" I get my corned beef fix at a Hofbrua that has it daily as a carved meat optiong "

Having once said that she lives in the East Bay area, I suspect she's referring to Harry's Hofbrau in San Leandro. The business used to have a San Jose location too but it lost its lease and closed a bit before the pandemic. The structure and the neighboring one remain unoccupied - it's a prime location perhaps waiting to be developed into something else.

My experience with Harry's is dated but yes, it was/is a great place to go for a sandwiches or meals made from freshly cooked and carved hunks of meat. Old fashioned style. They offer a wide variety. Their roasted turkey was my favorite, cooked on rotating spits in display windows flanking the entrance.

Most of its clientele, at least in the SJ location, could have been bussed in from the local geriatric clinic. They didn't develop a following that suggested its customers would be alive long enough to assure long term business prospects. I'm not criticizing wildchild, I suspect I'm her age or older so that describes me too.

There's a location a bit easier for me to access in Redwood City, the mention triggers my interest to go there sometime soon.

I can recall only 1 really bad Reuben served to me several years ago. The meat source had to have been what remained of a tough butt end, it was like eating a leather sandwich. That particular eatery, which had been a very good restaurant for decades, went out of business a few weeks later.

"I'm Swiss/German, so don't celebrate St. Patrick's."

Oh, but isn't everyone a little Irish on St. Patrick's day? 🍀

We used to call it "boiled dinner" and mum would make it in a pressure cooker. I was terrified of that pot! I still like it, but don't eat if often.

" "I'm Swiss/German, so don't celebrate St. Patrick's "

You're not if you don't speak Schweizerdeutsch.

(Maybe so but it triggers a thought. I don't know why people persist on mixing the identity of their ancestors from past generations with current identity. What anyone is today is different from what past immigrant ancestors were. I've seen this often among people from the Midwest.)

My ancestors are from Sweden. My mom was born in Sweden.

The multiple DNA tests I've taken all come back with the same range of percentage of Swedish ancestry - with a range between 44-46 %. There are a couple of percentages of Norwegian and Finnish ancestry included.

So I think it's safe to attribute my current identity with past generations.

Unless you think DNA results from multiple sources are fake or untrue.

There's also culture. I have a lot of home culture, food and not, attributable to several generations of forebearers, let alone the millenia of community culture. Sure, I'm 100%American, and have a couple hundred years of that combined culture, too, but I have more in common with many of my community's members, than much of generalized "American".

For heaven's sake, you don't have be even remotely Irish to celebrate and enjoy St Patrick's Day!! It's just one of those holidays whose whole reason for being is to imbibe food and drink. Kinda like those folks that go to Superbowl parties just for the food and socialization (forget about the game - that's completely incidental).

I love corned beef and cabbage and the resulting leftovers, since it is a meal that is rarely repeated other than in midMarch so leftovers are manageable. Corned beef sandwiches and hash are just as enjoyable as the full dinner. 😁 I roast the vegetables except for the cabbage. I like cabbage stewed in the corned beef juices!

" Unless you think DNA results from multiple sources are fake or untrue. "

Nice snark. Of course not.

My comment had to do with people confusing their ethnic ancestry with their nationality/personal national identity. Call it either.

You're on a business trip abroad and in a meeting with people you haven't met before. Everyone is asked to introduce themselves and say what their nationality is.

Are you Swedish?

If I was asked my nationality, I would say American.

Nationality refers to a person's legal, political, or cultural connection to a particular nation-state, usually determined by birthplace or citizenship. It defines which country protects your rights and where you can legally live and work.

If I was asked my ethnicity, I would say my mom was born in Sweden and my dad's side is German.

I've been asked that question before - what is my ethnicity, and that is how I answer the question. Swedish and German are the largest percentages of my DNA, along with some Irish and Italian, along with a smattering of other ethnicities. Nationality and ethnicity are not the same.

And thank you for the compliment on my snark. Just trying to keep up with you 🙄

I have never had corned beef and cabbage. Mom never cooked either. I just never had an interest in it. We never cooked with cabbage at all.

"protects your rights and where you can legally live and work."

Now I'm really confused. I though everyone had the same rights and could work legally any place in the world, with global citizenship. What changed?

