Food
St. Patrick’s Day: Corned Beef, Beer, Shakes and an Early Start Time
At least one Tower District bar is opening up at 6 a.m. for St. Patrick’s Day.
DAVID TAUB
“No judgment whatsoever,” says Ben Napoles, general manager of Goldstein’s Mortuary and Delicatessen (1279 N. Wishon Ave., Fresno).
The tavern’s name is a purposeful misnomer — no dead bodies or corned beef will be found. Instead, they offer 45 beers on tap with special selections for one of the biggest drinking days of the year.
A WalletHub survey finds that beer sales increase 174% more on March 17 over an average day. Drinkers are expected to spend $5.87 billion (an average of $42 per person).
“St. Patrick’s is one of the biggest days that we have here, yes. It is a time where just everyone, because they love Irish beer, would definitely come out and try whatever we have,” Napoles said.
Watch: Goldstein’s Puts the Irish Into St. Patrick’s Day
Beers Irish and Green
Goldstein’s is one of several bars that will pour the beer on Thursday. For St. Patrick’s Day, specials on cans of Murphy’s, and from the tap, Guinness on Nitro.
“The Nitro line is basically it’s like a tank that pushes out Nitro, and it makes it just more creamier. It’s more subtle. It makes this better for me, a better taste of Guinness,” Napoles said.
Napoles recommends North Coast 38 Stout Special ($6 for a pint), a Fort Bragg, California import.
“It’s very subtle. It’s not really heavy at the end. It’s very easy to drink, but it’s still got the whole flavors of a stout. So you can have that in a bottle on a hot day. And it feels like, man, this is really refreshing now,” Napoles said.
Another take on a green beer served will be House of Pendragon Wildfire, an apple seltzer, along with a Kool-Aid Green Sour.
And of course, green beer will be on tap.
“The secret of green beer is the little elf at the end of the rainbow. It’s magic,” Napoles said. Other sources tell Appetite for Fresno that it is just green food dye mixed in. We may never know.
Elbow Room Specials
The Elbow Room has not only Irish food specials, but has live music scheduled as well. Dishes include corn beef and cabbage, as well as shepherd’s pie.
The corn beef and cabbage special at The Elbow Room. (Special to GV Wire)
A Sweet Shake or Two
Shamrock shakes are back at McDonald’s. A large sells for $3.99. A specialty my wife enjoys is mixing a shamrock and chocolate shake together. It tastes like a thin mint.
Other quick-serve locations are offering a version of green shakes. For one day only on Thursday, Wayback Burgers (6493 N. Riverside Drive, Fresno) has an Oreo Mint Shake for $3.17.
Above: the Shamrock Shake at McDonald’s. Below: an Oreo Mint shake from Wayback Burgers.
