St. Patrick’s Day 2009

Get ready to order some green beer.

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Posted on Tue, 03.17.2009 @ 06:05

I wait for this all yaer round!!! Fred Smilek is the acting president of the Society to Save Endangered Species. It was founded two years ago by Fred Smilek along with his two best friends Charles and Jonathan. http://www.fredjsmilek.com... Read more

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St. Patrick’s Day 2009

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By Kyle Teal

Saint Patrick’s Day: the perfect excuse to spill green beer all over ourselves and inhale corn beef and cabbage. Miami’s Celtic pubs make playing the role of an Irish reveler a memorable experience - depending on how hard you party. What could be a better way to celebrate Ireland’s national holiday than with a frosty pint of Guinness and festive South Florida crowd? Brace yourself for Wednesdays’ hangover and make Bono proud by throwing on some green and checking out some local pubs and events:

JohnMartin’s Irish Pub
On a quiet weeknight in JohnMartins, a long-haired, middle-aged man strums his folk guitar in the corner, as regulars sip their glasses of Bushmills Irish whiskey in the dim red lights. It’s the quiet before the storm - before St. Patrick’s Day. Guinness-guzzling patrons of the pub will multiply and spill out into the streets of downtown Coral Gables. If this year is anything like last, partiers will polish off more than 150 kegs of Irish beer like Harps, Guinness and Smithwick’s Ale - though it won’t be green. Look for the block party and beer ticket booth at Salzedo Street and Aragon Avenue, or just follow the herd.

JohnMartin’s celebration requires more preparation than most bars’ festivities. Throughout the night, live music from Paddy Kelleghan, Brooks Reid and the Sonickats and UV - a U2 cover band - will take the stage. “From what I hear, it’s the biggest St. Paddy’s day party in Miami,” said bartender Brent Houghton. The classy bar has a feel common of most Irish pubs - cozy and dark. John Clarke and Martin Lynch are childhood friends who opened the pub in the 1980s.

253 Miracle Mile, Coral Gables 33134; 305-445-3777; 11:30 a.m. to 2 a.m. Fri. to Sat. and 11:30 a.m. to midnight Sunday to Thursday.

Duffy’s Tavern
Duffy’s Tavern truly feels like a neighborhood bar, probably because it is literally in the middle of a neighborhood. Buried in suburban Coral Gables, this well-lit pub is family-friendly with an everybody-knows-your-name kind of feel. The walls of the pub are cluttered with photographs and other memorabilia. Management keeps it small town, but that doesn’t mean the place doesn’t know how to party. A live rock band will be making noise in the back parking lot and Irish potato soup and corn beef and cabbage are the special items on the menu. Black and Tan, half a glass of Guinness and half of Harp, is a popular drink and Amber Bock sells for $2 a pint or $8 a pitcher - not Irish, but still a good deal.

The brick and green building has been a bar since 1936, according to 72-year-old co-owner Jimmy Fab - a Brooklyn transplant who says he’s worked for 59 years in the bar business. “If a guy acts up, there’s no second chance,” he said. “We have a large family crowd now.”

2108 SW 57th Ave, Coral Gables 33155; 305-264-6580; 10 a.m. to 1 a.m.

Playwright Irish Pub
St. Paddy’s is “mayhem all day long,” Playwright bartender Paul Cleary says in his thick, Irish accent. For the big day, the bar will blast Irish tunes all day and live music starts at 6 p.m.. BIG 105.9 FM will be broadcasting live from the bar. Normally, music is provided by a TouchTunes digital jukebox (No. 1 top played song: “I’m Shipping up to Boston” by the Drop Kick Murphy’s). Escape the office before 4 p.m. and you can chow down on a traditional Irish breakfast: eggs, grilled tomato, beans, bacon, sautéed mushrooms, etc. Like most Irish pubs, corn beef and cabbage will be cooking in the kitchen along with Sheperd’s Pie - a hearty combination of mashed potatoes, beef and veggies. Choose from nine beers on tap and 19 in bottles, including Murphy’s Red and Stout, Smithwicks and Harp. For the responsible patrons who don’t want to act like drunken Neanderthals, they can enjoy the non-alcoholic Haake Beck. Like most other respectable bars on the Beach, the party at the Playwright continues ‘til 5 a.m.

