT LUNCH? ADMINISTRATIVE PROFESSIONALS DAY IS APRIL 27

They do it all -- organize, coordinate and follow through on the details, handle those pesky calls and yes, they even polish your Apple and do Windows.  Do they ever get a chance to do lunch?  Book an hour or two on their calendar for Administrative Professionals Day, Wednesday, April 27 and take them to one of Atlanta's delicious lunch spots.  There are seven Marlow's Tavern locations scattered around town, and one is sure to be near your office.  Likewise, Ray's Restaurants has three locations:  Ray's in the City in downtown, Ray's on the River on the top end and Ray's at Killer Creek in Alpharetta.  Buckhead options include Davio's Northern Italian Steakhouse at Phipps Plaza and Uncle Julio's Fine Mexican Food.  Westsiders are close to JCT. Kitchen & Bar, Ormsby's and South City Kitchen Vinings.  RA Sushi, South City Kitchen Midtown and new Briza, adjacent to the Renaissance Atlanta Midtown Hotel, accommodate Midtowners with ease.  Dash over to Uncle Julio's Fine Mexican Food in Sandy Springs for a lively change of scenery (and maybe a margarita).  Good-bye brown bag; hello luscious lunch!

"BEER MEATS GRILL" WELCOMES SUMMER IN THE GREAT OUTDOORS AT ECCO IN MIDTOWN

Give summer a proper "Hello!" with "Beer Meats Grill" on the patio at Ecco on April 28 starting at 6:30pm. Enjoy Executive Chef Micah Willix's homemade sausages grilled-to-order beneath the warm glow of Midtown lights and a tasting of ice-cold domestic and European beers to wash it all down.  Ecco is making exotic combinations:  merguez North African lamb sausage, Calabrese pork sausage with red chilies and oregano, noisette pork sausage with hazelnuts and red wine and mushroom, rabbit and pork sausage with shiitake and porcini mushrooms.  Dabble in condiments including grainy and Dijon mustards, caramelized onions, cilantro and spring onion chermoula, house-made hot sauce, salted cabbage salad, warm potato salad with tarragon vinegar and lentil salad with dates and spring onions.  Tickets are $25 each plus tax and gratuity and may be purchased online. 

A SWEET DREAM COMES TRUE:  THE VIDALIA ONION MUSEUM PEELS OPEN DOORS FOR GRAND OPENING ON APRIL 29 

The museum consultant countered, "Really, an onion museum?"  That was five years ago, before learning the "sweet" history behind the humble, mild-mannered Vidalia onion.  The Vidalia's intoxicating layers have been peeled back to uncover its growth from modest cash crop to inspiring a multitude of food products marketed worldwide -- and to being named Georgia's state veggie.  See it all when the Vidalia Onion Museum opens to the public at 3 p.m. on Friday, April 29.  The 1,300-square-foot space is stuffed with an interactive array of educational exhibits highlighting the sweet onion's economic, cultural and culinary significance.  Exhibits trace the vegetable's history, why it's so sweet, the fight to protect name and fame, the year-round job of producing the prized onions, "Onion Town" and the economic impact of the Vidalia onion on the state, pop culture, marketing, menus, a "Sweet World for Kids," and the living exhibit of the smallest registered Vidalia onion field right there on the premises.

Adding more spunk to the mix, the Vidalia Onion Festival also takes place this weekend with festivities, pageants, parades, concerts, car shows, onion-eating contests and arts and crafts.  Since these are Vidalia onions we're talking about, it's a given that you can play all day without shedding a tear -- unless they are tears of Vidalia joy and appreciation!  After its 3 p.m. opening on April 29, the museum's regular operating hours will be Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. with Saturday hours available for tours.  For more information, visit www.vidaliaonion.org or the museum's Facebook page. 

