you say st. paddy, i say st. patty

according to the irish, st. patrick's day is shortened by saying "st. paddy's day." i, of course, have been wrong for as long as i can remember by calling it "st. patty's day." my sincere apologies for the misuse of letters but my deepest gratitude for one of the greatest reasons to be merry in the name of drafts and spirits. not trying to deter from the origin of the holiday itself, which reaches far back near the fifth century. story goes...a young patrick was held captive by irish raiders, soon escaping away after having a dream to devote his life to the church and then later on becoming a bishop. he returned to ireland reversing aristocracy, providing for the poor and telling the story of the holy trinity with a shamrock. it's safe to say saint patrick was a deserving title.

soon followed a tradition celebrating his worthy efforts and most importantly, the people of ireland and their culture. the annual st. patrick's day parade held in delray beach brings together crowds from all over south florida waiting to watch a very green parade and a chance to swig their saturday away. all days before the holiday itself.

sobe wine & food fest - grand marnier diner en rouge

the food network south beach wine and food festival is a mecca of an event and i was determined to crash at least one extravaganza this year. so you can imagine how loud my little girl scream was when i found out i was going to be able to attend grand marnier's very exclusive diner en rouge at the temple house in miami beach on thursday, february 25th.

i'll have the gyro that's pronounced with a 'y' - greek festival

gotta give it up to the greeks for having such an enriched culture full of confident, free spirits who collectively  exude an openness that can only be enjoyed in person - regardless of your background, you can't help but feel right at home with them.

the blue and white festival (from jan. 21 -jan. 24, 2010/ jan. 20 - jan. 23, 2011) is hosted by the st. mark greek orthodox church and true to its promise was filled with authentic food, vivacious personalities, markets for people to shop in and several forms of entertainment throughout the weekend. upon entering i was greeted with a powerful wink from a woman collecting admission fares, glancing to my right and then saw a group of twenty men grilling meats and bopping their heads to the loud greek music. a lot of these people looked like the cast from my big fat greek wedding (stereotypical but true) and better yet, acted in a similar manner too. i loved the energy - observing their pride and desire for people outside of their community to partake in this grand celebration of life. groups of big families trailed along together from table to table while ancient rhythms played throughout the tented grounds.