The bar has an impressive menu and if you’re staying away from enormous crowds March 17, the Playwright is a fun, laid-back option for good beer, pool and foosball any other day of the year. Its cathedral-meets-log-cabin look with stained glass windows displaying scenes of Irish hills make you wonder if you should order a Jameson on the rocks or confess your sins. Luckily, the two can often go together.

1265 Washington Ave., Miami Beach; 305-534-0667; till 5 a.m.

Waxy O’Connor’s
This comfy pub has locations in Fort Lauderdale and Miami Beach - the Beach’s bar is located right across the street from the Playwright. Waxy O’Connor’s looks like the Playwright’s toned-down cousin with less space to push your way through the masses and to the bar.

Like the Playwright, Waxy is mostly dark wood, good beer and cheery faces. A nice dartboard set does wonders to combat boredom (though, a dangerous activity for March 17), a smaller version of the Touchtunes digital jukebox plays tolerable tunes. An outdoor seating arrangement gives you the chance to watch the chaos on Washington Avenue.

St. Patrick’s Day plans were still in the works but a live band will perform in the back parking lot. Lorena Diaz, an Argentinean bartender with an Irish soul, says she’s constantly pouring her Miami Beach patrons Irish car bombs - a sure recipe for Celtic craziness.

1095 SE 17th St, Fort Lauderdale; 954-525-9299
1248 Washington Ave., Miami Beach; 305-534-7824; 8 a.m. to 5 a.m.

Eleven Leprechauns
Even though it just opened about a month ago, there’s no new pub smell in the Grove’s Eleven Leprechauns as the venue itself is nothing new. The elegant, enormous restaurant has already attracted the thirsty masses with events like Wednesday jazz nights, Thursday college nights, and its half-off-everything happy hours from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. everyday. March 17 is expected to fill the spacious building to the brim.

The St. Patrick’s Day party starts at 5 p.m. and features $9 pitchers of green beer and baby Guiness Shots. Headlining the live music will be Suenalo and a special performance by The Cat Daddies.

Gnomes that look like they’re from the Travelocity advertisements stand guard at a decorative courtyard’s balconies, and a green light shines on a modest stage waiting for bands to perform during Tuesday’s festivities. The dream team of Irish beers - Harp, Guinness, and Smithwicks Irish Ale - will be unavoidable. The upstairs lounge and bar has an exclusive feel, and if you really want to go all out in the name of the patron saint, there are V.I.P. rooms with poker tables available for rent. A spiraling staircase and deep red walls add to the restaurant’s garish appeal.

3120 Commodore Plaza, Coconut Grove 33133; 786-200-4540; normally close at 3 a.m., but don’t plan on closing St. Patrick’s Day.

Irish Tavern & Grill South
This down-south watering hole caters to its locals - who make up about 70 percent of the customers, owner Richard Woolf says. Green beer will be plentiful for the big day, as will entertainment with a live rock band and a whopping 16 TVs. Behind the J-shaped bar: $8 pitchers of green beer and corn beef and cabbage plates at $9.95 a pop. “We do very well,” says Woolf of St. Patrick’s Day business. Fan favorite dishes at the Tavern are the chicken wings marinated for three days, and the Tavern half pound burger on a Kaiser roll - under $6.

9821 SW 184th St., Palmetto Bay, FL 33157, 305-256-4560; 11 a.m. to midnight

Flanigan’s Seafood Bar and Grill
If you look at all like a leprechaun, St. Patrick’s Day at Flanigan’s might be your lucky day. Mr. Flanigan himself will be visiting many of his 17 locations in Miami-Dade and Broward counties to give out $100 gift cards to folks who most resemble leprechauns - not the most flattering gift in the world, but perhaps motivation to put on your best green top hat and suit. All month long, the bar has offered $1 off Guinness draft and Sailor Jerry Rum - should go great with corn beef and cabbage the kitchen will be serving all day.

Coconut Grove location: 2721 Bird Avenue Miami: (305)446-1114; 11 a.m. 5 a.m.

The Irish Times Pub and Eatery
This year-old South Miami pub is throwing a block party that’s guaranteed to be packed inside and out. A beer truck will serve the swarm of green on 58th Ct., where traffic will be blocked. The classy bar brings authenticity to a new level, with all-wood furniture and a fireplace presumably for all of those freezing cold Miami nights. Traditional Irish food, Jameson, Harp and Tullamore Dew keep will spirits high.

5850 Sunset Drive, South Miami 33143; 305-667-4114; 11 a.m. to 5 a.m.