Cocktail Confessions

Yesterday was St. Patrick’s Day, one of those pseudo holiday’s that we as Americans have hijacked as one of our own in order to justify the act of getting piss ass drunk for no real reason at all and kid ourselves we really do indeed look good in green.

Where as Cinco de Mayo is to tequila body shots and garish ranchero music, St. Patrick’s day is about kissing strangers, copping feels and pinching.  You don’t even need to be Irish or red-haired, just some green accessories such as old Mardi Gras beads, paper top hats, and the requisite “Kiss Me…I’m Irish” shirt…even if you’re more Indian than a tech-support call center employee.

This year, it happened to be on a Wednesday, and I did pretty good job of surviving.  In years past when I lived in Huntington Beach, CA (I was in my mid to late 20’s) the ‘it’ places to be on March 17^th, was the ever popular Malarkey’s, known for their Sheppard’s pie and cheap drinks.  If you were near Costa Mesa, then it was The Harp Inn.  Hennesy’s Tavern of either Dana Point or Laguna Beach were other local favorites. 

All these places had a few things in common: 1) they were ridiculously over-crowded, 2) they often shook you down with a $5-$10 cover charge for no other reason to get a few more bucks out of you, 3) and usually offered some sort of live entertainment in the form of an Irish band.  I remember seeing The Finnegans a few times before they got as big as they are now.  I also drank copious amounts of Guinness or Harp beers, and danced the night away to bag pipes and folk music and was still able to bounce back the next day and make it to work.  I even hooked up a few times as well, but those are stories for another time.

This year I happen to meet some friends over at Rudy’s of Foothill Ranch.  It’s current incarnation is that of a sports bar and it seems to be doing fairly well.  It’s changed names and management at least four times in the last eight years, but I have a feeling Rudy’s may be around a while. 

It was decidedly un-Irish, other than the fact they added food coloring to their beers and cocktails and had reduced pricing on Guinness.  No real decorations, no Irish swag given at the doors, no corned beef and cabbage plates, and the music was satellite radio classic 80’s and 90’s mix.

They happen to have a fairly sizeable patio area, and it was so warm yesterday (I think the high was 88) we chose to sit outside and gab.  I guess you could tell we’re all in our late 30’s and early 40’s now as we were noticeably much more subdued than I can recall from years past.  I had a total of 4 green pints of Bud Light.  Yup, that’s it.  I didn’t hit any hard stuff like whisky or cocktails, although my wife did actually have green Crown Royal on the rocks.  By the way, that green die they use is nasty.  After a few drinks, everyones lips, tongue, and even teeth had a sickly greenish hue to them.  Not appealing unless one has beer goggles I suppose.

Our appetizers included chips & salsa, French fries, and Kobe sliders.  Doesn’t that just scream Irish to you?  Just to let you know, Rudy’s fries are indeed some of the best French fries I’ve ever had in my life.  They are always perfectly cooked, crunchy, and golden.  Their sliders are pretty damn good as well as they use Hawaiian bread for the buns.

Whereas in the past St. Patrick’s Day would keep me out to the very late hours or closing time and begging for a hangover, this time around I was in and out after just two hours.  No, I looked forward to going home, taking a nice hot shower and sitting my duff in front of the boob tube with my dog on my lap.

I think I’m saving myself and my energy for this upcoming weekend.  We plan on having a large BBQ at my house with neighbors and friends to mark the passing of myself into the realm known as being ‘middle-aged’.  The weather has been very nice and I look forward to grilling and sipping on beers with my closest friends.