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Community Corner

Eat Like the Irish in Woodbury

Create your own "green"-themed family meal at home or head out for a taste of Ireland.

Whether you’re creating your own St. Patrick's Day party at home with the family or heading out to get a taste of Ireland in Woodbury, Kowalski’s Market, O’Malley’s Irish Pub and Great Harvest Bread Co. are a few places to grab a taste of the Irish.

Get the kids involved and celebrate St. Patrick’s Day at home. Deb Kowalski, of Kowalski’s Markets, says they have many green and tasty items to help get your party started. 

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To begin, take home some real vibrant green to your house—a lucky shamrock plant. These green, shamrock-leaf plants have tiny, blooming white-starred flowers that will add color to any room in the house. 

For those who have no time to cook and want a “to-go” taste of Ireland, the deli will be serving up corned beef and cabbage dinners, grilled Rueben panini (corned beef, sauerkraut and Swiss on marble rye) and three Irish imported cheeses.

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The Dubliner Cheddar is a sharp and flavorful Irish cheddar with hints of nutty sweetness to it. The Irish Harp Cheddar is an orange-colored cheddar dipped in a green wax. It’s a rich, firm and creamy cheddar that becomes sharper with age.  

Farmed by Mario Cahill of Limerick, the Cahill Porter Cheddar is made with pasteurized cow’s milk and the porter is added at the curd form, making for a deep brown mottling, and rich and tangy taste.

Guinness beer is the perfect pairing with these cheeses and can be found at Kowalski’s wine shop.

Not to be missed are all the yummy and green bakery items at Kowalski’s. Take, for instance, their Irish Cream Bars and Whoppie Pies. The Irish Cream Bars are made from scratch with Kowalski’s own chocolate brownie base, a layer of whipped Irish cream frosting and then topped in a rich chocolate ganache. 

The Whoopie Pies are sweet and creamy, and filled with Kelly green filling, then sandwiched between two mounds of moist chocolate cake. Of course, there are fresh-baked, green-themed decorated cupcakes and iced cookies, too.

For more information call 651-578-8800.

O’Malley’s Irish Pub

No need to worry if you’re unable to celebrate on Thursday, as it’s St. Patrick’s Day all weekend at O’Malley’s Irish Pub. On Thursday, the celebration starts at 9 a.m.  Get an authentic Irish breakfast and order the Irish corned beef and hash, the breakfast shepard’s pie (scrambled eggs with a selection of various selection of toppings) or treat your family to brunch. 

“We have a bloody Mary bar for those who want to build their own, complete with a smorgasbord of goodies," said O’Malley’s bartender Sarah Heiller. 

Starting at 11 a.m., corned beef and cabbage dinners will be served until they're gone. 

“This is owner Todd Hanson’s grandmother’s recipe from Ireland. It’s slowed-cooked, juicy and buttery, and tends to sell out fast,” Heiller said.

Free live music under the big white tent O’Malley’s erects for the day starts at 6 p.m. The Irish band, the O’Brien’s, will be entertaining until 10 p.m. 

“We’ll have green beer until it’s gone and Irish beer on tap,” Heiller said.  

For those of you who want to make it a family outing at O’Malley’s Irish Pub on Thursday, Heiller recommends bringing in the family for breakfast or lunch, but most definitely before 6 p.m., as the crowds tend to get a little more crazy as the night wears on.

On Friday, it’s O’Malley’s hand-battered fish and chips fry. The fry includes two-pieces of Atlantic beer-battered cod, chips (French fries) and a complimentary tap beer. Heiller said they’ll have corned beef and cabbage while it lasts, too.

It’s Irish day on Saturday at O’Malley’s. All Irish liqueurs, tap or bottle beer are $2 off.

For more information call 651-578-7007

You might not think of Great Harvest Bread Co. as a spot for St. Patty's Day, but the Woodbury shop will offer Irish soda bread, garlic potato bread, Irish cream bread pudding and creme de menthe brownies.

For more information call 651-578-9756.

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