St. Patrick's Day: Where to eat, drink and be green in the Triangle
Plenty of Guinness will flow through the Triangle during a St. Patrick's Day weekend packed with parties.
Thank your lucky calendars St. Patrick's Day falls on a Saturday, meaning many bars are celebrating twice as much and counting on Sunday for a day of rest. There are pre-parties, party parties and after parties all weekend
Here are some of the can't miss events going on in the Triangle this weekend:
▪ The biggest event in Raleigh is the parade and festival downtown. The parade starts at 10 a.m. and the festival runs until 5 p.m. The parade route begins at the corner of the legislative mall at Lane and Wilmington streets, makes a right on Morgan Street, turns on Fayetteville Street, makes a right on Martin Street and turns left onto Salisbury Street when it ends at the Raleigh Convention Center.
Find details at raleighstpats.org.
▪ The Great St. Patrick's Day Bar Crawl will be held right after the parade, from 1 to 5 p.m. If you're looking for green beer and car bombs, this is the one for you, starting at Isaac Hunter's Tavern, 414 Fayetteville St., and moving on from there. Tickets are $20 and organizers say some drinks will be included. raleighstpatricks.com
▪ Hibernian Irish Pub, the bar that helped launch Glenwood South, is hosting an all day St. Patrick's Day bash. The pub at 311 Glenwood Ave., will open at 7 a.m. for the 6 Nations Rugby tournament and host its outdoor party from noon to 11 p.m., featuring four bands and two dance troupes. The pub will then stay open until 2 a.m.
The North Raleigh Hibernian, 8021 Falls of Neuse Road, will be open from 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. with a cover band and DJ in the evening. The Raleigh Beer Garden, 614 Glenwood Ave., will feature a live band in the beer garden tent from 5 to 10:30 p.m. and a DJ inside until 2 a.m. Cocktail bar Watts & Ward, 200 S. Blount St., will open early at 11 a.m. and host live music starting at 7 p.m.
▪ The folks at Ponysaurus Brewery in Durham are offering one of the most generous, if not arbitrary St. Patrick's Day deals. If your first, middle or last name starts with Pat, they'll buy your first $5 beer. Or they'll give you $5, but you are at a bar, so what else would you spend the money on? It's at 219 Hood St., Durham. ponysaurusbrewing.com
▪ London Bridge Pub, 110 E. Hargett St., Raleigh will open its doors at 10 a.m. and serve $5 pours of 20-ounce Guinness all day long. thelondonbridgepub.com
▪ Doherty's Irish Pub, 1979 High House Road, Cary, called the best in the area by the N&O's Greg Cox, has been gearing up for St. Patrick's Day all week long. They're throwing an outdoor party starting at 3 p.m. featuring live music and Irish dancing. Where's the after-party when a pub throws the actual party? At the pub, of course, starting at 10 p.m. with a DJ. dohertysirishpubnc.com
▪ James Joyce, 912 W. Main St., Durham, is kicking off its St. Patrick's Day festivities Friday night at 7 p.m., also known as the stroke of midnight in Ireland. There with be a Guinness toast, live music and drink specials. On St. Patrick's Day, James Joyce will open at 8 a.m. and serve a full Irish breakfast until noon. Live music will play from the afternoon into the night. jamesjoyceirishpub.com
▪ Bull McCabe's, 427 W. Main St., Durham will host an all day St. Patrick's festival on its outdoor patio. Three bands, a dancing troupe, bagpipers and a DJ will play from 12:30 to 11 p.m. Owners promise it will be family friendly, until 9 p.m. bullmccabesirishpub.com
▪ Motorco, 723 Rigsbee AVe., in Durham is calling their party an extravaganza — and the hyperbole seems warranted. There will be a special St. Patrick's Day menu, featuring Reuben egg rolls, steak and Guinness pies, curried vegetable pasties and big pours of Guinness. Motorco opens at 11:30 a.m. and music starts at 5 p.m. motorcomusic.com
▪ The Wooden Nickel Pub, 105 N. Churton St., in Hillsborough is replacing its usual menu with St. Patrick's Day fare, including smoked corned beef, salmon and chicken wings glazed with Jameson Irish Whiskey and housemade banger sausages. They're also putting whiskey in their ice cream sandwiches. thewnp.com
▪ The North Carolina Symphony is hosting a Celtic concert at Meymandi Hall, 2 E. South St., with a performance Friday at 8 p.m. and two on Saturday at 3 and 8 p.m. The concert will feature traditional Irish music, dancing and instruments. Tickets start at $18. ncsymphony.org
When the doughnuts are green
St. Patrick's Day is the Halloween+Thanksgiving+New Year of food coloring holidays. At no other point in the year is green food coloring held in such high regard.
▪ Krispy Kreme is serving vibrantly green versions of their iconic glazed doughnuts Friday and Saturday.
▪ Bruegger's Bagels is also serving green versions of their bagels Friday and Saturday.
▪ 42 & Lawrence, the coffee shop of Larry's Beans, makes a rich green iced matcha latte, though it's also offered outside of St. Patrick's Day. 134 E. Martin St., Raleigh. 42lawrence.com
This story was originally published March 15, 2018 at 7:58 PM with the headline "St. Patrick's Day: Where to eat, drink and be green in the Triangle."