When someone asks my heritage I always say the same as you, from the San people of southern Africa, People are making things to complicated, but tracing your heritage back 5000 to 6000 generations we are all the same, so your heritage is SAN and a citizen of the world, who likes or doesn't like corned beef and cabbage.

Ugh...the smell! There used to be an Irish bar with a hot food table around the corner from where I lived. If I happened to be passing by when the door opened, the smell of corned beef and cabbage escaping made me want to barf.

Interestingly, a friend of mine had parents that were big drinkers and they would bring her to one of these bars as a kid. She'd play with the other kids there (apparently that was a thing.) She told me the smell made her nostalgic.

“She told me the smell made her nostalgic.“

Like sour leaf cabbage rolls! Reminds me of holopchi at a Ukrainian wedding. Love the smell.

"Now I'm really confused. I though everyone had the same rights and could work legally any place in the world, with global citizenship. What changed?"

You still need a visa to work in a foreign country. Some friends recently retired and moved to Portugal. To live there, they had to go through the visa process. I don't recall the difference now, but there is a D7 visa and a D8 visa, depending on if they want to work or not. They had to establish a place of residency, a bank account, etc. They were paying rent on an apartment for a few months while they waited for their visa approval.

Global citizenship doesn't address the legalities of moving to a foreign country to live and work.

There were other hoops they had to jump through too, but they were finally able to relocate there in October 2025.

" If I was asked my ethnicity "

This rarely happens in my area or in my experience. So, it doesn't come up. Though as with my comment about people in the Midwest often mentioning and confusing what ancestry versus identity is, I've found the same thing in the Puget Sound area. Maybe having a hospital with the name Swedish confuses people.

" And thank you for the compliment "

It wasn't a compliment.

Because it rarely happens in your area or in your experience doesn't negate other people's experience. Having a hospital named Swedish isn't confusing to anyone. A part of town - the Ballard/Fremont area, settled by Scandinavian immigrants years ago. Not sure where the name of a hospital came from.

Edit I was curious so looked up the origin of Swedish hospital.

"Seattle Now & Then: Swedish Hospital, 1929 | Seattle Now & Then
Swedish Hospital in Seattle was founded in 1908 by Dr. Nils Johanson, a Swedish immigrant surgeon, and a group of fellow Swedish-Americans. It was established as a non-profit organization to provide high-quality medical care,, featuring modern (at the time) techniques, initially requiring its trustees to be of Swedish descent.
Key Details Regarding the Name:
Origin: The name reflects the Swedish heritage of its founders and its initial purpose to serve the community through that cultural connection."

And I took it as a compliment 🤣

Swedish heritage 100 years ago. Time for all the Seattlites, Twin Cities denizens and others to move on.

"Maybe having a hospital with the name Swedish confuses people. "

Not to anyone who lives in the area!! But then, Elmer's impressions of Seattle and the Puget Sound tend to be wildly inaccurate.at best.

Seattle and its surroundings are ethnically quite diverse. Swedish Health Services was started and named by a Swedish physician (father-in-law to Elmer Nordstrom) in 1910 but that's as far as the "Swedish" distinction goes. It is merely a name.

Move on from what? What does that mean?

Ummm, maybe it's time for you to move on and let go of your prejudices. At least in my Midwest neck of woods, I don't come across people who mention and be confused about ancestry versus identity. Most are very intelligent actually. And as for the Swedish Hospital, why does it bother you what they called it. Sounds to me like they are rightly proud of it.

ETA I will concede that like everywhere in the world, intelligence is a spectrum.

I just come here most days to see WHAT is the next possible thing that can be targeted to argue about. Never disappointed, but I surely didn’t have hospital names in Seattle on my Bingo card.

Gardengal, I didn't know Swedish's founder was the brother-in-law to Elmer Nordstrom. Interesting trivia!

Oly, exactly! Never a disappointment about what small, trivial thing becomes a debate! Of course, if the women here would just concede that we are simple minded and ignorant, then none of this would happen.

🙄

sephia, father-in-law, not brother-in-law :-))

Chicago has a Swedish Hospital, but you have to be Swedish to be admitted. If you don’t carry your Ancestry.com results on your person, they turn you away.

