Jump to: Reviews | Irish Pub or Irish Snub?
With today's deal, Minnesotans can drive the winter cold away in proper Irish fashion: by drinking, eating, and telling wild tales and dirty jokes at the pub. For $10, you'll get $25 worth of hearty pub fare and drinks at Cork's Irish Pub, located in downtown St. Paul.
Cork's boasts a number of signature drinks, such as the Irish Bull (Jameson's, blue curacao, and red bull, $8) and the Nutty Irishman (Frangelico and Baileys over ice, $8.50). Shamrock purists, on the other hand, will likely stick to traditional Irish tipples such as Irish Coffee ($6.50) or 12 whiskeys of various ages and makes. Try County Cork's finest: Beamish Stout ($4.95), pulled fresh from the tap (think Guinness, only richer, with a lighter, more insouciant aftertaste); you can order your Beamish straight, black & tan (with Bass), half & half (with Stella Artois), or black velvety (with champagne) for those with an affinity for the texture of horse noses.
For the less Irish at heart or liver, Cork's also offers a diverse line-up of wines, champagnes, specialty martinis, ice-cream drinks, scotches, cordials, and domestic beer, if your outsides feel like travelling to the Emerald Isle, but your insides are shouting, "U.S.A.! U.S.A.!."
If you got an appetite to match that thirst, Cork's menu will sate it with hearty pub grub. Crafted by Woolley's Steakhouse chef Peter Christensen, the dishes mix traditional Irish cuisine with a rub of American. Try the fish and chips ($13), nibble your way through a pot o' gold (fresh tortilla chips served with cheese-sprinkled creamy crab and artichoke dip, $10), or sample the Irishman salad (topped with fingerling potatoes, corned beef, rye croutons, and tossed in Guinness vinaigrette, $12). Substantially more substantial meals include cranberry turkey-and-swiss sandwiches ($9), pasta vodka ($12), thin-crust pizza ($12-$14), and grilled salmon ($20).
Bring your Groupon, a few shillelaghs fer clobberin', and enough friends for a ceilidh and enjoy a little craic at Cork's. Since the pub is nestled inside the Embassy Suites, you'll also get to poke gentle Irish fun at any travelers foolish enough to venture into Minnesota during the winter.
Reviews
Urbanspooners give Cork's 80% approval, and two Citysearchers give the Cork's brews served at the adjacent Woolley's a tasty 3.5 stars:
- Extremly [sic] authentic. A very nice place to go and have a pint. Small place but plenty of tables and TVs. – perfem, Citysearch
Irish Pub or Irish Snub?
With Irish pubs seemingly popping up left and right (there are currently 6.9 Irish pubs per citizen), it’s becoming increasingly difficult for Ireland to inspect each pub and authenticate its Irishness. The process is tedious: authentic Irish people make their way across the Atlantic on an Irish ferry, after which they endure a tedious one-month pub inspection class before inspecting Irish pubs using the following criteria:
- Can happy hour be happier? Or worse, is happy hour too happy?
- Does the bartender properly pour Guinness by allowing it to cascade off his bare chest into the glass?
- Are the tables and chairs made with Irish oak trees that were cut down with Irish machetes?
Many inauthentic Irish Pubs fail this intensive certification process, but Cork’s Irish Pub easily passed, thanks to its tasty Irish food, bevy of beer options (chest pour optional), and a happy hour that has just the right amount of happiness.
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