Happy St. Patrick's Day from the Palace Restaurant.

As most of our regular patrons know, every Third Thursday is a Tasting Thursday at The Palace Restaurant, when the Chef carries you abroad allowing you to sample the fare of some of the world's greatest culinary traditions without ever leaving the comfort and convenience of Cincinnati. Without exception, each tasting Thurdsay has generated considerable positive feedback; so it is an event that is likely to continue for as long as the Chef has an additional port to visit. After-all, he still has well-over three-quarters of the globe to traverse. Thus far, The Palace Restaurant, with Chef Jose Salazar in the captain's seat, has landed his fellow gourmands in France, Germany, Puerto Rico, Italy and Japan, and before the year is out will make stops in Greece, India, South America and elsewhere.

Given that St. Patrick's Day is right around the corner, this month the Chef has decided to take a little trip to the Emerald Isle. That's right! The Palace is going Irish. Thursday, March 18th, the day after St. Pat's, the Palace is primed to serve up some of the finest Irish Cuisine this side of Galway Bay. In fact, you can extend your celebration of St. Patricks one extra day by taking in the Irish food, Irish music and good Irish Cheer at The Palace Restaurant. Celtic musicians will be on hand to participate in the event, as well as plenty of Irish Whisky and Guinness Irish Stout.

With a name like Jose Salazar, one may not immediately suspect our Chef's consuming passion for all things Irish. "The truth is," chuckles the Chef, "I have no choice but to love the Irish. My wife's Irish!" Given that the Chef also hails from one of the most flamboyant Irish-American locales in the United States, New York City, it's no wonder that he quickly became an enthusiast for a good Irish Stew, served properly, of course, with a Guiness-styled broth and a hearty "Lamb Shank."

For those of you who can only visualize Shepard's Pie or a Fish sandwich when thinking about Irish food, I'm sorry. Neither is on the menu. What is on the menu, however, is perhaps that most beloved and famous Irish dish of all, Boxty! According to the Chef, Boxty is a potato/Buttermilk pancake which makes an excellent appetizer. In New York, nevermind Ireland, variations of the meal are almost as common in the local pubs as Chicken wings and burgers are here. But, of course, you don't have to go to the Big Apple to partake of a little boxty. Rather you can stay right here in the Queen City savoring some of the best Boxty to be found anywhere. So popular, in fact, is Boxty in Ireland that a clever little poem was penned in its honor.

Boxty on the griddle,
boxty in the pan,
if you can't make boxty,
you'll never get a man.

Fail to follow this advice, gentleman, and you just may not ever get an Irish woman either.

But don't worry. Whether you can make Boxty or not should be of no concern; for the Chef is donning his derby hat all in effort to help you experience what everyday hibernians the world over simply can't go without.

Click here for Chef Jose Salazar's Tasting Irish Thursday Menu and make your reservations soon: Tasting Menu