Anyway, does anyone have a preference for corned beef cut—flat vs point? SO has requested I make tradional corned beef and cabbage. This will be my first foray, as I’m not a fan. But his birthday is coming up, and he’s difficult to buy for. So, corned beef, it is. I’m leaning toward a point cut, which seems more forgiving.

Btw, neither of us are Irish, so don’t tell the butcher.

Gardengal, got it, correction noted 👍

“Anyway, does anyone have a preference for corned beef cut—flat vs point?”

It’s definitely a matter of preference. I prefer the flat cuts since they’re leaner (just a fat cap on top) and easy to slice. The point cuts are more irregular in shape with more fat/marbling throughout meaning added flavor, but I’ve never noticed a flavor difference. My mom always bought the round cuts that are very lean. Not sure but a quick search shows the rounds are actually from the leg instead of the brisket (lower chest area).🤷‍♀️

ETA - I’ve also found most stores always have flat and point cuts but not always rounds.

Thanks, Chloebud. My local grocery store carries flats and points. My meat market carries rounds, in addition to flats and points. I think I'll choose the middle of the spectrum in terms of fat content, which seems to be a flat cut, especially if you've not noticed a difference in flavor.

“Chicago has a Swedish Hospital, but you have to be Swedish to be admitted. If you don’t carry your Ancestry.com results on your person, they turn you away.“

Feathers, that really made me laugh. 🤠

I hope I’m okay with my gummy fish treats and hex wrench furniture. What’s next?

Feathers, I think you’ll be happy with the flat cut. This pic (not mine) shows how nicely they slice.

I seem to recall the round cuts being the most expensive when I’ve seen them. Points are always the lowest cost. Like a lot of things, corned beef has really gone up in price. I remember paying under $3/lb for the flats once upon a time. Pretty sure I saw $8/lb the other day.

Went to the market yesterday. The point cuts were on sale for $4/lb. Flats and rounds were $6/lb. I noticed about half of the flats were mismarked for $4/lb. Love it when that happens.😊

chloe, I bought Butterball turkeys one Thanksgiving like that. I hauled everyone home I could find!

Sherry, gotta love it! It happened to me once at Sam’s Club with pork tenderloins. The 2-packs were all marked $1.39/lb. Crazy!

Yeah, I am sure we have all overpaid enough times to more than equsl out!

I do not like corned beef. The smell is enough to put me off. And I only like cabbage if I cook it. I use bacon grease and butter, melt some onions and garlic into it, then slightly fry the cabbage before adding some chicken stock and leting it cook until all the stock has reduced away. Black pepper at the end,no added salt needed. But no corned beef. I usually make cabbage with a pork tenderloin.

For amy (and others), there's a popular German cabbage preparation called "rotkohl" you might like. The word translates simply to red cabbage but it's more than that - it's a sweet and sour cabbage dish with vinegar (not too much), apples, and other seasonings.

It's not hard to make and it's delicious. It goes well with any kind of meat. Or, as I think about it, even in a meal without meat. Probably not with pasta or fish but fine with most other meals.

Elmer, that does sound good. It sounds especially appealing to me with corned beef, roasted or grilled pork or sausage.

I was wondering if anyone here has made Colcannon…a tasty side made with mashed potatoes and cabbage. I used this version the last time I made it.

Colcannon

3-4 lbs Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 2” pieces
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
6 T. butter, divided
2 T. olive oil
2 leeks, sliced in half lengthwise, thinly sliced crosswise
1/2 onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, chopped
4 cups shredded cabbage
1 cup milk
½ cup heavy cream
3 scallions, thinly sliced
1/2 cup chopped parsley

In a large pot cover the potatoes with water and bring to a boil. Reduce and simmer until they are fork tender. Drain.
Meanwhile, while potatoes are cooking; melt 2 tbls butter and the olive oil in a large saucepan. Add onion, garlic and leeks and cook, stirring frequently, until very soft and just beginning to brown around the edges, about 10 minutes. Add the cabbage and cook, stirring constantly, until completely wilted and soft. Season with salt and pepper.

