GREEN DAY

These Houston bars and restaurants are going green for St. Patrick's Day weekend's biggest bashes

Green beer and green gear mark the green day.

Photo by Getty Images

It's time once again to toast Saint Patrick, the foremost patron saint of Ireland, and celebrate the heritage and culture of Ireland.

That means, here in Houston, we post up, down green beer, specialty sips, and St. Patrick's Day-themed menus. Also look for live music, DJ sets, and block parties all around the city and at area restaurants.

Raise a glass, keep those Irish eyes a-smilin', and stay safe out there. Here's our list of St. Patrick's Day and weekend fun.

Bobcat Teddy’s Ice House will once again have its St. Paddy’s Day party going. They will have live music, Irish dancers, Guinness flowing and crawfish boiling. 10 am.

94.5 The Buzz and Lucky’s Pub will put on the 16th annual St. Patrick’s Day Festival downtown. There will be two stages, DJs, leprechauns and, of course, green beer. 10 am.

Kirby Ice House All locations of Texas’s favorite ice house are celebrating St. Patty’s day with celebratory green beer and Jameson specials for March Madness and St. Paddy's. Check out the Houston Highlanders, Pipes, and Drums for some Irish music. 11 am.

McIntyre’s Downtown will have a two-day, St. Patrick’s Day extravaganza. There will be three levels of fun, featuring DJs and live performances. 11 am.

Meanwhile, at McIntyre’s Heights, their two-day extravaganza will feature live music from Mo Jiles Band, Dj Reckshop and others. And, of course, they got the green beer. 11 am.

Over on White Oak Dr, a St. Patrick’s Day Block Party Pub Crawl will go down. Onion Creek Cafe, Public House Heights and other spots will be slinging beer and prizes. 11 am.

The 7th Annual Green Mile St. Patrick’s Day Block Party will happen over on Washington Ave. The Sporting Club, Kung Fu Saloon and others will be part of the festivities. The parking lot will house a sound stage, VIP sections, life-size beer pong, corn hole,, satellite bars, vendors, and live music.Tickets can be purchased online or at the door the day of the event.Noon.

Saint Arnold Brewing Company will have a celebration at its beer garden and restaurant. This free event will feature beer, food, live entertainment and a Shop Local market. 2 pm.

Mary’s Houston will host a downtown St. Patrick’s Day party. Come enjoy delicious food, tons of vendors, amazing DJs, crazy drinks specials and dope ambiance. 3 pm.

Penny Whistle Pub is teaming up with Griff’s for a St. Paddy’s Day shindig. They’ve got dancers, pipers and a band, which will perform at around 6 pm. 3 pm.

East End Backyard will celebrate the day with green beer, St. Patrick’s Day-themed cocktails and photo ops all around. There will also be live music and a DJ all night. 4 pm.

EZ’s Liquor Lounge is hosting a slew of St. Patty’s Day celebrations including an outdoor parking lot party complete with a live DJ set, Nitro Irish Coffee specials, and food from Truth BBQ. Friday kicks off with a free pub crawl parking lot party (4 pm), with a live DJ set from 5 pm-10 pm and $10 Nitro-Irish Coffee specials. Saturday's tent opens at 2 pm with pastrami and slaw served by Truth BBQ and a DJ set from 4 pm-9 pm.

The Lucky St. Patrick’s Day Crawl will be two days’ worth of bar-crawl craziness. 77 Degrees, Dogwood and Front Porch Pub will be among the bars taking part. 4 pm.

Emmit’s Place will have an old-school, St. Paddy’s Day throwdown. Former Gallant Knight houseband The Klockwork Band will be providing the nighttime grooves. 9 pm.

Como Social Club will serve specialty cocktails like the Shamrock-a-rita and the Emerald Crush (both $14) while taking the pool at The Westin Hughes Landing in The Woodlands. The reveler who sports the best St. Patty’s outfit scores a $50 bar tab.

Restaurant specials and deals

Gatsby’s Grill is celebrating the holiday with $4-$5 green draft beers and $7 Tullamore Dew shots. Meanwhile, Gatsby’s Prime Seafood and Gatsby’s Prime Steakhouse along with Gatsby's Grill will serve up the 4 Leaf Clover Club ($18) made with Tullamore Dew Whiskey, Lillet Rose Vermouth, raspberry syrup and topped with frothy egg white, and an Angostura four leaf clove.

