What to Eat (and Drink) This Weekend

Lamplighter’s Finnegan’s Wake via Instagram / Notch’s Suspect Device via Website / Widowmaker Donut Shop Stout via @nsdistro on Instagram

Delicious Stout

Guinness is good for you. Find a pint probably everywhere—especially at Boston’s top Irish pubs, and any place you venture for live Irish music this weekend. If you’re looking to keep things dark and local, Lamplighter Brewing Co.’s taproom-only Irish stout, Finnegan’s Wake, returned this week. The bold, 5-percent beer is nitro-poured “to accentuate smooth and creamy flavors of coffee and chocolate, akin to proper Guinness,” per the Cambridge company. Notch also has a taproom-only session stout called Suspect Device on this weekend. “It initially tastes like a straight on Dry Irish Stout, but then things start to pop up on your tongue and aromatics start to change—a hint of oak, some very faint rum, and the drying but totally in balance acidity,” writes brewmaster Chris Lohring on the company blog. Heading out to a bar? Look for new brews from Braintree’s Widowmaker, including Donut Shop Stout, now on draft in the Boston area. Speaking of “donuts”… The first-ever coffee stout made with Dunkin’ Donuts beans is back on draft this weekend at Worcester’s Wormtown taproom, in honor of the brewery’s eighth anniversary. And finally, if you’re ordering a stout simply for the St. Paddy’s Day instagram, head to Tamo, which has a 51-ounce Guinness chalice for two on the menu through Saturday, March 17.

Tenzin Samdo creates a cocktail with Le Whaf at Café ArtScience. / Photo provided by ArtScience

Delicious Whiskey

There’s way more to Irish whiskey than just spiked coffee and shots. But Irish coffee and shots are classics for a reason—they’re delicious. Head to Kendall Square for interesting variations on both: Catalyst always has Cold Irish Coffee on its brunch menu, a glass of chilled espresso stirred up with Irish whiskey and creme de cacao, topped with fresh, softly whipped cream. At ArtScience, bar director Tenzin Samdo has a very ArtScience-y take on the Guinness-and-whiskey boilermaker this weekend. Choose from Glendalough, Slane, Red Breast, or Prizefight whiskeys to come with a stout-flavored cloud created by owner David Edwards’s invention, Le Whaf. There’s also a shepherd’s pie cloud variation (!) available this weekend.

Bambara bloody Mary. / Photo by Scott Gardner

Madness!

All this college basketball igniting your competitive spirit? That’s the case at Branch Line, which is in the midst of App Madness; as well as at Cutty’s; and over at NBC Boston, which is hosting a Pizza Madness bracket. Bambara (at Cambridge’s Hotel Marlowe) is also getting in on the action: Mary Madness returns this Sunday afternoon, when bartenders from Bar Mezzana, Eastern Standard, Little Donkey, Trina’s Starlite Lounge, and more local restaurants tip off with their best bloody Mary rendition. Guests can sample each drink and score their favorites, bracket-style. The $30 ticket also includes game-day bites, and all proceeds benefit local food rescue organization, Lovin’ Spoonfuls. Another March promotion that’s not a competition, but still madness: In honor of its 40th year, fine-dining stalwart L’Espalier is offering 30 percent off lunch and dinner all month long. And oh, yeah—make sure to vote in Round 3 of Boston magazine’s Massachusetts Malt Madness.

Basic Batch Donuts. / Photo by Brian Samuels Photography

Doughnuts with All the Sprinkles

Pastry chef Christina Larson continues her Basic Batch Doughnuts pop-up, this time outside her home kitchen of Bar Mezzana. This Saturday, Larson is bringing flavors like Show Me Your Shamrocks (vanilla or chocolate-frosted doughnuts with “all the sprinkles”), Booze & Snooze (with maple bourbon glaze and candied pecans), and Dem Buns Dough (cinnamon roll doughnut) to Monumental Cupcakes in Jamaica Plain. Plus, free doughnut holes while you wait!

$3.50 each, Saturday, March 17, 10 a.m.-noon or until sellout, Monumental Cupcakes, 36 South St., Jamaica Plain, Facebook.

Chef Alex Crabb and fried chicken and a biscuit at Asta. / Photo provided

Fried Chicken and a Biscuit

Save room for more carbs. The Asta “distraction” Fried Chicken & Biscuit is back on Saturdays in March (and maybe beyond??). Expect some other other menu items, too—the past couple weekends have seen cookies, brisket sandwiches, and more.

Saturdays, noon-2 p.m., Asta, 47 Massachusetts Ave., Boston, 617-585 9575, astaboston.com, Instagram.

Strip T’s in Watertown. / Photo by Rex Dean

Sourdough Pancakes, Red Flannel Hash Browns, and Naka’s Michelada

For the first time in 30-plus years, Watertown mainstay Strip-T’s officially does Sunday brunch now, courtesy of new chefs Peter and Mareena McKenzie. Savory dishes include red flannel hash browns with XO sauce; the Mother & Daughter fried-chicken-egg sandwich; steak and eggs with smashed fingerlings and blue cheese cultured butter; and more. Pastry chef Mareena has daily doughnuts; and other sweets like stuffed French toast with chamomile ricotta, apple butter, and clotted cream. From the bar, try Naka’s michelada, with Genesee cream ale, tomato, lime, chili, and salt.

Sundays, 10 a.m.-3 p.m., 93 School St., Watertown, 617-923-4330, stripts.com.