Corned beef and cabbage: Irish restaurants stock up
Thoroughly Irish as it may be, St. Patrick鈥檚 Day has been widely 鈥� and wildly 鈥� embraced on these shores and has become a national institution. It鈥檚 also become a significant profit center for Irish-themed restaurants and bars across the land.
It鈥檚 not church bells you hear ringing on March 17 鈥� it鈥檚 going cha-ching.
鈥淪t. Patrick鈥檚 Day is annually the biggest day of the year,鈥� said Shaun Clancy, whose family runs Foley鈥檚 NY Pub on West 33 Street in New York City, just off Fifth Avenue. 鈥淵ou have to make corned beef and cabbage. People expect it. We鈥檒l go through 300 orders on St. Patrick鈥檚 Day.鈥�
It鈥檚 the same story at Mike O鈥橲hay鈥檚 Restaurant and Alehouse in Colorado鈥檚 Boulder County. The pub, which is celebrating its 30th St. Patrick鈥檚 Day, is expecting 1,000 guests and plans to serve 800 pounds of corned beef, 400 pounds of potatoes and 400 pounds of cabbage.
鈥淚t鈥檚 by far the busiest day of the year,鈥� owner Mike Shea told BusinessNewsDaily. 鈥淚t boosts our whole week.鈥�
It鈥檚 a holiday that also loves to spread its wings. The Tally Ho Pub & Eatery in Erin, Wisc., a town about 40 minutes northwest of Milwaukee that was settled by Irish in 1846, covers its parking lot with a heated tent to accommodate the 2,000 guests it will serve on March 17. The Tally Ho has hosted St. Patrick鈥檚 Day celebrations since the mid-1870s.
鈥淚t鈥檚 huge for us,鈥� said owner Chaz Hastings. 鈥淥n that day I鈥檒l do as much [business] as an entire month.鈥�
St. Patrick鈥檚 Day also travels well. Even surrounded by palm trees and bathed by balmy nights, it鈥檚 a big in Miami Beach.
The Fad贸 Irish Pub and Restaurant there doesn鈥檛 restrict St. Patrick鈥檚 Day to just one day 鈥� instead, it has planned a weeklong itinerary of events it鈥檚 calling the 鈥淲eek of Savage Craic.鈥� Craic (pronounced crack) is a common term in Ireland meaning fun, entertainment and good times with friends.
鈥淚t鈥檚 something we literally plan for from one year to the next,鈥� owner Kieran McGill said. 鈥淭he parade and day itself are worth two weeks of business.鈥�
One of the hoariest clich茅s is that everyone wants to be Irish on St. Patrick鈥檚 Day. But there鈥檚 no denying the holiday鈥檚 ability to tug on the heartstrings and loosen the purse strings. Curiously, the day resonates more in this country than it does in Ireland.
鈥淚 was absolutely gobsmacked at how Americans embraced St. Patrick鈥檚 Day,鈥� said David Kelly, an Ireland native who, with fellow Dubliner and friend Ciaran Sheehan, opened the first of 12 R铆 R谩 Irish Pubs in this country in 1997. 鈥淚t鈥檚 such a huge event in the U.S.鈥�
R铆 R谩 pubs are constructed from materials from old pubs in Ireland that are salvaged and restored. Authenticity, said Kelly, is the core of each pub鈥檚 DNA. There are no reproductions or the bric-a-brac that brand many ersatz Irish chain operations.
鈥淲e鈥檝e identified those items that are recognizably Irish and made them stellar,鈥� Kelly said. 鈥淭his is our acid test 鈥� if we were building a pub in Dublin, what would we do?鈥�
That emphasis on the authentic includes playing down St. Patrick鈥檚 Day as a one-shot extravaganza.
鈥淚nstead of going out to on St. Patrick鈥檚鈥� Day, we going to try to provide a good experience throughout the year,鈥� Kelley said. 鈥淲e want to create a local for the community. People come to Irish pubs for a certain type of experience. It鈥檚 mostly about comfort food.鈥�
At Fad贸, the menu also attempts to introduce American palates to Irish fare beyond the staple comfort foods of corned beef and cabbage, fish and chips and shepherd鈥檚 pie. One popular item is boxty, which is much like an Irish burrito with a potato pancake replacing the tortilla.
The increased emphasis on food has also edged out alcohol as the centerpiece of St. Patrick鈥檚 Day.
鈥淧eople are a lot more responsible these days with the amount they drink,鈥� said O鈥橲hay鈥檚 Shea. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not a drunken brawl. There鈥檚 more emphasis on food than ever.鈥�
It鈥檚 still not a celebration, though, that the pro-temperance, hatchet-wielding Carrie Nation would welcome with open arms. Fad贸鈥檚 McGill said they do see a spike in alcohol sales. But wetting the whistle is becoming more sophisticated as Irish whiskey claims more space at the bar.
鈥淧eople suddenly are becoming more aware of the range and depth of Irish whiskies,鈥� said McGill. 鈥淚rish whisky is one of the fastest growing categories in the U.S.鈥�
The unwavering popularity of St. Patrick鈥檚 Day here may lay in its offering license for people to shed the stress of everyday life and kick back, relax and celebrate, McGill said.
St. Patrick鈥檚 Day is becoming more accessible to every culture,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 transcended from being a Irish-centric holiday to a holiday for everybody.鈥�
Everybody, that is, except "Danny Boy" at Foley鈥檚 NY Pub. This morose ballad (penned, no less, by an Englishman) was banned there in 2008 to call attention to worthier songs in the Irish repertoire.
