In honor of St. Patrick, the Irish saint for whom March 17th was declared a feast day, consider the following kitchens which serve up Irish culinary renditions every day of the year... The following post is a version of my article published in the March 2012 issue of BORO Magazine.
Irish Soda Bread is served with each meal
It’s 5 o’clock on a Friday afternoon, and the entire length of the bar is packed with patrons sipping from frothy pilsner glasses. The skylight-kissed row of booths and tables across the room are beginning to fill as well; most order without a menu. The space has been serving Astoria clientele since 1902, though the Irish pub & restaurant wasn’t named Cronin & Phelan’s until 1960 (after its former owners). A speakeasy during Prohibition with a brothel upstairs, guests can still enjoy Irish whiskeys rarely found elsewhere, like Powers and Paddy, all served amidst the same décor maintained since 1924. Though the eclectic kitchen cranks out everything from sliders to chicken marsala, crab cakes to pork chops, the heart of the offerings are the classic Irish dishes—boasting exponentially more than any nearby Irish pub.
A spread of delicious offerings from the Emerald Isle at Cronin & Phelan's... Bangers and mash are served with the casing snipped like the end of a cigar, allowing the fat sausages to expand with crispy seared ends, plated with a trio of meticulously piped towers of mashed potatoes.
A soft-spoken but spirited, silver-haired, unmistakably Irish gentleman, Mike Peacock (owner and executive chef) butchers all of the meat daily, and preps the entrees. Recipes inspired by his mother, including a standout egg-studded potato salad and creamy whipped turnips, draw regulars from both Astoria and beyond. The Guinness pie is mind-blowingly delicious. Meals commence with baskets of Irish soda bread, and sweet endings include homemade rhubarb pie with a dollop of vanilla ice cream. Though easy to see why regulars abound, visitors are warmly welcomed.
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Sweet Afton's Irish Breakfast Roll (country white bread roll with Irish bacon, Irish sausage, black pudding, & organic fried egg)
Sweet Afton; 30-09 34th St., Astoria, NY 11103; (718) 777-2570
Sweet Afton is an Irish-styled American gastropub tucked just off a primarily Greek stretch of 30th Avenue, named after a famous poem (that later became a song) about a river in Scotland, which is also an English cigarette brand formerly owned by an Irish company (the location once housed a New York tobacconist). The craft beer selection is just as eclectic as the pub’s history, but the appeal is seemingly universal, drawing a steady stream of regulars from Astoria and beyond. Burger connoisseurs regard Sweet Afton’s version one of the city’s best. The mere mention of the bar is synonymous with fanatical ranting about fried pickles.
Rye Shandy (cocktail with rye whiskey, ginger beer, & Smuttynose IPA)
Though the minimalist menu is focused on locally-sourced products, a few Irish classics stand out, particularly on the weekend brunch menu. Traditional Irish breakfast is transformed into a deliciously monstrous brunch sub, stacking bangers (Irish sausages), rasher (Irish bacon), black pudding (blood sausage), and an organic fried egg, all on a country-white hoagie with a side of Irish beans. Even American comfort plates like grilled cheese on Pullman loaf or cast iron skillets bubbling with macaroni and cheese are available with Dublin cheddar and Irish bacon. A version of the UK-popular shandy is served with whiskey, ginger beer, and India Pale Ale over rocks. There are no reservations, no formal waiting list, and no televisions, making Sweet Afton the perfect place to congregate with old friends, or share a pint with new ones.
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The traditional Irish breakfast in all its glory at Molly Blooms
Molly Blooms; 43-12 Queens Blvd, Sunnyside, NY 11104; (718) 433-1916
This year, March 17th marks not only St. Patrick’s Day, but the first anniversary of one of Sunnyside’s newest Irish bars. At Molly Blooms, the Victorian-styled main room gives way to a chandelier-strewn, lamp-heated tent sheltering a year round outdoor space. The menu features just a handful of breakfast and dinner items. The Irish breakfast, however, is served all day, from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Presented in its traditional form, the platter is loaded with two sunnyside (no pun intended) up eggs, a lean seared rasher (Irish bacon is more like a savory, griddled slice of ham), black and white pudding (white pudding is essentially black pudding without the blood), bangers, a juicy grilled tomato, Irish beans, and buttered toast.
That’s not quacamole! The battered cod is traditionally served with tartar sauce and “mushy peas”
Battered cod is prepared to wondrously classic effect, the chubby fish planks atop a mound of chips, garnished with ramekins of homemade tartar sauce and mushy peas—like a thicker, saltier, and heartier version than the old Gerber standby. Everything can be washed down with a wide selection of craft beers and a Sunday night set list of live, traditional Irish music played by renowned Irish musicians. Monday evening is trivia night, where a battle of the brains can win free shots and gift certificates.
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Butcher Block; 43-46-41st St, Sunnyside (at Queens Blvd); (718) 784-1078
For the home cook who craves Irish cuisine, Butcher Block in Sunnyside is a neighborhood cornerstone, selling imported teas, biscuits, and cookies, with a full butcher counter offering blood sausages, rashers, and boiling bacon. At lunch hour, customers line up the length of the grocery to buy store-made renditions of Irish sausage rolls, beef stew, and corned beef and cabbage. Construction works sit in a circle on the sidewalk out front Noel Gaynor, co-owner of Butcher Block, shares with BORO the recipe for a Traditional Irish Dinner, the meal he says he will be enjoying on St. Patty’s Day. “Most people might look at this recipe and think, ‘who would eat that?’ But in Ireland, we might eat this supper four or five times a week.” It’s the salt and flavor from the bacon that makes this one of Gaynor’s absolute favorites.
Traditional Irish Dinner (serves 4)
Ingredients:
4 lbs. of boiling bacon (different from other bacon, this is made from pork shoulder)
1 head of cabbage
1 turnip, peeled
2 potatoes, peeled
Directions:
Bring a large pot of water to a steady boil.
Add the bacon, and boil for 3 hours.
Add the turnip and potatoes after 2 hours
Add the cabbage after 2 ½ hours
Drain the water
Potatoes and turnips may be seasoned and mashed, pureed, or whipped.
Plate, and serve immediately.
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