Tuesday, June 29th, 2010—Bar 170
Day 170—Monday, June 28th, 2010
Lilly O'Brien's
Okay, tonight’s bar is a suggestion from one third of the Baltimore Bar Crawlers, Gene, who’s deployed with the Air Force Reserve in Afghanistan right now and hasn’t had a beer in quite awhile. Gene suggested I go to Lilly O’Brien's on a Monday, because he says there’s a Will Ferrell look-alike bartender there that he chatted with when he and the other two thirds of the BBC (Terry and Smoopy) were last in town and they joined the 365 crawl for a few nights.
The Baltimore Bar Crawlers! From left: Gene, Smoopy and Terry, cheers, guys!
Now, I’m curious to see if this guy really looks like Will Ferrell, because while I don’t doubt Gene, they were going to over 79 bars every day and drinking an averaged of 3,416 beers between the three of them on a daily basis. And Smoopy would throw in a couple dozen vodka drinks as well, So, let’s go see if Gene’s vision was impaired or not.
Here we are, Lilly O'Brien's. Let's go look for Will.
The bar looks nice. Now let's see if we can find Will.
And here he is, the hair's a little shorter, but Gene was right, definitely a separated at birth moment. Will's real name is Brian and he's a super-friendly bartender and he vividly remembered Gene, Smoopy and Terry. He said to say hi to all of them, so hi from Brian, Baltimore Bar Crawlers! He also said he hears the Will Farrell thing all the time, in fact someone had just made the comment about an hour ago. And I had to find out his favorite Will Farrell movie and he said it was, "Talladega Nights."
It's been a while, so here we go with the traditional, "Wearin' of the Guinness."
This table up front has a nice street-side view.
Just some of the many beers available on tap.
Greg and Dorollo were enjoying beers at the far end of the bar.
There's large wooden booths in the back dining area.
And there's tables as well for your dining pleasure.
The walls are decorated with sports photos and memorablia.
Here's a sigend Muhammed Ali boxing glove.
And a signed pair of the boxing great's trunks.
Marcus poses with his beer at the front of the bar. Cheers!
Brian minds the till at the bar.
Here's Paul, Lisa and Steve who were getting ready to put "Thunder Road" on the jukebox. "Bruuuuce!"
Adrian works down the street at KD Connelly's right down the street. Adrian invited me to bring the bar crawl there, so I'll be stopping by soon. Stay tuned!
And some wise words posted up at the bar at Lilly O'Briens. Thanks for the hospitality and good times, Brian! Goodnight, everybody!
Review
Lilly O’Brien's is a step above a lot of the “cookie-cutter” Irish bars that inhabit Manhattan. A long wooden bar is set up in the front of the spacious bar with tables up front and a large dining area in the back with more tables and large wooden booths for comfortable seating. The walls are wooden and exposed brick and the decor is sports memorbilia and beer bric-a-brac adorning the walls and shelves. The bartenders are professional and friendly and the clientele is a lively mix of business people from the area, construction workers and tourists stopping in from one of the many hotels in the area having a pint of Guinness and enjoying a New York local bar. First-timers are treated like regulars and the regulars don’t mind seeing newbies coming into the Irish pub.
There’s a large selection of beers on tap, including: Guinness (naturally), Delerium, Harp and Killians. Bottled beers offered here include: Red Stripe, Magners, Rolling Rock and Sierra Nevada. And your fourth beer is always on the house. The kitchen closes late, 2am, Sunday through Wednesday and 4am, Thursday through Saturday. Lilly’s has a large menu and of course there’s a nice selection of Irish eats including: Shepherd`s Pie, Bangers and Mash, Beer Battered Fish & Chips and a Full Irish Breakfast. There’s also your standard pub grub from burgers to wings to chicken wings, but there’s a few surprises to be found on the menu including: Chicken Caruso, Cuban BBQ Panini, Steak Tip Bits and Jumbo Lobster Ravioli. In addition to breakfast, lunch and dinner service, delivery is available.
Lilly’s opens up early at 10am, so it’’s your go-to spot if you get fired or laid off in the morning. And here’s to the Baltimore Bar Crawlers, Gene, Smoopy and Terry! Cheers guys, hurry home Gene and I look forward to all of you joining the crawl when you can! Cheers!
Lilly O'Briens
67 Murray St. (@W. Broadway)
212-732-1592
22 Comments
Reader Comments (22)
AWESOME ! Lilly O'Brien's and Raccoon Lodge .... two must places in that area ! Brian is a cool guy ... and I don't remember what days he said he works? I know Monday's -- because we've only seen him on a Monday. That's what happens after 79 bars ! CHEERS TO LILLY'S !!!
