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