MARY FURR -- Dining out

* Misc.: Food served until 1 a.m. Credit cards accepted.

It’s misty and cool outside with the salty smell of the sea in the air

that reminds you of Ireland. What better way to observe an early St.

Patrick’s Day than by dropping in for the home-style Irish cooking of

Gallagher’s Pub and Grill on Walnut Avenue in Huntington Beach.

Here’s food that warms you from the inside.

Owned by brothers Ciaran and Eugene Gallagher, this dream of a pub --

with its dark, red-paneled walls and bar -- is much like the one their

parents had in Derry, Ireland. Pick up a copy of the Union Jack or

British Weekly at the door, find a table and open a menu filled with

dishes authentically prepared by cooks Thomas Butterfield, Greg Hale or

Thomas Sotello -- all talented in this great cuisine.

It’s hard to choose from among the classic dishes of Ireland. Should it

be bangers, those fat Irish sausages: or how ‘bout the County Cork

shepherd’s pie ($9.95)? On this cool day, it was the pie.

The individual casserole, filled with ground beef, baby carrots, peas and

celery in a seasoned gravy, is topped with a fluffy mashed potato and

cheddar cheese crust baked to a golden brown. It’s a wonderful, warming

dish that reflects the economical Irish way of using everything left over

from Sunday dinner.

Corned beef and cabbage ($8.95) -- another classic -- has three thick,

ruby-red slices of really tender rib-eye beef with a wedge of freshly

boiled cabbage done just right, firm and tasty. A cup of creamy homemade

horseradish sauce is just the pungent bite needed to complement the

corned beef.

This dish is excellent, one that brings memories of families gathered

around the Saturday night dinner table.

Don’t overlook the slices of soda bread brought to the table. The bread,

leavened with baking soda, is made using a recipe handed down by the

Gallaghers’ grandmother.

In addition to the entrees, the brothers serve salads and sandwiches.

The Emerald Isles sandwich ($6.95) is a substantial lunch of tri-tip beef

on a soft baguette. There’s plenty of meat (some a little gristly) with a

good beefy taste and the accompanying fries have crisp, grooved outsides

and perfect mushy insides -- a true Irish potato.

Gallagher’s serves a full Irish breakfast ($7.95) every day until 2 p.m.,

offering a big of everything: Irish bacon, thicker than American;

bangers, those fat pork sausages just bursting with flavor; sauteed

mushrooms; grilled tomato slices; baked beans; two eggs, any style; Irish

white pudding and toast.

St. Paddy’s Day will be special at Gallagher’s. It will open at 9 a.m.,

rather than the usual 11. The Wake, an Irish band, and traditional

dancers will perform starting at 4 p.m.

Eugene Gallagher advises an early arrival. Last year, there were more

than 200 diners waiting to join in the festivities.

Gallagher’s Pub lives up to the Irish greeting, “o7 Cead Mile Failtef7

,” or “a hundred thousand welcomes.”