Yelp Review: The Irish Mile

I do have some complaints about this place, but overall I think it's nice and I'll be back. Frequently. I will update every-so-often, as necessary. Click here for the menu!!

THE PROS:

• It's cheap! After going to bars and restaurants in this area that are ridiculously overpriced, it's refreshing to pay a VERY reasonable amount of money for what you get. Two sandwiches (enough for leftovers) and two beers was $24 with tax.
• It's delicious! I got a roast pork sandwich with provolone and roasted red peppers. There was plenty of meat and cheese in the sandwich. The roll was great! There were enough peppers to get a little bit in every bite, but I would have liked to see a few more. And the fries were really great.
• 24 beers on tap! Sierra Nevada, Ithaca, Unibroue, Great Lake, Ommegang, Brooklyn, Shiner Bock, Flying Fish, Victory, Smithwicks, Guiness, Blue Moon, Sam Adams, Hoegarrden, Stella, Bass, Harp, Yengling, and just Bud Light for those with lighter tastes. No Miller, no Coors, not tap after tap of CRAP. (You can get the crap in bottles, if you're so inclined.)
• There's free parking! Even if you can't get a space in their (very small) lot, there's free PATCO parking right outside as well as street parking.

THE CONS:

• The staff is still getting adjusted. Our waitress was older, and was obviously having problems with the computer system (which she needed reading glasses to see). One of the bartenders was really, really slow. It probably would have been better to get some staff with TONS of experience, but these guys will get it in time.
• Some of the food isn't quite hammered out yet. My boyfriend got a burger and the burger was average-sized, but the bun was GIGANTIC. Either have a large burger on a large bun, or an average burger on an average bun.
• Only a bar and high-top tables. The bar is much larger than it needed to be (in my opinion, too large for the space). This leaves very little space for the 9 high-top tables they've crammed in there as well. It's kind of awkward to sit at them. It's MUCH more of a bar than a restaurant (think Brewers Towne Tavern, not PJ's). Don't come here with a large group to sit and eat. The whole place has a bar-rail all the way around it, though, so there's plenty of space to stand around with your friends.

Six for Saturday: Books I want to read.

I received some books for my birthday, and I've had some on my list for a while. Here goes.

1. Catching Moondrops. This is the third in a series of books I've been reading. They're kind of fluffy, but I like them. They're mostly about the trying things a white girl in South goes through because her best friend is black. Oh, and did I mention she's always mouthing off? It's great.
   
   
2. Dexter is Delicious. These books have spoiled me; I can't even watch the show anymore. I absolutely love them, and I can't wait to read the most recent book in the series! So creepy, yet so good!
   
   
3. Bossypants. I LOVE TINA FEY. I mean, is there anything more to say?
   
   
4. Stories I Only Tell My Friends: An Autobiography. I also love Rob Lowe. From what I've read, it's pretty well written. I saw him on Oprah talking about it—I had no idea he was involved in a sex tape leak where one of the girls in the video was only 16. I can't wait to read this!
   
   
5. The Life and Opinions of Tristam Shandy, Gentleman. I've heard good things about this book from several people whose opinions on books I highly value, and so I've been meaning to buy it for years. Now that I have a Kindle, I downloaded it for free! Yay! Let the reading begin!
   
   
6. 1984. Somehow I missed this going through school (which can be said for a lot of books that "everyone's read"). I've always wanted to read this, and once I read We (my favorite book ever—READ IT!), the desire became even stronger. Too bad it's like $9 on Kindle. Maybe I'll get it from that place where you can go and get books for free, and then take them back and get even more books for free. What's that called again...?

Six for Saturday: I totally want to make that.

So now am I not only stealing the whole style of this blog post from others, but now I'm stealing the content as well. In the future, I may actually do a weekly "I totally want to make that" post, but for now it's my Six for Saturday.

1. The inspiration for this post has to be my Number One. I totally want to make this multi-year diary. In fact, I may even make one for my mother (maybe in a more travel-friendly form) because she tends to forget things. There's always a reminder of the good things that you did that day.
   
