St Patty's Day Catering Suggestions

Hello all,

My wife (and I by default) have decided to have a few friends and family over for a St. Patty's Day gathering and we were wondering if anyone had any restaurant suggestions where we could get food for the event. We'd be serving around 50 people throughout the day and would be interested in traditional St. Patty's Day fare. We live in Elmhurst but would be willing to travel in and around the Chicagoland area to get what's good.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Thanks in advance for your help.

John

Hi John,

Ballydoyle Irish Pub & Restaurant has great food and they cater parties. Not sure what is on the menu for parties, but the food in the restaurant is lovely. They are located at 5157 Main St. in Downers Grove. Give them a call...perhaps they can email you out a menu (630-969-0600).

It might be too late to order but Harrington's has some good Corned Beef. I had some catered for a work party a 4-5 years ago. I also remember them saying that they were shutting down, but the Web site looks pretty current. It's still popular among the dinners and benefits that my coworker attends.

Harrington's Catering and Deli
5685 N. Milwaukee
Chicago, IL 60646
(773)283-8388
http://www.harringtonscornedbeef.com/index.html

qofu2 wrote:Hi John,

Ballydoyle Irish Pub & Restaurant has great food and they cater parties. Not sure what is on the menu for parties, but the food in the restaurant is lovely. They are located at 5157 Main St. in Downers Grove. Give them a call...perhaps they can email you out a menu (630-969-0600).

http://www.ballydoylepub.com/

I've only been to O'Connor's Deli and Market once several years ago but I recall enjoying it. It seemed like an oasis in the middle of a rather desolate area of West Devon. They are also affiliated with Unforgettable Edibles, which seems like the catering arm of the business. They both are promoting a St. Patrick's Day package. More info can be found on their website.

O'Connor's Market and Deli
7280 West Devon, Chicago, IL
773-631-0747
http://www.oconnorsdeli.com/

John,
Just a quick note based on your message. I am an event planner for a catering company in the western suburbs and we have a special St. Patty's Day promotion going on. We can be as involved as you wish (ie bar, service, equipment rental, decor, food, etc) or we can just arrange for a basic dropoff or pickup - whichever better suits you. No pressure, just thought I would drop you a line because I saw you were looking. If you are interested in seeing what we are about, our website is www.chefbyrequest.com. My e-mail is khammett@chefbyrequest.com if you are interested. Whichever route you choose, I hope your event is a great success! Slainte!

Katie

Hi again,

It's been a week or so since the last post and it's been a little crazy for us...so much so that we have not yet ordered our food.

Now that we're a little closer to St. Patty's Day, does anyone have any other thoughts or a significant lean one way or the other to any of the recommendations so far?

Thanks again,

John

Personally, I lean toward Winston's Irish Market. The original is at 63rd and just east of Cicero. They have an outpost in Tinley Park and a newer store at Addison and Southport.

I have never catered from them, but, frequently purchase smoked butt, corned beef, rashers, bangers, black and white pudding, and Irish bacon. They also have a nice Irish breakfast at their Ashford House Restaurant in Tinley Park. The breakfast also includes 3 eggs, brown bread or soda bread, and everthing listed except corned beef and smoked butt.

http://www.winstonsmarket.net/market/Wi ... tering.pdf

http://www.winstonsmarket.net/market/catering.html

Just an FYI, Winston's Southport/Cornelia store is no more. This was mentioned in the Openings/Closings thread, but naturally instead of searching here first I had to go find out for myself. I immediately found primo parking just around the corner on Cornelia (which should have been my first clue that all would not end well for me), but when I walked up to it the windows were covered with butcher paper & there was a "Restaurant For Rent" sign in the window. Sad times....looks like there will be no black & white puddings in our Irish breakfasts tomorrow (no time to head out to the 'burbs tonight).

Taste Food & Wine wrote:As St. Patrick's Day approaches...

Stop by and pick up any of our traditional Irish goods, sure to make any St. Patrick's Day Hooley perfect! From Irish bacon & sausages to Irish Brown Bread, Kerrygold butter, and even Butler's Chocolates... Taste Food and Wine has everything you need to make you feel like you're in the Irish countryside.

Khaopaat-

You might give Taste Food and Wine a call. They might have what you seek. Taste is located just off the Jarvis stop on the Red Line. (I have no affiliation with Taste except that it's in my neighborhood, I like the people and the products.)

Taste Food & Wine
1561 W. Jarvis
773-761-7663
http://www.tastefoodandwine.com/index.html

The GP wrote:You might give Taste Food and Wine a call. They might have what you seek. Taste is located just off the Jarvis stop on the Red Line.

Thanks for the info! I managed to score some nice salt-cured back bacon & some bangers (big, English ones, not smaller Irish ones) at Paulina Market right before my failed trip to Winston's. I also found Kerrygold butter and a couple cans of Heinz beans in tomato sauce. I couldn't find brown bread anywhere, but Whole Foods did have very nice loaves of soda bread on sale, so I picked up one of those instead (I just wish they had offered a non-raisin version). The black & white puddings and the brown bread are the missing pieces of the puzzle, so I'll definitely give these guys a call.

The pressure is on, because there will be a born-and-raised Dubliner among the group coming over tomorrow (she moved here a little over a year ago), and brown bread was one of the things she specifically mentioned looking forward to, so this place could be a savior

I will be enjoying a traditional corned beef lunch tomorrow, before St Pats day rush!

Thanks, The BP, for reminding me of O'Conner's. Everything I've had from there has been good and its ready for me to pick up when I call. I may just pick my lunch up there tomorrow.

Or,

Harringtons has always been my gold standard for corned beef and cabbage. They have always been a catering only operation. Now, thanks to Jacketpatato's link, I see they now have a full service deli and to-go operation on Milwaukee Ave.

Not sure where I'll end up, but I'm pretty sure it will be good. Yeah! I'm excited already. A reason to get up on Monday morning.

-ramon

Last minute mini emergency - any suggestions appreciated. I was planning to pickup corned beef from Harringtons today via car for a Tuesday work lunch event. Unfortunately, they said today that there would be no beef until tomorrow. Unfortunately, from a logistics perspective, it's difficult for me to pick it up there tomorrow. Does anyone have a suggestion for a place that is either downtown (ie loop) or north (ie Lakeview area) that would sell me a couple pounds of great corned beef for a spring fling/belated St Pattys event? Also, what is the difference between the Irish version and the Jewish version? In referencing another post, it seems like the Jewish is just more spiced. Any help appreciated.

Reading all these is making me hungry for corned beef. In case anyone else is ever looking for St. Patrick's Day catering, these guys have become one of my favorites for good food and service at very reasonable rates. I got an email recently about their St. Patrick's Day special which looks good. They are super nice to deal with so I pass them along to you in case anyone is looking again this year:

St. Patrick's Day Catering Special

The GP wrote:I've only been to O'Connor's Deli and Market once several years ago but I recall enjoying it. It seemed like an oasis in the middle of a rather desolate area of West Devon. They are also affiliated with Unforgettable Edibles, which seems like the catering arm of the business. They both are promoting a St. Patrick's Day package. More info can be found on their website.

O'Connor's Market and Deli
7280 West Devon, Chicago, IL
773-631-0747
http://www.oconnorsdeli.com/

O'Connor's Market and Deli will close May 1, owner Ald. Mary O'Connor (41st) said Wednesday evening.

http://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/20150423 ... -announces