EOL Enjoy Some Irish Flavor Courtesy Of Sullivan’s Irish Pub
Choosing to stay true to this past month’s festivities The Eaters of Lakewood selected Sullivan’s Irish Pub as the third stop in their monthly perusal of Lakewood’s hefty supply of both colorful and popular eateries. Located on the corner of Chesterland and Madison Avenue, Sullivan’s Irish Pub is not your typical themed restaurant. A quick survey of the inside shows the staff really means business, here they eat, live and breathe everything Irish.
The wood and stone interior presents a warm and welcoming environment to its patrons, Sullivan’s almost feels more like a home away from home than a restaurant (they even include a stove and several bookshelves as part of their layout). Wooden stools and tables line walls dotted with numerous eye-catching pieces of artwork, photos and ads featuring Harp, Guinness and much more which can be found at their large central bar. The place definitely doesn’t suffer from lack of atmosphere; they are even known to have live music presented about once a month in the form of The New Barleycorn, a Cleveland Irish band.
When EOL arrived on Saturday afternoon it was understood they didn’t just come for a good place to sit for a friendly chat. Sullivan’s was more than ready to accommodate. The March 27th event stretched from 6pm to 10pm and during this time EOL members were seated in their own private corner of the spacious pub. Here they could make their selections from many authentic and original Irish recipes complimented with a variety of refreshing spirits including the classic Black & Tan, Irish coffee and a wide range of draft and bottled beer.
As everyone was enjoying themselves, EOL President Christopher Bindel managed the club's post near the front of the bar passing out comment cards and selling off raffle tickets. This month’s prize was a membership to Sullivan’s mug club whose members enjoy half price draught beers every Monday night and Saturday afternoon as well as a personalized mug. The winner, Debra Sweeney, was announced on the EOL Facebook site on March 29th. This was clearly a popular prize; Sullivan’s stores all its club members’ mugs (over 900) at the bar in glass cases or by simply hanging them from the beams overhead.
At the end of the meal, after all comment cards had been handed in and tallied Sullivan’s came out looking quite well. Participants rated their experience on a scale of 1 to 5, with the highest rated being the food with a 4.6. The Atmosphere scored a 4.4 and cleanliness and friendliness of staff both scored 4.5 each. Among the foods tried there were crab cakes, fried calamari, fish and chips beef stew and Irish egg rolls which contained corned beef, Swiss cheese and sauerkraut. One item on the menu which was particularly popular with the EOL members was the boxty, which is a traditional Irish dish consisting of a potato pancake stuffed with just about anything you can think of from peppered steak to shrimp and scallops.
On the backs of the comment cards members voiced their satisfaction with the fast and attentive service, good portion sizes and tasty food. One participant stated, “I enjoyed their boxty and cheddar dip very much and the French fry wedges were very light and flakey. My burger was also cooked perfectly and was wonderfully assembled.” Many additional comments included the fact that they had been to Sullivan’s before and would be sure to come again, EOL members can certainly all agree you don’t have to cross an ocean to receive a fine, authentic pub experience when you can get it right in your own neighborhood.
For April’s event The Eaters of Lakewood make their next stop at Route 6. The event will take place on April 24th from 5-9pm. To learn more about EOL you can go to their homepage at www.eatersoflakewood.com or become a fan at www.facebook.com/eatersoflakewood you can also find them on www.twitter.com/LakewoodEaters.