   
2. I have some sheets that I absolutely love, but the elastic isn't quite what it used to be on the fitted sheet anymore. I'd like to make the August Fields Duvet Cover out of it. I will probably use as much of the sheets as possible for the patterned pieces, while still having enough fabric left over to make some matching shams.
   
   
3. On the same website, I love the Sweet Greetings Portfolios. I feel like the smaller one would have a lot more uses than the big one.
   
   
4. I have been looking for a great apron to save some of my clothes from having to be spot treated to death, and what better way to find the perfect one than to make it yourself? Martha Stewart (as always) has an easy way to make your dreams become reality. My dream: her Baker's Apron.
   
   
5. We have two old cork boards that I haven't quite decided what to do with. I think I might make a French Memo Board. There are a lot of varying instructions out there; I like the way the batting is done on this one, but I don't like the foam board she uses. This one seems to indicate that a cork board might work better than a canvas.
   
   
6. I couldn't have a list of things I want to make without something to knit! I absolutely LOVE these socks. I am debating whether I want to use madelinetosh's tosh sock in Lichen, or Black Trillium Fibre Studio's Pebble Sock in Curry.

Six for Saturday: Quality Clothes Checklist

So, I like this motivating idea around the blogosphere of "Five for Friday", but I can never find the time to post on Friday. Therefore, I have altered it to suit me a little better—Six for Saturday.

This week, I got my new Real Simple magazine. There's a fantastic article in it about how to purchase clothes you'll wear again and again. It's amazing, and only four steps. You can find the

worksheet for the first three steps here.

Step Four is "Shop Smarter". It asks you questions such as "Will it work with your lifestyle?", "Is it good quality?", and "Does it fit and flatter?" My Six for Saturday will give Real Simple's answer to the second question.

Is it good quality?

1. Buttons: Give them a tug to see if they're well anchored; look for frayed threading.
2. Embellishments: Steer clear of stretched seams and excess glue around beading.
3. Fabric: Test if the material is a lint magnet by rubbing it with a fluffy white knit.
4. Lining: Make sure it lies flat, without bubbling or poking out from underneath.
5. Pattern: Eyeball plaids and stripes; they should line up perfectly at the seams.
6. Seams: Check that the stitches are small and straight—no loose or jumbled threads.

Cuban Sandwiches

I don't have a sandwich press OR 2 cast iron skillets (seriously?), so I just made them open-face (with cheese on both halves) and baked them for 5-10 min at 350˚F. The cheese sticks them together. Also, the less bread you have compared to other ingredients, the better the sandwiches! :) Oh, and I didn't use any butter.

Difficulty: Easy

Yields: 4 sandwiches

8 teaspoons mayonnaise

4 Portuguese rolls (5-6 inches long), split, or 2 hero rolls (11-12 inches long) halved crosswise and split

4 teaspoons yellow ballpark mustard

1/4 pound thinly slice ham, preferably Virginia or Black Forest

1/2 pound cold Roast Pork Loin, thinly sliced

12 thin lengthwise slices dill pickles (about 2 pickles)

6 ounces thinly sliced swiss cheese

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Spread 2 teaspoons mayonnaise on top half of each roll. Spread 1 tablespoon mustard on bottom half of each roll, then layer ham, roast pork, pickles, and cheese over mustard, dividing them evenly. Place top halves of rolls on top and press down firmly to flatten sandwiches.

Brush outside of 2 sandwiches, top and bottom, with half of melted butter and put in sandwich press. Cook until golden and crusty and cheese is melted, 4 to 6 minutes. Repeat with remaining sandwiches and melted butter.

Halve sandwiches diagonally and serve warm.

"Cook's Notes"

• The sandwiches can be assembled up to 3 hours ahead. Refrigerate, wrapped in tinfoil, without butter outsides of bread; brush with butter before cooking.
• If you don't have a sandwich press, you can cook the sandwiches in a dry heavy cast-iron skillet over moderately low heat. Place a second skillet on top, pressing down slightly. Turn the sandwiches halfway through cooking.