PARTY ON THE PATIO WITH AQUA BLUE ON SATURDAY, APRIL 30 

On your mark, get set, party on the patio!  Aqua blue takes it outside to open the season with patio drink and dining deals and the American Flyers, whose 7-10 p.m. concert simply can't be contained indoors.  From 4 p.m. until close, $5 buys a glass of wine or patio-perfect drinks such as Aqua blue Icy Hard Tea, Mojotini, Beam Rye-Ade and Avion Summer.  Imported beer runs $3.  Patio fresh air works up appetites that are easily appeased by the regular menu or the special $10 buffet featuring jumbo lump crab cake sliders, Maker's Mark-glazed barbecue ribs, wild shrimp and scallop lime ceviche and slathered corn on the cob.   Hello spring evenings on Aqua blue's gorgeous blue and white dressed patio. 

FADó "LADIES 80s" HAS DRINK SPECIALS FOR LASSIES AND LADS ON APRIL 30

Fadó Irish Pub & Restaurant is happy to share fashionista tips for "Ladies 80s" night on Saturday, April 30.  Dress for success by pulling on an off-the-shoulder big t-shirt, neon spandex leggings, crunched leg warmers and feathered big hair. So garbed, you'll fit right in when the DJ spins 80s tunes and tosses out 80s paraphernalia such as slap bracelets, glow necklaces and candy necklaces.  Everything 80s is excellent, including $6 cocktails resurrected from the 80s -- Blue Hawaiians, Long Island Iced Teas and Mai Tais. These $6 prices go for girls and guys!  Party starts at 10 p.m. and goes until who knows when.  Can't remember the 80s?  There are plenty of websites offering fashion flashback ideas.

Fadó Irish Pub & Restaurant:  273 Buckhead Avenue; 404-841-0066.

OUR LIBATIOUS NATURE JOINS SPICE ROUTE SUPPER CLUB TO PAIR COCKTAILS WITH POULTRY DISHES FROM KERALA, INDIA 

Chicken is big in the South.  Ditto for along the spice-rich coastline of Kerala in southern India. Asha Gomez, the Kerala, India native who prepares Spice Route Supper Club meals, has planned the menu for the April 30 event around Kerala's poultry specialties.  Nicky and Katruska of Our Libatious Nature, a blog dedicated to exploring and enjoying handcrafted cocktails, are partnering with Asha to incorporate in their cocktails the same spices used for centuries in Kerala cuisine.   

The threesome have planned a five-course meal with cocktail pairings that includes:  Asha's signature chicken stew with silky coconut broth and savory vattayappam steamed cake served with Pineapple Sour made with bourbon, almond syrup, Triple Sec, lemon juice, muddled pineapple, egg and a pinch of saffron; braised quail curry with classic Kerala flavors of red chiles, coconut oil, curry leaves and mustard seeds served with coconut rice and Cucumber Lassi made of gin, Thatcher's cucumber liqueur, milk, cilantro syrup, muddled cucumbers; Kerala fried squab served with freshly made griddle bread and Mad Mango made with muddled fresh mango, vanilla bean, ghost pepper-infused dark rum, light coconut milk, orange bitters and orange juice; Tellicherry pepper-crusted duck with guava chutney and kale thoren paired with Smoked Figs created with Old Monk rum, ghost pepper-infused vodka, Licor 43 vanilla liqueur, homemade fig preserves and star anise.  The meal concludes with dessert of vanilla bean custard with mango and Asha's chai.   

The 8 p.m. dinner with drinks is $85 per person plus gratuity.  Sign up and find out the exact northwest Atlanta location of this supper club.  To receive invites to future Spice Route Supper Club events, send an email to spiceroutesupperclub@gmail.com.

GO FOR GLUTEN-FREE GOODNESS DURING NATIONAL CELIAC AWARENESS MONTH AND BEYOND 

Restaurant options are bright for those going gluten free as a result of celiac disease (CD), gluten sensitivities or testing the waters to so see what gluten-free eating is all about.  Select Atlanta restaurants have added gluten-free dishes to their menus.  Give them a try during May, designated as National Celiac Awareness Month, and take comfort knowing you can enjoy them the other 11 months of the year.

