An Irish Christmas in New York

For travellers and shoppers passing through New York City looking for fun holiday spots to have a festive lunch or a Christmas cocktail, The Wheeltapper Pub at the Fitzpatrick Grand Central Hotel (141 East 44th Street at Lexington Avenue) is the perfect stop. The pub, which features a huge festively decorated all-season Patio, is having a 12 Beers of Christmas celebration now through Christmas day. These seasonal specialties are $6 a bottle and offer a broad spectrum of flavors:

• Hibernation Ale (Great Divide Brewing Co.)
• Old Jubilation Ale (Avery Brewing Co.)
• Never Summer Ale (Boulder Beer Co.)
• Christmas Ale (Breckenridge Brewery)
• Celebration Ale (Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.)
• Samuel Adams Old Fezziwig Ale (Boston Beer Co)
• Isolation Ale (Odell Brewing Co.)
• 2 Below Ale (New Belgium Brewing Co.)
• Cocoa Porter Winter Warmer (Tommyknocker Brewery)
• Shiner Holiday Cheer (Spoetzl Brewery)
• Winter Warlock Oatmeal Stout (Bristol Brewing Co.)
• Snow Bound Winter Ale (Left Hand Brewing Co.)

The Wheeltapper’s sommelier, Patrick Lutz, has also put together some fabulous food pairings from The Wheeltapper menu, including Snow Bound Winter Ale with a Turkey Club ($11), Winter Warlock Oatmeal Stout with Four Cheese Macaroni ($15), Cocoa Porter Winter Warmer with a Caramelized Apple Salad($11) or Isolation Ale with the Irish classic Fish and Chips ($19).

If you’ll be in the city for Christmas Day, The Wheeltapper and its sister restaurant The Fitz at The Fitzpatrick Manhattan Hotel (at 687 Lexington Avenue) will be serving very special Christmas menus featuring such traditional holiday dishes as Roast Turkey and Sugar Glazed Ham with Irish Sausage Stuffing and house-made Irish Christmas Pudding. The Fitz is offering a four-course Christmas prix-fixe feast ($79) and The Wheeltapper is offering Christmas dinner specialties both a la carte and as a prix fixe ($47).