And for those eating in on St. Patrick's Day, anyone have what they consider to be the best recipe for corned beef and cabbage.

Sean Bolen's in Belair is an excellent place for food and atmosphere. It has the feel of a real Irish pub.

The food at An Poitin Stil is excellent but St Patrick's Day weekend there is complete insanity. I found Ryan's Daughter to be ... boring.

Oh, Sean Bolen in Bel Air will always just be the bar where Georgetown North used to be.

Now Georgetown North, back before Bel Air was over run with chains and satellite outposts of Baltimore bars was a pretty cool place. They had a bartender by the name of Murph. An old school kind of bartender who would tell a great a story one minute and then tell you where to get off the next minute. I pity those who were foolish enough to order a frozen drink from him.

Rosebud, I have a good recipe that I'm delighted to share. It's from a friend who owned a tavern in Overlea and cooked about 200 pounds of corned beef every St. Pat's day. Customers were lined up from opening at 11:30 AM to 2 AM closing (and sometimes later. Ask Elizabeth to send you my email address, and "we'll talk."

Robert,
I agree with you about Georgetown North (and their bartender), but Sean Bolan's food is the best in Bel Air. They are one of the only bars that has some creativity in its menu. It also has great beers on tap (and I'm never seen them make a frozen drink). Since the one downtown closed its not even a satellite anymore. Try it with an open mind and open hand to hold another Guiness.

Patrick's of Pratt St. is the oldest Irish bar in the country still owned by the same family.That's pretty cool in my book, even if they are on the expensive side.

Are they good for food, or mostly for drink? EL

Actually, if it was about the food, I'd rather have seen Riley's Shebeen just below Angelina's on Harford Rd. It was the first Irsh Pub in Baltimore to serve Guiness on tap, and you can get an Angelina's crab cake.

Oh, one more comment, this being St. Paddy's time and all. What are some good places (bakeries or otherwise) to get good Irish Soda Bread to serve with a St. Paddy's feast? Elizabeth, perhaps a blog idea?

I really can't wrap my brain around "Irish feast". Isn't that a potato and 12 forks?

The whole St. Patrick's Day thing is such a farce, especially since Saint Patrick was an English b*stard who burned Irish leaders alive unless they converted to his Roman Empire version of Christianity, which was all about enslaving free thinkers and trouble makers. Magically delicious.

The oyster po'boy at Slainte may not be Irish, but it is delicious! Of course, you will find me at Yellow Dog Sunday, since they will be open and serving vegetarian shepherd's pie.

Donny B, last year I got an excellent Irish soda bread at either Atwater's (Belvedere Square or the Shops at Kenilworth) or Woodlea Bakery on Belair Road. Being afflicted with "precocious senility" means I can't remember exactly which shop.

They had a bartender by the name of Murph. An old school kind of bartender who would tell a great a story one minute and then tell you where to get off the next minute. I pity those who were foolish enough to order a frozen drink from him.

That reminds me of the late Jeff Knapp from the Cat's Eye Pub. The Cat's Eye didn't even have a blender for frozen drinks back then, but woe to anyone who asked him for a shooter.

I'm sensing another great separate entry: Bartenders I Have Known. EL

Not to be a wet blanket, but remember that St. Patrick was actually from Wales (part of Great Britain).

I'll look forward to enjoying some Guinness Stew on the day; preferably served in a proper glass. Guinness is food by my reasoning.

Voodoo- I believe the joke is a 7-course "Irish" feast is six pints of Guinness and a potato. But I could be wrong. Of course now Ireland has really good food; they're using what they've got (and don't tell anyone, but they have some of the best fish and seafood you'll ever eat).

Big fan of J. Patrick's. You can get a great fish 'n chips while listening to some great Irish music and watching the regular patrons do traditional Irish dancing. The last time I was there, a group of people, who didn't really seem to be with each other, just randomly broke out into a complicated and coreographed dance. It was awesome.

I can't vouch for the entire menu there, but I think atmosphere makes up for a lot in Irish pubs.

