Exciting Happenings for Fall!

As your neighborhood Irish bistro, Cork's is happy to announce several upcoming events for you to keep on your calendar this Fall. Make sure you follow Cork's on Facebook and Twitter to stay up-to-date on all the latest news and happenings!

1. New Menu
We roll out our new fall menu this week! Check our Facebook page for pictures and more information about the new items.

2. Live Music
Cork's is continuing our commitment to the local live music scene, in that we will be offering live music every Thursday. Our Fall line-up is already squared away, so please check our Facebook page regularly for updates on events and happenings.

2. Know your Cork's Contest
How well do you know the people behind Cork's? Each week we will be featuring a different staff member. We will post fun facts about the selected member on Facebook as well as tweet facts via Twitter. Guests are encouraged to start conversations with their servers, bartenders, and even hosts about the clues and try to figure out which staff member is being highlighted. The first person to post the correct staff member to our Facebook page wins a gift certificate!

3. I'm With Leprechaun - Begins October 1st!
Facebook fans are encouraged to post their best picture that includes themselves and a leprechaun of their choosing. Other fans are then asked to vote on their favorite picture. The picture with the most votes will be announced at the Cork's Halloween Bash and will win a big ole' gift certificate (in addition to infinite Cork's fame).

4. Trivia Mafia continues every Wednesday with our Love Your Bartender Special!
Each Wednesday, our resident bartender extraordinaire, Savannah, rolls out one of her fabulous favorite concoctions at a great price for that evening. Then, Trivia Mafia shows up at 8 to get the party started! Cork's throws in gift certificates for the first and second place trivia winners each week!

We can't wait to see you this fall! Stop in and say hello, or feel free to throw some Facebook salutations on our wall!

  Follow Cork's on Twitter

 Follow Cork's on Facebook

Slainte!

Concrete and Grass Music Fest

Calling all Twin Cities music fans! Support local sounds with the Concrete and Grass Music Festival. Running through today at Mears Park, the festival celebrates the opening of performance season and features a variety of music types.

Headliners included Dessa, Communist Daughter, the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra and more!

Today's Line-Up for the rest of the afternoon:

Saturday Sept 11th

Main Stage:

4:00 SPCO 
6:30 Communist Daughter
8:30 Suicide Commandos 

Acoustic Stage

5:00 Moses Oakland 
7:30 Young Relics 

Come on out! It's a beautiful day to enjoy an outdoor music festival!

MORE INFO

A picture's worth a thousand bites!

Megan Conniff expounded on the shift in food photography from being more heavily styled to being more realistic in her blog post from today, Picturing the Perfect Meal. (http://smartblogs.com/restaurants/2010/09/03/picturing-the-perfect-meal-trends-in-food-marketing/)

Conniff indicated that many restaurants (and food photographers) were subsequently moving to a "what you see is what you get" mentality when it came to representing their dishes. This goes directly along the lines of stimulating clients' palettes before they even sit down at your restaurant by enticing their appetites with good visual images of your product. 

Not only is this a good way to get guests in the door, but it also goes a long way in pushing for repeat business when showing guests all of the different (and delicious!) options available to them. Remember, even though the trend is to more realistic images, you still need to take (or have taken) quality, styled photographs of the dishes you would like to feature. (This fully assumes that your chef is already handling plating with some semblance of artistry). 

One necessary place for good product images remains your restaurant's website. Use mainstay (this is what we're famous for) dishes and incorporate these images on your website. Another great option is to include product images when you convey messages via social media. 

Facebook is a fantastic example, in that you are able to email pictures of your daily specials directly to your Facebook account. For our picture of our Chicken Cordon Blue pasta special, we simply added the caption in the Subject field and emailed the picture to our special Facebook upload address. 

 http://www.facebook.com/?ref=logo#!/photo.php?pid=7086982&fbid=471136385258&id=273930965258

Twitpic is another great tool, in that you are able to share your pictures via Twitter in real time. 

Honestly, with all of the great buzz about social media, having a presence and getting your guests hungry is worth the time and expense related to obtaining some quality food photographs for your restaurant. 

Fun in the Cities this Week

As you venture into the cities this week (to visit your favorite neighborhood Irish Pub, of course), you could check out any of the following awesome activities and bide your time until the long weekend. To help you out, we've offered a suitable Cork's menu pairing for each event. 

Monday, Aug. 30: Seniors & Kids Day at the State Fair - http://www.mnstatefair.org/tickets_discounts/admission.html

- Pair with Cork's Funnel Fries (Funnel cake sticks sprinkled with powdered sugar). 

Tuesday, Aug. 31: Lady Gaga at the Xcel Energy Center - http://www.xcelenergycenter.com/events/detail.jsp?month=8&year=2010&day=31&event_id=865

- Pair with a Cork's Black N Blue Cosmo (watch out for Paparazzi).

Wednesday, Sept. 1: The Science Museum's Big Backyard - http://www.smm.org/bigbackyard/

- Pair with Petite Steak Burgers followed by a Hot Fudge Brownie Sundae...(mini golf sure works up an appetite)!

Thursday, Sept. 2: The Beatles! A One-Night Stand in the Heartland - http://www.minnesotahistorycenter.org/exhibits/beatles-one-night-stand-heartland

- Pair with the Scottish Eggs! Both a Cork's (and a U.K. favorite)!

Then, Happy Labor Day weekend! 

Slainte!

Cork's Super Star - Lavera

This week, our employee of the week is Lavera! You can find her behind the bar at our nightly Manager's Reception. Even if she hasn't seen you in over a year, Lavera will remember what you like to drink. 

Not only in possession of a wonderful memory, Lavera is also friendly, outgoing, and a great team player! She happily pitches in to help whenever needed (even if it's outside her "job description").

Stop by and see Lavera this week and witness a superstar in action!

Irish Fair 2010

As an Irish Pub and all, we get pretty excited when the annual Irish Fair of Minnesota rolls around. Starting today, the Irish Fair runs all weekend. Great music, good food, dancing, and more, the Irish Fair is open to the public.

Admission is completely free to get into the festival on Harriet Island, and there should be plenty to see and check out while you're there. For a complete list of all activities and events, check out the festival's schedule of events: http://www.irishfair.com/schedule/index.php.

Our chef will even be demoing Cork's famous Scottish Eggs (I know, I know, Scottish Eggs at the Irish Festival...) at 1pm on Saturday on the Irish on Grand Pub Stage.

So, if the weather holds, bring the whole family down for some good, clean, Irish fun. (Make sure you stop in at Cork's for a pint on your way)! Slainte!

Mother's Day is just around the Corner!
We all have a special MOTHER to celebrate -- whether she is a wife, mother, grandmother or dear friend. We want to help you celebrate that wonderful person in your life by offering the most spectacular champagne brunch in the Twin Cities. Featuring a local three piece jazz trio and free flowing champagne and mimosas. The food is an extensive selection of the best of breakfast, lunch and dinner - and our chefs carve up Sterling Silver prime rib, juicy turkey and smoked honey ham.
Reservations fill quickly so make yours today!