ain’t Patrick’s Day

Saturday isn’t officially St. Patrick’s Day… but it seems everyone is celebrating like it is!  Here are some fun choices where you can find green beer and beads.

Greenville Avenue St. Patrick’s Day Parade | begins at 11 a.m. | parade route | after party at granada theater

Rok Republic | 12 p.m. - 2 a.m. | Uptown | DJs from 4-8 p.m., $3 green drafts, shot specials all day

Idle Rich | 11 a.m. - 2 a.m. | Uptown | TENT PARTY!  Concerts at 2 & 9 p.m.

Trinity Hall | 7:30 a.m. - 2 a.m. | Mockingbird Station | Start your day off with a bang(er and mash)

SMU area | Milo’s, Barley House, Ice House, etc. are all having parties - Barley House will be serving breakfast tacos and bloodys starting at 9 a.m. with cover bands playing throughout the day

Urban Taco | all day | Mockingbird Station | free green margarita if you mention this postcard

Quarter Bar | 4 p.m. - 2 a.m. | Uptown | 2 for $10 Irish car bombs, $3 Irish beers and whiskey shots

Shade | Lower Greenville | 12 p.m. - 2 a.m. | DJs all night, $4 Jack, Soco, and Tuaca shots from 4-7 p.m.

If you’re not wanting to party like a lepruchan on Saturday, you can venture over to the Dallas Flea or into PokeyO’s for a $2.99 Leprechaun milkshake!

For the real St. Patty’s Day - Wednesday, March 17th:

Old Monk | 11:30 a.m. - 2 a.m. | Henderson | traditional Irish food and drink served all day with a side of live music (Homespun Remedies and RTB2), traditional Irish dancers, and bagpipers!

Ginger Man | Giving away limited addition Guiness glasses while supplies last, Killian specials, happy hour specials from 4-7 p.m., live music 7 p.m. until- midnight

Idle Rich | 11 a.m. - 2 a.m. | Uptown | Concert by The Killdares at 9 p.m., bagpiper at 7 p.m., traditional Irish food and drink served all day

on a high note …

Stan’s Blue Note is right around the corner from my friend’s house … so needless to say, I’m there a lot.  Stan’s is so much fun because, as often as I’m there, I still run into new people and new flamboyant characters and no night there is ever the same.  If you are a usual here, you know that the management has changed.  The jury’s still out on how that will change the place, but I know the former owner’s presence is missed.

Drinks aren’t too expensive and they are pretty strong and can inspire a pretty damn good night.  I can say with confidence that some of the best nights I’ve had lately  have been here.  (You have to watch out for the flying eggs, though.  One night I got smacked in the face with an egg a motorcyclist threw while driving by … SO not cool.  My valiant friends tried to chase him but didn’t have any luck.)

The food at Stan’s is surprisingly good - try the chicken fried steak with jalepeno gravy or the buffalo chicken sandwich (not on the menu but you MUST try it!).  Portions are HUGE - consider sharing with a friend.

High NOTES (bad pun, I know): varied clientele, good location, shuffleboard and Big Buck Hunter!, Tuesday nights
Low notes: not-so-nice bathrooms

Drink strength:
Overall:

Stan’s Blue Note
2908 Greenville Avenue | Dallas, TX 75206-6241
(214) 827-1977

Specials:
Monday-Friday | 11 a.m. -7 p.m. | $1 off everything

Tuesday | 7 p.m. - close | $2.00 Crown and Down
Thursday | 7 p.m. - close | $2.50 draft night
Saturday-Sunday | til 10 p.m. | $2.50 domestic drafts, $9 domestic pitchers, $4 mimosas and bloody mary’s (only when there are NFL or college games on)

winedale tavern

Good things come in small packages, right?  After enjoying a few drinks at Libertine Bar, Brandon mentioned the Winedale Tavern.  I like to think I know a thing or two about the bar scene in Dallas, but I hadn’t even head of this place.  Intrigued, we decided to make the long journey across the street to try it out.

It’s one of the smallest bars I have ever been in but it packed a punch and it was the epitome of a Dallas dive bar.  Nestled on Lower Greenville, all you can see from the street is the front door with its name scrawled across in paint and you can hear the karaoke from across the street.  The decor is unexpected so be prepared to see the

 skulls above the bar!

We tried it on a Tuesday and they had super cheap margaritas on the rocks.  As is in the “about me” section … I hate margaritas on the rocks.  But this one, this one I drank (2 even!).  The margaritas caused us to get a bit creative with the silly putty and pink cowboy hat we found and I will say it was quite the interesting night (just ask Yosemite Sam on the right).

Try Winedale Tavern out for a night just so you can say you’ve been.

Drink strength:
Overall: 

Winedale Tavern
(214) 823-5018 
2110 Greenville Ave
Dallas, TX 75206

Specials:
EVERYDAY | 1:30-7:30| $2 domestics, $3 wells
Tuesday & Thursday | Karaoke nights!

(maybe you’ll get lucky … the owner apparently randomly picks drink specials on random nights!)

greenville bar and grill

Greenville Bar and Grill was a complete surprise.  I’ve seen it driving down Greenville many-a-time but never made it in … until last night.  The “oldest bar in Dallas” (est. 1933) was anything but a typical Greenville Bar.

