Tilted Kilt

Day 3: Friday, March 3

Today is the first Friday of Lent – that day where Catholics everywhere wonder where they are going to get a good meat-free lunch that won’t leave them empty and hungry for more.  This is the time when all the fast-food chains like McDonald’s, Burger King, and Wendy’s begin hawking their Filet-O-Fish, Big Fish, and Premium Cod Filet sandwiches respectively, but I wasn’t in the mood for fast food – I did that on Ash Wednesday.

That’s when I remembered my friend Rob always talks about the fish and chips at Miller’s Ale House.  So I hit I-95 South for the two-exit trip to Yamato Rd when I thought, “Wait… fish & chips are pub food – and there is a pub just one exit further, just off of Glades….”  So I ended up at Tilted Kilt Pub & Eatery.

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The menu describes TK’s Classic Fish & Chips as “Cod fillets hand-dipped in Samuel Adams Boston Lager® batter paired with fresh-made coleslaw & tartar sauce”.  When Paris came with the entree, I thought the fish looked more like egg rolls.  But once you break them open, the fish is fluffy, flaky, and moist, and the breading is light and not overpowering.  The coleslaw is crisp and crunchy; not too “mayonnaisey” like some slaw can be.  Finally the fries were savory and went well with the malt vinegar that is in abundance around the eatery.

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Overall, a fine choice for the first Friday of Lent – only 6 more to go until Easter Sunday, and LentWithoutBacon.com will be there every meal of the way.

St. Patrick’s Day (Twenty-fourth Day of Lent)

Happy St. Patrick’s Day, everyone!  Did you know that it’s almost a sin in Ireland to refer to a “Patrick” as “Patty”?  “Patty” is short for “Patricia”… you’re likely to get your block knocked off if you called a Patrick “Patty”.

“Patrick” is English for Padraig, or Paddy for short.  Hence, the proper term is St. Paddy’s, NOT St. Patty’s.  

Okay, enough of the English (Irish?) lesson… let’s talk about what we’re eating today instead of bacon.  Well, St. Paddy’s Day might be my favorite day during Lent as far as food is concerned, because I get to eat corned beef & cabbage all day long!  Today, I traveled all over southern Palm Beach County trying salt-cured (or corned) beef.

First, I met Steve at Tilted Kilt.  If you’ve never heard of this chain restaurant, it’s been described as “Hooters with a Scottish twist” – scantily-clad female serves in short kilts.  But I was there for the food.

When Steve suggested the Tilted Kilt, I replied, “But they’re Scottish….”  But upon looking at their website, they claimed that they were “in the tradition of Scottish, Irish, & English pubs”, and that the Boca Raton location we were visiting was holding their Grand Opening party that day, so I went. Their corned beef & cabbage platter was good enough to start the day, but I found the corned beef cut too thinly and it could have been more tender.

Tilted_Kilt

Next on the agenda was Dubliner.  They are known for a huge St. Patrick’s Day block party every year – probably the official party of the City of Boca Raton.  They have a buffet every year of salad, Guinness mac ‘n’ cheese, corned beef & cabbage, shepherds pie, and bangers & fries.

Dubliner_buffet

If you notice, their corned beef is much thicker and moister – cooked for hours – and falls apart when spooned onto the plate.  And the Guinness-based shepherd’s pie and mac ‘n’ cheese are to die for.  Outstanding.

Dubliner

Finally, I went to home and grabbed Susan and we went downstairs to Banana Boat for their St. Paddy’s celebrations.  It’s not an Irish pub, but they’re always festive and serve food to match the occasion.  Their corned beef was tender and cut thick – they always seem to do a pretty decent job with the food there.

Banana Boat

All in all, it was a great day of food, Guinness, Jameson, Irish music, and green everywhere.  And if you can’t have cured pig, why not some salt-cured (corned) beef??