You may find this difficult to believe, but there other things to do on March 17th besides drink. Some people actually eat. If you yearn for some Irish comfort food to help absorb the pints and to stay in the proper spirit of things, these are several places on Long Island where you can celebrate.
On just a single one-block stretch in Floral Park, there are four Irish-style pubs that offer an Old World feel for homesick Irish and the rest of us. One could set out on an all-night bar crawl here at Jameson’s Bar and Grill, 157 Tulip Ave., Floral Park, 516-326-8300, where you can get a bellyful, something that’ll stick to your ribs. Grab a booth in the dark paneled dining room, lined with photos. The terrific pub menu includes great Pot Roast, Meat Loaf and steak sandwiches, all on garlic bread and smothered in cheese, plus salads, burgers and appetizers that are just right for sharing. There’re 10 beers on tap and plenty of martinis, too. On St. Patty’s, there’ll be three seatings; hit the 5 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. ones for step dancers and the 7 p.m. seating for bagpipes and, of course, a traditional menu of Corn Beef and Cabbage, Fish and Chips and the like.
For those of you who like their beer freshly brewed, a brew pub with a fine selection is John Harvard’s Brew House, 2093 Smith Haven Plaza, Lake Grove, 631-979-2739, www.johnharvards.com. Go to “Happy Hour All Day” on St. Pat’s and three bucks will buy you a pint, a glass of house wine or the drink of the week. In the pub area there’ll be a special St. Pat’s menu.
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It’s always March 17th at Meehan’s, 371 New York Ave., Huntington, 631-351-0831,www.meehansrestaurant.com, a venerable Huntington institution that’s the place to be on the big day. Corned Beef and Cabbage and Shepherd’s Pie are on the menu all year round, along with good Irish Stew made with Guinness stout. Specials like Bangers and Mash and Potato Soup will be added, along with step dancers, toward the evening.
Along with more than a dozen beers on draft plus cases and cases of exotic choices, T. J. Finley’s, 42 E. Main St., Bay Shore, 631-647-4856, www.tjfinleys.com, will have green beer, brewed by none other than the local Blue Point Brewery, and piled-high Corned Beef sandwiches all day, which augments its sprawling beer-centric menu that suggests the perfect beer for each dish. The menu always features Fish & Chips and Shepherd’s Pie, plus the very cool Knish Burger. Head down the street to The Nutty Irishman, 60 E. Main St., Bay Shore, 631-969-9700,www.thenuttyirishman.com, for bagpipers and other nuttiness.
Sullivan’s Quay, 541 Port Washington Blvd., Port Washington, 516-883-3122,www.sullivansquay.com, (pronounced “Key”) named after an area of County Cork, also has Fish & Chips and Shepherd’s Pie all year. On St. Pat’s, Corned Beef and Cabbage and Irish music from the Classic Touch begins at 6 p.m.
