So you did it. You made it through the weekend festivities and are now staring down the barrel of the work week ahead. Your head and heart are both pounding and your stomach feels like it just survived the spin cycle. What you need is a cure for that St. Paddy's Day hangover. You need comfort food and cheap pub grub. Relax - your hangover cure- is just around the corner.

Highland Kitchen, Green Street, and Trina's Starlite Lounge are a formidable and friendly trio of bar-restaurants that know their patrons and neighborhoods: a mix of foodie/drinkie types, older working class neighbors, and hipster students on a budget who appreciate dinner and drink for under $30.

If what you need is to sweat it out then head over to Highland Kitchen for a bowl of their Spicy Texas chili and a tall Narragansett for around $11.50 (that includes a healthy slice of skillet cornbread and chili fixins). Get your greens in by throwing on an order of tangy, crunchy Buffalo fried brussel sprouts with a silky, homemade Great Hill blue cheese dressing ($5.95.) Highland, with Chef Mark Romano at the helm and a killer, roots-Americana jukebox, serves up affordable, Southern-inspired soul food which just seems to be getting better and better. Their Fried Chicken and Tiki Mondays have been popular; The Boston Globe recently proclaimed this was their "all-around favorite fried chicken."

Nearby newcomer Trina's Starlite Lounge offers a kitsch, shabby chic retro vibe and a playful menu of cheap eats designed to make you smile. A touch of Southern mixed with mid-century American blue collar  "cuisine" and a healthy splash of diner nostalgia has inspired their $3-$8 hot dogs and burgers menu, including gooey gravy fries ($5), Mac and cheese with Ritz crackers ($9), and daily blue plate specials guaranteed to soak up the last of that green beer and car-bomb cocktail sitting in your stomach. And if you're feeling adventurous (or Southern) you can indulge in their fried chicken and waffles with hot pepper jelly. This fare is not indigestion-proof, but they do offer salads and an entrée or two that won't stop your heart.

Lastly is Taco Night at Green Street, a neighborhood gastro-pub in Central Square. Agreat place to keep in mind this week because on Wednesdays they offer a changing array of $4 tacos, like braised duck, smokey carnitas with pineapple salsa, and grilled Mahi-Mahi with a firey sauce. Recommended is a side of savory fried yuca with spicy aioli and their dangerously smooth version of a Zombie cocktail to round out your three-taco picnic - and all this for 25 bones.

photo courtesy of funnydb.com