Time and again, the owners of O'Shea's (956 Baxter Ave.) have shown incredible generosity to this community and its causes by donating sales from events at its various bars. To say that this community owes them a debt of gratitude is an understatement, so now it's time we stepped up to pay them back by helping with one of their own.
According to an email sent to me from Ashley Isaacs, manager of the beer program and promotions at Flanagan's Ale House (a sister pub of O'Shea's), O'Shea's daytime bartender Patrick Callahan is facing a mountain of medical expenses tied to his battle with cancer.
"He is a wonderful man, he has a heart of gold, and he has recently been diagnosed with Lymphoma," Isaacs' email read. "(W)e have decided to hold a Monday Fund Day in his honor. This Monday, March 22nd, 100% of proceeds from all food and beverage sales at Flanagan's and O'Shea's on Baxter will be donated to Patrick and his family. Join us from 11 a.m. until midnight, have a brew or enjoy a meal and know that you will be helping a member of our family in his fight against cancer."
There you have it. Consider stepping up to tip one or two for Patrick on Monday.
And while we're talking about great beer, the regular Wednesday pint night at the new Patrick O'Shea's downtown will see the tapping of a keg of La Chouffe, which Isaacs describes as "a golden ale, strong, spicy, lightly hoppy with an evoluting taste." (You lost me on the "evoluting," my dear, but knowing you, that means it's dang deliciomorphicus.) The very next night at Flanagan's they'll be pouring a Spaten Maibock, a springtime lager, followed by the highly regarded Founders Kentucky Breakfast Stout. "This strong stout, rated a whopping 100 on Ratebeer.com, is brewed with a hint of coffee and vanilla then aged in oak bourbon barrels," Isaacs wrote. Now, who says beer can't be part of a nutritious breakfast?
Zen Garden owner to open tofu shop in Highlands: Coco Tran, owner of Zen Garden and Zen Tea House, is about as lovely a lady as you'll ever meet. If you want to enjoy some of the town's best vegetarian cuisine, visit her places on Frankfort Ave.
But that's beside the point: While interviewing her for an unrelated story, she mentioned plans to open a tofu wholesale outlet in the old site of the Café Mimosa restaurant on Bardstown Road (Highlands): yeah, the one that burned spectacularly to the ground in the winter of 2008. Me? I'm not a real tofu lover, but I like it mixed in with my pad Thai. Who knows? Maybe if the fresh stuff is better, I'll catch on. Just thought all the more healthful eaters out there would like to know this is coming up.
I will be at Flanigan's on Monday---Pat is a great guy and a terrific bartender who deserves all the help he can get. Please come and run up a big tab.
Too bad the funds raised can't be used to purchase health insurance for Mr. Callahan, but I guess his "pre-existing condition" will prevent that without an act of Congress.
Anyone who knows Dean Corbett, knows he hardly ever sits still. So it's not surprising he is again reconfiguring his conjoined restaurants, Equus and Jack's Lounge in St. Matthews. But these changes have nothing to do with his hyperactive nature, they're responses to the rapidly evolving needs of both restaurants:
Traffic is up 30 percent over 2009 at Equus, a sign that finer dining (remember, he downscaled it from white tablecloth dining in September) is rebounding—under his roof, anyway—and he wanted to keep that component of his business available. And packed houses at Jack's every weekend means customers are still being turned away, so it too needed some growing room.
So his solution is multifaceted: 1. have a single menu for both; 2. add a larger bar to Equus, one at which customers can sit; 3. add lounge seating (read "lengthy leather couches") to Equus to better host larger but still-casual groups; and 4. start taking reservations for both.
"Next week, on the phones, we'll start calling it Equus and Jack's Lounge," said Corbett, who owns the entire building. (What a blessing to be the landlord and reconstruct your own space on the fly.) New menus will reflect the name change, but outdoor signage won't be updated immediately. "While business is rising at Equus, I think that in the long term I'd rather feel safer as an operator with the price point and atmosphere of Jack's, so we're making the whole space more flexible to accommodate all of it."
