<p style="text-align: center;"><a rel="attachment wp-att-2091" href="http://www.tashadoestulsa.com/2010/09/mcnellies-mustache-contest/3320759598_f96a806689_o/"><img class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-2091" title="McNellies Public House" src="http://www.tashadoestulsa.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/3320759598_f96a806689_o-500x666.jpg" alt="McNellies Public House" width="350" /></a></p>
<em>This post is part of a <a href="http://www.tashadoestulsa.com/tag/st-patricks-day/">a series here at TDT celebrating St. Patrick’s Day</a>, one of Tulsa’s very favorite holidays. Erin go Bragh!</em>

Because Tulsans love to eat and imbibe, here are some tips on which restaurants and bars should be your destinations for grub and drink in celebration on St. Patrick's Day 2011. Following that are tips and tricks for where to park downtown, how to call Tipsy Tow when you've had too much fun and to how to party with the huge NCAA crowd that will be downtown for the festivities.

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<h3>Where to Eat in Tulsa for St. Patrick's Day</h3>
<strong>Kilkenny's Irish Pub</strong>
Where: 1413 E. 15th Street
For the most robust set of offerings that could just as well be served in Ireland as in Tulsa, Oklahoma, <a href="http://www.tulsairishpub.com/">get thee and thine to Cherry Street for a meal at Kilkenny's Irish Pub</a>. While the menu is about as Irish as it can get during regular times, St. Pat's turns the menu positively green. Here are a few of the offerings, just as good during <a href="http://www.tashadoestulsa.com/2011/03/st-patricks-day-stuff-to-do-in-tulsa-grown-ups-edition/">one of the largest St. Pat's day parties in the city</a> as they are year-round:
<ul>
	<li>Irish Trio Sampler, with Kilkenny's famous Reuben rolls of corned beef rolled in baked pastry, chicken tenders served with Guinness BBQ sauce, and fried spudders topped with Irish Cheddar, bacon and sour cream, $13.99.</li>
	<li>A menu of seven varieties of Boxty, a traditional Irish dish that's common to the rural parts of the country, consisting of a grilled potato pancake stuffed with fillings from corned beef to salmon and creamed leeks. Ranging in price from $9.99-$17.99. And each and every one of them is good. I should know.</li>
	<li>Traditional Irish Stew, with chunks of seared beef cooked slowly with herbs and veggies, $4.99 for a cup, $5.99 for a bowl;</li>
	<li>Oysters Graiguenamanagh (or, as they're ordered at Kilkenny's, Oysters G.), six gulf oysters on the half shell topped with a creamy shrimp, mushroom and Irish bacon sauce, $10.99.</li>
	<li>Kilkenny's Traditional Irish Breakfast, with two eggs, two bangers (Irish sausages), rashers (Irish bacon), a grilled tomato, mushrooms, black pudding and Irish soda bread, $9.99.</li>
	<li>Guinness BBQ Baby Back Ribs, smothered in a Guinness BBQ sauce, $16.99.</li>
	<li>Several items on the dessert menu, from the Guinness Chocolate Cake ($5.99 for a slice that can easily feed two or three), Irish Balloons (fried pastry balls dusted with powdered sugar and served with sweet Irish whiskey butter sauce, $3.49), Brown Bread Pudding (baked with Irish whiskey-soaked raisins, $4.49), and Sticky Toffee Pudding (cream-soaked pound cake pan-fried in a sticky, buttery, caramel toffee, topped with nuts, $4.99).</li>
</ul>
Yeah. In case you can't tell, the menu at Kilkenny's is huge. Which isn't something I normally like in a menu, but on St. Patrick's Day, it's nice to have lots of choices. Kilkenny's is the place to be the day after St. Pat's, too - their Irish Coffee does wonders for ringing hears and a sore head.

<a href="http://www.tulsairishpub.com/menus.htm">Read the full Kilkenny's menus PDF</a>.
<a href="http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10150102702490563&amp;set=pu.364126615562&amp;theater">Read the Kilkenny's special St. Patrick's Day menu insert (Facebook)</a>

<strong>McNellie's Public House</strong>
Where: 409 E. First Street
<a href="http://www.mcnellies.com/"> McNellie's is home to one of the largest St. Patrick's Day celebrations in the city</a>, and it's also one of the top places in town to grab a bite of Irish nosh. Here are some of my favorite Irish-inspired items on the menu:
<ul>
	<li>The Irish Lunch Special, served with potato leek soup, a 12-ounce Guinness and bread for $5.50.</li>
	<li>St. Patty's Melt, with ground beef grilled with onions and topped with Swiss and American cheeses on marble rye for $8.49.</li>
	<li>Landlord's Cottage Pie, a casserole of chipped beef and mixed veggies in a beef sauce, topped with mashed potatoes and cheese, $10.99.</li>
</ul>
The side of Irish Mashed Potatoes and the Fish and Chips are pretty stellar, too. The beer special this month is Abita Amber, at $3.50 a pint, but that's, of course, not by any means the only beer available at this bar, the home of the best beer selection in T-Town. McNellie's makes a pretty fabulous Irish Car Bomb, too.

<a href="http://mcnellies.com/images/data/attachments/0000/0349/FoodMenu_TULSA.pdf?1289354812">Read the full McNellie's menus (PDF)</a>.

