Think your heritage might be held hostage this holiday season, because of Minnesota closings? Here is a totally unscientific study (isn’t that the best kind?) of how to replicate that dining experience while visiting Hudson haunts, so go there rather than getting your Irish up. (Check why I say that). Or scroll down further to see ways to do it yourself.

So you have a fave restaurant that you have not been able to fully patronize because of virus restrictions that go until Jan. 11 in the Twin Cities. And if you have one or more of many heritages, there may be a tradition that is currently compromised, and these often are based around food and yes, drink.
That is more true than ever in the Irish community — although I will also list other remaining dining options further down. There aren’t many places to start with having a strikingly broad appeal in their Irish fare, setting it apart. And no chance right now to do a sit-down at Charlie’s in Stillwater edging toward Wisconsin, where you might find a veritable pot of gold. This to some people who have lost a lot to begin with, not only because of sheer timing that blew out this year’s St. Patrick’s Day due to Covid, but going centuries back, and it is often about food, such as that prompted by potato famines everyone has heard of.
And we hope they have heard of Paddy Ryan’s in the town of Hudson, where there is a wee bit of comfort around being about the only such place remaining fully open in the east metro and beyond, and that was very true even before the pandemic. They are a friend of HudsonWiNightlife because they are not only consistently traditional, they put there own twist into a great number of things with their many and varied menu. That is a mixture that means they can both uphold traditions and create new ones, but again, you might have to wait until Tuesday when Paddy Ryan’s reopens for the week.
To wit: There may not be a such thing as an Irish Christmas different from the rest, but my Irish in-laws told me of one they and other such families observe, where it’s all about the importance of waiting, via the Advent season they hold so dear, for other good things that include indulging in the food, I’m sure making it all the more tasty. And as is appropriate for this season, it all waits on a child — or for salivating during the short drive to Hudson, before there again are other options later in winter.
It is this: The youngest child in the family, and the Irish usually have big ones, has the duty and joy of taking one good sized candle and placing it in an upstairs window, to light the way for all. The other celebrations of Christmas Eve cannot go forward until this ritual is done, even if the child is studying or napping, and the mother will simply have to be patient with placing the food she has made. Like today, the appetizer and salad before the entree, and then dessert.
As they say, from this background, as a guide to further spiritual growth: “Light one candle.”
But then do come, with the authentic Irish, the usual Christmas trimmings (which these days seem to be universally made), and also the textured throwbacks of crispy goose fat potatoes, heartier then your regular chips here in the States, and even along the same theme, crispy parsnips. (You can check out the Paddy Ryan’s version of each of these).
And then they’ll leave the light on for The Holy Family, also, this time later in the celebration, going into Christmas Day. Also, there is the putting out of milk and bread out that night for hospitality, although these could be redacted to bread pudding and Guinness, (again, to be found right here in Hudson), as a logical substitute, ala Joe, and his school of cooking where most anything can be found to make a match. But to hook up with the cook, call for hours of operation for Paddy Ryan’s, Tuesday through Saturday, but which can vary on major holidays.
<Other go-to places among the go-to now>
These are other local places, in their respective “ethnic” genres, where you can’t get the dine-in option in the Twin Cities due to Covid rules. In my search I roamed to Stillwater, but culled out Woodbury because it is largely Americanized suburb fare and even a bit more distant, and is heavy on Thai food, which you just won’t find in Hudson anyway.
The guiding factors I used in this short list, and I hope they go beyond the basic “bad service, wasn’t friendly” type of tack, are these: Is the restaurant considered a “go to” even if you have to drive over from the Cities, does it have longevity with that status, is it offering dine-in (prime) as well as other options, does their originality in their menu shine compared to competitors and are those mainly in the takeout realm anyway, is the seating capacity impressive (bar rail capacity tends to be roughly uniform with all my picks), and is there ambiance that separates it from a strip-mall-type center.
So here goes, and each offer something that’s in its own niche, although having a counterpart of sorts (no judgement about quality) in Stillwater: The forever-running, test-of-time-fare of San Pedro Cafe in downtown Hudson (when there’s no dine-up option with Caribbean Smokehouse); the special-take-on-foods-by-region, Winzer Stube a block up (as its dozen authentic German beers are a replacement for now, especially, for The Gasthaus); and the longest-lasting Mama Maria’s seated at the far end of North Hudson, where its far more than Chicken Alfredo. And you might make a case for Big Guys BBQ, as it is indeed a roadhouse by being halfway to Stillwater, although ….
Even though I am very German, I led off the list with Irish fare because it is less Americanized then most other traditions. A case in point, there all these Christmas things the old Germans did that have long been a solid part of the celebration here, but a difference might be the fact that a delicacy is mulled wine with rum, again both Irish staples as well, and we all know that Ireland is the king of if not rum, for sure whiskey. And there was their lighted thingee, that being candles in an evergreen, but the local fire marshals put that one to rest decades ago. So nowhere to be found, except in your family’s old pictures.