Both Jacks and Equus have private areas that will allow large parties to enjoy seclusion in either a more relaxed or more upscale atmosphere. The facility's two kitchens will operate on busy nights, but serve only respective halves of the whole space; on slow nights, one kitchen will close. Converting the entire space to more casual or more upscale will happen as events dictate.
"Come Derby or New Years or Valentine's—times when Equus kicks in—we'll let that side take over," meaning the entire space will become Equus in feel and look. "We've done it before, bring in trucks, load up all the furniture and turn it back into a fine dining restaurant. Last year with 25 people it took us 8 minutes to load and 5 minutes to unload it all again. It's very easy to do."
The menu change (which Corbett said will include several new dishes and updates to standards) will happen March 23, and he's hoping to open the new bar in Equus by March 26.
Corbett acknowledged that many have recommended he close Equus to remove any competition with his third restaurant, Corbett's: An American Place, and let that space go fully to Jack's. But he said he's never thought it the right thing to do.
"To diminish the value of a 25-year-old brand was unacceptable to me, so I figured out a way to incorporate both," he said. "The changes to Equus will really be nice; the new furniture is really slick. I think the whole thing is going to kick ass."
Hello and bye-bye Guy: The Food Network and its ever-chipper and carefully dyed "Diners, Drive-ins and Dives" host Guy Fieri visited Wallace Station Deli and Bakery (Versailles, Ky.) Tuesday for a taping of the show. Wallace is owned by Holly Hilly Inn, and at HHI's Facebook page, you can see Fieri mugging for the lens with Wallace manager Samantha Brown. No word on when the episode will run.
But I still don't want to buy Domino's Pizza: In England, customers who add the new Domino's Pizza advertising widget to a Facebook profile page or a blog can earn cash (0.5% of every order placed through that widget to Domino's online portal). Whether this is clever or desperate, I dunno. But I've definitely never heard of this sort of campaign before. Click here to read more.
Louisville.com is reporting that a Cleveland-based development group is eyeing several storefronts in Louisville in which a CVS Pharmacy would set up shop. One spot in particular is the historic Douglass Loop, which includes strips of Bardstown Road, Dundee Way and Douglass Blvd.
Slots under consideration "include the Twig and Leaf, the landmark diner that has stood at the corner of Bardstown and Douglass since 1941 … the properties formerly occupied by Dragon Garden and Club Grotto, up to 121 Main Place Hair Studio and Dundee Candy Shop." Read the rest of the story here.
Personally, I'd rather see new restaurants and pubs in the Grotto and Dragon Garden slots, and see Twig & Leaf get back on its game. But when you've got two spots producing no revenue and another producing food that doesn't live up to its legend, other businesses sense an opportunity. As we all learned in science class, nature abhors a vacuum, but landlords abhor them even more.
Pompous restaurant critic thinks he knows it all: I have no idea how much actual restaurant experience London Times restaurant critic, AA Gill, actually has, but judging by his commentary, "The golden rules for a perfect restaurant," he doesn't have enough. The subhead for the commentary shows he's even got his bosses fooled: "Our critic has eaten out so often, he knows what works and what doesn't." Right.
If you want to see arrogance in action, read on. If you're a restaurant operator or employee who wants to get your blood boiling, read on. It was hard for me to stomach the first few paragraphs.
If all Gill's broad generalizations were true, it's a wonder anyone would work in the restaurant business. Perhaps his "knowledge" of the business partly explains why the English produce such bad food (OK, save for ethereal fish and chips). Even my English friends have told me, "If you want good food in London, go to an Indian restaurant." Nuff said. Read on.
Boxed Easter bunny bad. Fresh Easter bunny best. Who needs an Easter basketful of Brachs when you can make your own candy at The Sweet Tooth (3110 Frankfort Ave.) Starting next week the shop is hosting several classes through April 1 for kids and adults.
