O' St. Patrick is ComingWith St. Patrick’s Day just a few days away, I thought, I would suggest a couple of places to tilt a pint or two to the patron saint of Ireland on his traditional Feast Day.
Although the Bay Area does not have some of the strong Irish traditions that cities like Boston, New York or Chicago have San Francisco has been throwing an official bash since 1852. The largest St. Patrick's Day parade is held in New York City and it is watched by over 2 million spectators, the first parade was held in Boston in 1737, organized by the Charitable Irish Society, and of course Chicago is famous for is dying The Chicago River green each year for the celebration.
Over the past 150+ years, the festivities have been embrace in a variety of countries and most Cities in the United States and as Guinness Beer Company says “everyone is Irish on March 17th”.
So on to the places to celebrate in the Bay Area. (most will included an O’ or Mc)
San Francisco
Front Street is closed down from Halleck to Sacramento streets. The downtown business crowd starts spilling into Harrington’s and the Royal Exchange around lunchtime and many do not leave til the we’hours of the morning. Bring crowd lot of people and music. Wonder Bread 5, a party band, is a staple at this celebration and will be back again for 2008. This is where I will be hoisting a few, pictures on Tuesday.
O'Reilly's Holy Grail, www.oreillysholygrail.com, 1233 Polk St
Kennedy's Irish Pub Curry House, www.kennedyscurry.com, 1040 Columbus Ave
Ireland 32 (the Avenues) 3920 Geary, Appearing for St. Patrick's Day - Dan Lawless Accordian Player from County Offley 2-5; The Bog Men 5-8, and 9-2am Ticket To Ride (former Beatles cover band).
East Bay
In Oakland is McNally's, 5352 College Ave., Oakland's oldest Irish pub, situated in the Rockridge district. A large stone fireplace that burns real logs is in the middle of the room while the long, highly polished wood bar has plenty of Guinness O’top.
Alameda
Mc Grath’s Irish Pub, 1539 Lincoln, is the home to open Mic Nights and Bluegrass music. This is a dive bar that accepts everyone. Two dart boards are located towards the back, a pool table sits in another room, and a big section of empty floor looks like a dance area. A trio of Stella, Guinness, and Boont Amber round out the on-tap beer selection, and a host of bottles take up the sl
Mc Gee’s, 1645 Park Stret, is bar and pub. The food is very good and always a very mixed crowd. It is a hometown bar where everyone seems to know 6-10 people. The place can be tight with its narrow bar area and it fills up quick on St. Patrick’s Day. “Big B” or Brian the bartender is just awesome and is a music aficionado, jus ask him about music and he can put a whole set together think the movie “High Fidelity”.
Shamrock Irish Pub, 1403 Webster, This is a dive with a pretty regular crowd. Beer and shots is a staple.
So Enjoy! And remember that it’s a work day, the day after.
