We’ve got the pubs, or in some cases places that are not so much pubs, but become so bigtime as far as food and drink and all things Irish, 364 days a year, or in this case 363 days, since the Sunday that is Patrick’s Day happens to fall on a weekend. (A little leprechaun let me in on this little secret: What about Leap Year? Fostering in another day for Guinness libations?):
— Paddy Ryan’s pub in the town of Hudson across the way from the truck stop, has got to be the ultimate Irish enclave in this area. They show it this weekend by taking their standard of dozens of authentically, but with just a bit of their own modern American twist, ethnically oriented food entrees, and expanding on them. That means you can look to items such as corn beef and cabbage and all the accompanying trimmings and sides and stout drinks, to be what most will agree is indeed the standard bearer for area people with refined tastes along these lines. They proceed beyond the farls and flatbread. And, with the timing of the holiday what it is, the food and other fare is not only a Sunday thing. You also will find, not just food on Saturday but a 3 p.m. a performance that is Irish through-and-through by none other than the O’Briens, a local family group of operatic men who have done this for decades, with St. Paddy’s Day being a well-honed fixture that will find most other strictly vocal ensembles green with envy.
— Also having Irish fare, served mostly by fair Irish maidens, both Saturday and Sunday is the Bungalow Inn in Lakeland, and the food can be washed down with thematically based drinks that they are already well versed in making. But the Bungalow extends this weekend into a four-day holiday by again bringing in a veteran of their scene, who often plays their holiday shows, crooner Gary LaRue, for an early-evening-endeavor, to accompany dinner, that will be held in this case on the Tuesday following St. Patrick’s Day.
— The Beach Bar in Lakeland, moving to a state that has more of a Irish presence then Cheesehead country, will show it by not only doing what some others are and having Irish installments for food on both Saturday and Sunday, such as the loved CBC, but beyond the corned beef and cabbage there is a band whose name is dripping with ethnic ilk, The Flippin’ Finns. And they are on early on Sunday, at 2 p.m., which gives you the where-will-all to take in their whole musical show, and must-have food, and mostly stout drink, and anything else Irish, and still have the time to do the same at many of other places in the area that don’t really get rolling until around what would usually be time for supper.
— Green Mill may take the cake (green Irish frosting?), for the week-long longevity of their St. Patrick’s Day specials. They go through Sunday night, after starting with a slow roll-out through a week earlier. Noteworthy are dishes that dig a little deeper than the fodder you’re used to finding, such as mulligan stew, totally Irish stuff on flatbread to boot, and a “tini” drink special, basically a Shamrock-themed concoction stemming from the classic martini, that is anything but “teeny.” And the other drink specials? Many, but heading off the list is Irish Gold — like the pot at the end of the rainbow?
— You could possibly have afforded these Irish drink specials, come Sunday, even in a potato famine. At Postmark Grill the green beer is only $2, and even the Irish-based specialty drinks that are several and in many cases are hardily whiskey-driven, run no more than $4, with most prices in-between.
— At the Smilin’ Moose come St. Paddy’s Day, amidst all the other endeavors that include music and of course food, are free green bead strings being given out (don’t forget to show the comely server who gave you them some love).
— In the throes of St. Patrick’s Day weekend, on the in-between eve of Feb. 16, a folkish boogie woogie band, judging by their name, brings their barn dance style to a gig of that type at River Falls Academy. One of the last chances to catch those type of down-home stylings before the barn dance season ends, at about the same time as the wave of recent snows.
— Seasons Tavern in North Hudson for St. Patrick’s Day, early on in that day, presents a double dosage of taste. There is the regular corned beef and cabbage, of course, but added is an egg and hollandaise sauce, and sauerkraut for a nod to the local Germans, with some of these ingredients actually fried.
— The annual pub crawl leaves Kozy Korner and hits all the places in North Hudson starting around that 1 p.m. timing on Sunday. That could conceivably give you almost an hour at each, so you can walk the whiskey walk (gingerly and likely aided by 2 Gingers) of the Irish but good. There should be many others to join you, judging from the full-parking-lot-response Kozy got 48 hours earlier when showing a Badger basketball game as the postseason beckoned.