Most people know that St.
Patrick, the missionary who converted the Emerald Isle's
pagans to Christianity, is honored annually on March 17,
but few understand why this festival is remembered by
ingesting plate-loads of corned beef or gallons of beer.
Long observed in Ireland as
the one day during Lent when good Catholics don't have
to abstain from good food and liquor, the holiday gained
importance outside the country during the mid-1800s,
when the Great Potato Famine drove close to a million
Irish emigrants to America.
As the Irish began to
organize into a cultural force in America, St. Patrick's
Day was observed more widely. In 1948, President Harry
S. Truman cemented the day as an American holiday by
attending the St. Patrick's Day parade in New York.
Now celebrated as the day to
honor everything Irish -- including shamrocks, corned
beef and the color green -- Americans of all
persuasions, Irish or otherwise, use this once-holy day
as a fine excuse to drink up and play hard, regardless
of whether they're enjoying a reprieve from Lent.
This year, fete St. Pat's
like a true child of Eire. Put on your greenest shirt,
pinch those who forego Ireland's "national color," and
belly up to one of San Francisco's many authentic Irish
pubs, bars and restaurants.
Begin your day in the
Financial District, at The Irish Bank Bar &
Restaurant (10 Mark Lane, 415-788-7152, 6-2 a.m.), which
will host Alice 97.3 FM's morning show on Monday. Radio
personalities Sarah and No Name will get the day rolling
with a three-piece Irish band, as well as with
demonstrations of hurling and football. After a hearty
lunch of cabbage and corned beef, revelers can enjoy the
music of Buckfest live at 4 p. m., followed by a DJ at 6
p.m.
Then move slightly uptown to
Johnny Foley's Irish House (243 O'Farrell St.,
415-954-0777, 10-1:30 a.m.), where patrons can hear live
Irish music all day and nosh on food specials until 6
p.m. Celtic dancers and musicians will drop in
throughout the day to entertain revelers looking for an
authentically Irish experience -- good food, comfortable
chairs and good conversation over a few pints -- before
early evening, when the true insanity begins.
Haight Street's An Bodhran
Irish Pub (668 Haight St., 415-431-4724, 12 p.m.-2 a.m.)
-- the name is Gaelic for an Irish goatskin drum --
celebrates St. Pat's Day with curry and chips, which
make lovely happy-hour appetizers. You won't hear live
music on Monday, but you can enjoy it all day Sunday if
you feel like celebrating early. An Bodran also offers
cocktail specials all weekend, including Monday.
The Plough and the Stars (116
Clement St., 415-751-1122, 10-2 a.m.) is one of the best
places to experience Irish culture at its rowdiest. Get
there early for a seat at the front banquette; otherwise
you'll be relegated to standing room only at this Irish
pub and pool hall. At 6 p.m., enjoy a performance by the
Kennelly School of Irish Dance, followed by live music
from Culann's Hounds.
Although Ireland's 32 (3920
Geary Blvd., 386-6173, 10 a.m.-2 a.m.) might play tricks
on drunks and tourists, they know how to throw a true
St. Paddy's Day bash: enjoy Celtic and Irish rock music
all day, free corned beef sandwiches and all the free
Irish tchotckes you can carry.
Afterward, stagger to the
nearby Pat O'Shea's Mad Hatter (3848 Geary Blvd.,
415-752-3148, 6-2 a.m.), where you'll find Irish
insanity tempered by sports -- the bar boasts 21 TV sets
broadcasting sports around the world. Five different
bars will provide enough beer to loosen not only
tongues, but also purse strings, as the bar is hosting
an all-day fundraiser, aptly titled "Give or Get
Pinched," for St. Anthony's Kitchen. Corned beef
sandwiches, free tchotckes and live bagpipe music round
out the celebration.
What better place to end your
day of drunken revelry than The Bitter End Bar and Grill
(441 Clement St., 415-221-9538, 3 p.m.-2 a.m.)? Before
hailing a cab home, stop into one of Clement Street's
coziest Irish bars for cabbage, corned beef sandwiches
and live, traditional Irish music. Perhaps a mournful
chorus of "Danny Boy" will help send you off to
sleep.
