Paddy in Philly Part 2

In a previous post I wrote about my trip to the Atlantic City location of The Irish Pub. Even though their Irish whiskey offerings were on the slim side, I gave them overall
high marks due to the bar’s outstanding décor and craic. The 2 Philadelphia locations of The Irish Pub do not rate so highly in this writer’s opinion. I’ll start with the 20th and Walnut location. This place did nothing for me. The Irish whiskey (and beer) selection was just as limited as the AC location, but without the atmosphere to save it. The place seemed generic and colorless; I’ve been to several Bennigans with more character. The music was ridiculously loud. I know I’m an old-fashioned curmudgeon, but seriously, does a local-style pub with all of 25 patrons on a Wednesday night need to crank the jukebox to ear-splitting levels? People were literally yelling at each other to be heard. I’ve been in the bar business for awhile, and energy is not something a bar can magically create just by pumping the decibel level to “10.” Inch the volume up as the crowd gets bigger, otherwise, let people have a civilized conversation for the love of all that is good and right. After all, an Irish pub should encourage conversation and the “talking of a little treason.” The only incident of note that occurred here was that a drunken patron told me that his buddy was in Rocky. This guy told that his friend was in a scene, and the friend proudly acknowledged his contribution to celluloid posterity by drunkenly nodding and slurring something I couldn’t make out. I’m sure I said something polite and non-committal while making sure that I was moving in the opposite direction. This was a situation that almost anyone who has ever been to a bar has experienced. You ask yourself “what is it about me that makes this drunk person feel the need to approach me with outlandish nonsense?” You find yourself at a bar, not doing anything to draw attention to yourself, and suddenly you have a drunken stranger giving you the lowdown on a subject you couldn’t give a damn about. I will say that these situations are usually the good for a story, and the bar scene would be poorer without unsolicited, drunken conversation. Just par for the course. Aside from this encounter, my impression of The Irish Pub on 20th was wholly unremarkable and underwhelming. I give it a C, it’s not really a bad place, just not that good.
My experience at the 12th and Walnut location of The Irish Pub was certainly the most satisfying of the evening. The place was more spacious than its 20th street sister, and the selection was better, too. I had the choice of both Red Breast and Tullamore 12 (I opted for the 12, mostly because I can’t get it in Delaware) in addition to the usual suspects I’ve mentioned before. This was the best pub of the 3 I had visited, but still not the equal of its AC sister. Alas, the craic was still not in evidence (say that phonetically to someone about a bar and see what kind of looks you get). The place had the Irish tchotckes (my personal favorite an “Al Smith for President” poster), but it didn’t have the feel. Everything was too orderly, the décor didn’t have the endearingly cluttered look of the Atlantic City location. Even thought there was a respectable crowd there, the atmosphere had that polarized, high school cafeteria feel (happy hour yuppies here, drink special-seeking college kids over here, hipster, craft beer types over there). The place wasn’t bad, but I just can’t see myself going back unless I happened to be nearby and really needed an eye-opener, and didn’t want to drive any further. Lest you think I’m being rashly judgmental, I think most of us know that a pub’s criac factor is readily apparent. I consider myself a good judge of pubs, like some people are good judges of character. The first impression is usually the right one; what seems like a good bar is usually a good bar, and vice versa. I’ll give this location of The Irish Pub a B-, decent enough but nothing special.
None of the places I visited on my recent trip to Philly seemed like they were good Irish pubs. But Philly has plenty of other bars on offer; good places like the spots I visited last Saint Patrick’s Day. While this most recent trip may not have borne criac-laden fruit, I’m sure that future trips to Philly will provide me with more positive things to write about. Of course, suggestions are always welcome. Help me out, dear readers! Let me know what I’m missing. Post in the comments section or better yet; e-mail me with suggestions at paddythepublican@gmail.