Sweets included on the production list include chocolate rabbits, marshmallow peeps, coconut nests with chocolate chicks, large chocolate eggs filled with candies, peanut butter eggs, chocolate bunny suckers, sparkling citrus creams and other delights. Fee for all classes is $45 includes all supplies. Call 895-4554 to make reservations, or click here for more information.
I went to the Poplar Level rd. CVS once. Thought my car was gonna blow a gasket climbing that hill.
-Kroger wants the space that the current Highlands CVS is occupying. Isn't the Highlands Walgreen unhappy with their screwy access & parking? -Maybe they should flip it to CVS - and then build a Walgreen on the old Brenzel gas station site...
Long before I knew much about the history of St. Patrick's Day and the man after whom it's named, I always wondered what all the fuss was about. My grade school friends of Irish descent wore buttons declaring, "Kiss Me I'm Irish," and when I later learned of my English heritage and my ancestors' ancient hatred of the Irish, I got to reply, "Piss off, I'm British."
OK, so we all knew then I had no future in comedy. But the fact remained that I was puzzled about St. Paddy's Day. I thought the local parade cheesy, the paper shamrocks ugly and difficult to cut out with kid scissors, and even if I owned an article of green clothing I never remembered to wear it to school that day. I don't recall having a single mental image of what an actual Irishman even looked like since marketers ensured the only examples readily available were the Lucky Charms mascot and Notre Dame's chisel-chinned pugilist.
And while I later learned what real human Irishmen looked like, I learned little else about their nation's holiday other than that, as an adult we could drink green beer on March 17. (I'm forced to make an aside here: It's one thing to dye the already nasty Chicago River green because that's an improvement over its more standard sewage-gray, but to turn amber libations emerald … well that just ain't right.) But in the interest of socializing and broadening my grasp of all things Irish, I managed to swallow a few. OK, more than a few—but only in acceptance of the invitation to be Irish for a day. (See, even as a young man, I aspired to exude international goodwill.)
Now in this pre-crusty old-guy stage, I'm learning more about St. Patrick's Day, and the more I understand, the more I don't like what it's become. If I'm correct, St. Pat was a heck of a Christian evangelist, so as a convert meself, I dig what the lad did. About 400 years ago, Irish Catholics began celebrating the work of their Christian forefather by abstaining from Lenten fasting and having a drink or two in his honor. Maybe not what most would do, but not a bad idea if managed in moderation.
But as is usually the case when humans are given a good reason to have a drink, "moderation" is difficult to pronounce when intoxicated and sounds a lot like "more" to a bartender. So the whole thing got out of hand about a century ago and, hoping to remove all the toasting from tributes to Paddy, Ireland made a law closing all pubs on March 17 (a regulation repealed in the '70s).
Sadly, it seems that the legacy that remains is drunkenness—but honorable drunkenness, of course. Out of the noble work of a great man has come an excuse to over-imbibe (not much different from crass commercialism being born out of Christmas), and it all gets laughed off as acting Irish. (Reckon what the opinion of the Irish is about that?)
Let's face it, if you go to most any Irish pub tonight—be it a faux Irish haunt or determinedly Amero-authentic reproduction—that's what you'll see: lots o' drinkin' of the green. Or if not green, lots of properly hued beer disappearing in St. Pat's honor. Heaven knows little attention will be paid to the Americanized fish and chips an uninspiring beef stews offered at most "Irish" spots. Tonight, it's all about beer consumed in quantity.
I haven't been out on St. Patrick's Day in so long that I don't know if it's changed much. When I last was a bar regular, I cooked at Sixth Avenue and worked with a wicked funny busboy named Michael Reidy, the same fella who now owns both Irish Rovers with his wife. So who knows what I'd see if I go out (and I might): The same tasteless green beer, the same tacky paper shamrocks, servers clad in those horribly cheap leprechaun costumes and pretending to be Irish? Probably.