<strong>Brady Tavern</strong>
Where: 201 N. Main
Three words: Bangers and Mash. More words: Made with the amazing sausage from <a href="http://www.fasslerhall.com/">Fassler Hall</a>. So good. If you pride yourself on knowing Irish food, you must try this dish at <a href="http://www.bradytavern.com/">Brady Tavern</a>. <a href="http://www.bradytavern.com/eat/">Read the full Brady Tavern menus here</a>.
<h3>Where To Drink in Tulsa For St. Patrick's Day</h3>
<a rel="attachment wp-att-3638" href="http://www.tashadoestulsa.com/2010/11/mcnellies-pub-run-tulsa-kids/img_5190/"><img class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-3638" title="McNellies Pub Run" src="http://www.tashadoestulsa.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/IMG_5190-500x333.jpg" alt="McNellies Pub Run" width="500" height="333" /></a>

<strong>Arnie's Bar</strong>
Where: 318 E. Second Street
Not only does <a href="http://www.tashadoestulsa.com/2011/02/best-patios-in-tulsa/">Arnie's have the best patio in Tulsa</a>, but it's also one of my top choices for getting your Irish drink on this St. Patrick's Day. <a href="http://www.tashadoestulsa.com/2011/03/st-patricks-day-stuff-to-do-in-tulsa-grown-ups-edition/">Arnie's hosts one of the largest St. Patrick's Day parties in town</a>, and the weather will be beautiful - be sure to stop by, especially if it'll be your first time. It's a must-have Tulsa experience.

<strong>Enso</strong>
Where: 1st and Detroit
Can you say Guinness Milkshake? <a href="http://www.ensobar.com/">The folks at Enso Bar sure can</a>. In fact, it's their specialty. Take a break from green beer and try what's becoming a Tulsa classic this St. Pat's. Plus, Electric Circus is hosting a St. Patrick's Day party with live music by "Unscene" Trance Progressive with Elliot Post right next door.

<strong>Other Irish-inspired drink spots:</strong>
<a href="http://www.mcnellies.com/">McNellie's Public House</a>, 409 E. First Street
<a href="http://www.tulsairishpub.com/">Kilkenny's Irish Pub</a>, 1413 E. 15th Street
<a href="http://www.themaxretropub.com/">The Max Retropub</a>, 114 S. Elgin Avenue (green beer alert!)
<a href="http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=115155261895843">Woody's Corner Bar</a>, 2nd and Elgin (with live music from Kristen Nicole Band and Chloe Johns)
<a href="http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=208410372502832">Shenanigan's</a>, 6373 E. 31st Street (with live music from Blackwood)
<a href="http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=117375691671475">Fox and Hound</a>, 71st and Garnett (an outdoor party featuring live music from Uninvited Guest)
<h3>Parking, NCAA Tournament and Tipsy Tow: Surviving St. Patrick's Day in Tulsa</h3>
<strong>The NCAA Crowd.</strong> In case you haven't heard, <a href="http://www.bokcenter.com/default.asp?bok=227&amp;objId=480">Tulsa's very own BOK Center is hosting the NCAA playoffs this week</a>, and several thousand extra folks will be around to push the St. Patrick's Day partying to new heights.

If you weren't planning to carpool to your party of choice, now is the time to make arrangements. Before you head downtown, consult these parking maps provided by the folks at BOK Center:

<a href="http://static.bokcenter.com/documents/DowntownDaytimeParkingSpaces2011.pdf">Downtown Business Hours Daytime Parking map</a> (because the parties at McNellie's and Arnie's start at noon)
<a href="http://static.bokcenter.com/documents/DowntownNCAAAfterHoursParkingRoute2011.pdf">Downtown After Business Evening Parking Map</a>
<a href="http://static.bokcenter.com/documents/DowntownNCAAAfterHoursParkingRoute2011.pdf">Downtown After Hours Parking Map</a>

I want to say this, too: <em>Be friendly, smiling and warm toward our out-of-town visitors.</em> Offer to give directions to folks who look lost. Let them know about some of the things to do around town this weekend (and if you don't know exactly what's going on, feel free to refer them to this site). We want these people to enjoy themselves while they're here so they'll go back home and spread the word about what a hip city Tulsa is. Friendly, welcoming people is where that starts.

<strong>Tipsy Tow</strong>. The folks at AAA Oklahoma are offering their Tipsy Tow service for both St. Patrick's Day as well as the NCAA Tournament. Here's how it works: Those who imbibe in the alcoholic beverages with a little too much gusto can call <strong>800-222-4357 (program your phone now)</strong> for a swerve-free ride home for both the motorist and one additional person, plus a free tow for their vehicle within a 15-mile radius of the point of pick-up. And no, you don't have to be a member of AAA to take advantage of this life-saving service.  Tipsy Tow starts at noon on St. Patrick's Day and runs until 10pm on Sunday, March 20 in the metropolitan Tulsa area. (Thanks to <a href="http://havesporkwilltravel.blogspot.com/">Traveling Spork</a> for this great tip.)

Where's your favorite place to get your grub and drink on for St. Patrick's Day? Got any leprechaun-worthy survival tips? We'd love to read about them in the comments.