|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
Green cocktails and green beer, oh, my. It must be St. Patrick’s Day in Dublin, Calif. Applebee’s Dublin location marks the holiday as soon as you walk in the door. Across town, Gallagher’s Pub has a wide reputation as the place to experience Irish-themed fun.
Applebee’s Saintly Sips
The mural in the entryway to Applebee’s Dublin shows kilted men marching to the city’s Devaney Square. During March, Applebee’s honors Dublin’s patron saint Patrick with Saintly Sips including a green Leprechaun cocktail creation.
Let’s add that Dublin is one of 1,654 Applebee’s across the U.S. with bi-monthly special “sips” that are $5 and $7, currently labeled as Saintly Sips. The $5 drink is the Leprechaun made with Jameson Irish Whiskey, melon liqueur, blue curaçao, lemon sour, lemon-lime soda. Labeled as a “cocktail tea,” I tipped my hat to leprechauns everywhere, took a happy hour sip, and did not taste much Jameson whiskey. Melon liqueur imparted the green color.
For $7, I purchased the Pot O’ Gold Daq-A-Rita Saintly Sip. This mash up of a Daquiri and a Margarita contains Patrón Silver margarita and Bacardi Superior Rum daiquiri blend with triple sec, and mango.
The drink was a more pleasant sipper than its partner, the Leprechaun, and thankfully, it was not too sweet or thick with mango. Mango flavors are popping up on menus from drinks to desserts.
Since I was unfamiliar with Daq-a-Ritas, I searched online and the result was the Pot O’ Gold incarnation and Applebee’s version from last April, the Strawberry Daq-a-Rita. Curious about the origin of the cocktail, an Applebee’s spokesperson informed me the drinks were developed at the innovation bar in the company’s Restaurant Support Center in Pasadena based on “industry trends and guest feedback.”
I perused the menu to identify any St. Patrick’s Day food specials—corned beef and cabbage perhaps—and came up short.
I needed a refresh on the menu because it had been years since I dined at the Dublin Applebee’s. According to the website, the Dublin location opened in 1980. The vestibule mural of St. Patrick’s Day references Dublin’s population as 43,630 which correlates to the city’s demographic in the early 2000s; the population is currently over 70,000.
I recalled the entrance was on the south side facing Highway 580 and two food items remained on the menu from my long ago visit, boneless chicken wings and soft pretzels with white cheddar beer dip. I asked Chris Perez the bartender for another recommendation, and he suggested the chicken wonton tacos which arrived in a corn taco holder.
Though I intended to eat only happy hour half-price appetizers, I ordered the “Bourbon chicken and shrimp jazzed up with Cajun spices in buttery garlic and parsley.” Having lived on the Mississippi Gulf Coast for five years, I enjoy Cajun-spiced food and don’t often see it on menus.
Gallagher’s Pub and green beer
The Applebee’s Cajun chicken reminded me of the green beer we drank in Mississippi around St. Patrick’s Day. After reading that Gallagher’s Pub was a top place to celebrate the holiday, I put on my green sweater, headed to Dublin, and enjoyed a green beer at the bar.
Gallagher’s Pub was founded in 1984 by Sunshine Gallagher’s father Jim whose family was from County Donegal, Ireland. Celebrating their 40th anniversary, Gallagher told me the pub is known as an unofficial gathering spot after the annual Dublin St. Patrick’s Parade. Over the holiday weekend, Gallagher opens a tent across from the pub in the Shamrock Village shopping center.
I asked Gallagher how long green beer is available at the pub. She replied, “We get it on tap a couple days before the festivities start, and it usually runs out by closing on March 17th.” As for how easy it is for her to buy green beer, she added, “For years, everyone had green beer. But now only select bar owners who are longtime customers can order it from Budweiser distributors,” said Gallagher.
Gallagher’s does not serve food, but food trucks periodically frequent the pub. To pair with green beer, I ordered a corned beef platter with traditional cabbage, potatoes, and carrots from Chef Roberto Marquez, owner of Limitless Kitchen food truck. I was set for lunch and a take home box.
Back on the patio with live music playing, I spotted Mayor of Dublin Melissa Hernandez relaxing after the parade. Surrounded by Dublin Sister City guests from Bray, Ireland, Alameda County Supervisor David Haubert, and friends, green-hatted Hernandez wore the golden Mayor’s necklace which looked like an Olympic medal. Gallagher joined the table with a green bow in her hair. The guests from Bray were not drinking green beer—not surprising since the drink was invented in Manhattan a century ago.
We’ll see if I crave a green beer next St. Patrick’s weekend. Don’t bet on it. But I will join the Dublin festivities to seek the luck of the Irish, their beverages and food.