Revamped Irish Pub is better than ever

Revamped Irish Pub is better than ever

Revamped Irish Pub is better than ever

By GABRIELLE LAWRENCE

For many years, Lansing’s old Irish Pub was the traditional gathering spot for Sexton High School graduates in the days leading up to Christmas. The place was like us — a bit gritty, deeply connected to the west side and possibly best examined in dim lighting. The pub closed in 2013 and sat vacant for more than a decade, a reminder of so many fun times that also made me sad. The big building at a prime intersection had seemingly been forgotten.

After being completely renovated and reopening in July, the pub is virtually unrecognizable. It’s clean, bright and has a private room for parties. It’s a bit off the beaten path but not too far from downtown that you can’t go there for lunch. Some colleagues, Mr. She Ate and I did just that, braving temperatures that had quickly plummeted for a cozy pub lunch.

We started with the scotch egg ($8.50), a hard-boiled egg halved lengthwise, wrapped in sausage and breadcrumbs, and deep fried. It’s one of my favorite treats and an automatic order when I see it on a menu. This version was a little bit crunchier than I’m used to, but it hit all the flavor and texture notes that I was looking for, and we were off to a good start.

My entrée choice was the fish tacos ($16), three tacos stuffed with fried haddock filets, shredded red cabbage, radish, scallion, avocado and creamy sriracha. I loved the crunchiness of the veggies in contrast to the spicy sauce and crispy fish, and I inhaled two of them before coming up for air and some fries, which were salty enough for this perpetual worshiper of Maldon. 

Mr. She Ate had a burger, which prompted him to engage my colleague in a full conversation about how his patty was properly cooked according to his directions and how this frequently doesn’t happen at similarly situated establishments where they just cook the hell out of it.

Service was attentive, but the food was surprisingly (and concerningly, for those of us who had afternoon hearings) slow. It was a bit of a mad dash to get back to the office, but I returned for lunch the following week, so obviously the infraction wasn’t that serious.

On this visit, Mr. She Ate and I started with the rarebit ($13), the pub’s version of the confusingly named but well-known Welsh rarebit. While the name gives little insight into the composition of the dish, it’s melted cheese on bread or toast. It could also be called cheese bread, which is what we dubbed it when giving our children the leftovers. It was covered in garlic and pleasantly broiled cheese, but it needed a dipping sauce. I was happy when my salad was brought to the table so I could dunk the bread into the dressing before taking a bite.

We also each had a cup of chicken noodle soup ($6), which Mr. She Ate appropriately described as “fresh from the can.” You can safely skip this one. I moved on to the O’Cobb salad ($14), basing that choice on the fact that this one was slightly different than usual, with corned beef and turkey, hard-boiled egg, shredded white cheddar, tomato, red onion, sliced avocado and fresh greens. I would order this again, but I would ask for half the cheese, the addition of croutons and grilled chicken instead of the lunch meat. The homemade ranch was possibly the best part of the meal, and as I ate and reflected on the deep affection Michiganders hold for ranch dressing, I realized that it’s simply our preferred method of adding umami to a meal.

Mr. She Ate chose the Rachel ($14), a turkey Reuben. If there’s one thing that both of us can agree on, it’s that a Reuben is a nearly perfect sandwich, from the crispy grilled bread to the tangy coleslaw to the creamy Thousand Island dressing. This one checked all those boxes, and while there was nothing to distinguish it from the turkey Reuben I’d had the week prior, that wasn’t what I was looking for. I wanted the classic flavors, and when paired with the pub’s fries, I had a winning lunch.

The pub hosts karaoke, which was one of my favorite pre-holiday rituals during those Sexton gatherings. It has live music, pizza and a kids’ menu. This time of year always makes me feel a bit nostalgic for the holiday seasons of years past, and it couldn’t be more fitting that the Irish Pub has come roaring back to life and is once again hitting its stride.

Revamped Irish Pub is better than ever

Revamped Irish Pub is better than ever

By BRYAN BEVERLY

My westside roots run deep. I attended Verlinden Elementary and Sexton High School. My mother and her family were displaced from St. Joe Street during the Interstate 496 project when she was in grade school and settled just blocks from Sexton. My better half grew up in the Old Oakland neighborhood, and much of both of our families still reside in the area. Both of us have many memories of the old Irish Pub, all the way back to when Brian Riley was the owner back in the mid-‘90s. Later, when we got married, our first home was but two blocks from the pub, and we’d venture over for lunch, to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day and to attend fundraiser dinners.

Sadly, the Irish Pub went dark in 2013, and many westside neighbors waited for more than a decade to see the corner of Saginaw Street and Verlinden Avenue come back to life. The new owners have completely renovated the interior with a new floor plan and an updated aesthetic that extends well beyond just a new coat of paint. The centralized bar offers an open sightline throughout the pub, with a separate entrance and counter for takeout orders. The most popular addition is the expansive outdoor space, which welcomed customers during the summer.

My first visit was on a Sunday evening when the Lions weren’t playing, and the bar staff said that was impacting how busy it was. The second visit was on a random Tuesday night. The parking lot was packed, and most tables were occupied, as was the majority of the seating around the bar. The pub has some of the friendliest, most attentive barkeepers I’ve encountered of late, and the rest of the waitstaff hustles around with smiles and cheerful greetings for all.

What’s good

The Jalive burger ($14) turns up the heat on a local favorite. A nicely cooked beef patty is topped with a house-made olive-and-jalapeno sauce, white cheddar, lettuce and tomato. It definitely has a kick — I can’t remember the last time my mouth was that hot. The olive sauce itself is flavorful, but my burger came with a large chunk of raw jalapeno that I certainly wasn’t prepared for. The accompanying onion rings are large and crispy but not among my favorites in the area.

The meat lovers’ pizza ($18.50) is topped with gooey cheese, pepperoni, bacon and traditional Irish banger sausage, which is a welcome Irish twist. The star of this show, though, is the crust, which is puffy on the inside, crispy on the outside and coated in a delectable garlic butter.

The Brussels sprouts ($4.50) are perfectly charred, flavored with garlic and rich olive oil. They’re on point but lack some of the bells and whistles offered at other establishments, such as bacon bits or a nice balsamic glaze.

What’s really good

The fish on the haddock sandwich ($14) is crusted in house-made black-and-tan batter and hugged by super-soft brioche bread. The massive filet is flaky and cooked properly, and my only complaint is the limited amount of the tasty house-made tartar sauce. I wish I’d ordered two so I could have had another for lunch the next day.

Pot pie is a traditional Irish dish, and I’ve enjoyed chicken, fish and beef pies while traveling abroad, including on a trip to Dublin in 2005. The Irish Pub’s beef pot pie ($12) measures up to those found on the Emerald Isle and is a perfectly balanced trifecta of fluffy mashed potatoes, buttery pastry and hearty chunks of beef in a brown gravy. It’s reminiscent of shepherd’s pie but deconstructed in an unpretentious way. For the takeout version, each ingredient is served independently, so you can combine them to your liking.

Best bite

The crab soup ($6-$8) is special. Its creamy decadence is contrasted by chopped carrots, celery and red bell peppers, all swimming in a hearty broth that’s thicker than a bisque but thinner than a chowder. Substantial chunks of lump crab meat crowd the bowl with yumminess. This soup is hot, tasty and comforting — a perfect answer for these cold winter days.