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.

Just One More, I Swear

CONNOLLY'S PUB AND RESTAURANT
43 W. 54th Street (between 5th and 6th Avenues)
New York, NY 10019

Let me start by saying how awesome my co-workers are. I work with some of the most amazing people in the world, a handful of whom are truly some of my best friends. So when Katie wanted "a" drink after work, how could I refuse? We talked Ashley and the other Katie into tagging along, too. The bar: Connolly's on 54th, which is just a few blocks from our office. We'd all been to the bar once before in December and had a blast.

Two of my favorite things about a good Irish pub: the bardenter will always put a napkin underneath your drink and he'll always give you a clean glass for every drink you order. Graham at Connolly's did just that, not to mention the minute we walked in and saw a few empty bar stools at the front of the bar, Graham steered us towards the end of the bar. It took a minute to understand why, but drunkest man alive (mind you, it was 7pm on a Thursday) was sitting next to those empty chairs. Good looking out, Graham!

Ashley was smart and left after one beer. Katie, Katie, and myself... not so smart. I'm not complaining. I love that look of approval that your friends give you when you ask, "Should we get another?" That happened a few more times. Add to that Graham not understanding the phrase, "This is my last one, seriously," and you have a recipe for an awesome Thursday night. At one point, I even asked Graham for half a pint. Silly me... when I got my pint glass back, it was completely full. Around 1am, we finally had to put our feet down and get out of there! If only because we'd have to be at work a few hours later.

All in all, Connolly's is great. I'm sure we'll definitely be back. The lack of regular patrons on top of completely random dudes in suits is really its only downfall, but that's expected given the neighborhood. That's the one thing I really loved about Kennedy's - on any given night, I'd run into at least two or three bar friends just hanging out. But Connolly's, hands down, is ten times better than having to go to Heartland Brewery or another chain restaurant/bar in Midtown for after-work drinks.