Fadó plans big things for St. Patty's Day in ATL!

What's up craft beer lovers?!

I had a great weekend entertaining visiting family and bouncing around a lot of gangster brew spots including The Porter, Graveyard, Midway, Argosy, Cypress Street, Wrecking Bar, Timone's, Family Dog, and Hand In Hand. I even went to a birthday party for my homey Donna at Frank Ski's (we need to work on their beer list though). Well, even though it's Monday, it's great to be alive! I hope you feel the same. That's my sermon for today.

Now, on to St. Patrick's Day, which is coming up very damn soon. Fadó Irish Pub in Buckhead always brings it, and throughout this week leading up to the day of the leprechaun on March 17, it's on again. They wanted to make sure you, my precious readers, knew what was in store. Well here ya go! This is straight from their headquarters. From piggin' out on Irish-themed cuisine to sippin' from SweetWater casks (March 11th), getting heads shaved for a cause on March 15th, partying with Clydesdales (March 16th), and jamming with arguably the best U2 cover band on March 17th, Fadó is going all out! Check it:

Fado Irish Pub in Buckhead hosts 18th Annual St Patrick’s Day Outdoor Block Party March 15 - March 17

Tickets are still on sale now to the biggest St Patrick’s Day party in Atlanta

No matter how much of an ancestral stretch it actually may be, Americans feel a real connection to their Irish roots each year on St Patrick’s Day. And starting March 1, the social order in Atlanta shifts towards a singular purpose: connecting to those Irish traditions. This means wearing green, eating traditional Irish food, connecting with community through charity, and, of course, drinking Guinness and fantastic Irish whiskey. After 17 years of throwing the biggest Paddy’s Day outdoor event in Atlanta, Fado Irish Pub in Buckhead continues its tradition of delivering revelers Atlanta’s definitive 2014 Paddy’s Day celebration.

Planning for the outdoor block party at Fado starts months in advance and every aspect of the days leading up to March 17 is focused on offering an over-the top- yet authentic- Irish experience with something for everyone. This year the outdoor event begins on March 15 and continues until March 17 featuring a full line up of European sports, including 6 Nations Rugby, English Premier League, Irish Dancers, traditional bag pipers, an appearance by The Budweiser Clydesdale Hitch team, full live music schedule, food and drink stations, including the a Tullamore Dew signature cocktail, called The Paddy’s Punch, as well as a signature serve “Flexible Flask”!  The flask will be prefilled with the cocktail and set up at stations or hand sold by wait staff throughout the day. “Party like a Paddy” never sounded more right!

Since 1996, Atlantans have chosen Fadó as the best St Patrick’s Day party in the city. Fadó Irish Pub in Buckhead has become a St Patrick’s Day Institution. Buy your tickets in advance now. Commit Yourself.

Here’s what to expect during Atlanta’s most anticipated St. Paddy’s celebration at Fadó in Buckhead:

·         Traditional Irish Session, Monday, March 10 at 8 p.m. -local musicians gather to perform acoustic versions of classic Irish tunes. New Musicians always welcome.

·         “Craft Fare” Tuesday, March 11 - a gourmet slider and craft beer sampling event from 7.30-9.30 p.m. $25 per person includes sampling from 7.30 p.m. and 8.30 p.m.; gourmet mini-burgers and sliders and multiple craft beers, including SweetWater Brewing cask ales and bomber bottles. Between 8.30 p.m. and 9.30 p.m., guests will enjoy special pricing on all featured product.  Tickets available on-line and on the door. Limited seating.

               Craft Fare Pre-sale Tickets:   

·         Super Paddy’s Day Pub Quiz with $500 cash prize, Wednesday,  March 12 at 8 p.m. - $500 1st place cash prize, 2nd place-$200 Fado Bucks, 3rd place-$100 Fado Bucks. Three week tournament starts on Feb 26th. Featuring Heineken pitcher specials for the tournament.

·         Live Music with the Mike Magno Band, Thursday, March 13 at 9 p.m. No cover. And, for Guinness lovers, its lucky pint night. Prizes given at random all night long!

·         St Baldrick’s Charity Event, Friday, March 14 at 2:15 p.m. from 6:18 p.m.- An annual head-shaving event where the community raises money and awareness to help fight children’s cancer. Drink specials include Heineken and Heineken Light Bottles and 20 cents from each bottle sold will benefit the St Baldrick’s Foundation. Party goes late with “Just Press Play” kicking off at 10 p.m. playing cracking pub tunes, new and old.  Fun Fact: “craic” is an Irish term meaning good times”. So we like to always say that this event is “great craic for a great cause”.  We have a $125,000 fundraising goal and over 35 shavees signed up so far. Go here and find out how you can participate. Or, just go here to donate.  

