Erin Go Bragh at Matt Denny’s Alehouse

Ireland forever. And on March 17 at Matt Denny’s, you’ll believe it.

By: Barbara Bishop

Céad míle fáilte — a hundred thousand welcomes — and Matt Denny’s in Arcadia is ready to extend every last one of them.

The 100-year-old bar at Matt Denny’s. Photo: Matt Denny’s

This St. Patrick’s Day, there is no better place to don your green and raise a glass to the Emerald Isle. On this day honoring the Irish, Matt Denny’s has planned a celebration on March 17 from 3:30 p.m. – 9:30 p.m. The Culchies will perform songs from the Soul of Ireland, wrapped around a day of dining, drinking, and pure, unadulterated craic. (A Culchie refers to someone from the Irish countryside or from a small town or village — salt of the earth, and proud of it.)

The vibe is casual, clubby, and comfortable — as welcoming as an Irish cottage on a rainy afternoon. The bar area has its own space, served from the confines of a 100-year-old physical bar that runs the full length of one side of the room, as something lifted straight from a pub in County Cork. Numerous flat-screen TVs line the walls, allowing patrons to watch their favorite sports games — though on March 17, we suspect the Irish eyes will be smiling too much to notice the score. Irish beer offerings include Kelley’s Nitro Irish Stout and Guinness Draught Stout — the beloved black stuff — among 28 beers on tap. Sláinte!

We have dinner here once a month, usually seated in a comfortable booth near the bar. The booths are situated for privacy — even though they are near the bar, it doesn’t feel like it. It’s the luck of the Irish that we found this spot. Irish-inspired dishes are the real pot of gold at the end of the rainbow here. The Guinness Pot Pie — a large crock filled with their homemade stew, topped with puff pastry and baked until it’s piping hot — is enough to make even St. Patrick himself abandon his staff and pull up a chair. They also serve a delicious corned beef sandwich — the meat is tender and moist, thinly sliced and served with spicy deli mustard. It’s one of my favorites, and a St. Patrick’s Day staple that hits every note.

Matt Denny’s offers a plethora of delectable cuisine selections, too many to name in this story — surely the menu has kissed the Blarney Stone. Here are a few highlights: For appetizers, there’s a sausage plate with grilled and sliced andouille and two bratwurst sausages, accompanied with pickles and peppers, with BBQ and honey mustard dipping sauces. There’s also a large selection of lavash with mouthwatering toppings, including BBQ chicken, blackened chicken with roasted corn, black beans, and cilantro; smoked salmon; pulled pork; and tri-tip. I can’t wait to try the pulled pork — though after the corned beef, that may require wearing a very loose green sweater.

My boyfriend always orders a meat plate, usually the beef ribs. When they arrive, it’s a huge portion—a feast fit for a Celtic king—well worth the $38.00 price. Baby back ribs are also available. A full rack is $38.95. It’s a hearty portion; we always take some to go to eat for lunch the next day. Tasty rib-eye and New York steaks are also on the menu, as well as pork chops, tri-tips, and prime rib. Meat lovers, may the road rise to meet you!

For the non-meat-eater, there is a large selection of soups, salads, and vegetarian sandwiches. And last but not least, a can’t-miss dessert is their famous homemade mud pie — dark, rich, and irresistible, not unlike the black stuff itself. Save room for this one!

For early risers — or perhaps those who never quite made it home after March 17’s festivities — a hearty breakfast menu is offered, with hotcakes, eggs, French toast, eggs Benedict, and custom-made omelettes, as well as a build-your-own breakfast, consisting of a choice of bacon, sausage, turkey bacon, eggs, buttermilk pancakes, buttermilk biscuits, English muffins, hash browns, fruit, and avocado—the perfect morning-after remedy — what the Irish might call grand.

The Man Behind the Myth

You might be wondering who Matt Denny was. Denny was the only son of an Irish Sea Captain, and with that pedigree, it’s no wonder the spirit of the old country runs through the veins of this Alehouse. Most of his childhood was spent running back and forth between the Eastern seaboard and the Caribbean. Born in Key West and schooled in the deep-water ports of the warm Caribbean seas, Matt loved the culinary colors and flavors of his tropical playground. By the age of fourteen, he was working as a cook in the Florida Keys, at the only place to eat in Pirates Cove, Jimmy B’s Havana Day Dream.

When Matt’s family was lost at sea in the Bermuda Triangle — a tragedy worthy of an Irish ballad — Matt decided to leave the Caribbean and try his luck in Mexico. There, he was befriended by a local wheeler-dealer, Roberto Avila. Roberto and Matt opened a cantina where pirates bought and sold hard-to-get cargo. Roberto y Mateo’s Cantina was the busiest bar in all of Mexico — proof that an Irishman can find his way to the best barstool in any country on earth.

A dispute over a card game sent Denny north to the safety of the Pacific Northwest, where he ran into Peter Russell, a famous hunter and guide. Together, Matt and Peter hiked the streams and mountains of the Northwest — forty shades of green, one imagines — with Peter making a good living selling furs, while Matt cooked the game for local lumberjacks. Some of their early trophies can be seen on the walls of the current Matt Denny’s. Check out Mac the moose and Warren the elk. Every Irish pub worth its salt has its stories on the wall.

The lure of endless riches — the Irishman’s eternal pursuit of that pot of gold — brought Matt down to California. He eventually returned to what he did best, feeding the locals. Matt found miners and settlers lining up at his campfire every night for a hearty meal and a homemade ale. It was at Artie’s Camp where Matt Denny opened his first Alehouse. The back bar at the current Matt Denny’s is the original bar, dating back over a hundred years—a relic as storied as any artifact from the old country. Today, chefs use some of the same recipes that Matt Denny developed during his lifetime. These great meals are paired with the best handcrafted ales available.