Patrick, it wasn't a joke, it was a memory.

Most importantly, St. Patrick was not at all Irish. He was born in Banna Venta Berniae, Cumbria in northwest England, nowhere near Wales. Of course, there's probably a legend that fits any desired origin. I know people that insist that he was Italian because his father was a Roman (Empire) citizen. Forget that Italy wasn't a country then and there were African, English, and Asian Romans, but whatever.

These same guys insist that Jesus was Italian too, which makes a lot more sense. He lived at home until he was 30, hung around with the same 12 guys, and his mother thought he was the son of God. Badda boom!

How about the Peppermill on York Road in Lutherville . They have wonderful cornbeef and cabbage and red potatos . I have eating their every year for St. Patrick's Day dinnner . Better then cooking for two with all that corn beef left over .

Get their early though it does fill up too with people

I love the recipe from Commander's Palace in New Orleans. Crab Boil gives it a nice spicyness that I love

As somone who lives in the country of Northern Ireland and thus lives on the island of Ireland yet still in the United Kingdom i find it very humerous and quite annoying about the whole St Patrick's day thing in North America. For one St Patrick was the man who bought Christianty to this Island not someone who drunk stout all day whilst still taken time to banish a few snakes here and there. St Patrick was a Chirstian and should not the day in his honour should not be hijacked by people as an excuse to get drunk. Also why does half of a america suddenly think that they are Irish on St Patricks day. IT's pathetic. Ti seems that america is not confident enough in its self. It seems as if it has to keep harkin back to some dream like image of Old Ireland. For one modern Ireland is nothing like many americans picture it. It is a modern forward thinking country. I think americans really need to wise up and realise they are a country of their own

But Nancy, "all that corn beef left over" makes bitchin' Reubens!

If you want to beat the crowds, don't go late to the Peppermill late? I thought the dinner rush at the Peppermill was between 3 pm and 5 pm, so their customers can get home in time to watch the 6 pm reruns of Matlock and Murder She Wrote.

Bravo RJ.

RJ-
I hear you. I personally never understood America's penchant for "turning Irish" on St. Patrick's Day. Seems incredibly odd to me.

But, I think you're a bit off when it comes to the drinking thing. As a Good Christian, I'm sure you know your bible and when his friends came to him with the problem that they had run out of wine in Cana, Jesus Cristo did not tell his friends to "sit back and abstain."

He told them to roll those casks of water over here and "Let's Party!"

That's the kind of saviour I can believe in: a man who worked hard with his hands all day long and partied hard at night.

Somebody say: "Amen!"

RJ- note my earlier comment from a visit last year (Dublin); I ate wonderful meals in a very cosmopolitan, modern city that looked nothing like the Dublin of 1989 (my last visit) I remembered.

RJ--point taken (even though I can boast of a few drops of genuine Irish blood). But it is my understanding that there never were any snakes in Ireland.

Settle down RJ! I think you're making a big generalization in saying that "it seems that america is not confident enough in its self" because we're celebrating a holiday that originated in another country...It's a festive day and there are 36 million Irish and Irish-Americans in the US. As far as I know, I don't have any Irish ancestory, but I love Guiness. If that's reason enough for me to go out and celebrate St. Patrick's day with my friends (some of whom do have Irish blood), then so be it. And I don't feel the need to celebrate it every year (especially when it falls on a Monday). I'm pretty certain you could go to any number of 4th of July fireworks displays and find plenty of people who aren't American. Lighten up...

I'm surprised RJ didn't add that the Irish don't eat corned beef with their cabbage. It's seasoned with thick strips of meaty bacon, not fatty like ours. The closest we could come to it with our ingredients would be using a few chunks of Canadian bacon.

VDP - Hey! Respect the potato! The potato saved civilization. I read a fascinating book about that (titled, surprise - How the Potato Saved Civilization). I don't know how to link it in or I would do it here.

What about Patrick's in Timonium off of Cranbrook? All of the standard Irish fair plus arguably the best crab cakes in Baltimore. Weird for an Irish place, I know, but try it and you will like it. The service is great - Shaw (sp?), the host, is wonderful.

