Classy Options Too
The procrastinator's guide to St. Patrick's Day: Green beer & Lucky Charms at 7a.m.?
St. Patrick's Day is Thursday, and you don't know what you're doing yet. Aside from calling the bar "the pub" and throwing on a green tie or cardi, you haven't made any plans.
It's OK, we're here to help. Whether you're Irish every day or just once a year, these suggestions are sure to put some pea in your pint.
Perhaps you have more olive-toned skin, trace your heritage elsewhere or otherwise feel kind of like a poseur drinking green beer in a pub parking lot. If you're looking for something a little less obvious, try one of these St. Paddy's Day destinations:
Flora & Muse - Located in hot and hoppin' CityCentre, this charming bistro will present live Celtic music by local Irish, Scottish and American folk trio Near by Far.
Studio Movie Grill - Also located at CityCentre, SMG will celebrate St. Patrick with green beer all day for guests to enjoy while watching a selection of first-run films on eight screens.
88 Keys - Upper Kirby's newest piano bar has invented a festive cocktail specially for the occasion: The Leapin' Leprechaun, made with vodka, Midori and a splash of pineapple juice. Sip away while listening to soft piano music among an eclectic mix of antiques and funky artwork.
Sullivan's Steakhouse - Sullivan's will host a St. Pat's Day block party on the patio beginning at 5 p.m. Thursday with green beer, $5 Lucky Knockout martinis, $5 Guinness and $5 Irish whiskeys and corned beef sliders for nibbling. Radio London will take the indoor Ringside Lounge stage at 9 p.m.
For the more traditional types:
Lucky's Pub - The EADO haunt will play host to Houston's largest St. Patrick's Day festival, encompassing 10,000 square feet and opening bright and early with bowls of Lucky Charms at 7 a.m. Green beer specials will run all day, with two outdoor biergartens serving a massive anticipated crowd, with 14 full bars and 28 beer tubs. More than 100 bartenders and servers have been slated to make sure your cups runneth over, never empty. Live music is a duh.
Kenneally's - The Shepherd Drive pub will open its doors at noon to host Rockets' mascot Clutch the bear on the roof and the Jameson girls downstairs. Bagpipers will be in throughout the day with two bands entertaining live.
Brian O'Neills - The Village's Morningside Drive will come alive at 8 a.m. with Irish breakfast, along with live entertainment from five bands and an assortment of bagpipers and traditional Irish dancers beginning at noon and continuing throughout the day. The party will spill over into the parking lot with a cook-off and plenty of draught beer and liquor stations. A $5 cover starts at noon, so get there early.
McGonigel's Mucky Duck - $20 gets you in for a full day of St. Patrick's Day festivities that helped the pub get billed in USA Today as one of the top 10 places to celebrate St. Pat's in the United States. Live music starts at noon with traditional Irish food coming out of the kitchen beginning at 11 a.m. sharp. Expect shepherd's pie, beef Guinness, corned beef and more.
Sherlock's - Sherlock's Baker St. Pub is claiming Houston's largest St. Paddy's outdoor block party with more than 60 kegs of green beer. Located at 10001 Westheimer, between Gessner and the Beltway, the celebration begins at 2 p.m. with music from Space Rockers, Cold Shot, Nervous Rex and Rat Ranch.
UPDATE: It's been drawn to our attention that we forgot about Griff's. Billed as Houston's oldest sports bar, the exceedingly dive-y dive on Roseland is celebrating its 46th annual all-day and all-night St. Patrick's Day festival. "Check your head at the door."