Scenes From St. Patrick's Day: McFadden's

9 a.m.: Morning Mayhem at McFadden's
It was an inauspicious start for St. Patrick's Day. I made it through the morning commute to Foggy Bottom without seeing anyone wearing a leprechaun hat, green beads or carrying a plastic green beer mug -- usually the hallmarks of St. Patrick's Day in Washington. (I'm not saying it's right; I'm just saying it happens.)

On the way to McFadden's, where the draw was an 8 a.m. opening, I saw a lone group of three guys heading the opposite way up Pennsylvania Avenue. Outside the bar, there was a lonely looking doorman. No crowds jostling to get in, no line -- nothing. He said it had been fairly slow.

Morning Mayhem is an annual variation on the Kegs and Eggs tradition, offering a free breakfast buffet (eggs, sausage, the works) and cut-price beer, including $1 Miller Lites from 8 to 10 a.m. Plastic cups of Guinness sell for $5 all day. In McFadden's basement, a DJ blasts traditional songs like "The Belle of Belfast City" to set the mood, but extra bars set up to speed service sit empty, as do many barstools. Despite the deals, there seem to be more staff than patrons inside the bar.

One exception is in the middle of the room, where Joe Paternoster, the founder of the NAKID kickball league, and seven of his friends commandeered a table. Boasting wigs, hats and enough beads for a Mardi Gras parade, the kickballers arrived at 8:30 a.m., soon after doors opened, and have been living it up since. "I'm self-employed," Paternoster explains. One of his group, a 24-year-old nanny named Janine, asked for the day off. "I told my boss they didn't want me taking care of the kids today," she laughed. Even luckier was Christy, a graduate student whose professor just gave everyone a holiday. "I think he likes to drink as much as we do," she says.

They've really gone all-out, baking brownies and green cupcakes for the occasion. Paternoster holds a grocery bag filled with beads and other costume decorations for late arrivals; he says he's expecting about 30 people all together. Members of the group have also noticed that the day has started slowly. "I was the only person in my [Metro] car [dressed up]," Christy notes proudly.

I make my way out without encountering any new arrivals. One bartender tells me they expect things to pick up in the afternoon, once the Irish-at-heart start sneaking out of work. We'll see.

-- Fritz

By Fritz Hahn |  March 17, 2008; 11:07 AM ET
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