When I was last in Belfast (the Irish Catholic side), there was a growing set of hip-looking places that had what has been called new Irish cuisine - lots of fresh fish, etc. but the common denominator was that *every* place had steak with bourbon sauce and french fried onions on top, and curried mashed potatoes were all the rage.

Pratrick's: average (at best food) and total indifferent service for a single dinner. I ordered the crab imperial. It was a crab cake re-shaped and coated with a mayo/mustard mix. The thing was dried out and burned around the edges. No lump that I recall. My server didn't check back for 30 minutes by which time I had given up and eaten it.

I have eaten there twice and both times the services was so indifferent I knew I was not wanted. Not going back. And please, save me all the wonderful stories.

Probably 20+ years ago I took my Mother (they had not been open too long.) This was back when smoking was allowed. We asked for a non-smoking table in the then empty dinning room. Part way through a group was seated right next to us and proceeded to light up. They were the only other table filed in the dining room. So there is a real history for bad service.

Yeah RJ, lighten up. How dare you inject knowledge and insight into our American tradition of marginalizing all other cultures by reducing them to absurd ahistorical farces. Epcot you!

Good post LJ, I hate to do this but ... I love that someone would be "Irish Catholic" in Ireland. There is only one catholic church, the Roman Catholic. What a fun leftover prejudicial term (against Catholics and Irish) and all that it implies. You never hear someone say Italian Catholic, Belgian Catholic, French Catholic, or even Mexican Catholic. I wonder why? It's an echo of the prejudicial attitudes and stereotypes toward Irish immigrants, which are now "celebrated" in an anti-historical manner by drunks and ignorami of all faiths and tendencies. If you knew anything about recent history you wouldn't treat the Irish with such disrespect the next time you order an Irish car bomb or it's progeny, the various other "bombs". Imagine a popular drink in France called a Flaming 9-11 or a dead American fireman. Not so funny now.

Almost totally unrelated, do you think people in China ever say, "Let's go out for Chinese food tonight?"

"Pratrick". Well that's a right good Freudian slip, especially for St. Pratrick's Day.

Ops.

Hey RJ, Just because St. patrick's Day was rarely ever acknowledged the by Northern Irish Unionists who consider it a festival of Iris Nationalists, doesn't mean that it isn't widely celebrated all over the world in other places besides North America (especially in London of all palces).

Oh, and as for the "drunkeness", like St. Patrick's Day in Ireland and the UK are completely void of drunken celebrations! Like there's NO drinking whatsoever on the British Isles at all on St. Patrick's day, let alone in places like Germany, Australia, Russia and New Zealand. Give me a break RV!!!

St. Patrick's Day is celebrated by non-Irish folks all over the WORLD, despite your seemingly disdain for "North America".

And Voodoopork, if the whole "St. Patrick's Day thing is such a farce, especially since Saint Patrick was an English b*stard", then why is St. Patrick's Day the national holiday of Ireland????? St. Patrick is one of THE patron saints of the Ireland.

The "Britian" where St. patrick haild from was certainly NOT the England of the 19th century. St. Patrick lived from the year 373 to 493, long before Great britian as we know know it ever existed.

I never said "Britain" or "Great Britain". I know the difference between them and "England". Do you? Let's have this discussion when we celebrate Mother's Day by drinking until you puke and doing apple pie shots and eat traditional meatloaf nachos and drink mother's milk martinis (Bailey's, vodka and Red Bull in a baby bottle). Now back to your cul-de-sac.

Still wondering if anyone's been around to Dougherty's (near the Meyerhoff)? I used to go there about 10 years ago when I worked at the University of Baltimore. Always seemed like a good crowd was there despite the potentially hard to get to location.

I actually meant to say something about this on the earlier pub post, but I forgot. My parents live in Severna Park and had dinner at Brian Boru a couple of weeks ago. They don't branch out much, but it's a major event when there's someplace new to eat in the 21146, so they tried it.

