Many Irish pubs began as homes before opening to the public as spots for a pint of Guinness. The Field Irish Pub & Eatery revels in its authenticity; about 100 years ago, it started out as two houses.
Despite its vast space, the Dania Beach pub (3281 Griffin Road) remains cozy, with a mostly wooden interior and handmade furnishings, typical of a bar in Ireland. Owners Alan Craig and Hilary Joyalle, from Dublin and Belfast, respectively, created the menu with the same values in mind. Their Irish coffee is one of the finest-yet-simplest examples: The century-old cocktail uses real cream, whipped per order, brown sugar and Irish whiskey, generally Jameson.
“I see those cans [of artificial cream], and I have a fit,” Joyalle quips.
The Field typically serves Irish coffee in traditional mugs, though Joyalle isn’t fond of them—she prefers the look of a wine glass (pictured). When poured in a mug, Craig says the fresh cream is floated on top of the coffee with a spoon. He likens it to drinking a Guinness beer—but with consideration for the piping temperature.
“You drink it down through the cream—you don’t drink all the cream off,” he advises. “That way, when you get to the bottom, you haven’t removed it all. It’s a bit of a technique to drink it.”
Don’t stir it, Joyalle adds, or “you might as well be drinking a cup of coffee with whiskey in it.”
Irish coffee, Guinness, Smithwick’s red ale and other traditional libations will be flowing freely on St. Patrick’s Day, which always is “one hell of a party,” Craig says.
The March 17 celebration—that’s a Friday—will include bagpipers, Karl Drake School Irish dancers, corned beef and cabbage, and bars inside and out. A lane of Griffin Road will close, two large tents will be pitched and shuttles will take guests to the pub from remote parking lots. Craig and Joyalle expect thousands to join the party, with some staying longer than others.
“A lot of people will come for the day and start off with an Irish breakfast,” Craig says. “And a lot of them will stay until the following morning.”
THE FIELD’S IRISH COFFEE
Ingredients
1.5 ounces of Jameson Irish Whiskey
2 teaspoons of brown sugar
¾ cup of black coffee
1 ounce freshly whipped cream
Directions
Pour shot of Jameson in Irish coffee mug. Add spoonful of brown sugar. Pour black coffee to about half-inch below rim of glass. Float cream on top of coffee, letting it pour over back of spoon until it sits just above rim.
