Sunday, April 05, 2009
Irish again: Flannery's brings new Irish flair to an old Irish space
Larry Bly
Larry Bly runs an ad agency and does freelance writing in the Roanoke area.
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One of Roanoke's oldest Irish pubs and is now also one of its newest.
The old ODoul's Irish Pub on Jefferson Street, across from Bank of America, has been totally refitted and redecorated to become Flannary's Irish Pub.
It was briefly yet another short-lived Irish pub before that. Seems like this space was just made to get your Irish up. It's enough to make my old Irish mum, Edith McGlothlan, proud.
The folks who bring you The Cornerstone on the Roanoke City Market are also behind this venture. In this case it's a labor of love for Mike Flannery, who's always wanted an Irish pub.
After the last folks left the building, he picked up the lease, had the place cleaned up, tore out the dark booths, and jazzed up the kitchen a bit. There's more glass on the front and a new entry, too, which helps lighten the place up a little. No additional space could be added, but they've maximized what's there. A half-dozen flat-screens TVs now adorn the walls, but the original quaint bar remains, which is fine by me.
I'm not a part of the evening pub crowd and music scene, so someone else will have to speak about that, but from the food side I can offer a few tidbits. Firstly, the menu is still a work in progress. It's a single sheet for lunch and dinner. Eventually it’ll be broadened to include more items and varying lunch/dinner pricing.
I've tried a good cross-section of the menu over the last few weeks and it's pretty good. I'm not entirely sure if some items vary significantly from the menu descriptions because they're still awaiting equipment or not, so I'll give them the benefit of doubt. For instance, the basic corned beef sandwich is described as "a mound of corned beef on marbled rye with spicy pub mustard." Mine was actually a healthy single slice of corned beef on a beautiful marbled rye with mustard. Delicious, but not as described.
The homemade (it really is) shepherd’s pie is all that it claims to be, however: ground beef in a rich gravy with plenty of carrots, peas, and onions, with browned potatoes on top and bread on the side. I'm a great fan of this dish and I can tell you every restaurant within 100 miles that makes a great one. Oddly, one of them is Mrs. Rowe's in Staunton -- NOT an Irish pub, but their restaurant's shepherds pie is so popular that you can buy them from their freezer to prepare at home.
I recently popped in to Flannery's on a cold and rainy day for a bowl of Guinness beef stew. The stew is hearty, thick, and very much carries the Guinness flavor without overpowering the big hunks of potato, carrots and other veggies. You can buy it by the cup or bowl: $3.25/$4.50.
The loaded potato soup seems to be a carryover from the Cornerstone, but is perfect for this venue, with plenty of bacon and cheddar. Pub wings will soon be available, but not as of this writing.
For the vegetarians, it's limited pickin's right now: Caesar salad or fish ‘n’ chips.
Sandwiches are all in the $6.49-$7.00 range: turkey Reuben, fried cod (The Galway), salmon BLT, chicken pesto sandwich (crispy spinach, bacon, tomato and pesto mayo), and a nice, basic burger, called the Pub Burger (6 oz. ground with choice of cheddar or Swiss, lettuce, tomato and add-ons byrequest).
The fish and chips are battered cod with steak fries and cole slaw. The bangers and mash isn't for everyone, but I like it. It's a true Irish dish featuring thick Irish sausage steamed with Guinness, onions and peppers and served with mashed
potatoes, veggies and bread. The current menu version is a dinner portion, so I found it too much for lunch, but this, I'm told, will also be modified for a lunch version.
The most expensive thing on the menu isn't very expensive at all: the sirloin medallions, grilled and served with veggies and mashed potatoes, for only $13.99.
I'm told there's plenty more to come and right now Mike's just having a grand time putting it all together, which is sort of fun to watch.
There's some room for improvement, but they're working on it.
The old ODoul's Irish Pub on Jefferson Street, across from Bank of America, has been totally refitted and redecorated to become Flannary's Irish Pub.
It was briefly yet another short-lived Irish pub before that. Seems like this space was just made to get your Irish up. It's enough to make my old Irish mum, Edith McGlothlan, proud.
The folks who bring you The Cornerstone on the Roanoke City Market are also behind this venture. In this case it's a labor of love for Mike Flannery, who's always wanted an Irish pub.
After the last folks left the building, he picked up the lease, had the place cleaned up, tore out the dark booths, and jazzed up the kitchen a bit. There's more glass on the front and a new entry, too, which helps lighten the place up a little. No additional space could be added, but they've maximized what's there. A half-dozen flat-screens TVs now adorn the walls, but the original quaint bar remains, which is fine by me.
I'm not a part of the evening pub crowd and music scene, so someone else will have to speak about that, but from the food side I can offer a few tidbits. Firstly, the menu is still a work in progress. It's a single sheet for lunch and dinner. Eventually it’ll be broadened to include more items and varying lunch/dinner pricing.
I've tried a good cross-section of the menu over the last few weeks and it's pretty good. I'm not entirely sure if some items vary significantly from the menu descriptions because they're still awaiting equipment or not, so I'll give them the benefit of doubt. For instance, the basic corned beef sandwich is described as "a mound of corned beef on marbled rye with spicy pub mustard." Mine was actually a healthy single slice of corned beef on a beautiful marbled rye with mustard. Delicious, but not as described.
Flannery's Irish Pub
303 Jefferson St., Roanoke
- Lunch and dinner
- Full bar
- Entertainment some nights
I recently popped in to Flannery's on a cold and rainy day for a bowl of Guinness beef stew. The stew is hearty, thick, and very much carries the Guinness flavor without overpowering the big hunks of potato, carrots and other veggies. You can buy it by the cup or bowl: $3.25/$4.50.
The loaded potato soup seems to be a carryover from the Cornerstone, but is perfect for this venue, with plenty of bacon and cheddar. Pub wings will soon be available, but not as of this writing.
For the vegetarians, it's limited pickin's right now: Caesar salad or fish ‘n’ chips.
Sandwiches are all in the $6.49-$7.00 range: turkey Reuben, fried cod (The Galway), salmon BLT, chicken pesto sandwich (crispy spinach, bacon, tomato and pesto mayo), and a nice, basic burger, called the Pub Burger (6 oz. ground with choice of cheddar or Swiss, lettuce, tomato and add-ons byrequest).
The fish and chips are battered cod with steak fries and cole slaw. The bangers and mash isn't for everyone, but I like it. It's a true Irish dish featuring thick Irish sausage steamed with Guinness, onions and peppers and served with mashed
potatoes, veggies and bread. The current menu version is a dinner portion, so I found it too much for lunch, but this, I'm told, will also be modified for a lunch version.
The most expensive thing on the menu isn't very expensive at all: the sirloin medallions, grilled and served with veggies and mashed potatoes, for only $13.99.
I'm told there's plenty more to come and right now Mike's just having a grand time putting it all together, which is sort of fun to watch.
There's some room for improvement, but they're working on it.
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