After two years, the St. Patrick’s Irish Fest on Tipp Hill is back. Coleman’s Irish Pub and The Bite Box food truck provided food for the event Friday night.
“The pot roast poutine we actually did as our sample entry in the food truck battle earlier this year at the fairgrounds and we got a really, really good response to that and people have been asking us to bring that back," said Jeanne Catalfano, designer and operator of The Bite Box. "Then the bangers and mash, we just wanted something that was really Irish so you can’t go wrong with sausage and mashed potatoes.”
In addition to the pot roast poutine and bangers and mash, they have a mint ice cream sandwich which Catalfano said they chose because of the green ice cream.
Coleman’s Authentic Irish pub was serving reubens, corned beef sandwiches, fries and macaroni salad.
“I’ve seen everybody come out that’s been a part of the community forever, that we have been coming to for most of our lives, so supporting that is important," said Andre Barrios, who has worked for Colemans for many years.
Florence Palmiere, 96, has been coming to the Irish fest with her daughter, Gloria Palmiere, for the last 10-15 years. She purchased the first corned beef sandwich from the Coleman’s truck and said, “It’s delicious, I didn’t eat much today so I could enjoy the food.”
Her daughter, Gloria, said she had a meal prior to coming so she could enjoy the liquid refreshments.
Jeffrey “Coz” Costello, operator of the bar at the Irish Fest, said they prefer to keep everything local so they are using two local distributors — Onondaga Beverage and TJ Sheehan. The tips from the bar go to the Tipperary Hill Athletic Club, which then distributes the money to local charities, such as the food bank, and families who have experienced a tragic event.
“We’ve had some years where there have been 92 finished kegs. The Irish like to celebrate," said Costello.
