St. Patrick's Day: Hurry Up and Drink
America's celebration of the Irish traditions of wearing green and pinching and binge drinking and lots of green vomit is almost here! Hooray! St. Patrick was a man who wanted everyone to become Christian (no, he was not the patron saint of kegs and eggs), and you can honor his successful proselyting efforts on this most holy of days by guzzling stouts and eating bangers and mash at one of these lovely institutions.
Public Bar: Public Bar is turning St. Paddy's Day into Halloween: They're giving away feather boas, giant leprechaun hats, funky beads, and green stilettos, and hosting a leprechaun costume contest. There's no cover charge, and food and drink specials include $5 red bull vodkas, $3 green Bud Light bottles, and $5 steak burgers.
Rumors: When St. Patrick's day meets Mardi Gras in the Herpes Triangle the result is Lindy Promotions 11th Annual Shamrocks & Shenanigans St. Paddy’s Day Party at Rumors. The party includes beat the clock drink specials, live music, contests and tons of green beads. The fun starts at 4PM and tickets are $5 in advance online.
Againn: If you have a more mature understanding of St. Patrick's Day -- that is, you don't associate it with being sloppy drunk -- your best bet is to celebrate at Againn, a Gastropub in Downtown DC. The restaurant is turning its raw bar into a "beer station" where drafts of Guinness and Kilkenny Ale will be available for $5. Irish Coffee and Irish Old Fashioneds topped with Jameson will be available at the bar for $5 and they will also be serving traditional Irish fare, including Guinness-braised lamb shank with local carrots, and butterball potatoes and house-made pretzels with sea salt and spicy mustard.
BlackFinn: 20 oz. glasses of Guinness, Smithwick's and Harp, Irish themed food, and live late night music is what you can expect at the St. Patrick's Day celebration at BlackFinn that begins at 9AM with kegs and eggs.
McFadden's: The celebration at this bar of choice for GW students includes a FREE breakfast buffet, $5 Irish coffees and Guinness drafts until 2PM, and $2 Coors Lights, Irish dancers, bagpipes and drinking games from noon-7PM. Cost is $10, but admission is free, surprise, with a college ID.
Russia House: Celebrate St. Patrick's Day with the Capitol Club of Washington the day after St. Patrick's Day at the Russia House for no other reason than the event's attire is "Bolshevik Leprechaun."
The Dubliner: This is one of the largest (and most crowded) parties in DC. The beer starts flowing at 10AM, the live music starts at noon, and the line starts getting really long around 5PM. There's a $10 cover charge.
CommonWealth: This gastropub in Columbia Heights is offering a special Irish beer flight and Irish whiskey flight, and, in addition, a menu special of traditional corned beef and cabbage for $14.
There are a thousand things happening in this city on Wednesday and it's impossible to list all of them, so here's a hint: Go to any bar with Mc, Pub , or four in the name and prepare for lots of Guinness, corned beef and green beads. Better yet, go to Hello Cupcake for a Guinness chocolate cupcake topped with Baileys Irish Cream frosting because it sounds delicious and we said so.