The history of this bar was somewhat entertaining: after being shut down quite a few years ago for building code violations (eek!), Merkow’s Steak and Seafood threw a pretty penny at the building and shined it up like new.  Sadly, Merkow’s didn’t work out - so Greenville Bar and Grill returned to the Dallas bar scene with a nice face lift.

When I say this place was a surprise, I’m not saying that lightly.  I walked in and was delighted to see huge HD TVs all over the place and a well-stocked (and CLEAN!) bar.  I plopped down at the bar to wait for my friend and Stevie, the bartender offered up my first Tito’s and water with two limes and a couple jokes (he posited that it’s best to stay away from their wells - I took the advice since I didn’t have a happy hour to review for another hour and a half).

My friend arrived and we watched the Steelers game at the bar as the Sunday night poker group filtered in.  There were people of all walks and it got pretty darn crowded so we met a few of them.  9 p.m. hit and we switched over to wells to take advantage of the poker specials (some special, $4 wells? no thanks!).

This place is worth a try if you’re going to eat (the food is pretty good).  If drinks are your aim, they aren’t very strong and are pretty expensive on top of it all (my Tito’s and water was $7 and it was a standard size).  Just make sure you go to the bathroom before you go; the bathrooms smell a bit and are cramped.

Positives:  Lots of HD TVs, good food, clean
Drink strength: 2.5
Overall rating: 3

Greenville Bar & Grill
www.greenvillebarandgrill.com
2821 Greenville Avenue
Dallas, TX 75206(214) 821-2828

Specials:
Monday | $3 wells, 1/2 off bottles of wine - Poker at 7 & 10 p.m.
Tuesday | $4 you call its, $3 beers - Poker at 7 & 10 p.m.
Wednesday | $2 domestic drafts, $3 Import Drafts
Thursday | $3 Wells (ladies only), $8 domestic pitchers and $12 import pitchers for everyone
Friday | Live music at night
Saturday | 10 a.m. - 7 p.m. | $2.50 Mimosas, Bloody Marys & Screwdrivers - Live music at night
Sunday | 10 a.m. - 7 p.m. | $2.50 Mimosas, Bloody Marys & Screwdrivers (after 9 p.m. $4 wells and $3 domestics) - Poker at 10 p.m.

libertine bar

Did you know that it’s possible to spend 7 hours in a bar and not realize it?  Well, I haven’t done it in 3-1/2 years but Thursday night proved that it isn’t too difficult to do at the right bar.  We ate, we drank, we laughed, and we enjoyed the Libertine Bar quite a bit.

Between the two of us, we tried every drink on the classic cocktail menu and then some - and they were good.  The Dark n Stormy, Pimm’s Cup, The Bronx, etc. … all were delightfully different and intriguing (and considerably stronger than expected - watch out for the Aviator!).  Matt had the pint of the week so he could have a cool pint glass, but in the end he forgot it (bust).

The staff at Libertine contributed to the fun.  They were incredibly outgoing and friendly without crowding us or being annoying.  The other thing that contributed to the fun was the AMAZING, nay, delicious food.  If I could only have one bar’s hot wing’s for the rest of my life, it would be Libertine’s.  Ordinary hot wings these were not, they were pork shanks that FELL off the bone, literally.  This plate of food was what dreams are made of and I can’t wait to have them again.

When you visit, make sure you clear your schedule because, yes, it is that great!

Drink Stength:

Libertine Bar
www.libertinebar.com
2101 Greenville Ave | Dallas, TX 75206-7125
(214) 824-7900

Specials:
Monday-Friday | 4-7 p.m. | 1/2 price classic cocktails and $1 off all drinks
Wednesday | 4 p.m. - 2 a.m. | Texas beers night | $2.50 bottles or drafts
Thursday | 6-9 p.m. | Pint Night - keep the glass
Sunday |  1/2 price food

Dubliner

I walked into the Dubliner for only the second time ever last night and the rush of one of the more fun Sunday nights I had this year came over me. The last time I was there I was having so much fun I lost track of time and paid for it with a hangover the next day at work.

While there weren’t many people there on a Wednesday (it seemed people were more interested in Mexican food last night), the ones who were there were quality. The bartender, Kevin, was incredibly personable and entertaining. He was so entertaining I hardly noticed that my friends got there 15 minutes late (you’d think I’d expect that by now!).

The Dubliner has a chill feeling with a fire crackling beside a dart board and a really large patio. Though it’s directly on Greenville, it doesn’t feel like it’s too close to anything else and isn’t too loud. It reminded me of the dark pubs my friend Chelsea and I would spend our time in when I lived in Europe.

Make sure to try this place out on a Sunday night … and get a snakebite or half and half.

Drink Strength: 3
Price: 2

Dubliner
www.dallasdubliner.com | @dallasdub
2818 Greenville Ave | Dallas, TX 75206-6239
(214) 818-0911

Specials:
Monday | all day | $1 off draughts, domestic bottles, calls, and wells
Tuesday-Friday | 4-7 p.m. | $1 off draughts, domestic bottles, calls, and wells