Ireland

It’s been a couple of weeks since the last blog due to life so this is from a visit a couple of weeks ago.

As part of the life stuff my sisters and I were visiting my Father in the hospital and we decided to go out and grab some lunch in Durham, NC.  We strolled one of the downtown streets looking for something struck our fancy among the many options available and Bull McCabe’s Irish Pub fit the bill.  It might have had something to do with its being at the end of the street where we decided we were going to turn around but nevertheless it won out over the plethora of other options.

This place has quite a bit of outside seating on a porch running the length of the building and a lawn to add more or have events.  We decided to eat inside amid the interesting decor.  The pub is long and narrow and said decor is a mix between a church, library and soccer (football for the non-Americans) pub.

The booths are old pews with some high back wood panels and there are bookshelves with old books and knickknacks plus lights of a lantern design with crosses that makes the place feels like they plundered an old church for the furnishings.  It was a cool look.  As you can see from the second picture they have various team jerseys on the ceiling and a ton of TVs around the bar.  It was a nice atmosphere and the server was very pleasant and answered our questions on the beers with tact concerning the ones she didn’t care for or had not tried.  I got a local Lynwood Brewing Concern Bill & Ted’s Excellent Amber since it was a bit warm for a Irish stout.

The menu isn’t loaded with traditional Irish fare so I opted for a dish that did have a nod to Ireland, corned beef macaroni & cheese and a side decidedly not Irish, creamy mango slaw.

The macaroni was cooked just right and the cheese sauce was nice and thick with plenty of cheesy goodness.  I wasn’t sure how the beer braised corned beef was going to be incorporated and the nice big diced chunks were a great treat.  They were tender and big enough you got great corned beef flavor.  The mango slaw was tasty as well with significant hunks of mango.  I was a bit surprised at the spiciness of the slaw but the sweetness of the mango’s mitigated the heat.

My sisters chose the Chipotle BBQ Carnitas sliders & the Open Faced BLT which by all accounts were quite good and worth the trip.

The circumstances that brought us together weren’t ideal but as always it is a treat when I get to spend time with my sisters and enjoying a meal together just elevates it.  Thanks Lynn & Dee.

Judgement on Bull McCabe’s is that the food is good the atmosphere is pleasant and I suspect might be rowdy when a good match is being televised and the outside area probably let’s them have some great events when the weather is good.