Newsletter 8 - St Pat's Day 2000
We're sorry to say that after June 2000,
because of changes in our service provider's operations and a host
of other circumstances, we were forced to discontinue publication of
what -- we thought -- was a information packed digest. We hope to be
able to resume sometime in the future
Contents
St Patrick's Day Parade
Irish Pubs, Bars and Restaurants
Corned Beef and Cabbage
St Patrick's Day Parade
When Friday, March 17th, 11:00A
Where Fifth Avenue from 42nd Street to 86th Street, Manhattan
Getting There Any subway to Midtown
Best Viewing Anywhere along the route
Forecast Bring an umbrella
The first St Patrick's Day parade in New York
City was held in 1766 organized by Irish soldiers serving in His
Majesty's service. City folk marched for any and all reasons back
then, usually organized along fraternal, trade or military
organizational lines. The early St Patrick's Day marchers would form
up at their parish churches or their organizations' headquarters and
march to the old St Patrick's Cathedral (now at Mott and Prince
Streets). The Archbishop greeted the groups, dignitaries and
politicians addressed the crowd and the marchers dispersed in search
of a bit of St Patty's Day pleasure
As the City moved uptown so did the parade,
marching to the far reaches of the City and the site of the new St
Patrick's Cathedral on Fifth Avenue and 50th Street. Today's parade
starts at 42nd Street and marchers travel north to 86th Street. It
is customary for the New York Archbishop to review the parade in
front of St Patrick's, though Cardinal O'Connor's health is
declining and no word as to his plans has been released
The St Patrick's Day Parade is one of the few
remaining where no cars, floats, buses, trucks or other vehicles are
allowed. People march, march, march up Fifth Avenue, led by members
of the 165th Infantry (originally the Irish 69th Regiment of
Fighting Irish fame). Sponsored by the Ancient Order of Hibernians,
the more than 150,000 marchers are members of various Irish
societies from New York and around the country; many Eire-based
societies make the Atlantic crossing to trek the two miles uptown.
Large contingents include the Emerald Societies of the New York City
Police and Fire Departments (more on these later), and any
politician running for office within a 50-mile radius. Much
controversy has recently surrounded the parade because the sponsors
would not allow gay and lesbian groups to march under their own
banners. This year's parade is supposed to be 'inclusive,' with
these groups forming their own contingents within the parade.
Politicians no longer have to choose between a rock and a hard
place: don't march and offend the powerful Irish constituency, march
and offend the equally powerful gay and lesbian lobby. Hilary and
Rudy breathed sighs of relief
Viewing the parade is a snap. It starts 11:00A
at 42nd Street and makes it way up Fifth Avenue to 86th Street.
There is no best place to see the parade, though the Archbishop
usually greets the marchers at St Patrick's Cathedral. Take any
subway to Midtown and walk over to Fifth Avenue. Don't try to drive;
you won't get very far. Similarly, traffic is affected on all
streets surrounding the parade route; a bus will get you nowhere
fast
Irish Pubs, Bars and Restaurants
If you want a bit of the blarney to go with your
St Patrick's Day festivities stop into one of the City's many Irish
watering holes. Here you'll meet the Irish, the almost-Irish, those
who want to be Irish and maybe some folks who are just leftover from
the night before
St Pat's is celebrated on a Friday this year so
there's no excuse for most people to go home. Here are a couple of
things to keep in mind:
Don't expect white table cloth service on the
17th, owners have learned to remove everything not nailed down
(tables, chairs, partitions, bar stools) and use plastic cups to
keep the damage and injuries down. Be prepared to wait if you want
something more than beer splashed in a cup (and on the bar). And
don't try to fib when you get home. If you walk into an Irish bar on
St Patty's Day you will walk out with beer spilled on your clothes.
There's no escape
Many popular Irish nightspots charge a cover on
St Patrick's Day, usually $5 or $10. This is to keep out the
riff-raff and to try to stay within the fire codes (with all the
fireman inside it's already too crowded). If you're a regular
customer you usually don't have to pay, but if you're a regular,
you're not reading this
Steer clear of kids. Most bars succeed in
keeping them out but many teenagers bring their own supply of beer,
booze and other intoxicants. You'll find them on the street, in the
street or bent over trashcans. If they look like they're really in
trouble, call a cop. Speaking of which . . .
