No, there’s no Saint Patrick’s Day parade here, and Verona won’t be dying Verona Park Lake or the Peckman River green. But if you’re looking to celebrate, you do have options here in town.
For eating and imbibing, head to the western side of town. Jack McNamara will be doing corned beef, cabbage and potatoes, all day and all night, at his eponymous Jack’s Cafe. You can finish off the meal with a slice of a popular new item on the menu, Claremont Diner-styled cheesecake. Jack’s Cafe is at 684 Bloomfield Avenue.
Jack’s doesn’t have a liquor license, so if you need to raise a pint, head to O’Neil’s Restaurant & Pub at 706 Bloomfield Avenue. Its proprietor, Jack O’Neil, will be serving Guinness-braised beef stew, shepherd’s pie, fish and chips and broiled Irish salmon–in addition, of course, to the corned beef. He’s promising giveaways and bagpipe players in the evening hours. O’Neil’s will be open until 2 a.m.
We’ve already shown you some of the Saint Patrick’s Day gift choices at Center Drugs. Just up the block, Debbie Curran Galife has stocked her tiny Main Street Cottage with many more, including handmade shamrocks with German glass and vintage tags on them and food-safe shamrock dishes imprinted with the Irish Prayer. Curran Galife, whose father’s family was from County Mayo, Ireland, also will have her homemade Irish soda bread, which she has been making for her customers for the last 7 years. Main Street, which is located at 678 Bloomfield Avenue next to the Post Office, is open Tuesdays from 10:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.; Wednesday through Friday 10:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.; and Saturday 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The store has also just been re-stocked with Easter wreaths, candles, novelties, handmade dolls and wooden outdoor decor items.
You should also know that you can celebrate being Irish in Verona on almost any given Tuesday or Thursday. Those are the days when the DeNogla School of Irish Dance holds classes in the Theatre Arts Dance America building at 544 Bloomfield Avenue. DeNogla founder Jennifer Nagle McGovern was the deputy grand marshal of this year’s Saint Patrick’s Day parade in Newark on Friday, March 12.[mappress]
