Whether you tippled too much on St. Patrick’s Day or just indulged more than you’re used to, here are some of best hangover remedies for a hair-of-the-dog day. We asked six Irish food and drink pros for their prescription for the day after the biggest party of the year. From tater tot nachos to Irish breakfast, and plenty of excuses for grease and carbs in between, here are six ways to recover.
Toby Maloney is one of the creative founders of one of Chicago’s swankiest nightclubs, The Violet Hour. With its floor-to-ceiling plush velvet curtains and tantalizing candlelit, it’s nothing at all like Maloney’s go-to for hangover food: Superdawg.
“How to nurse a hangover like Florence Nightingale?” he asked. The answer: “Two Superdawgs. One order of Superonionchips. Extra mayo for the fries. This is per person,” Maloney noted.
“This must be all consumed in the car. There is a rejuvenating aspect to sitting in an enclosed space with all of these wonderful smells.”
He washes this down with not one, but two, Arnold Palmers. Large. When not driving, a “whisper” of gin gives it a hair-of-the dog shot. Next on Maloney’s agenda is a good long nap.
Mags Reidy is beloved by guests of the Three Counties Irish Pub in Chicago’s Norwood Park neighborhood. Just about anything on the menu there will do the trick. She also loves the traditional Irish breakfast at spots like Vaughan’s Pub on Chicago’s far Northwest side. “It’s the best outside of my own kitchen,” Reidy said. True to the generations-old standard, the meal is a hearty plate of baked beans, over-easy eggs, sausages, tomatoes and potatoes with onions and toast slices.
Jeff Wallen with the Tilted Kilt in Skokie said his meal for the day after a night out is at Tank Noodle in Chicago. He can’t resist the pho beef noodle soup with sliced tenderloin and quails eggs. “I love love love it,” he said. “The freshness of the ingredients and the heat from the spices along with all the oil from the broth and meat helps ‘sweat it out,’ if you know what I mean. The meat is always fresh and sliced just right so it cooks just enough in the hot, steamy, slightly oily broth and the quail eggs add a surprise of flavor and texture. I fix mine up with lots of fresh-squeezed lime, bamboo shoots, basil and cilantro spiced up with lots of sriracha hot sauce and their house chili sauce.”
Wallen said he also considers the soup a great cure for when he is really under the weather, like with the common cold. “It is right up there with my grandmother’s famous chicken noodle soup,” he said.
Mark Hosty loves the peanut butter and bacon sandwich at his own place, Healy’s Westside in Forest Park. He washes it down with a Bloody Mary.
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And if that doesn’t do the trick, he heads to New Star Restaurant in Elmwood Park. “My must-have is Mongolian beef with an egg roll. Both cures were discoveries out of necessity. The basic need for curing a hangover is greasy food. Alcohol helps,” Hosty said.
Ed Downing, owner of Downing’s Tavern in Libertyville, said the tater tot nachos on his menu are a popular after-party food.
“This is not just an after-St. Patrick’s Day hangover cure,” Downing said. “This is an all year-long hangover cure. We have several customers that come in right after we open and tell us they are there to order the Downing Irish nachos because they partied a little too much the night before.”
And it seems perfect for the day after St. Patrick’s Day. As the tale was told, the recipe was handed down from Downing’s grandpa — who claimed he got it from a leprechaun.
Tater Tot Nachos
5 cups of tater tots, frozen
1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
4 strips of bacon, fried
1/3 cup green onions, chopped
1 Tablespoon sour cream (extra-large heaping)
Follow directions on bag for baking tater tots.
After tater tots are baked, put them on a plate while they are still warm.
Melt a favorite variety of shredded cheddar cheese, and pour over the tater tots.
Chop bacon into 1/8- to 1/4-inch pieces, and sprinkle across top.
Chop green onions, and sprinkle on top.
Top with a generous scoop of sour cream.
— Ed Downing, Downing’s in Libertyville