Astoria is chock full of neighborhood places where good friends get together to hang out and enjoy an evening. McCann’s on Ditmars Boulevard is just such a place, and this past weekend I decided to pay it a visit.
Originally I was going to go on a pub crawl organized by a group on Why Leave Astoria?, the social networking site you want to join if you’ve moved to Astoria and have a pulse. Unfortunately the pub crawl event fell thru, but I wasn’t going to let that ruin a night of drinking, so I had heard about McCann’s and decided that this would be a perfect time to visit, especially since it’s only 10 blocks away from where I live.
There are plenty of great reviews of McCann’s on the web, and the place doesn’t disappoint (at least not the night I went). It’s a fabulous Irish bar with friendly bartenders and staff, dart boards, and pool tables in the back, and a large crowd of people talking loudly, which people tend to do if they’ve had more than 2 or 3 beers.
I was lucky to find a seat at the bar, and in fact I was informed by the bartender that I was actually sitting in someone else’s seat, a woman who was coming back, but it would be alright if I kept it warm for her (she never came back). Sitting next to me was a guy in his early 40’s who definitely was a regular and had passed the 3 beer mark long before I arrived. He gave me a big hello and I responded in kind, and then I focused my attention on a game on one of the many TV screens up on the wall.
Before long my new bar buddy was having an animated discussion with someone behind me. After about 20 minutes I turned around to see who it was and I was immediately included in the conversation (that’s what I love about Irish bars).
Seems these two fellows were big football stars some 25 years ago in a high school out in Queens, and they just happened to bump into each other for the first time after all those years. Here were two old jocks reliving their glory days!
It was fun listening to the two of them. The guy originally sitting at the bar was a year behind the guy standing behind me, and he kept pointing at him saying again and again, “He was the nicest guy” between conversations about all of the adventures that they had had back in the day.
As for me, I had just finished my third beer and figured I’d be heading out soon, but these guys kept talking and buying beers, so I kept drinking so as not to be rude.
I think it was about 1 am when I stumbled out of the joint and made my way back home, having experienced another side of Astoria.
Stumble It!
I am looking forward to your next review of the appetizers or the main dishes. They sound delicious. Everything sounds easier, less crowded, less formal, and less expensive than Manhattan! Hopefully, more convenient as you continue to get adjusted. Helen
Posted by: Helen | September 16, 2009 at 06:37 PM