"Honey, I feel like having Irish tonight."
You rarely hear hungry couples utter those words, but judging
from the crowd in Melbourne's Meg O'Malley's a few weeks ago, some
one must've said them.
They sat on benches near the entrance waiting
for a seat in the snugs or perched themselves on stools
at the spacious bar sipping drinks. Of course, they all came for
the authentic Irish pub atmosphere, the effusive camaraderie, and
the well-poured pints, yet to watch them peruse Meg's menu with
lip-smacking anticipation was something of a shock.
To be honest, pub food has a bad reputation. By
its very nature, it emphasizes heartiness
over flavor. Taste buds dulled by successive draughts of ale and
stout aren't generally
picky and merely want something to temporarily mask that mouthful
of hops.
A grumbling stomach swimming in suds doesn't ask for much, and rarely
gets it - and
the more oil its fried in, the better. Great pubs aren't known or
renowned for their
food, but for their distinctive character and the quality of their
gargle. Amazingly,
Meg O'Malleys succeeds in being both a formidable watering hole
and a great place to
eat.
In six short years, Meg's has established itself
as the stronghold of Brevard's Irish
community and the hub of downtown Melbourne's nightlife. Boasting
all the trappings
of a bona fide Irish pub - dark, wooded interior, long bar, Victorian
decorations, tricolors,
and Hibernian memorabilia - Meg's packs people in regularly, regardless
of their heritage.
Like the culture that inspired it, the pub is a little island of
warmth and hospitality
in a sea of faceless, corporate-owned mega bars and grilles.
Meg's is large enough to compete with them, but
its friendly staff
and attention to detail defy the modern adage that "bigger"
has become "worse." The large interior lined with cozy
snugs and tables might smack of impersonal grandeur if it
weren't for the hospitable ambience they've created. With consistent
quality and friendly service, Meg's deserves repeated visits. It
can get busy, but it's
just as easy to have a lonely, lingering pint of Guinness as it
is to imbibe raucously with
a group of friends. Though we'd been for drinks many times, we'd
never had their food
and set out to remedy that on a recent visit.
Concentrating on our selections over a few beers,
we were amazed to see such a
large amount of options. Many of Meg's dishes take traditional Irish
recipes as a
foundation and give them a modern twist. If you think that spells
endless permutations
of potato preparations, you're in for a surprise. Their appetizer
section includes several
standards like wings (1 or 2 lbs. tossed in a choice of garlic teriyaki,
hot pepper sauce,
or Meg's special dry rub served with carrots, celery, and bleu cheese),
fries and Guinness
gravy, clam strips (served with remoulade or chili horseradish),
and chicken tenders
(with either honey stout mustard or Tullamore Dew barbecue sauce),
yet the more inventive
inclusions piqued our interest. Among them are the Ceilteach cabbage
wraps, filled with
ground corned beef, crab and shrimp cakes made with Dublin Bay shrimp,
and the Limerick Castle egg, hard boiled and wrapped in Irish sausage.
If you can't decide, order the Meg O'Trio, a sampling of the egg,
chicken tenders, and the cabbage wraps.
Meg's voluminous salads, like the O'Doherty Beef-n-Bleu
(roast beef stuffed with bleu cheese atop romaine, with olives,
tomatoes, onions, cucumbers, and carrots) are meals unto themselves
as are their rosemary Irish stew and cream of potato-bacon-leek
soup. The recipe of their Irish Parliament bean soup, as the name
suggests, is the same which is served in the Irish Parliament and
in keeping with tradition costs a mere 18 cents. If you're in the
mood for a sandwich, choose from clubs, BLTs, burgers, chicken,
tuna or mahi, or the Kilkenny, corned beef, swiss, cabbage, and
Thousand Island dressing on grilled rye. Traditional pub fare is
represented by Irish stew, corned beef and cabbage, sheperd's pie,
beef and Guinness pie, fish and chips, and bangers and mash (grilled
Irish sausages atop mashed potatoes, served with Guinness gravy,
buttered cabbage, and brown bread).
After the second pint, my companion and I decided
on rosemary-crusted lamb chops and corned beef and cabbage for entrees.
The rare rib chops were oustanding. Fragrant, juicy, and delicately
tender, the meat fell off the bone while the flaky, beautifully
marbled corned beef was the best we've had. Cabbage never tasted
this good. Slathered with rich mustard, the flavor was both tartly
briny and refreshingly soothing. Other main plates include the NY
strip (topped with carmelized onions and bleu cheese sauce), a cod
cobbler (baked in white wine cheese sauce with breadcrumb topping),
shrimp risotto, prime rib, salmon, baby back ribs, and chicken breasts
glazed with Irish whiskey barbecue sauce and layered with rashers
of bacon, carmelized onions, and melted cheddar. Each can be accompanied
by salad and a choice of side items like colcannon, boiled red potatoes,
broccoli, mushrooms, chips (chunky fries), cabbage, or vegetable
slaw. In a fit of inspired gluttony, we chose dessert - Bushmill's
bread pudding bathed in a whiskey cream and fresh raspberry sauce.
We washed down with a warming jolt of Irish coffee, and were on
our way.
As we walked through the crowd, we brushed past
a satiated family heading for the door. The youngish father clasped
his son's hand and leaned down to address him. "Now aren't
you glad I vetoed your Mexican idea?" I overheard him say.
As the boy nodded sleepily, I could see that he was.