They were super disappointed. Apparently their meats (my dad had pork, I forget what my mom had) were microwaved within an inch of their lives - and obviously microwaved - but their vegetables were stone cold. Based on their eavesdropping, they weren't the only ones who were disappointed - apparently the guy at the next table had the exact same experience.

Maybe it was an off night?

Rev Ed. Preachy point well taken. Though I do know the history very well, and it's my people to begin with. I just misspoke, probably internalized the phrase myself. But you're entirely right, it was redundant and full of meaning I didn't intend. And I have never ordered a "car bomb" for the exact reasons you stated.

I can make some mean potato farls though... which, especially when paired with some of that bacon they have over there, make you feel like you just might pass out from the heaven of it all.

Patrick's has a great menu - not usual Irish stuff, except on St. Patrick's day. Their beef & Guinness stew is great. They definitely can have slow service on some nights. Better and faster service during the week than on weekends - try a Thursday night or something.

Robert: I wouldn't castigate them now for the sins of 20 years ago - same family, but completely different management.

RJ, it's good to know that it's not just American's that have lost their sense of humor and/or are overly PC. Personally I'm Chinese during the Chinese New Year, Latino during Cinco de Mayo, Christian during Christmas, Gay during the Pride parade, and yes Irish during St Patrick's Day. I am every different culture during every summer Festival in Bawlmer. Sorry if that offends but I like to celebrate/experience our cultural differences wherever and whenever I can. I know some of the experiences are silly and superficial but just acknowledging others is a beginning to understanding others.

While I'm sure there are or will be plenty of newspaper articles about Irish pubs around the country, I thought my fellow bloggers might enjoy this from my hometown paper: http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=727838

Super name ricemouse.

Of course St. Patrick's Day is a farce. Duh. It's supposed to be. Jeezaroni if the Irish solemnly contemplated their history it would be too many tears. They have a great sense of humor and awesome music. By contrast, ever notice there are no good Jewish drinking holidays?

I was listening to my fave radio station Indie 103 out of Santa Monica/OC on the inteweb (check it out). They had a guy on who writes a column called ¡Ask a Mexican!® ("Why do Mexicans like Morrissey so much? ...) and he described Mexicans as the Irish of Central America: drunk Catholic fornicators. There was also speculation that the Poles have replaced the Irish as the Irish of Europe based upon those criteria.

Now celebrate St. Patrick's Day properly starting right now and peaking early on Sunday so that Monday is for the amateurs. Dudes, best pickup line this year: Are you Irish? Why do you ask? Because my p***s is Dublin! It's funny, but you will get beer poured on you. Do it!

Slainte!

Rokchik: ROFLMFAO! I can't wait to use that line - as soon as possible. Perhaps as early as 5:30 today.

Try Monahan's in Woodlawn for corned beef & cabbage. Awesome.

Any success Piano Rob?

rokchik - I hope you've peaked and have passed hangover by this point.

And, Mexicans like Morrissey? Who knew?

RokChik - The line received a lot of laughs and got used often, and not only by me. Calendar and I went home alone - again - as usual.

No sympathy needed - just buy the first round on 4/19!

Morrissey as cholo fave? Yeah, who knew? I copied this from anohter blog and it's worthy of this post because it somehow comes back to St. Patrick's Day.
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A peculiar phenomenon is occuring in the southern United States. It seems that Morrissey has attracted a fan-base of almost entirely Latino origin. There was recently a documentary on E4 examining this peculiar trend. We met gangs of Latino youngsters living in Los Angeles, who worship Steven Patrick. They have Morrissey tattoos, bumper stickers... you name it! The argument seems to be that Morrissey is of Irish descent, and the Irish character is similar to the Latino character (fiery...)
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So Mexicans really are the Irish of the Americas then? Okay, it's just that Morrissey is not so much fiery as openly en fuego. Here's a link for the Morrissey tribute band Sweet and Tender Hooligans with the Mexican Morrissey Jose Maldonado that is popular in LA. Check out Joe Escalante from the Vandals on bass.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pp1wD85zwV8