Well, here it is: The lucky leprechaun is about to share his pot of gold—or at least his pot of corned beef and cabbage. Libby’s, Mattison’s, Patrick’s and, of course, Lynches Pub will be serving up the traditional Irish dish on Thursday. Make sure you buy your Irish soda bread from Morton’s Market—the best in town, especially when you smear it with Kerigold butter.


One place I think I’ll pass on is the Mad Crow Brewery & Grill. I read the menu and thought for certain this new brew pub was going to deliver. It sounded creative, and the food selections certainly seemed fit for pairing with a cold glass of stout or “Bitchy Girlfriend” beer. Unfortunately, Mad Crow just didn’t live up to how the menu reads.


The duck hot dog sounded so enticing, but with a mustard sauce atop a duck and foie gras blend hot dog, it ended up tasting off. A sweet balsamic glaze and seared foie gras on top of the dog would have worked much better. The BLT’s pork belly was too thick, too wide and barely cooked—certainly not to a crisp. The best bet is the carrot and pea risotto, which seemed to be a table pleaser along with the house-made pretzel. I hear the chicken nachos and burger are good, but the jury is still out on a return.

Some good news to share: A cooking school is opening in Lakewood Ranch, and as soon as I have more details I most certainly will share.

My favorite bite of the week: the special J-Pan platter, expertly created by Daniel Doko. I’m excited to see J-Pan is expanding, and they need the room—the place was recently packed inside and out, with a waiting line on a Tuesday night. Just shows you how fresh and delicious their sushi is.

And wherever you celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, a tip of the hat to all the pots of Irish stew with Guinness stout.