Davio's Northern Italian Steakhouse offers Estrella Dam Daura, deemed the best gluten-free beer in the world by Beers of the World.  Davio's also offers an entire gluten-free dinner menu with antipasti, brown rice penne pasta, vegetable paella, free-range Statler chicken, Maine lobster, seafood cioppino, plus steak, veal and seafood dishes. (Phipps Plaza, 3500 Peachtree Road, NE; 404-844-4810)

All five Fifth Group Restaurants have taken the initiative to cater to guests with food allergies.  Ecco, La Tavola Trattoria, The Original El Taco and South City Kitchen Midtown and Vinings have created separate gluten-free menus and offer instructions on how to order the dishes that may have potentially harmful components for those who have CD.  Dining across the menus at these distinctly different restaurants presents a world of cuisine choices including Italian at La Tavola Trattoria, Mediterranean at Ecco, Mexican at El Taco and contemporary Southern at South City Kitchen Midtown  and South City Kitchen Vinings.  (Ecco at 40 7th Street, NE; 404-347-9555. The Original El Taco at 1186 North Highland Avenue, NE; 404-873-4656. La Tavola Trattoria at 992 Virginia Ave, NE; 404-873-5430.  South City Kitchen Midtown  at 1144 Crescent Avenue; 404-873-7358. South City Kitchen Vinings at 1675 Cumberland Parkway; 770-435-0700.)

Fleming's Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar offers a gluten-free menu with ordering instructions and lists gluten-free items on the restaurant's website in the nutritional guide. Tell your server you are ordering gluten-free, and they'll help you out.  Choices range from appetizers such as tenderloin carpaccio, wicked Cajun barbeque shrimp, lobster bisque, and butternut squash, cream of broccoli or asparagus soups to dinner entrées of Australian lobster, tuna mignon and any of the meat selections.  Skip croutons on salads and don't cheat yourself of dessert -- crème brûlée, mixed berries with whipped cream and vanilla ice cream with raspberry or fudge sauce are some sweet bites. (4501 Olde Perimeter Way in Perimeter Place Village; 770-698-8112)

We don't usually talk with our mouths full; however, we're giving a shout out to our favorite bloggers posting articles on going gluten free and menu choices in Atlanta: Betsy at Gluten Freedom Atlanta; Jennifer, the writer for Gluten Free in Atlanta on examiner.com; Lauren at Gluten Free and Southern; Dr. Ginger Carter Miller at Gluten Free in Georgia . . . Finally and Tiffany at Delight Gluten Free Magazine.

SPICE MARKET SLASHES PRICES ON SUPERIOR WINE SELECTIONS IN MAY

It's spring cleaning time at Spice Market, located inside the W Atlanta-Midtown, and that means quaffable savings for wine aficionados!  Come Monday, May 2, two different wines will be featured each week at a steal of a price.  One will be a high-end wine purchasable at much cheaper bottle and glass rates, and the other wine can be had at a reduced bottle price or $5 per glass.  When they're gone, they're gone, and the cut-rate selection changes each week.  Readers with five-star tastes and two-star budgets, these sip-savings are for you!   Check Spice Market's Facebook page each Monday morning to discover the weekly deal.  The specials for the week of May 2 are Far Niente Chardonnay, Napa Valley, California ($18/glass and $69/bottle - usually $138/bottle) and BV Merlot, Napa Valley, California ($5/glass and $20/bottle - usually $40/bottle).  Restaurant guests will receive complimentary valet parking for up to three hours.  Self parking also is offered after 6 p.m. in the Colony Square parking deck located directly west of the hotel entrance on the corner of 14th and Juniper streets. 

Spice Market:  In the W Atlanta-Midtown, 188 14^th Street, NE; 404-724-2550.

DON THOSE SEERSUCKER SUITS AND DERBY BONNETS FOR A KENTUCKY DERBY PARTY AT SOUTH CITY KITCHEN VININGS

Dressing up and sipping mint juleps for "The Run for the Roses" is a Southern tradition.  All that horsepower.  All of those juleps.  Oh-so-hospitable South City Kitchen Vinings is throwing a Kentucky Derby party from 5 - 7 p.m. on Saturday, May 7.  You won't miss a minute of the action as the restaurant will televise it, high volume, on its flat-screen TVs.  Out on the patio, saddle up with cocktail tastings of mint juleps, mojitos and Kentuckyritas and enjoy heavy hors d'oeuvre including smoked chicken wings, Kentucky sausage meatballs, grilled pimento cheese sandwiches and burgoo-a traditional Kentucky stew. Hold your horses -- there's more: bartenders will teach guests step-by-step how to stir and shake up these cocktails themselves -- you'll even get recipe cards to take home so it'll be perfect every time. Even if your horse loses the Derby, you'll still win because partygoers will receive 10 percent off dinner if they choose to stay for another lap.  Purchase Kentucky Derby party tickets online for only $25 per person plus tax and gratuity. 

