2nd Annual New York City's Best Corned Beef Contest to Benefit the Families of the Fighting 69th as Half of the Battalion Readies for Redeployment to Afghanistan and Fisher House

2nd Annual New York City's Best Corned Beef Contest to Benefit the Families of the Fighting 69th as Half of the Battalion Readies for Redeployment to Afghanistan and Fisher House

St. Patrick's Day Competition of top New York City restaurants to find the best corned beef

NEW YORK, March 10 /PRNewswire/ -- Twelve of New York's leading restaurants will compete against defending champion Neary's Pub in the Second Official New York City St. Patrick's Day Corned Beef Cook-Off Contest, the highlight of this year's annual St. Patrick's Day Reception. There will be a 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winner in each of the following categories, and an overall Grand Champion.

   Contest Categories    1) Best Corned Beef and Cabbage    2) Best Corned Beef Sandwich    3) Chef's Choice    4) Best Side Dish    5) Most Creative Table Presentation     Participating Establishments    Neary's                Blarney Stone             Donovan's Grill & Tavern    The Kettle Black       McAnn's Bar & Restaurant  Langan's    Murphy & Gonzalez      Blind Pig                 Patrick's Bar    Peter McManus Cafe     Windfall                  Woody McHale's    McKenna's Pub     Host                   Affiliation    George Duran           Host of Food Network's "Ham on the Street"     Judges                 Affiliation    John Dunleavey         Chairman - St. Patrick's Day Parade Committee    Tom Slattery           Chairman - United Restaurant & Tavern Owners of NY    Adrian Flannelly       Host - "Adrian Flannelly Show" and Irish Issues                            Advisor to Mayor Mike Bloomberg    Patricia O'Reilly      Host - Out of Ireland    Lt. Col. Chuck Crosby  Commander - The Fighting 69th    Patricia Mescall       Catering Manager Marriott Marquis Hotel    Brian Andersson        Commissioner - NY Dept. of Records    Paddy McCarthy         Publisher - Irish Examiner USA and Irish                            Connections Magazine    

Seating for the March 12th event is extremely limited and tickets are necessary. Corporate and individual sponsorship, and donation opportunities are still available. Individual donations should be made payable to the Friends of the Fighting 69th and mailed to P.O. Box 7473, FDR Station, New York, NY 10150-7473. Friends of the Fighting 69th is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt public charity. For tickets or information, please visit www.69thfriends.org or call (914) 747-6600, ext. 11.

   Featured entertainment includes:    Celtic Thunder (www.celticthunder.ie)  

A new group and concert special created and produced by Sharon Browne, featuring five male vocalists performing an eclectic mix of songs. The ensemble numbers reflect the power of the soloists, who range in age from 14 to 40 and share a common Celtic heritage. Future television performances include: WNET on March 13th at 8pm and in NBC's coverage of the 2008 New York City Saint Patrick's Day Parade on Monday, March 17th at 11am.

Screaming Orphans (www.screamingorphans.com)

From County Donegal, Ireland, these four sisters have carved a considerable reputation as a captivating live band, performing both traditional Irish and pop rock music. They have recorded with such musical greats as Joni Mitchell, Peter Gabriel, Sinead O'Connor, and the Chieftains, and are currently touring throughout the U.S.

NYC Police Department Emerald Society Pipes (www.nypdpipesanddrums.com)

A permanent fixture in the daily life of the New York City Police Department and New York, the band has performed for all New Yorkers, played for Popes and Presidents, captains of industry and college presidents. In addition, the Band has appeared on numerous television shows and movies including the "Rosie O'Donnell Show," the "Today Show," "Late Night With David Letterman," "State Of Grace," "Copland" and "One Night Stand."

Background

Corned beef and cabbage is as American as the St. Patrick's Day Parade. The New York City St. Patrick's Day Parade was started in 1762 by Irish immigrants and pre-dates our independence as a country. Along with the parade, the "Irish" corned beef and cabbage dinner many consume on St. Patrick's Day is also an American tradition. Both have only recently found their way to Ireland to satisfy the desires of the many tourists seeking this "original fare."

In recognition of this great American dish (with an Irish flare), NYC restaurants and pubs will compete for a variety of prizes. All restaurants are welcome to join the competition and will have their establishment's name displayed on Prudential's 40 by 40 foot LED sign 300 feet above Times Square on St. Patrick's Day. The judges will be prominent figures from the Food Network and the New York City American-Irish community.

The 1st Battalion, 69th Infantry, New York Army National Guard, (known as the "The Fighting 69th" or "Irish Brigade"), which has led the St. Patrick's Day Parade for over 150 years, returned from Iraq in September 2005 after serving in some of the most hostile areas and suffering many casualties. A few days after this coming St. Patrick's Day, half of the 69th will be redeployed to Afghanistan.

Friends of the Fighting 69th was formed in October 2004 to raise awareness of the Fighting 69th's deployment to Iraq and to provide financial support to soldiers and their families during that difficult time overseas. The charity administers trust funds for the 16 surviving children of the nineteen soldiers from the unit who where killed in action in Iraq. For more information, please visit www.69thfriends.org.

Fisher House, a private-public partnership builds "comfort homes" on the grounds of major military and VA medical centers. Annually, Fisher House serves more than 10,000 families, and has made available more than 2 million days of lodging to family members since the program began in 1990. For further information, please visit www.fisherhouse.org.

Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) , a financial services leader with approximately $648 billion assets under management as of December 31, 2007, has operations in the United States, Asia, Europe, and Latin America. Leveraging its heritage of life insurance and asset management expertise, Prudential is focused on helping individual and institutional customers grow and protect their wealth. The company's well-known Rock symbol is an icon of strength, stability, expertise and innovation that has stood the test of time. Prudential's businesses offer a variety of products and services, including life insurance, annuities, retirement-related services, mutual funds, investment management, and real estate services. For more information, please visit www.prudential.com.

Source: Friends of the Fighting 69th

CONTACT: Terrence Tierney of Friends of the Fighting 69th,
+1-646-537-5678; or Lisa M. Iurato of Prudential Financial, Inc.,
+1-973-802-5345

Web site: http://www.69thfriends.org/
http://www.fisherhouse.org/
http://www.prudential.com/

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Profile: International Entertainment