And I think St. Patrick--now a shmuck of the Irish--wouldn't think much of it.
You are missing the point. As an Irish American, today is the day we celebrate our saint and our heritage. At one point in Ireland, you could be hung for just wearing green (Listen to the song: Wearin' of the Green). Over a period of 700 years, the British systematically tried to stamp out our religion, language, and heritage. They could never understand why we didn't want to be British and that's a sin they could never forgive us for.
BTW, St. Patrick was born in England and taken to Ireland as a slave. He escaped and came back to keep his promise to convert the Irish to Christianity....it's the only good the British ever gave us.
"dude" your facts are right and I knew them, but where is Patrick celebrated with honor? Certainly not in a pub by the slurring masses (full disclosure, I was once one of those, but the likes of other "Patricks" got me out of that).
You're right, the Brits never did well pleasing their subjects, did they?
Hit send by mistake, wasn't done yappin'. I take the generification and commercialization of St. Pat's with the same grain of kosher salt that I do when I see Santy Claus, fluorescent pink marshmallow Peeps, and plastic corpses with rotting flesh falling from their decaying bones for children's Halloween enjoyment. It is the way of things.
I'm Scotch/Irish and I have to say, England tried to conquer and enslave us and we did a good job of defending our countries for centuries before they finally overcame us. They hated us because we didn't just lay down and take it up the rear end. Damn the buggers!
Member of Clan Irvine of Scotland/Ireland and the rest of the world. Proud descendent of William de Irwin, defender of Robert the Bruce.
Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!
"Piss off, I'm British."
1. You are American
2. British is a term refering to Great Britain, which is an island made up of it 3 countries, England, Scotland and Wales.
3. No wonder everyone hates the English.
Isn't it true that everyone is Irish on St. Patrick's Day? And that it sometimes takes a bit of spirits for the "true Irishman" in the group to bring tears to the eyes of his companions with his heartfelt rendition of "Danny Boy?"
I believe the "holiday" as we know it grew from a nostalgic longing & tradition by American Irish, who gave us most of the other ditties that we think of as Irish songs. Maybe it was the only day of the year that they could try to forget the bigotry that they once faced here.
Hear you, Steve. For St. Patrick, it is what it is. For my part, I don't drink but I go to mass and march in the Parade with the AOH. We are the guys in the green sashes and you may have noticed we had coats and ties on and no beers in our hand....no stupid hats..no "Kiss me I'm Irish" buttons on. BTW, 5,000 marched this year and there was 40,000 watching...just think what would happen if we ever had the parade on a warm, sunny day.
Slainte'
Now that's what I'm talkin' about, davilledude. Sounds very cool. I should also have better dated myself back to the time when the parade was truly diminutive. And you're right: can't they hold this fun day in April when the weather's better. ;-)
Time and again, the owners of O'Shea's (956 Baxter Ave.) have shown incredible generosity to this community and its causes by donating sales from events at its various bars. To say that this community owes them a debt of gratitude is an understatement, so now it's time we stepped up to pay them back by helping with one of their own.
Anyone who knows Dean Corbett, knows he hardly ever sits still. So it's not surprising he is again reconfiguring his conjoined restaurants, Equus and Jack's Lounge in St. Matthews. But these changes have nothing to do with his hyperactive nature, they're responses to the rapidly evolving needs of both restaurants:
Louisville.com is reporting that a Cleveland-based development group is eyeing several storefronts in Louisville in which a CVS Pharmacy would set up shop. One spot in particular is the historic Douglass Loop, which includes strips of Bardstown Road, Dundee Way and Douglass Blvd.
Long before I knew much about the history of St. Patrick's Day and the man after whom it's named, I always wondered what all the fuss was about. My grade school friends of Irish descent wore buttons declaring, "Kiss Me I'm Irish," and when I later learned of my English heritage and my ancestors' ancient hatred of the Irish, I got to reply, "Piss off, I'm British."
