Fish, Chips and Energy Drinks

2:55 p.m.: On St. Patrick's Day, keep your corned beef and cabbage and shepherd's pie. I'm happy to tuck into a perfect plate of flaky fish and chips, straight out of the fryer at Eamonn's / A Dublin Chipper any day of the year. The smells of beer batter and vinegar hang in the air in the tiny room. U2 is on the stereo, Guinness flows from the lone tap and paper bags of fish sit on every table.

The lunch rush has subsided, giving manager Clinton Terry a chance to catch his breath. It was "crazy" this morning, he reports, and the kitchen's already sold out of the ray. He's getting ready for dinner crowds to come -- and the pubcrawlers who will be stopping in throughout the night as they move between Old Town's Irish bars. "We'll be open as long as people are out there," Terry says.

Some advice: Pick up a bottle of the tasty Lucozade energy drink when you make a pitstop. The English beverage is hard to find in the U.S., but it does the trick when you're flagging.

-- Fritz