·         Parade Day in Atlanta; Outdoor Block Party at Fado, Saturday, March 15 - Doors open at 7.30 a.m. for European sports, English Premier League and 6 Nations Rugby. Full pub menu available all day.

Outdoor festival starts at 12 p.m. and is co-hosted by Atlanta’s own, A Social Mess who will be featuring the main stage contests, games and other amazing nonsense to infuse some wild into the festival this year.  Live music from 1 p.m. to 10.30 p.m. and includes Andy Birdsall cover band, Mike Magno Band, Desire (U2 cover band), and Geek Band (80’s cover). DJ Just Press Play inside starts at 9 p.m. Food tents and multiple beer and cocktail stations, including the Tullamore Dew signature cocktail; “The Paddys Punch”. Cover starts at noon.  21+ after 2 p.m. $20 on the door.

·         Trad Sunday, March 16 - Doors open early with European sports, featuring Liverpool v Manchester United 9.30 am. Brunch menu available until 3 p.m. and full menu, including Traditional Irish food, available all day. Guest bartender charity event from noon to 3 p.m. hosted by Leukemia & Lymphoma Team in Training. Irish dancers to perform throughout the day. Traditional Irish Music from 12:30 p.m. to 4 p.m and Andy Birdsall Acoustic. to perform from 4.30 p.m. to 8 p.m. No cover.

SPECIAL: From noon - 2 p.m., the Budweiser Clydesdale Hitch Team will be at Fado! All ages welcome. No charge.  

·         St Patrick’s Day, Monday, March 17 - Doors open at 7 a.m. Full menu available. Outside event starts at 12pm with traditional Bag Pipers and Irish Dancers performing throughout.  Live music from 2 p.m. to 9.30 p.m. with Geek Band, Andy Birdsall Band, Desire, the greatest U2 cover band in the world! Cover starts at noon. DJ Just Press Play inside from 4 p.m. playing “cracking” pub tunes until 9 p.m.! 21+ only afternoon. $20 cover on the door.

Advance tickets are on sale now for March 15 and March 17, 2014.

Purchase before March 1st and save. $15 for 1 day, $25 for 2 day passes

After Midnight on March 1st, tickets are $20 for 1 day, $30 for 2 day pass.

$20 at the door.

Tickets on sale now

About Fadó Irish Pub

Fadó (pronounced fuh-doe) Irish Pub was the first Irish pub to be designed and constructed in Ireland and shipped and installed in Atlanta. Fadó is distinguished by its genuine Irish hospitality, quality of its pints and craic (pronounced ‘crack’, a uniquely Irish form of fun). Fadó has been voted 'Best Of' by a number of local and national publications. Get more information by visiting the pub’s website, Facebook page or by following Fadó on Twitter and following the #stpatricksday2014  

More info on tonight's Superhero Pub Crawl!

Whaddup!

How beautiful is today? For those who are not kicking it with a lot of my craft beer-sippin' homies at Cigar City’s5th Annual Hunahpu’s Day (like myself), there is always something else crackin’. For instance, besides Goose Island’s Migration Week, there was to the fourth annual Superhero & Supervillain Pub Crawl in ATL I featured here. In fact, I asked the founder, Meredith A., to give us some more insight. Here is what she said along with some tips in order to kick it to the fullest in East Atlanta Village:

“To give you a little background on me and the evolution of the crawl, it started with a few friends gathering for a birthday celebration. I have a big heart for giving back to the community and due to the popularity of the crawl, it has turned into a fundraising event for local non-profits. I want the community to feel like this crawl is as much theirs as it is mine and I try to get input from them whenever possible. SHARE House was nominated by someone in our SHSV community and they will benefit from this year’s crawl. SHARE House assists victims of domestic violence (sharehousedouglas.org).”

To get the most out of this year’s crawl.

After your wristband is securely fastened...

1. Keep your phone handy!

Reference shsvcrawl.com throughout the night for the bar schedules and drink/food specials 

The East Atlanta Beer Bear will be onsite for photo ops and will be selling tickets to the EAV Beer Fest 

Take lots of pictures! Email them to shsvcrawl@gmail.com and we may feature them on shsvcrawl.com

2. Make sure you are registered for the COSTUME CONTEST hosted by the Glenwood! 

Registration will take place at Graveyard Tavern from 7-8 pm. The top winner from each of the three categories (best superhero, best villain, most creative costume) will walk away with $50 Glenwood cash! (This cannot be used night of the crawl.) We highly encourage original superheros, and supervillains. Just make sure you have a super power and back story ready to go! 

3. Show some respect!

We pride ourselves in being peaceful in such a diverse group. Whether you are a hero or a villain we all get along for this one night. (And we always make sure we tip well for the great service we receive in EAV!) 

4. Get home safely

Enough said.

Cheers!

