St. Patrick’s Day Dishes and Drinks
Like a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow, St. Patrick’s Day signifies the onset of warmer weather at the end of a ceaseless winter. And no better way to celebrate than with corned beef, whiskey, and everything in between. Chicago restaurants and bars are going all out this year with their St. Patrick’s Day-inspired menus and specials.
Not eating and drinking at The Gage on St. Patrick’s Day would be tantamount to not watching Elf around Christmas time. One of Chicago’s most revered gastropubs has Irish roots from owners Billy and Catherine Lawless, and no day is that more evident than on St. Patrick’s Day. To celebrate the holiday, the restaurant is cooking up a miscellany of specials from March 13 through March 17, including bangers and mas; housemade corned beef with braised cabbage and horseradish creme fraiche; and corned beef sandwiches with pickled cabbage slaw, Guinness-soaked Swiss, and remoulade. To drink, don’t miss the Jenny’s Blade cocktail, so named for the character Jenny Everdeane in the Scorsese movie Gangs of New York, made with green tea-infused Jameson Irish whiskey, Rhine Hall apple brandy, galangal, lime, and soda. To top it all off, live Irish music is courtesy of the Fiddling Finnegans on Saturday and Tuesday.
One of Billy Lawless’s other restaurants, The Dawson, is also hosting a festive medley of holiday specials. The West Town restaurant is offering an authentic St. Patrick’s Day menu from March 14 through March 17, featuring the Irish stylings of executive chef Shaun King. Expect fish and chips, shepherd’s pie, and corned beef and cabbage sandwiches. Beverage director Clint Rogers, meanwhile, accents the offerings with Dawson Old Fashioneds (Redbreast 12yr, clover honey syrup, Orinoco bitters, ice rock) and Dawson Irish Coffees (Jameson Black Barrel, bourbon barrel sugar, Metric coffee, fresh cream). The Dawson will also have Guinness on tap and Dawson Snakebites, which feature Guinness and Lindeman’s Kriek layered in a pint glass. On March 14, the restaurant will have bagpipers in attendance and the patio will be open for pints and Irish coffee, weather permitting.
Corned beef: check. Boiled new potatoes: check. Beer-braised cabbage: check. County Barbeque has all the quintessential St. Patrick’s Day provisions covered via their catering department, so you can binge in the comfort of your own home. Orders require a minimum of five customers per, and must be placed by March 13 for pick up or delivery between March 14 and March 17.
New to the St. Patrick’s Day fray this year is Greektown’s newly opened Tapworks. It may be surrounded by Greek restaurants, but it certainly has an Irish-friendly name. The bar and restaurant is serving up themed specials from March 14 through March 17, including Guinness-braised short rib; shepherd’s pie; Great Lakes Conway’s Irish Red Ale; and Irish Smash Cocktails made with Jameson, mint, soda, and sugar.
Breakfast (and brunch) are the most important meals of the day, especially when they precede holiday shenanigans. Birchwood Kitchen is just the fuel you need to take on the brouhaha of St. Patrick’s Day. Chef Jesse Williams has cooked up Irish-inspired brunch specials to serve on March 14 and March 15, including Irish soda bread with cinnamon butter, bubble and squeak with mustard gravy and poached eggs, corned beef and cabbage hash, and ricotta pancakes with Guinness creme anglaise and ginger crumble. Then from March 17 through March 20, Birchwood Kitchen will also feature a corned beef sandwich special with braised cabbage on rye bread.
The Allis inside Soho House may have British roots, but then again so does St. Patrick. Sorry, Ireland. In the spirit of camaraderie, the coffee shop/cocktail bar is serving up two St. Patrick’s Day cocktails by bar manager Amy Probasco. Get thirsty for Drowning the Shamrock, made with rum, Green Chartreuse, lime, creme de cocoa, and vanilla simple syrup, and the Mott Street Cathedral featuring Irish whiskey, Lillet Blanc, and orange bitters.
A steakhouse may not seem the most obvious destination for St. Patrick’s Day dining supremacy, but you’d be remiss in overlooking the holiday specials on deck at Chicago Cut. Both the steakhouse and its sister restaurant The Local Chicago will be offering specials from March 13 through March 17, including corned beef and cabbage inspired by owner Matt Moore’s grandma’s 115-year-old Balla County, Ireland recipe, and Irish mint milkshakes infused with spearmint ice cream.
The Gage
24 S. Michigan Avenue, Chicago
(312) 372-4243
Website
The Dawson
730 W. Grand Avenue, Chicago
(312) 243-8955
Website
County Barbeque
1352 W. Taylor Street, Chicago
(312) 929-2528
Website
Tapworks
820 W. Jackson Boulevard, Chicago
(312) 612-5898
Website
Birchwood Kitchen
2211 W. North Avenue, Chicago
(773) 276-2100
Website
The Allis
113-125 N. Green Street, Chicago
(312) 521-8000
Website
Chicago Cut Steakhouse
300 N. LaSalle Street, Chicago
(312) 329-1800
Website
The Local Chicago
198 E. Delaware Place, Chicago
(312) 280-8887
Website
