Little Cake Bakery Ices Up New Spring Cupcake Flavors Plus Guinness and Baileys for St. Pat's - But No Corned Beef

Sized right for grown-up leprechauns and easy on the gold, charming cupcakes at locally owned The Little Cake Bakery come richly endowed in top-shelf ingredients. For a St. Pat's o'bite or two, 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. Tuesday features pink lemonade, peanut butter cup and malted milk chocolate while Wednesday offers Key lime, Hostess and Almond Joy. Thursday brings orange cream, Elvis and blackberry merlot flavors, and the weekend starts with carrot, chocolate salty caramel and lemon lavender on Fridays. 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. 

John Metz of Sterling Hospitality Receives 2013 IFMA Silver Plate Award 

Does anyone else see how fitting this is -- Sterling Hospitality receiving this year's International Foodservice Manufacturers Association (IFMA) Silver Plate award? John Metz, CEO, executive chef and co-founder of Sterling Hospitality, has been recognized for excellence in the Independent Restaurants/Multi-Concept category. Metz, along with Silver Plate award honorees from seven other foodservice operations categories, is up for the coveted Gold Plate award. One of the eight will be awarded the foodservice world's Oscar at the 59^th Annual Gold & Silver Plate Celebration, May 20 in Chicago. Congratulations, John, and best wishes toward winning the gold to sit next to the silver!

Ray's on the Creek Expects Full House for Customer Appreciation Weekend Celebrating 

New Look and Menu

Shaun Doty Leads Bantam + Biddy Favorites Cooking Class at The Cook's Warehouse in 

Ansley Mall on March 12

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

in Atlanta

Winter's gray shades are gone and St. Patrick's Day greens are sprouting up all over town this week, from green beer and cabbage to emerald fountains and outdoor shindigs. No wonder emerald and tender shoots greens 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.

Dublin' down for two days of St. Pat's festivities, Atkins Park Restaurant & Bar in Smyrna hosts the Smyrna St. Patrick's Day Festival at Market Square this Saturday and Sunday, March 16 and 17. Mayor Max Bacon has the honor of 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. Buy tickets online for $5 or pay $10 at the door. Across town, Atkins Park Restaurant & Bar in Virginia Highland conjures up traditional Irish classics in the dining room and especially at the bar, including Guinness and Magners to mark St. Pat's Day.

Midtown restaurants 10^th & 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. Visit one or all three for green $3 Miller Light beer, $6 Lucky Leprechaun cocktails that jump 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).

In Buckhead, Fad� 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 Fad� 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. Feast your eyes on a plate of their corned beef and cabbage in the Appetizing Aperture below.

A Little Moolah Buys A Lot of Mole & Mezcals at Alma Cocina Secrets of a Mexican Pantry Five-Course Dinner Pairing on March 16

10th & Piedmont's New Weekday Lunch Service Begins March 18

In the ongoing quest for reasons to love Mondays, 10^th & Piedmont will open its doors for the weekday Midtown lunch crowd beginning Monday, March 18 from 11:30 a.m.-4 p.m. Offerings go global with a variety of sandwiches, salads and soups. Modern interiors with white-hued walls and black and mirrored accents frame panoramic windows that provide a lively sidewalk and street view. Pull up mod chairs to a sleek table for two, four or more or slide into one of the high-backed circular booths for group conversation. What comes next? Don't know about your day, but 10^th & Piedmont closes for an hour and reopens for dinner at 5 p.m.

Appetizing Aperture

National Corned Beef & Cabbage Day is March 17. No blarney. Fad� Irish Pub & Restaurant is an any-day go-to place for this Irish delicacy, and there's always room for one more place at the table or bar, or street if you show up for Sunday's St. Pat's Party. Party plans on Atlanta Dish.