| | Published March 4th, 2009
| For the Love of Leprechauns
| | By Susie Iventosch |  | | Petar's Irish singer Sinead Healy Photo Susie Iventosch
|
Leprechauns were among my favorite childhood fantasies. As a little kid, I knew in my heart that one day I would actually meet Lucky, the Lucky Charms leprechaun - a chance meeting at the end of the rainbow. With a twinkle of an eye, he would vanish, leaving only a memory and a pot of gold.
These one-eighth Irish eyes were not smiling the day the truth ushered forth. No such thing as a leprechaun? Was this some kind of trick? It was a somber revelation, the nostalgia eternal.
For many of us, there is no good substitute for a stealthy little leprechaun, not Santa Claus, not the Easter Bunny, and - though she earns high marks in my book - not the Tooth Fairy. All pale in comparison to the tiny green gnomes.
To fill the void, we rekindle childhood fascinations by playing lighthearted tricks - green footprints here, gold dust there, and with a wee bit o' luck, perhaps we will lure leprechauns back into our lives. (I, for one, am holding out hope!)
Or we can head down to Petar's in Lafayette, order up Guinness and lap up a bowl of Irish stew. Perhaps you didn't know that Petar's celebrates St. Patty's Day twice each month. Every other Tuesday the restaurant turns just a little bit Irish, featuring Irish stew along with the beautiful voice and piano of Sinead Healy performing a montage of Irish and American tunes.
Petar's, founded in 1959 and owned by Nosrat and Jeanette Kermaninejad since 1999, serves lunch six days a week and dinner daily with live music Tuesday through Sunday evenings. Nightly dinner specials range from osso bucco, to lamb shanks, braised short ribs and roasted turkey.
Though Kermaninejad holds a degree in civil engineering, (his five brothers are also engineers) he only worked a brief stint in that field, designing highways and bridges in Iran. The rest of the time he has spent in the restaurant business, mostly owning them, but he's right at home in the kitchen, too. One of eight children, he says he used to follow his mom around when she cooked, helping out where he could.
"I was the designated taste-tester," he remembers. "I really enjoy cooking, but Petar's Irish stew comes from Rusty, one of my chefs from an earlier restaurant venture."
Randy Hellrung and Nicole Kreigenhofer of Antioch stopped in for a drink on the way home from the airport the night I visited Petar's.
"We were sitting at the bar and heard the young lady singing a beautiful Irish tune, and saw the Irish stew on the menu, and decided we had to stay," Hellrung said.
"We felt like were nestled into a cozy Irish pub in Killarney and were just waiting for everyone to start talking with an Irish accent," he added. "All we needed was someone to light a peat stove and we'd be sitting in Ireland!"
After tasting Petar's Irish stew, Kreigenhofer said, "For a good bowl of comfort food, this really fills the bill."
|
 | | Petar's Irish Stew Photo Susie Iventosch
|
| | | |
Lamorinda Weekly, Moraga CA