The Blue Anchor is a popular spot for St. Patrick’s Day, because you can combine access to food, drink and the parade all in one location. File photo by Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star
By Jan Norris
That annual beer-drinking festival arrives this month — St. Paddy’s Day.
You may be taking in Delray Beach’s annual St. Patrick’s Day parade, where you’ll need the luck of the Irish on that parking spot if you haven’t camped out all day.
It’s at noon Saturday, March 15, with hundreds of marchers from east to west on Atlantic Avenue. Public lots fill up fast.
The Avenue and its connecting intersections are blocked off from the Intracoastal Waterway to Northwest Fifth Avenue ahead of the parade, so plan your drive accordingly.
Tips: Don’t park in a tow zone. Those towing signs are enforced with vigor. U.S. 1 is the last big intersection to shut down. But plan to walk a mile or pay $25 or more to park in a private lot if you’re intent on going to that spot. And take a chair. The parade is long. Dogs are allowed, but consider the noise from sirens that may set them off.
It is one of the largest parades in Southeast Florida celebrating the Irish, so if weather cooperates, go just to say you’ve been. Expect lots and lots of fire trucks, bands, green beads and commercials in the form of business floats in between.
Look for the pig — the mascot from the inaugural street parade.
Other details are at www.delraybeachfl.gov/our-city/st-patrick-s-day-parade.
Eat like an Irishman
Want to taste some Irish cooking? Hit a pub or bar.
Many people will take advantage of the weekend and start partying March 15 and 16. If you don’t like crowds, don’t show up this weekend. Smart diners know the food is usually best any time other than days around March 17; most pubs curtail their menus to offer only a few items.
First, a glossary of Irish dishes you may find:
• Potato leek soup: creamy potatoes cooked with leeks.
• Shepherd’s pie: lamb pie with dark (sometimes Guinness) gravy and vegetables. Typically mashed potatoes atop, but sometimes pastry as well. Baked.
• Steak and Guinness pie: chunks of beef, mushrooms and bacon — and Guinness. Sometimes, raisins. Baked in a two-pastry crust.
• Cottage pie: ground beef (sometimes small chunks) and vegetables in gravy, with a mashed potato topping. Baked.
• Boxty: potato pancakes, made from leftover mashed potatoes, with raw, grated potato for coating.
• Bangers and mash: sausages with a thin onion gravy, served with mashed potatoes and green peas.
• Corned beef and cabbage: not Irish fare, but Irish-American fare. Corned beef is braised, with torn cabbage, carrots and onions. Simple and to the point. The best of it: corned beef sandwiches the day after. A good time to order that sandwich, actually.
• Irish soda bread: a quick bread made with buttermilk. No yeast. Sometimes studded with dried fruit.
Now, the pubs and bars:
Tim Finnegans Irish Pub: 2885 S. Federal Highway, Delray Beach. 561-330-3153; timfinnegansirishpub.com
With a name like that, you know what to expect — the biggest crowds in the area. And a highly rated corned beef sandwich, as well as sausage rolls in a pastry. The pub pulls the requisite perfect 20-ounce glass of Guinness, and has Tullamore Dew and Jameson on the shelf as well. Irish music all the time — not just this weekend.
O’Brian’s Irish Pub: 51 SE First Ave., Boca Raton. 561-338-7565; obrianspub.com.
The menu is American, with shepherd’s pie a nod to Irish fare. O’Brian’s is noted for its wings and friendly bartenders. The bar is energetic, doubly so for St. Pat’s Day. Always decorated to the hilt for the holiday. Live music all the time.
Blue Anchor Pub: 804 E. Atlantic Ave., Delray Beach. 561-272-7272; theblueanchorpub.com
A pub supposedly haunted by its former patron in England, this old place is thick with character. Why an English pub on this day? The food — which is more Irish than many others. Boxty and Buffalo blue potato skins are the bomb. The roast beef sandwich with the Guinness au jus and horseradish should be mentioned. So should those pies — shepherd’s and cottage are staples — along with fish and chips. Try the chicken Balmoral — and eat like the queen. Dark and friendly as a pub should be, just right.
The Irish Brigade: 621 Lake Ave., Lake Worth Beach. 561-585-1885; Irishbrigadepub.com
On a busy corner, the open-air pub is a gathering spot for Liverpool football fans, but shines on St. Pat’s weekend, packed in all its rooms. Food is a notch above the average pub fare — fig and brie flatbread, an example. But the bangers and mash and shepherd’s pie are not to be overlooked. Friendly servers and space to walk around. Plenty of pluses.
Crazy Uncle Mike’s: 6450 N. Federal Highway, Boca Raton. 561-931-2889; crazyunclemikes.com
This has more upscale food than most bars and is American based, with items such as pork belly bites, tuna nachos and grilled cobia sandwich. But Uncle Mike’s turns it over to the Irish on St. Patrick’s Day and includes corned beef and cabbage. Bands are the big deal here; look for tribute bands and more playing nightly.
The Lion and Eagle English Pub: 2401 N. Federal Highway, Boca Raton. 561-447-7707; thelionandeaglepub.com
From breakfast, with Irish bacon, bangers and black pudding — and a nod to England with baked beans — to mash and shepherd’s pie, this place has Irish fare. The pub gets into the swing of things with a weekend full of party plans. It's open till 2 a.m. daily.
Deck 84: 840 E. Atlantic Ave., Delray Beach. 561-665-8484; deck84.com.
The waterfront view makes this the place to take the out-of-towner for a drink. But don’t discount the bites. An American menu includes vegetarian and gluten-free dishes, including General Tso’s cauliflower. Also: coastal crispy shrimp tacos, brisket tacos and in the bar, housemade beer are among the offerings. A St. Patrick’s Day party is planned.
Gesto pizzeria opens
A new pizzeria in downtown Delray Beach on the Avenue is the result of a vision by Nicolas Kurban, owner of Amar Mediterranean Kitchen and Bar nearby.
The 55-seat pizza spot, named Gesto, opened in February, with pizza master Garri Banar at the controls.
A longtime pro baker who specializes in sourdough, Banar is using a naturally leavened formula for the sourdough crusts. Both traditional and contemporary pizzas are delivered from the wood-fire oven, including a fiery pepperoni and jalapeño, as well as classics such as the Margherita.
Gesto offers small plates and salads. House-made desserts include an orange cake and Banar’s sourdough chocolate chip cookies.
Craft and domestic beers, and a curated selection of wines, mostly Italian, are served.
“Pizza is a science, but great pizza is an art,” Kurban said. “It’s all about the dough. Garri and I share a belief that exceptional ingredients and proper technique are what make the difference.”
Those include Jersey tomatoes and imported Italian flour, Kurban said.
Gesto, 522 E. Atlantic Ave., Delray Beach. 561-403-2665; gestopizza.com. Open 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. daily. Indoor and sidewalk seating.
In brief
The Michelin Guide is coming to Palm Beach County.
The guide, which awards up to three stars to restaurants of note, represents a certain standard and will be good to have in the area, says chef/owner Jimmy Everett of Driftwood in Boynton Beach.
Everett has been a chef in Michelin-starred restaurants in New York, and says the stars are a good idea, but “not something I’ll chase.”
He says he’ll offer quality food and service just to keep the restaurant open day to day, and if the guide recognizes him, “I’d be proud, but I’m not changing anything for it.”
Restaurants that make the guide will be announced in mid-April in a ceremony in Orlando.
Jan Norris is a food writer who can be reached at nativefla@gmail.com.
Comments