St. Patrick’s Day is one of those holidays that is uniquely celebrated with food and drink. Every year it comes round, people line up outside bars and restaurants so they can start drinking and eating the day away. It is a remarkable sight and every city does it differently.
In San Diego, we of course have the Gaslamp as our go-to party spot for holidays such as this. For 17 years, the San Diego Gaslamp Association has been throwing a huge party, appropriately named Shamrock. Almost every bar, club and restaurant in downtown participates with specials on food and drink.
This year it is sponsored by Jameson Irish Whiskey, so expect to see oodles of people doing Jameson shots. Shamrock is a huge drinking fest with a ton of live music and dancing. It is the second largest party, after Mardi Gras, held yearly in the downtown area and all the proceeds go to benefit the Gaslamp Quarter Historical Foundation.
This is a fun party; however it is loaded with a lot of very drunk people. This year Miller Lite is providing a free shuttle service from downtown to specific sections of town.
I often wonder just how many people actually know anything about St. Patrick’s Day, other than just an excuse to get incredibly intoxicated. It is a day that is celebrated throughout the world and not just in Ireland. There, the festival, and drinking, begins in the early morning.
The day itself is to honor St. Patrick, who actually was kidnapped at the age of 16 from his home country of Great Britain and forced to be a slave in Ireland. According to the tale, he heard voices and he confessed that God spoke to him and told him to escape from captivity, board a ship on the coast, and return to Great Britain.
Upon his return, he joined the church and studied to be a priest. He once again was called back to Ireland and returned as a bishop. It is said that he used the shamrock as a teaching tool to explain the Christian doctrine to the Irish people. He was highly regarded in the church and died March 17. Since then it has become a day to celebrate his life.
Consuming copious amounts of alcohol and food was not the original point of the day. In fact, it was only when the day started to be celebrated in America that it became known as a drinking day.
Be prepared to see corned beef and cabbage everywhere. Every Irish pub in town will have a version and some are very good. Check out The Field and Blarney Stone in the Gaslamp. Both offer great authentic Irish dishes.
For the drink portion of the day, make sure to drink a few pints of the famous Guinness. It is a heavy stout with bitter qualities, but it is delicious. Most people actually don’t know this, but it is a very low alcohol drink. On this day, there are more than 50 million pints served across the world. That’s a lot of beer.
Just remember to enjoy this Irish celebration with all your family and friends. It definitely is a holiday to share with others.
