The restaurants in the Twin Cities have largely opened up again, but the pub end from the isle as far as being open means that Irish eyes are not smiling, as bars still cannot serve inside seating, at least past 11 p.m.
So the answer as often in the east end of the metro is Paddy Ryan’s in the town of Hudson, just about three miles over the St. Croix River. They are the only such game to be had that’s currently open, fully, as far as very affordable eating (with some prices under $10) and drinking in the Irish way, especially with St. Patrick’s Day just over a month off. Second up in this vein is Charlie’s Pub in Stillwater, but the prices are quite a bit higher and the customer experience can be challenging if they are too full of patrons, according to many reviews. Still, if you want to have an affordable dinner served with many types of Irish drink, you can hit Paddy Ryan’s first as they are open until nine on Tuesday through Saturday, and then hustle over to Charlie’s and see if you can get a last call drink, but all pubs in Minnesota are placed in a different category than just bars as far as being allowed to be open for long inside, and rules are often in flux. (There is no such restriction in the township of Hudson, as it is not in the city limits where different rules apply, and as far as themed restaurants in the Hudson area these factors put Paddy Ryan’s in a unique category). To be fair, wines at Charlie’s are prized by some and said to be more affordable than the food.
To get to Paddy Ryan’s, travel east on Interstate 94 and take the Somerset exit and make your way north. Take the first left and travel your way through a couple of quick turns to get to the Paddy Ryan’s building. There is no good through route to Charlie’s, which is near the St. Croix River in Stillwater. The only other real Irish option is a venue in Woodbury, but it doesn’t seem to be anything to get your Irish up. Other Hudson area ethnic restaurants have more regional competition as far as consumer options, or they are still under certain closure restrictions.
<Back to the music, both here on this web site and serving in a semi-sorta capacity the 32nd Hudson Hot Air Affair, which has retooled its more than a dozen offerings and spread them out six ways from this Sunday, which is when the festival shuts down for the year. Alas, there will be no music shows claiming the banner of sponsorship in this 2021 version.
At Ziggy’s, which now has its Friday closing time moved ahead again, to midnight due to the actions taken at a Feb. 1 meeting of the Hudson City Council, its celebrated tumbler-style with none other than The Whiskies. Music starts at 9 p.m., going back to what could be now. The band logo has a guitar — and not a flying V — shown with Skynyrd flame-type images shooting from it sideways, and sticking down as part of the letter H in their name, so you know what you are getting into
Up The Block at Urban Olive and Vine the same night is Dustin DeGolier, a fresh-faced freelance musician serving northwestern Wisconsin — golly that’s a range, but we know he’ll be back. His youth is served, as he not long ago achieved a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Music Performance with an emphasis in jazz guitar.
The following night it will be Alan Busby, back again alone this time — you’re solo, you ain’t a trio — and then an encore that will have to wait to the coming Thursday.