Will be there again in November with you Marty!!
CHEERS TO LILLY'S AND THE BALTIMORE BAR CRAWLERS! We'll see you in November!
Looks like a great place! The dining area is great, although I'd probably have to opt for a table instead of a booth, since I'm a bit of a sloucher. And by "a bit," I mean "totally." Food sounds decent too. What's the Chicken Caruso? Is it named after David Caruso? Does it have red hair on top and make poor acting decisions? Anyway...I'm off to touch a screen to win a paper tongue. Oh, and my favorite Will Ferrell movie is "Stranger Than Fiction." A watch could save your life, you know.
"What's the Chicken Caruso? Is it named after David Caruso? Does it have red hair on top and make poor acting decisions?"
Ha ha ha! You still gots it Bifferoonie!
Cheers to Gene, Smoopy, Terry, Adrian, Paul, Lisa, Steve, Marcus, Greg and Dorollo!!
What a wonderful and fun looking bar Lilly O’Brien's is. Love Love Love it!!!
Cheers Marty and you do still got it Biff. I miss your blogs and humor quite a lot...your friendship as well.
Thank you Marty for allowing us to tag along!
he does look like will ferrell! LOL!
First off, I love that a lot of these bars have boxing memoribilia on the walls. That's something I haven't seen a lot of, even in Chicago. All those great fighters represent old school Noo Yawk. Second, I love Terry's Cub Style shirt. Is he a Chicago transplant or just a Cubs Convert?
@The Chief: I can't remember if Terry's from Chicago or not. Maybe Gene, Smoopy or even Terry himself will chime in and answer. I do know he lives in Baltimore now and I'm fairly certain I'll be drinking with him again in the future. By the way, Chief, I'm looking forward to hitting a Peoria bar with you this Christmas time when I'm back there. Everybody should check out the Chief's website, great photos and reviews of bars that threw me out on my ear years ago in my wild youth in Peoria:
http://peoriabarblog.blogspot.com/
OMG. He does look like Will Farrell! And "Talladega Nights" is also one of my favorite movies!
One thing I'll say about the bartender, at least he doesn't address his female co-workers with a massive hard-on like Will did as Ron Burgundy did in 'The Anchorman'!
@Jaws: LMFAO! Good one! How great if Will Ferrell ever stops in there and sees his double! Great joint and I second the Chief's opinion on the boxing gear, very cool! Sounds like a great menu too!
looks like a great place and the booths looks very private with the wood backrest. I didn't really see the Will Ferrell connection that much.
Not really in the mood for comment tonight , but he does look like Will Farrell! .
Maybe I need more cow bell ?
@Jaws, when i grow up i wanna be just like Ron Burgundy!!! what a role model!!! cheers to Ron!!!!
as for Will, what a legend....he made our national news down here after he had been here promoting Land of the Lost....he went back home to the states & went on Letterman wearing a green & gold Aussie Socceroos tracksuit & yelled "Aussie Aussie Aussie!!!....Oui Oui Oui!!!" before sitting down....haha! top bloke!!
Love the tall booths. Its like they are just inviting you in to do...things :) My boss has a signed M.H. glove just like that one! I have to agree with @AL I don't really see the Will connection but I'll second @Biff with Stranger Than Fiction as my fav.
Brian looked a lot more like Will when we saw him in January for the first time. He had the longer curly-ish hair ... acted like Will - looked exactly like Will ...... I thought it was really him and he was researching a part for a movie. When we saw him a few months later - he cut his hair and I think made an attempt to look less like Will. It's one of those things you have to see in person ! He's a good bartender and a jolly fellow ... worth the trip down to see him and have a few.
Terry is from Hoozierville, Indiana (N.E. part of the state). He's actually a Yankee fan - but got the shirt in Chicago last year. I was going to buy one -- but forgot after 87 bars there !
More Cow Bell !!
He looked like Will Ferrell with the teeniest twist of Cliffy Claven from Cheers thrown in. Did he have an unending supply of little-known facts to share? Looks like a fun night!
Funny ... went to the Pat Tillman USO Center here at Bagram tonight to make a phone call ... and what movie do you think was playing ? .... Talladega Nights ! Very strange & spooky !
@Wombat Central: Not a lot of little-known facts, but plenty of beers! Welcome to the website!
@GENE: Strange and spooky indeed! I'm buying a Lotto ticket this week!