Arrived in New York after 26 hours of travelling from Sydney at 4.30pm on St Patrick’s Day.
We were staying at The Roger, a boutique hotel on the Corner of Madison and East 31st, in the area still known as Nomad(north of Madison park). I remember staying in mid-town years back when I visited New York and it is certainly changing with many more trendy bars and restaurants and a much more vibrant and a far less grungy atmosphere.
The rooms are very spacious by New York standards and ours even had a seperate walk in wardrobe. Anyway, impressed as we were with our digs, we wanted a true New York Irish experience to celebrate St Patrick’s Day. After some quick online research, Adrian suggested Molly’s Bar about 15 minutes walk down in Gramercy, on 287 3rd Avenue just down from East 23rd st.
The tiny bar,established in 1960 and known to be New York’s most authentic Irish bar in New York, with sawdust on the floor and a log fire, was packed to the rafters with New Yorkers of Irish descent and every other descent celebrating St Pat’s Day – raucously! As loud as it was, we got there around 8.30pm and managed to avoid any queues and even to get a booth. Somehow the noise seemed to diminish when we sat down and it was still fine to talk and enjoy our delicious meal of Irish favourites – corned beef served with cabbage, vegetables and mash and of course, Irish Lamb Stew.
We knew we were in the US of A when the gigantic main courses arrived, but just like the noise, the size of the dishes diminished when we tucked in! Both meals were delicious and served with complimentary traditional Irish Soda Bread. (Excuse the poor quality of the food pics but it was pretty dark in the booth!) Accompanied by Irish Harp Lager and a delicious glass of red wine from Washington State. Prices for meals and drinks are reasonable and tallied up to about $80 including tip for 2 of us, without an entree(appetiser) or dessert, but including more than 1 round of drinks!
Great green atmosphere on St Pats Day but I think it would be just as much, or even more fun, on a normal evening.
We were in NYC for St Paddy’s Day about 6 yrs go and had a wonderful vantage spot for the Parade and it was a fine mild day. Saying that though we were there 35yrs ago and I have never been as cold as it was there…. NYC can be very like that though. You obviously immersed yourself in all the fun. Everyone is a little Irish there on that day. They love it. Callum sent a clip someone took off the TV with him talking about what they were providing for Paddy’s day at the 3 Jolly Pigeons. Hope you have slept well and ready to jump right in to all. Stay warm. It has suddenly cooled here in the evenings after all the heat. Feels like Autumn and actually put a blanket on the bed last night. You will notice a big change by the time you get back. Enjoy and make the most of every minute. All fine down here. Hugs Mxx
Hi Maree we had Paddy’s Day fun – first people we spoke to at the pub turned out to be Anthony Bastic’s NYC cousins! Very spooky. New York was warm compared to Boston. Snowing here today. Conference is great and I’ve been learning lots. We’ve been spoilt by Boston family friends taking us out to great restaurants, so eating very well. No time for shopping yet. Take care of the gang for me! Sx