This coming St. Patrick's Day, Flanagan's Pub & Grill turns 21. If you are looking for an Irish good time on this festive holiday, they are ready for you. But then, every day is a fine day to go to Flanagan's.

Pub is short for Public Houses, which distinguished them as a place where all were welcome, unlike the more affluent "Private Houses" which charged membership fees. When 19th century British legislation banned pubs it became a point of pride to keep them going in Ireland. Now, "Irish Pub" evokes a welcoming, festive, atmosphere that Flanagan's owners, Doug and Penny, are proud to offer the area.

Taste New York is the state's effort to link consumers to the best products made and grown right here in New York. I decided it was an important mission to showcase one region in New York that really embraces this effort by offering some of the best craft beer made in the state: The Whiteface Region. 

In general, skiers and snowboarders are usually pretty down with craft beer and they're known to frequent brewpubs and craft breweries on a regular basis. This clientele is also supportive of locally made products, so when skiing in different states, they will seek out the craft beer from the regions they are in. 

But, do these mountain town restauranteurs get it? The local gas stations?  The small, independently-owned hotels?

I’m not a history buff, but one thing that’s always fascinated me is the Adirondacks’ place in the world. If you ask the right people, big names get thrown around. Bill Clinton has visited; Melville Dewey, creator of the Dewey decimal system, lived in Lake Placid; and poet Sylvia Plath broke her leg on Mount Pisgah in Saranac Lake while visiting in 1952. The accident reportedly inspired a scene in her only novel, The Bell Jar, wherein Esther Greenwood contemplates suicide on a mountaintop.

Once upon a time, in the late 1920s, Speculator was the location of the most famous boxing training camp in the world. Gene Tunney, world heavyweight champion, trained there during the most momentous time of his career.

Following Tunney's successful acquisition and defense of his championship, such acclaimed boxers as Max Baer, Max Schmeling, Maxie Rosenbloom, Jim Slattery, and Knute Hansen were eager to train there, too.