You'll be sure to run into a few New York City
police or fire personnel who work hard and play harder, plus many of
their out-of-town compatriots. We advise discretion; these are
tight-knit groups that might not respond the way you expected to
that oh, so funny comment
'Nuff said. Here are some good Irish joints:
Kennedy's
327 W 57th Street | 212-759-4242 | Manhattan
A West Side standard for many years, they know how to do it
Langan's Bar & Restaurant
150 W 47th Street | 212-869-5482 | Manhattan
One of the best of the 'lace curtain' Irish haunts
Maggie's Place
21 E 47th Street | 212-753-5757 | Manhattan
A big after work hangout. Expect brokers, analysts, secretaries and
more
Abbey Tavern
354 Third Avenue | 212-532-1978 | Manhattan
Usually a younger crowd and Irish rock
Cleary's
583 Third Avenue | 212-599-9784 | Manhattan
Great for a shot and a beer. Cop bar
Eamon Doran's
998 Second Avenue | 212-755-9191 | Manhattan
Don't understand what they're saying? Funny football on TV? It's
Eamon's
Emerald Pub
308 Spring Street | 212-226-8512 | Manhattan
One of Downtown's best
Finnegan's Wake
1361 First Avenue | 212-737-3664 | Manhattan
Only the Irish do it like this
Grand Stand
85-35 Grand Avenue | 718-478-9633 | Elmhurst
It's grand. It's a saloon. It's crowded. It's Irish
Judge 'n Jury
7901 Third Avenue | 718-491-2967 | Bay Ridge
An old Brooklyn standby
We've got many more places for you to celebrate
the green. You can find almost 100 of them at our Irish
Pub, Bar and Restaurant Guide
Corned Beef and Cabbage
Where does corned beef come? Why does any good
Irishman say they don't eat corned beef and cabbage in the old sod?
Why do we associate it with the Irish in America? It's impossible to
answer these questions, but here are some ideas:
Corned beef is a wet cured product; the meat is
soaked in a brine of salt and a mixture of spices. Curing meats by
smoking or brining originated thousands of years ago. The 'corn' in
corned beef refers to the kernels or 'kerns' of salt used in the
curing process. Since this is an old Anglo-Saxon word, let's assume
that the Celts of some hundreds of years ago had heard of it and
used a similar process. Let's also assume that the process was used
in Eastern Europe (and many other parts of the colder weather world)
The tenant farmers of Ireland, like serfs most
anywhere, subsisted mainly on the root crops and other vegetables
they could grow, plus bits of beef, pork and lamb not sent to the
landlord. Tenants, again like other serfs, were given the less
desirable cuts, hence the prevalence of sausage and sausage-like
items in many peasant cuisines. The better of these lesser cuts
leant themselves to curing or 'kerning' all across northern Europe,
to hold them through the months ahead
If you talk to a person who has lived in Ireland
he or she might grudgingly admit that yes, they do eat a cabbage and
meat dish, but it's usually cabbage and bacon. The Irish-style bacon
that wet-cured, or 'kerned'
Meanwhile, back in eastern and central Europe
the German, Jewish and Slavic serfs were wet curing their meats.
With greater access to spices from the Orient they came up with the
now traditional mix of peppercorns, dill seed, coriander and a touch
of garlic to liven up the finished product
Now come the great migrations of the 1800s.
Immigrants from throughout Europe teamed into the eastern United
States. From Baltimore to Boston the waterfronts became a Babel of
languages. Nowhere else was the concentration and diversity as great
as New York City. Once on the island of Manhattan, if they didn't
have relatives in Brooklyn or across the Hudson in New Jersey,
immigrants settled on the Lower East Side. There the melting pot was
brought to a simmer. The eastern Europeans were more likely to
emigrate from their homes with family and goods. Irish immigrants of
the day were mostly young lads looking for work with an eye toward
returning home
Here's how we see it: The eastern Europeans
brought their cured meat recipes; the Irish workers brought their
appetites
For Jim's corned beef recipe and a couple of
secrets from New York City restaurant people (including a Chinese
twist) be sure to click here
Hope you enjoyed the newsletter. See you in a
couple of weeks with our April issue,
Susie and Jim
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