Ale

Goose Island Migration Week(end) and Superhero Pub Crawl in ATL!

Ball 'til you Crawl! 

Hey y'all! 
I am going to make this short and sweet because I am dealing with a loss in the family (R.I.P. Denison). Hopefully, I will be able to get a few of my visiting cousins out to toast off the passing the weekend. Regardless, I had to at least inform my loyal ATL-based readers on a couple of extraordinary things going on. Here we go:

Goose Island's Migration Week is in full swing. From slinging their Strawberry Sophie-infused ice cream with Frozen Pints' creamy goodness this past Tuesday and Thursday seen here...

to the "Wild Goose Chase" scavenger hunt from 1 to 4 p.m. this weekend at starting at Family Dog, these Chicago-based folks know how to throw down! I covered it last year here and every night was a blast! Click on the remaining schedule below:

Second, as you can see from the cool graphics below, I came across this pretty far out Superhero & Supervillain Pub Crawl in East Atlanta Village also this Saturday! It starts at 7:00 p.m. Just dress up like a hero or villain (or dominatrix), get a wristband for 10 bucks and you are officially in! Plus, loot goes to a charity so that rocks too! 

Have fun and live life to the fullest the way my late uncle did.
Cheers!
Ale

The Most Gangster Fries in Atlanta: Wrecking Bar

You know any better? Holla at me!

Hey y'all!
Plain and simple, who has better fries in the ATL than Wrecking Bar? I was enticed and enlightened by these babies during a recent bottle share there on Sunday. 
Yes, I was starving but still, when it comes to brew and food, I am pretty damn picky about what I put in my body. With that being said, when I saw those fresh, hand-cut, cured slices of Burbank potato goodness fried in Canola oil, it was a wrap. The knockout punch was Head Chef Terry Koval making it rain with a lil' Morton's kosher salt to complete the culinary seduction. 
And the odd thing is, they are so good that I could eat them at room temperature if I had to and that means a lot! Cold fries are simply gross to me; gross to the level whenever I go to Chick-Fil-A (another guilty pleasure once a month), I order their fries with no salt so that they have to make a fresh batch, which guarantees they are served blazing hot. Still, with all due respect, Truett Cathy's crew's not effin' with Wrecking Bar's. The perfect crispiness on the outside, a soft middle, the tasteful earthiness of the skin at both ends, plus three dipping sauces (although I am loyally a Heinz man any other time) closes the deal. Oh yeah, their world class brews including the Siberius Maximus Russian Imperial Stout series, Hop Noggin Imperial IPA, among others don't hurt either! 

Now don't sleep on Grindhouse, the Fry Guy, Porter Beer Bar, Leon's full Service, or Holeman & Finch to name a few, but I am throwing up gang signs for WB until further notice. 
Please let me know via Twitter (@alesharpton) or in the comment section below if you could suggest any in tGeorgia's capital that rival these bad boys. 

Happy sippin'...and chompin'!

Ale

Don't miss this fashion event Loews ATL Hotel this Thursday!

Whaddup!

Here is another event my creative agency AllWays Open is doing with Loews Atlanta Hotel on Thursday, February 27, 2014 from 7 p.m. to Midnight (live runway starts promptly at 9 p.m.). It's going to be pretty damn slick. After this, we are going back to the art-heavy, beer-sippin' route with some serious surprises on deck! So until then, come out, where some hip gear, and enjoy! It's free so there's no excuse, ya dig? Here is the write-up for ya:

The Loews Atlanta Hotel Lifestyle Series Presents:

Haute Contemporary

A fashion event like never before.

February 27^th, 2014

7 p.m. until Midnight

1065 Peachtree St NE, Atlanta, GA 30309

No cover.

Flashing lights. Striking apparel. Art. A runway. Live models. Mannequins. Music. All the components of fashion will be showcased in the grandiose lobby of Loews Atlanta Hotel for one fabulous evening.

In another stellar collaboration with AllWays Open Creative, Loews Atlanta’s spectacular lobby will feature the new men’s and women’s fashion lines of ROC/Republic of Couture, Fowl Material, and others. Models will strut the runway at exactly 9 p.m.

Additional eye candy includes fashion-inspired art by some of Atlanta’s finest including Kat Goduco, Anna K Oh, and Maggie Callahan.

 

Signature cocktails featuring Tito’s Handmade Vodka will be poured, along with delectable bites by Loews Atlanta Hotel’s eleven, the stunning all-new Corvette will be on display, and the highly sought DJ Silk Wolf (MJQ Concourse, Trashed, Chill Pill) keeping the atmosphere electrified throughout the evening.

Haute Contemporary. Do not miss this Loews Atlanta Lifestyle fashion experience.

For more information, call Loews Atlanta Hotel at (404) 745-5000. www.loewshotels.com/atlantahotel