GJ Tavern will host an exclusive six-course dinner experience at 7:30 pm. Executive chef Tim Reading’s special menu features pairings including Harp Lager cured salmon served with Harp Lager; Trillium brie with accoutrements served with Teeling Small Batch Irish Whiskey; duck confit served with Bushmills Original Irish Whiskey; bangers and mash served with Smithwick’s Red Ale; Guinness beef stew served with Guinness Stout; and caramelized white hot chocolate served with 5 Farms Irish Cream. Tickets are available for $100.

Hilton Americas will serve up a refreshing Irish Slammer ($17.50) that packs a punch by pairing a pint of green brew and a shot of smooth whiskey all weekend long. All are invited; no reservations required.

All Los Tios locations are offering $4 green domestic beers at all Los Tios locations on St. Patrick’s Day. Pair the brew with the famous Puffy Queso, or mouthwatering taco and fajita plates.

Marmo, the elegant Montrose Italian chophouse, will serve up a special green pasta curated by executive chef Eli Jackson. Available in half and full portions ($18/$36), the dish features Scarpinocc pasta with smoked mozzarella, asparagus, parmesan fonduta, and morel mushrooms.

Skeeter’s Mesquite Grill, the longtime neighborhood favorite, will serve $4 domestic green beers at all locations to pair with its famed burgers, fresh salads, Tex-Mex options, and frozen margaritas.

Traveler’s Table, the global, eclectic destination, is featuring Irish-inspired specials, including Irish Oysters Kilpatrick, Guinness-Glazed New York Strip, and Sticky Toffee Pudding. St. Patty's sips include Traveler’s Irish Coffee, Finnegan’s Wake, and Fallen Saint (an Irish Old Fashioned). Friday only; specials available for dine-in and take-out.

Movie Review

Michelle Pfeiffer visits Houston in new Christmas movie Oh. What. Fun.

Photo courtesy of Amazon MGM Studios

Michelle Pfeiffer in Oh. What. Fun.

Of all the formulaic movie genres, Christmas/holiday movies are among the most predictable. No matter what the problem is that arises between family members, friends, or potential romantic partners, the stories in holiday movies are designed to give viewers a feel-good ending even if the majority of the movie makes you feel pretty bad.

That’s certainly the case in Oh. What. Fun., in which Michelle Pfeiffer plays Claire, an underappreciated mom living in Houston with her inattentive husband, Nick (Denis Leary). As the film begins, her three children are arriving back home for Christmas: The high-strung Channing (Felicity Jones) is married to the milquetoast Doug (Jason Schwartzman); the aloof Taylor (Chloë Grace Moretz) brings home yet another new girlfriend; and the perpetual child Sammy (Dominic Sessa) has just broken up with his girlfriend.

Each of the family members seems to be oblivious to everything Claire does for them, especially when it comes to what she really wants: For them to nominate her to win a trip to see a talk show in L.A. hosted by Zazzy Tims (Eva Longoria). When she accidentally gets left behind on a planned outing to see a show, Claire reaches her breaking point and — in a kind of Home Alone in reverse — she decides to drive across the country to get to the show herself.

Written and directed by Michael Showalter (The Idea of You), and co-written by Chandler Baker (who wrote the short story on which the film is based), the movie never establishes any kind of enjoyable rhythm. Each of the characters, including competitive neighbor Jeanne (Joan Chen), is assigned a character trait that becomes their entire personality, with none of them allowed to evolve into something deeper.

The filmmakers lean hard into the idea that Claire is a person who always puts her family first and receives very little in return, but the evidence presented in the story is sketchy at best. Every situation shown in the film is so superficial that tension barely exists, and the (over)reactions by Claire give her family members few opportunities to make up for their failings.

The most interesting part of the movie comes when Claire actually makes it to the Zazzy Sims show. Even though what happens there is just as unbelievable as anything else presented in the story, Showalter and Baker concoct a scene that allows Claire and others to fully express the central theme of the film, and for a few minutes the movie actually lives up to its title.

Pfeiffer, given her first leading role since 2020’s French Exit, is a somewhat manic presence, and her thick Texas accent and unnecessary voiceover don’t do her any favors. It seems weird to have such a strong supporting cast with almost nothing of substance to do, but almost all of them are wasted, including Danielle Brooks in a blink-and-you'll-miss-it cameo. The lone exception is Longoria, who is a blast in the few scenes she gets.

Oh. What. Fun. is far from the first movie to try and fail at becoming a new holiday classic, but the pedigree of Showalter and the cast make this dismal viewing experience extra disappointing. Ironically, overworked and underappreciated moms deserve a much better story than the one this movie delivers.

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Oh. What. Fun. is now streaming on Prime Video.

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