Category Archives: Irish

Duffy’s Irish Pub

Posted on by Hungry in DC

** “Need a Drink” Monday Special **

Location: U Street

Summary: With plenty of great drink specials and superb wings, the last person Duffy’s is trying to impress is you

Tucked away from the more popular area of the U Street strip, Duffy’s Irish Pub is an unassuming and uncommoningly common bar that gives you exactly what you need when you come into a bar: great drink specials and a decent menu without the hype or the pretentious atmosphere of many other bars in DC. This is not the place you bring someone to be impressed. This is the place you bring someone to have a good time with buddies.

The beer menu isn’t the most expansive in the area, but a library of brands isn’t why you walked in the door of Duffy’s. The available beers range from the lightest of light to local DC favorites, each usually with a special attached to it on one night or another. The food menu is what you would expect from most booze-focused establishments with a few notable exceptions, like the magnificent wings (the chesapeake rub and hot sauce combo is recommended) or the occasionally available Irish burrito. Although you may be tempted to try Duffy’s Monster Burger, a 1/2 lb. burger with bacon, grilled onions and two grilled cheeses serving as a bun, we suggest you save yourself the trouble, the combination of four slices of bread giving you a doughier mouthful than anyone would want in a sandwich.

While we have tried to list below all of the many different specials Duffy’s offers, your best bet is to show up on Tuesday (1/2 price wings) or any gameday. The great thing about this place is not the menu or even the specials. The reason we’ll be coming back is that once you walk through the door you might as well be in your best buddy’s garage, the casual atmosphere and take-it-for-what-it-is attitude refreshing in a city full of bars that bend over backwards to convince you on how to best enjoy yourself.

What’s the deal?

Weekly Specials

  • Tuesday – 1/2 price wings
  • Wednesday – Trivia Night
  • Thursday – 1/2 price fried pickles
  • Sunday – $2 tall boys after 10pm

Mon – Fri, 4pm – 7pm

  • House Wines by the Glass $3
  • $3 Tall Boys PBR | Schlitz | High Life
  • $3 16oz Draft Miller Lite
  • $4 16oz Draft Sam and Sam Seasonal
  • $3 Bottles of Miller Lite | Budweiser
  • $10 Pitchers Miller Lite and PBR
  • $5 Jim Beam and coke
  • $5 16oz Hurricanes
  • $4 Rail Drinks
  • 1/2 Price Chicken or Veggie Quesadillas

All Night

  • $10 Pitchers of Miller Lite and PBR
  • $16 Buckets of PBR and Schlitz Tall Boys (5)
  • $3 Natty Boh
  • $20 Pitchers of Sam Seasonal or Boston Lager
  • $20 Pitchers of Chocolate City Copper or ESB

NFL Specials every Sunday, Monday and Thursday During Games

  • $18 Heineken Pitchers
  • $18 Blue Moon Pitchers
  • $10 Miller Lite Pitchers
  • $16 Buckets (5) of 16oz aluminum bottles of Miller lite or Coors Light

College football Specials All Day Saturday

  • $18 Heineken Pitchers
  • $18 Blue Moon Pitchers
  • $10 Miller Lite Pitchers

Duffy's Irish Pub on Urbanspoon

Star and Shamrock Tavern & Deli

Posted on by Hungry in DC

Location: H St NE

Price: $$

Rating: 4 out of 5

Summary: Hundreds of years of Irish and Jewish culture collaborate together to create one of the best places in DC to both cause and cure a hangover

It is important to start by saying we never intended to review Star and Shamrock Tavern & Deli. After the advice of a friend and a haunting hunger for corn beef, we made our way to the H St NE bar. We have been firm believers that when going into a restaurant or bar, you have to set your expectations accordingly. Don’t expect $50 steak when you walk into a deli. Don’t expect the half price happy hour food at the local bar to impress. We went to Star and Shamrock looking for a reuben and a pint. What we were reminded of is that good food is good food and can come from anywhere, even in an unusual form.

Our first choice was the Fried mac and cheese, macaroni and cheese frozen, matzo breaded and fried. Accompanied by a Tabasco-ranch dipping sauce, it had to be some of the better fried food we’ve experienced. The transformation from frozen to creamy was remarkably well done and made us think about expanding our own food preparation styles. Not to be outdone, our second fried selection of Rueben egg rolls also bent the rules of physics by not tasting like a greased abomination. Sauerkraut and corn beef wrapped in a rice wrapper and fried, we had seen examples of this kind of appetizer before, but never done well. The corn beef and sauerkraut still held their form and integrity without any greasy aftertaste. Star and Shamrock boasts to make these by hand daily and we can’t find a reason to doubt it. Our final starter was the Kosher kornies, Hebrew National cocktail franks wrapped in dough and fried. Accompanied with one of their homemade potato latkes (this became a theme during our meal), these were like any typical croissant wrapped franks, but that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.

Once we looked at the menu (there were sandwiches and specialty sandwiches), there was little effort in deciding things that we wanted to order. Our first sandwich was the namesake of the restaurant, The Star and Shamrock, hot pastrami, corned beef, and chopped chicken liver stacked together with one of their homemade potato latkes, swiss cheese, russian dressing, and finally two pieces of rye bread to hold this monster together. Easily one of the better sandwiches we’ve had, the different meats worked harmoniously together and brought out a combination of flavors that paired surprisingly well with the latke’s crispy texture. The flavor of the swiss was largely lost with the rest of the filling, but was invaluable in cementing the many ingredients together in the sandwich. The rye bread did its best to keep the Star and Shamrock from busting at the seams, although it was a nearly impossible task. While we would almost never think of going to a pub to cure a hangover, this sandwich gave enough reason for us to come back for that very senario.

