PeekabooNWA

St. Patrick’s Dating

Posted on 28. Feb, 2010 by admin in Chasing Date Night

No one’s going to kiss you just because you’re Irish. Whether you prefer a festive night out, or a cozy night in, if you want to have fun on St. Patrick’s Day, try one of these Irish-themed date night ideas!

St. Patrick’s Night Out – Pub Crawl
Face it; St. Patty’s Day is synonymous with drinking. Embrace the festivities with a pub crawl. Pub crawls are great for introducing the all important novelty into your dates because they get you into a number of different venues and you won’t be in any one place long enough to get bored! Plunk yourself down on Dickson and go from bar to bar until you’ve seen and had enough. Do yourself a favor and stay away from fancy mixed drinks, as the simpler beverages will result in a better morning after.

Start Here: Dickson St.
The Smoke and Barrel opened just over a year ago and it’s getting reviewed as one of the places to be. Just behind Jose’s on Dickson, they offer 38 kinds of whiskey, a good place to smoke, and a variety of beers. The Smoke and Barrel’s relaxed atmosphere makes it a great place for dating because you can hang out there and actually carry on a conversation!

St. Patrick’s Night In –
Make a Traditional Irish Dinner
If a stroll down Dickson doesn’t appeal to you, how about making a traditional Irish meal at home? St. Patrick’s Day is perfect for homemade corned beef and cabbage. Make this delicious and easy meal together and enjoy it with some Irish music in the background.

Start Here: Crock Pot Corned Beef
• 6-8 potatoes, peeled and cut into ½ inch slices
• 3 carrots, thinly sliced
• 2 ribs celery, thinly sliced
• 3 lb corned beef brisket
• 1 head cabbage
• ½ tsp black pepper
• 1 ½ cups water

Spray a 5-6 quart crockpot with cooking spray. Layer potato, carrot, and celery slices on bottom. Top with brisket. Slice cabbage into 8 wedges and arrange around meat. Season with pepper and add water. Cook on low 7-8 hours. Remove meat and let it rest 10 minutes before slicing. Serves 8. (Or 2, four times.)

More St. Patrick’s Date Locations:
• Mickey Finn’s Irish Pub in Fayetteville is known for wings, cold beer and endless well drinks. If your idea of romance includes a game on TV and shooting pool, this is the place for you.

• The Celtic Grill in Bentonville has authentic Irish food in a quaint setting. Try the shepherd’s pie with a pint of Guinness.

And what’s St. Patrick’s Day without a traditional Irish toast?
May the hinges of our friendship never grow rusty!

Lela Davidson is a Northwest Arkansas writer whose work appears in family and parenting magazines throughout the country. She is the parenting columnist on HubPages.com and a regular contributor to ParentingSquad.com. She will not be crawling the pubs this St. Patrick’s Day. Likely, she will be trying to figure out how to get green beer out of the carpet.