Corned Beef and Cabbage in San Diego

[sandiegofoodstuff]

With St. Patrick's Day coming up in a couple of weeks, I'm hoping to find a great place for traditional corned beef and cabbage. Care to offer some suggestions?

Caron

[normalheightsfoodie]

My moms house, regretably it is not open to the public.

[Beach Chick]

I really like O'Sullivans in Escondido for the food but the beer selection should be better..
I'll have to try Churchill's Pub next..

[Josh]

Yeah Churchill's food is not the greatest, sorry to say. If they had O'Sullivan's food, or O'Sullivan's had Churchill's beer selection, that would be ideal.

[Beach Chick]

I'm surprised that O'Sullivan's hasn't stepped it up..beer end of things..food is very good..
Thanks Josh!

[RB Hound]

"I'm surprised that O'Sullivan's hasn't stepped it up..beer end of things.."

You cannot put things on tap that your usual customers don't drink...

[Josh]

A certain amount of education is needed to get people to try new things, but it works surprisingly often. Brand loyalty only goes so far. It's not as though people are going to stop drinking beer if Coors Light's not available.

[RB Hound]

Well, they could carry a wider bottle selection for starters - maybe make a trip to the Holiday Wine Cellar every day? :)

Not to sound snobbish, but when I was there it seemed like Killian's was being promoted as one of their "imports". I don't think they even had Smithwick's, and (at least at that time) they didn't even have Bass on drought. I stuck with Guinness, which at the time was fine with me. But, I guess my point is that unless they get a lot of customers asking for a wider selection, it probably is a money loser to add too many beers, and my observation was that they didn't seem to have too many customers that were going beyond your Silver Bullets.

What you suggest (maybe humorously), that they stop carrying the Coors Lights - there is no way that a restaurant in downtown Escondido is going to risk a stunt like that. :)

[toliver]

There's also Thorton's Irish Pub on Broadway in El Cajon. I haven't been there but their online menu says they serve corned beef, cabbage and champ on their dinner menu, as well other Irish fare:
http://www.thorntonsirishpub.com/1101...

Hooley's web site says they only serve corned beef in a sandwich. Not sure if that's still true...

[beth1]

O'Sullivan's Irish pub in Escondido has great, hearty Irish fare. Their beer selection is incredible, too. Well worth the trip.

[Josh]

Unless something has changed radically in the last 2 months, O'Sullivan's beer selection seems very average. It is better than places that only have Bud/Miller/Coors, but it's still really limited. Churchill's Pub, which is only 10 minutes from there, has a far better selection (albeit not an Irish pub).

[beth1]

The majority of O'Sullivan's beer selection is bottled, but they do have some good-quality beers. I'm not a real beer fan, so the lack of an on-tap selection really isn't an issue to me.

[phee]

Figured I'd throw this in for good measure: McDini's. This place has been around as long as I can remember, and St. Patrick's Day is a BIG deal here. The location isn't great, but the place will be hoppin'. I can't attest to the quality of the food, as it's been several years since I've been there, but they must be doing something right. Heck, once upon a time, it was pretty much the ONLY place in SD to go to for St. Patrick's Day!

http://mcdinis.com/fmi/xsl/cc/index.x...

[sandiegofoodstuff]

The Field it is, then. Thanks -- now I'll go try it and judge for myself!

Caron

[kare_raisu]

My birthday is on St. Patricks day - and CB and C is what I always have for my birthday dinner, that said, I like the Fields Rendition. Though youd be hard pressed to find me there on the 17th! ;)

[Alice Q]

Hooley's, in Rancho San Diego might not be a bad spot.

I have made it at home a couple of times - it's pretty easy with the Niman Ranch corned beef from Trader Joes. You just boil it until tender and put the cut up cabbage in the water toward the end of the cooking time. I like it with a little pepper vinegar on the cabbage. Mmmmm....

[sandiegofoodstuff]

Oh, I can make it myself, but I'm trying to find some places to talk about on The Gourmet Club. I'm wondering how The Field in the Gaslamp is. Kare Raisu mentioned it -- have you been there? Obviously, the dish is not really authentic Irish, but let's face it, it's been adopted as "the meal" on St. Paddy's Day.

[keena]

I like the Field for its corned beef and cabbage. You can also get it served with a truly authentic Irish potato dish called Boxty. Of course, if you go on St. Patrick's day it will be really crowded but there will be some music and stepdancers too.

[Alice Q]

I haven't had corned beef and cabbage there, but I think it would have to be the top pick (as these posts attest!) Hooley's probably isn't as good as the Field, but it's not too bad for the E. County. We occasionally stop in there because it's next to our closest movie theater.

There's a very good chance that Jay at the Linkery or Jayne's Gastropub could be planning to offer it around that time, so you might want to check with them. It just strikes me as the kind of thing they might do.

[TheSkyBox]

Whenever I visit San Diego, I make sure to visit The Field. I have always found their atmosphere very comfortable and the staff is great. The food is always outstanding and the Guiness is fresh.

[kare_raisu]

the field?