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St Paddys in the South Bay
Along with the Westside, the South Bay is one of the best places to bar-hop on St. Patrick's Day.
Auld Dubliners in Long Beach was already packed by 3pm on Tuesday. The 'Dub' is a fave where I've often toasted the Irish New Year (3pm pst). Last Paddy's Day we gave up even trying to get in. This year without my 72-year-old mother along I could be more aggressive. Having friends in low places helped and I was able to inch my way to a Guiness "built, not poured" by Collin Barry.
Says Collin, "The Dub and maybe O'Brien's on Wilshire are the most authentic [Irish pubs] in LA. The bar is made and shipped from Ireland, and everything about dis place is like back home", by which Collin means North side Dublin.
On to the next bar. As the sun went down the Rock cranked up at Keegan's Pub & Grill in Old Torrance. Lines were already formed, and bands were already moving out as others moved in. Chef Miguel and crew were cranking out Corned Beef/cabbage and Fish n Chips. The patio already featured Keegans girls with Green hats bigger than their green shorts and kilts.
The bar at Keegan's draughted the usual suspects for an Irish-American pub, and welcome to SoCal; shots of Patron and Corona were popular, if edged out by Guinness and Harp chasing Jameson.
As if the punk/hard rock bands weren't enough to keep the crowd thumpin', a dj set up shop at the other end of the bar and the lassies were gyrating. Blame the economy, the aging population, or drunk driving laws, but there were less partiers willing to wait in long lines to pay the $10 cover than in the past 5 years. Ne'er theless, the bar was pretty much full til the ABC forced closing time
Last call was in Torrance at a pub called Sully's. Opened as an Irish bar with live Rock, Country, and Country Rock, they feature bands ala Merchants of Moonshine and the "Tres Hombres" ZZ top Trib. Torrance's Pacific Rim democraphics soon dictated a menu change featuring Hawaiian food and Mexi-cali bar snax.
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The live musicians on St Pat's were rockin the rock and the joint was jumpin as close to 2am as possible. But then security swept through the patio, then the bar, all the way to the end of the parking lot. Sully's had several airport limo vans offering free rides within 4 miles so the wearier partiers could travel home in style.
Post by Greg Thompson for LAist
Auld Dubliner 71 S Pine Ave Long Beach, CA (562) 437-8300
Keegan's 1434 Marcelina Ave Torrance, CA 90501 (310) 328-3750
Sully's 22735 Hawthorne Blvd Torrance, CA 90505 (310) 375-9158
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