The Buzz: Golden Ace Inn Does St. Pat’s in Style

Seasoned eastside watering hole Golden Ace Inn doesn’t try to compete with all of the stylish bars and microbreweries that have arrived on Indy’s drinking scene in the past, oh, 81 years. The Golden Ace—of the Braunschweiger sandwich and the vintage cash register that only goes up to $5—has kept its tab open since 1934, when Irish immigrants John and Ann McGinley started the East Washington Street business four months after Prohibition ended. “They were in their 30s, and they weren’t pub owners over in Ireland,” says Jimmy McGinley, a third-generation descendant of the original owners. “The way they figured out what beers to order was by watching the beer trucks roll down Washington Street. If there was a surge of Pabst trucks, that’s what they would order.”

This month, the bar celebrates a tradition as old as itself, as it hosts one of the city’s biggest St. Patrick’s Day blowouts, a party that spills out of the bar and into the adjacent 60-foot tent featuring live Irish music (including an act flown in from Ireland) and, of course, plenty of Pabst Blue Ribbon. “Expect to hear Irish music, and don’t be surprised to see some politicians and a priest,” says McGinley, an attorney who grew up helping out at the bar but had to pause before answering the soft-lobbed question: Is the Golden Ace the place to be on St. Patrick’s Day? “I guess so. Honestly, I have never gone anywhere but here.” 2533 E. Washington St., 317-632-0696, goldenaceinn.com. The party starts at 10 a.m.