St. Patrick’s season is upon us once again, which means all sorts of options for celebrating all things Irish.
To that point, I recently received a press release for City Cruises Chicago about their offerings during St. Patrick’s Day weekend.
For starters, on downtown parade day, Saturday, March 15, City Cruise’s Seadog cruise will be rolling down the Chicago River to provide an up close and personal view of the water being dyed green. The St. Patrick’s Day River Dyeing Cruise will also feature Irish music, along with the great views of the city’s architecture the excursion provides.
On parade day, the company is also offering the St. Patrick’s Day Signature Lunch Cruise on Lake Michigan. It comes with a lunch buffet, disc jockey entertainment and panoramic views.
I checked the menu. At least as of today – no corned beef in sight. That isn’t a bad thing.
The closest to what might be considered Irish to eat would be oven roasted salmon with roasted bok choy and miso citrus soy sauce and/or roasted tricolor potatoes prepared with rosemary and olive oil.
On Sunday, City Cruises’ St. Patrick’s Day Premier Plus Bottomless Mimosa Brunch Cruise on the Chicago River features a chef-prepared brunch buffet and bottomless mimosas.
There is no Irish Breakfast. The scrambled eggs come with Nueske’s Applewood triple-thick cut bacon, new red potatoes and cauliflower hash. And there is potato gnocchi with tomato ragu.
Given how crowded with tourists and the tipsy downtown can be on parade day, a boat on the lake or the river seems a good place to be.
And on the Sunday brunch voyage, you can scan the shoreline to see how many hungover people you can spot. Hopefully none of them are bottomless.
All of the above begs the question, dear readers.
What unique St. Patrick’s Day related memories do you have?
For instance:
- A friend of mine is traveling to Australia, where he will be for this year’s celebrations. That would count.
- I marched not far from Chicago White Sox legend Minnie Miñoso, Daily Southtown staff and the World Series trophy in the 2006 South Side Irish Parade. Minnie wore a fur coat. I wore a kilt.
Those sort of recollections. Let me know.
Also, while I am booked Saturday, if you want to take me on the mimosa brunch cruise Sunday, that works for me.
Sláinte.
