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Merlin's Rest
Jun. 10th, 2007 10:20 pmThere used to be an Irish pub on Lake Street called Molly Quinn's. It was a neat little place with a good weekend brunch. Its best feature was the jam session of Irish folk musicians that would gather there regularly and play. It went out of business a few years ago.
At some point in early May I noticed that the bar at Lake & 36th Street had taken down the old pool hall signs and put up a new sign that said MERLIN'S REST. I kept thinking that I needed to either google it or stop in to see what it was. When I finally looked it up online, I found the Merlin's Rest blog, which informed me of a couple of interesting facts:
* It's a Gaelic pub with Guinness on tap, among other things
* They serve a huge selection of single malt scotches, and in fact are holding a tasting on June 21st. This is not a huge selling point for me personally, as I think scotch tastes like gasoline smells, but I know some people who like good scotch the way I like good chocolate.
* They have free wi-fi.
* The band Bedlam plays there every Tuesday.
* The old Molly Quinn's folk jam plays there every Wednesday.
Ed and I took the girls down there for dinner tonight. They have Guinness on tap, and I ordered one, but with some trepidation. There is an art to properly pouring a pint of Guinness, and there are very few American places that do it right. You have to partly fill the glass, let it settle for a few minutes, and then finish filling it up. Molly Quinn's didn't do it right, and their Guinness wasn't very good.
Merlin's Rest pours it properly, and it was really, really, really good. It was not as good as the best pint of Guinness I had while in Ireland (that was in downtown Dublin, and Ed remembers the name of the pub but I've forgotten it) but it was better than some of the others.
The decor was delightful: it included the usual "Guinness is Good For You" signs but also a stained glass panel that said "Merlin's Rest - The Once And Future Pub," a copy of Norman Rockwell's "Freedom of Speech" picture with a quote about dissent being patriotic, and the HRC equal-sign logo.
The food was decent, if nothing special. (Yet. They just opened at the end of April, and are gradually expanding their menu.) Ed and I both had fish and chips. Kiera and Molly split an order of chicken nuggets. Apparently the best thing on the menu is the Guinness Stew, but I was more in the mood for fish and chips, so maybe in a future visit. We didn't stay for the pub quiz because that wasn't going to start until 8 and we generally try to have the girls in bed by then.
Friday night is Kilt Night. I have known people who would go to this pub just for the excuse to wear their kilt. Some of them may even read my blog, though I don't know how many of those live close enough to Minneapolis to make it a reasonable trip.
At some point in early May I noticed that the bar at Lake & 36th Street had taken down the old pool hall signs and put up a new sign that said MERLIN'S REST. I kept thinking that I needed to either google it or stop in to see what it was. When I finally looked it up online, I found the Merlin's Rest blog, which informed me of a couple of interesting facts:
* It's a Gaelic pub with Guinness on tap, among other things
* They serve a huge selection of single malt scotches, and in fact are holding a tasting on June 21st. This is not a huge selling point for me personally, as I think scotch tastes like gasoline smells, but I know some people who like good scotch the way I like good chocolate.
* They have free wi-fi.
* The band Bedlam plays there every Tuesday.
* The old Molly Quinn's folk jam plays there every Wednesday.
Ed and I took the girls down there for dinner tonight. They have Guinness on tap, and I ordered one, but with some trepidation. There is an art to properly pouring a pint of Guinness, and there are very few American places that do it right. You have to partly fill the glass, let it settle for a few minutes, and then finish filling it up. Molly Quinn's didn't do it right, and their Guinness wasn't very good.
Merlin's Rest pours it properly, and it was really, really, really good. It was not as good as the best pint of Guinness I had while in Ireland (that was in downtown Dublin, and Ed remembers the name of the pub but I've forgotten it) but it was better than some of the others.
The decor was delightful: it included the usual "Guinness is Good For You" signs but also a stained glass panel that said "Merlin's Rest - The Once And Future Pub," a copy of Norman Rockwell's "Freedom of Speech" picture with a quote about dissent being patriotic, and the HRC equal-sign logo.
The food was decent, if nothing special. (Yet. They just opened at the end of April, and are gradually expanding their menu.) Ed and I both had fish and chips. Kiera and Molly split an order of chicken nuggets. Apparently the best thing on the menu is the Guinness Stew, but I was more in the mood for fish and chips, so maybe in a future visit. We didn't stay for the pub quiz because that wasn't going to start until 8 and we generally try to have the girls in bed by then.
Friday night is Kilt Night. I have known people who would go to this pub just for the excuse to wear their kilt. Some of them may even read my blog, though I don't know how many of those live close enough to Minneapolis to make it a reasonable trip.
