And After All, You're (Sadly Not) My Wonderwall

THE IRISH PUB
839 Seventh Avenue (at 54th Street)
New York, NY 10019

I can't remember who told me that Oasis' favorite bar in New York City was The Irish Pub on Seventh Avenue. It's like being told that Robert Pollard from Guided By Voices' favorite restaurant in the city is La Mela in Little Italy. Urban music legend? Who knows. I've been to The Irish Pub a few times over the past few years. During the World Cup or any major futbol event, Europeans are practically pouring out of the bar at any given time of day.

The bar used to be a small, dingy pub with light wooden paneling filling every inch of wall space. It was a little dark and hidden, but that was part of its charm. I'm not sure when they renovated the place, but the new Irish Pub is massive! I hate to say it, but it's lost a lot of that old charm it once had. I suppose it was bound to happen. I mean, the bar is in Midtown on Seventh Avenue, surrounded by tons of major tourist hotels. It definitely beats some of the hotel bars in the neighborhood.

A few Saturdays ago was the first time our Kennedy's crew got together after its closing in January. I'll admit, it felt a little strange in the beginning. All of us were pretty much sitting in the same spots we'd take over at Kennedy's, but it still felt like we were cheating on our pub. The weirdness did wear off eventually. Obviously we closed down the bar a little after 4am. I used to think that as long as I had my drinking buddies, we could hang out at any bar. And while the bartenders at The Irish Pub were very nice and knew how to take care of us (points for asking if I wanted ice in my Magners - Connolly's didn't do that), it just wasn't the same. I want to feel like I can party with not only my friends, but also the bartenders. Sadly that wasn't happening this Saturday night.

Don't get me wrong. We had a blast! The boys took over the jukebox like always, and we sang and danced like crazy. And so the search continues.