Combine the cabbage mixture, boiled potatoes, milk, cream, remaining butter, scallions, parsley and coarsely mash with a potato masher. Season with salt and pepper.

" It sounds especially appealing to me with corned beef, roasted or grilled pork or sausage. "

Ja wohl!

Also with other types of beef and chicken (to my taste). I can and do eat it plain, which I also do with sauerkraut. Sehr gut! And not high in calories.

@chloebud, we love colcannon, but try not to have it too often due to all the butter and cream. Your recipe is interesting. I'm pretty sure the Irish don't use olive oil and garlic, but they might be tasty additions.

" I'm pretty sure the Irish don't use olive oil and garlic, "

Certainly not in the traditional versions, as far as I know. These were not commonly available in past times that colcannon dates from.

So if the corned beef is something the Irish Americans learned from the Jewish delis, certainly they could have learned olive oil and garlic from the Italian delis....

I believe the Irish have traditionally cooked with ramsons, which I think is a lot like garlic.

I had never heard of ramsons roxsolid, so I had to look it up on Google. Apparently it even grows wild here in Australia, sometimes called crow garlic. Interesting, thanks.

“…but they might be tasty additions.”

Colleen, they are, especially the garlic.👍🏻 Also, the recipe I used came from an Italian cook, so there you go.

Ramps https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allium_tricoccum

I say heck yea to corned beef and cabbage. I don't mind that it is an American dish and not really an Irish one. It's tasty. I have done the more traditionally Irish version with a pork butt a couple times. But not often because I don't tend to have patience to let it brine for days, lol. I should though, the local market has pork butt on sale this week.

When the brisket is on sale, I often like to do a Holiday brisket too. With red wine, tomatoes, and other seasonings. More on the Jewish side of prep than the American- Irish side. If there is a real good sale, I might also do one with some more Latino kick so I can later make some Puerto Rico hash. Amazing with eggs and tortillas :)

I'm another "heck yea!" for corned beef. I like the flat cut best, they are $5.99 a pound here, points are $4.99 but are fattier. I have a small local meat market that makes the best mustard glaze and I use that for the corned beef and I often just put it in the crockpot. The problem with the crockpot is that the meat often just shreds into pieces instead of nice slices for sandwiches later.

Like Chloebud, I like my cabbage and potatoes turned into Colcannon but my all time favorite use for corned beef is hash. I like the hash better than the original meal.

As for ethnicity, I'm Irish/Pottwatomie, with a dose of French Canadian/Scottish/who-the-heck-even-knows. I refuse to have DNA testing from any of those companies because it does not matter to me and if any of the insurance companies want to know my genetic tendencies they'll just have to work at it, LOL. I'm just as likely to attend a local Octoberfest or Pulaski Days or Highland Games or Cristkindl Market as I am to celebrate St. Patrick's Day. It's all just a good excuse to have a good time, get out and do something fun, try some good food and maybe experience something new to me. My mind is wide open when it comes to trying new food. My cardiologist says maybe I'm a bit too enthusiastic about that and I tell him that I'm just an over-achiever, LOL.

Annie

Another sauce option for corned beef. Like the Horseradish Cream Sauce I posted, this one also makes a lot but easy to cut back.

Mustard Cream Sauce

Makes about 3 1/4 Cups

2 T. butter
2 T. flour
2 cups broth from cooking your corned beef and vegetables
1 cup heavy cream
1 T. prepared horseradish sauce (or more, to taste)
2 T. whole grain mustard (or Dijon mustard)
2 T. fresh chives, minced

To make the roux: Melt the butter in small sauté pan, then slowly stir in the flour and cook over low heat for 30-60 seconds, stirring constantly.

To finish the sauce: In a small pot, bring the stock, cream, horseradish and mustard to a low boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and slowly add the flour/butter, a little at a time, until the sauce is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Stir in the chives.

As I said, I make Hollandaise (so easy in the microwave :-D) and add a good dollop of seeded or unseeded Dijon mustard. Stole the idea from a French chef who had a restaurant here- he had a MOF award (think Joel Robichon and Paul Bocuse) and his food was fabulous. Click on the "MOF" to find out what that entails :-)