Where to find a classic on St. Patrick’s Day
Top 10 Orlando restaurants where you can get corned beef and cabbage.
”But corned beef and cabbage isn’t Irish!” It seems an annual inevitability, this war cry. And you’re right, it’s not. But it is 1 million percent Irish-American . And that’s where we’re celebrating today.
The short story is that when the Irish came to America — about 4.5 million arrived from Ireland between 1820 and 1930 — they settled alongside other immigrants in urban areas, New York’s Hell’s Kitchen being one such neighborhood. The bacon or lamb with which they’d traditionally marked St. Patrick’s Day (a religious holiday, by the way, one on which the pubs closed in Ireland until the 1970s) on the Emerald Isle was beyond their means.
They settled instead on brisket — popular among their Jewish neighbors from Central and Eastern Europe — brining the tough, inexpensive cut until supremely tender. That made for their holiday meal, along with their staple potatoes and the cheapest vegetable around: cabbage. Good, hearty, fragrant stuff.
What was a pious occasion slowly evolved into a largely secular celebration of Irish culture — a blend of the one they came from and the one they were creating in the United States. For this one, there is corned beef. And the bars most definitely stay open.
For tipplers and teetotalers alike, a short list of corned beef and cabbage options around town:
Bernie’s Gourmet to Go: St. Patrick’s Day corned beef and cabbage at Bernie’s features corned beef with braised cabbage and carrots, parsley red potatoes and spicy brown mustard for $16.95. (1875 County Road 419 in Oviedo, 407-977-0010; berniesgourmettogo.com/.
Claddagh Cottage: Doors open at noon for festivities that will include corned beef and cabbage, cottage pie, sausage rolls and a vegan version of Irish farmhouse soup. Music starts out back at 1 p.m. Cash bar. (2421 Curry Ford Road in Orlando; claddaghcottagepub.com/)
Fiddler’s Green Irish Pub & Eatery: They’re open early in Winter Park — like 9 am early! — and serving corned beef and cabbage, which they do every day, anyway. $16.95 gets you corned beef on a bed of steamed, shredded cabbage with potatoes,
carrots and caramelized pearl onions. Live music all day long! (544 W. Fairbanks Ave. in Winter Park, 407-645-2050; fiddlersgreenpuborlando.com/)
Hagan O’Reilly’s Irish Pub: It’s a limited menu for the holiday in Winter Garden, but corned beef and cabbage is on it, the latter sautéed with bacon! This $14 dish also comes with potatoes; corned beef is sliced to order. (16112 Marsh Road in Winter Garden, 407-905-4782; haganoreillysirishpub.com/)
Harp & Celt: Much craic at this downtown haunt for the holiday, including a $13.99 corned beef and cabbage dinner with mashed potatoes, one of the featured items on its limited holiday menu. (25. S. Magnolia Ave. in Orlando, 407-481-2928; harpandcelt.com/)
Liam Fitzpatrick’s Restaurant and Irish Pub: There’s a month-long CB&C special at this Lake Mary venue — corned beef, cabbage, herbed potatoes and carrots, $17.99 — but on St. Patrick’s Day, it’s dine-in only. Postpone your celebration until Thursday (or any other day in March) if you’d like to try it to go. (951 Market Promenade Ave. in Lake Mary, 407-936-3782; liamfitzpatricks.com/)
The Sullivan: Sanford always gets its St. Patrick’s Day on and the party at the Sullivan starts at noon. Among the eats: slowcooked corned beef, sliced to order, with braised cabbage and house-baked soda bread ($13). (116 E. 1st St. in Sanford, 407-878-2530; facebook.com/TheSullivanPublicHouse/) TooJay’s: Grab up goodies from their St. Patrick’s Day menu including Famous Murphy’s seafood chowder, traditional corned beef and cabbage dinner, chocolate-covered Irish Cream cheesecake, Irish breakfast and Irish Benedict. Additionally, a St. Patrick’s Family Meal Bundle (serves 4) is available for $34.99 and includes sliced corned beef and cabbage, carrots and red potatoes and four slices of TooJay’s freshly baked rye bread. A quart of
Murphy’s seafood chowder can be added for an additional $13.99. Add a slice of
Irish Cream cheesecake for
$6.99 or an entire cake for
$25.99. toojays.com/holiday-menus/st-patricks-day/
Uncommon Catering &
Eatery: Mixing it up is what these folks do best. Order up a five-days-house-brined
corned beef sandwich on marble rye with fermented cabbage (yes, that means sauerkraut) and Harlich horseradish cheddar served with roasted garlic potato slices and milk stout Irish mustard ($12, available all day until sold out; pair with a Left Hand Nitro Milk Stout for $5). Limited dine-in, takeout or curbside. (2942 Curry Ford Road in Orlando, 407-985-1174; uncommoncatering.com/eatery) Yard House: They’re slinging beer-braised corned beef brisket with boiled red potatoes and cabbage while supplies last. (8367 International Drive in Orlando, 407-351-8220; yardhouse. com/)
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