Yet, even The Star and Shamrock couldn’t compare to the behemoth that was our second sandwich. The Latke Madness was a combination of three potato pancakes, a generous amount of hot corned beef, griddled sauerkraut, swiss cheese, and russian dressing. Instead of bread, this sandwich relied on latkes and a few deadly sins to produce one of the more exceptional combinations of meat and potatoes we’ve eaten. Like the previous sandwich, the corn beef was savory, the sauerkraut was crisp, and the latkes were house made.This was the kind of sandwich that tasted so good that we knew it was terrible for our bodies. While we would be hard pressed to order this again, it is only because you can eat something this only once in a blue moon. If you have the appetite and enough confidence in your own self worth, we recommend you mark this sandwich on your list of things to eat or at least share.

The histories of the Irish people and those of the Jewish religion are full of strife and hardship. It would be poetic to say that Star and Shamrock somehow managed to rise above those historic pains and the differences between the two cultures to create something for the whole of DC to enjoy. As it turns out, the restaurant was simply the creation of a guy from Jersey who married an Irish girl and wanted a method to feed his own culinary desires. When you walk into this pub, keep in mind that Star and Shamrock bills itself as a “tavern and deli” and you won’t be disappointed. With a great beer selection, live music, and many weekly specials, Star and Shamrock is a great choice whether you need a craving for corn beef, need a quality pint, or just have a haunting hangover.

Star and Shamrock on Urbanspoon

Againn

Posted on by Hungry in DC

Location: Downtown

Price: $$$

Rating: 4 out of 5

Summary: The best non-pub pub you will visit in DC

In the spirit of disclosure, we had been to Againn before for lunch and enjoyed it thoroughly; the house-made corned beef sandwich is a treasure to behold and they have a foreign draft list worthy of any pub. The thought of a Gaelic-named restaurant bringing integrity to Irish-inspired cuisine in DC made us eager to taste their menu again. Yet, when we sat down for dinner, our server explained the theme behind Againn and made no mention of an Irish inspiration. He said that it was a contemporary gastropub with a selection of over 100 different kinds of whiskies and a menu of traditional pub dishes re-imagined.

We started off with the Pumpkin Soup, pureed pumpkin and squash that was thinned out with milk before adding sage and brown butter. The soup was sweet, but not so sweet that it makes you think you’re drinking a pumpkin pie. The sugar complimented the pumpkin puree well and the addition of squash kept the soup grounded. Warm and hearty, the flavors of the soup are all very familiar and can get tiring after a while if you’re not a huge fan of sweets. Still, we would order it again, but possibly in a smaller quantity.

Our appetizer was the Marinated Olives, an assortment of seeded olives sitting in a bowl of olive oil that had been seasoned with orange zest, rosemary and fennel. The dish was really nothing more than a bowl olive oil with a generous amount of olives. If you don’t LOVE olives, then do not order this.

The first entree was the Braised Veal Breast, a healthy piece of meat sitting on a whole grain mustard spaetzle, red wine braised torpedo onions and a small pool of veal broth. The cut of meat was very tender, the slow cooked beef kept together only by a succulent but thin layer of fat. Well marinated and expertly braised, the veal’s savory juices worked harmoniously with the torpedo onions it sat on. The whole grain spaetzle extended the life of the flavors and did well to soak up the veal broth and mixed liquid, offering a slight crunch and not turning to mush in the mouth. As it should be, the veal was the prima donna of the dish while the extras performed admirably in their supporting roles.

Hoping for a lighter dish to compliment our heavy veal, we ordered the Local Rockfish, a generous piece of fish sitting on top of beluga lentils, spinach and celery. Topping the rockfish was a slight swiss chard and a significant amount of romesco sauce made from pureed red and yellow bell peppers, paprika, and butter. Although we were first put off by the large amount of red paste, the thick cut of delicate and tremendously flavorful rockfish had plenty of area for the romesco sauce to compliment, opening up the flavors of the fish with its smoky, peppered tang. We would have preferred a more balanced proportion of lentils to spinach, but the sides did well to extend the life of the heavy fish. While we had expected a lighter dish, we still enjoyed the sleek and well spiced fish.

Wisely, we saved room for dessert and indulged in two choices. Our first choice was the Sticky Toffee Pudding, a toffee cake drizzled with a toffee sauce and toped with a homemade stout ice cream. Although intrigued by the stout ice cream, we quickly realized that it was not best to sample it by itself. The flavor was different and not altogether distasteful, but it shone its real purpose when combined with the toffee sauce and soaked cake. Even though it was soaked with sweet liquid, the cake still held its form well and tasted magnificently light. The toffee mixed with the tinge of the stout ice cream gave us a treat that was both familiar and new.

Our second choice was the Brioche Bread Pudding, a recipe that our server informed us changed us almost daily. This edition had the taste of a banana custard cake and held a delicate texture despite holding its form. Much like our previous dessert, this one was also soaked in a sweet caramel sauce and had a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top. The brioche bread pudding combined with the melted carmel and fresh ice cream was a true treat and guaranteed a return trip to the restaurant.

Againn’s focus on the re-interpretation of pub fare hit the mark where so many other restaurants have failed. Many establishments turn out to be bad jokes, hollow impersonations or ignorant caricatures. Instead of being defined by any one cartooned culture, Againn elevates the menu of the generic, local pub and serves as an example for how even common, peasant food can be nobly reconstructed into fine cuisine.