Food-O-File

Consideration of local events celebrating St. Patrick's Day always seems to get lost in the SXSW juggernaut here at the Chronicle, but with a considerable number of restaurants and bars in town proclaiming an Irish heritage, there is quite a bit of stuff going on. At the Draught Horse Pub (4112 Medical Parkway, 452-7258) the gigantic party kicks off on Friday, March 14 and goes straight through until Monday. They'll pull up a beer truck outside fitted with taps on the side, creating one of the largest beer bars in town. In addition to the regular pub-grub menu, there will be fish-n-chips, homemade Irish soda bread, and Irish country sausage made with Guiness beer. Famous for its holiday blow-outs, the Dog & Duck Pub (406 W. 17th, 479-0598) will hold the annual Irish Stew Cook-off on Sunday, March 16, with the $25 entry fee proceeds to benefit Meals on Wheels. (Entry forms are available at the pub.) The party on Sunday is from noon until 7pm and will feature live music. Judging of the stews and awarding of trophys will begin at 4pm. And the party continues on Monday, the actual St. Patty's Day, noon-10pm with an impressive array of performers. Around the corner at Bertram's (1601 Guadalupe, 476-2743) a chef appropriately named O'Brien will whip up an elegant holiday tribute of corned beef served with white cabbage, apples, apple-smoked bacon and Roquefort cheese in a cream sauce, and potato cakes with a black truffle sauce. No relation to the chef, the popular mid-town eatery Señor O'Brien's (624 W. 34th, 451-9665) will be partying on Friday, Saturday, and Monday with traditional Irish music, T-shirt giveaways, and Happy Hours 2-7pm with $1 off on Guiness and their Irish Margaritas. Just a short drive out of the city, the Emerald Restaurant (13614 Hwy71, 263-2147) will set up an outdoor bar under a tent and they'll be providing traditional Irish entertainment such as storytellers and pipers. Their menu, including the popular dinners for two, will feature Cornish game hens with Irish soda bread stuffing, lobster, rack of lamb, treacle breads, and soda bread. Both Bennigan's locations (7604 N. I- 35, 451-7953 and 301 Barton Springs Road,
472-7902) will indulge in the annual Bennigan's Blarney Blast, complete with green beer, "patty" melts, pot roast and prize giveaways. During the two weeks preceding St. Patrick's Day, Bennigan's patrons have the opportunity to scratch off game cards to win a Grand Prize trip to Ireland. The brewers at the Bitter End (311 Colorado, 478-2337) have brewed a batch of dry stout for the holiday occasion to be dispensed through special Guiness-style taps at $2 a pint. Chef Kathryn Mathis will use the dry stout in the preparation of her Irish-influenced prix fixe menus Sunday and Monday evenings. Katie Bloom's (419 E. Sixth, 472-2528) plans to entertain us with Aidan McGuinness, a one-man Irish band from Dublin. Later in the day there's sure to be potatoes, cabbages, corned beef, and Irish stew. Though the Irish Pub Co.'s project won't be open in time for St. Patty's, the business is fast at work on the Fourth Street space formerly occupied by Capital City Playhouse, using teams of Irish artisans to finish out and decorate the interiors. Look for a May opening. Other activity in that immediate neighborhood includes a big expansion at Sullivan's to add another bar, a stage, and a private dining room. Also debuting in May will be Buchee, the new wine and tapas bar from partners Buckner Hightower and Greg Schnurr. Buchee will occupy spaces at 208 and 212 W. Fourth with a covered outdoor walkway to connect them. This new-to-Austin concept ought to be a hot ticket with chef Peter O'Brien's food to entice the crowds.