South City Kitchen Vinings:  1675 Cumberland Parkway; 770-435-0700. 

WOODFIRE GRILL HOSTS "INSPIRED SOUTHERN" DINNER DURING ATLANTA FOOD & WINE FESTIVAL

Call this dinner south by southeast.  On Friday, May 20, award-winning chefs Kevin Gillespie of Atlanta's own Woodfire Grill and Vishwesh Bhatt of SnackBar in Oxford, Miss. have big dinner plans at Woodfire Grill.  The two will infuse Southern food with the mystique and spices of Southern India to create a truly memorable meal as part the Atlanta Food & Wine Festival.  Zapaca Rum is pouring a signature cocktail to complement the evening's aura.  Purchase tickets online for $150 per person including tax and gratuity.  Discounted tickets are available for Atlanta Food & Wine Festival Connoisseur, VIP and three-day package holders.

Woodfire Grill:  1782 Cheshire Bridge Road; 404-347-9055.    

GOING LOCAL:  VOTE JUSTIN BALMES FOR "THE NEXT FOOD NETWORK STAR"

Vote for the guy next door...the other Justin B.  Justin Balmes, who works at the Marietta location of Harry's Farmers Market, is in the running for "The Next Food Network Star."  The 32-year-old Atlanta native has worked in almost every corner of the kitchen from line cook to executive chef.  Off duty, he's either concocting recipes using organic ingredients or cycling competitively.  He has drive, how about you?  Make your vote count for "The Next Food Network Star."

YELPER WAKES UP HIS MORNING AT HIGHLAND BAKERY BRUNCH

Yelper Wes P. isn't sure why he hadn't ventured to the Old Fourth Ward for brunch at Highland Bakery sooner in his life.  Wake up and smell the coffee, Wes.  Some of us are just slower in the mornings than others.   

Where have I been that I have yet to come here before yesterday? I dropped off my wife while I found a place to park - which really wasn't too hard to do considering how busy it was. By the time I walked in our table was ready. Awesome. Our service was great and our food came out super fast. Brunch here is super busy, but Highland Bakery runs like a well-oiled machine, every one does their part to make everyone else happy. And the servers and other staff genuinely looked happy. I would have been stressed out of my mind with that many people to take care of.

Anyway, on to the food. Portions are enormous. You'll get enough for two, maybe three breakfasts. I had the fried chicken Benedict with jalapeño cheddar grits. This version of the classic brunch food gives you a freshly made biscuit rather than the English muffin, fried chicken rather than the ham, a perfectly poached egg, and a cheese hollandaise seemingly made in heaven. The grits here are some of the best I've ever had. Great! My wife had the "rustic," which is rosemary toast, spinach, mushrooms, mozzarella, fried eggs (over easy) and tomato sauce with potatoes. The toasty, eggy thing was pretty fabulous. Plenty of cheese and egg and toast and spinach - not too much or too little of any one thing. Folks down the bar from us had the peanut butter french toast. Looking at it nearly put me in a sugar coma, but I really really want to try it. I'll be coming here again and again.

EAT IT AND TWEEP:  BUTTER AND SALT ARE GOOD ON EVERYTHING

Jane Lerner clears the air right away:  she is not the Jane Lerner who works as a suburban New York journalist nor is she the Jane Lerner who reclaimed her grandfather's art collection stolen in WWII.  She is an avid food writer who divides her passions between eating out and cooking in.  Ya gotta love her Twitter tagline, "A knife, a fork, a bottle and a cork, that's the way we spell New York."  Find Jane on Twitter (@janelerner) and on her Butter and Salt blog.