Best Corned Beef and Cabbage in Rockford Illinois Area

St. Patrick's Day celebrations will take place this upcoming weekend throughout northern Illinois and the Chicagoland area.

Johnny Vincent

As we get closer to March 17, some popular Rockford restaurants add corned beef and cabbage to their menu, symbolizing the rich cultural Irish heritage.

But how did this combo become the go-to dish for St. Patrick's Day?

Why is St Patrick's Day Celebrated with Corned Beef and Cabbage

Back in the 1600s over in Ireland, corned beef was like the VIP of meats, getting shipped off to England and beyond. But back home, beef was pricey, so the Irish kept it simple with bacon for their St. Paddy's feast.

Fast forward to the 1800s when Irish folks started landing on American shores, especially in places like New York and Boston. They found out that corned beef was easier to get and cheaper than bacon, so they swapped it out.

Canva

And just like that, corned beef and cabbage became the star of Irish-American cuisine and a must-have on St. Patrick's Day menus.

Best Restaurants for Corned Beef and Cabbage in Rockford Area

In Rockford, just like in cities all over America, serving up corned beef and cabbage on St. Patrick's Day is like a big ol' group hug, bringing folks together to celebrate Irish culture and chow down on some delicious grub.

So this upcoming weekend, let's raise a glass to tradition and dig into a plateful of history at 13 of the Best Restaurants in the Rockford Area for Corned Beef and Cabbage:

Best Corned Beef and Cabbage in Rockford Illinois

A popular Irish dish that is served during St. Patrick's Day celebrations, we found the best restaurants in Rockford Illinois that serve Corned Beef and Cabbage.

Gallery Credit: Johnny Vincent

LOOK: Best Beers From Every State

To find the best beer in each state and Washington D.C., Stacker analyzed January 2020 data from BeerAdvocate, a website that gathers user scores for beer in real-time. BeerAdvocate makes its determinations by compiling consumer ratings for all 50 states and Washington D.C. and applying a weighted rank to each. The weighted rank pulls the beer toward the list's average based on the number of ratings it has and aims to allow lesser-known beers to increase in rank. Only beers with at least 10 rankings to be considered; we took it a step further to only include beers with at least 100 user rankings in our gallery. Keep reading to find out what the best beer is in each of the 50 states and Washington D.C.

Gallery Credit: Angela Underwood