Review: McTighe's
originally posted 12:18pm on 21 Sep 2004
McTigheÂ’s
Location: 30 Pharr Rd.
(404) 816-3300
Cost: manageable, unless you sit around for 6 hours at a time. Not that IÂ’ve done that. Or anything. Or, you know, not often enough to comment on.
Best time to visit is: Weekend afternoons. At least, that’s my preference. Some folks would say that after midnight is really the best time, but I find it difficult to find parking that late. (If you’re in buckhead at that hour anyway, you should drop by—the kitchen is open late, too)
Amenities: 37 beers on draft. 60 or so in bottles. An internet jukebox, a pool table (just the one), three dart boards, dive bar ambience. And a late-night kitchen.
Coolest feature is: well, at one point, I would have said the bar staff. The folks here are still cool, but ever since Kat movedÂ… o.k., thatÂ’s a loaded issue so I wonÂ’t go there. LetÂ’s just say the owner is an asshole, and a lot of little things need improvement, but the bar is still an o.k. place to hang out.
Order suggestions: A White Pizza, with spinach. And the Greek Salad is good. Beer—take your pick.
Description:
I’d like to consider myself a connoisseur of the dive bar experience, having been in a number of both “good” and “bad” dives, but I’m not sure if McTighe’s qualifies on those grounds. The overall feel of the bar is a bit grungy, from the patio through the dining room and into the bar/gameroom area, but it’s clean. (a bit cluttered, but clean) There’s the brickabrac that one associates with the national-chain-pretending-to-be-a-neighborhood-bar concept that is so popular today, but in this case it actually is authentic, organically grown crap (plus the occasional car door) attached to the walls and ceiling. It’s also a cop bar, with an interesting mix of police memorabilia gracing the walls as well.
The bar décor may seem to range all over the map trying to find an identity, but McTighe’s does have one key focus: here we have an genuine sports bar in enemy territory. This is Steelers country, and the Pittsburgh black and yellow is all over.
The crowd in here is usually a mixed bag, with the blue collar, white collar, and occasional student all hanging out. There is a large contingent of regulars who call the place home, though newcomers arenÂ’t discriminated against. ThatÂ’s part of the charm of the place. A dart league takes up a fair amount of space on Wednesdays, and of course the place is packed 5-quarts-to-the-gallon when the Steelers are playing football, but otherwise it is just a local pub (if we can stretch the definition that far).
The food deserves a bit of notice as well. I like the pizza. I like the prices. I like a kitchen that stays open past 1 am. They also do salads, and sandwiches, and a few bar-food type things (wings, burgers, etc). ItÂ’s all good stuff.
Oh—and 37 beers on draft. Did I mention that? I hang out here a lot. I’m not sure what else needs to be said.
McTigheÂ’s
Location: 30 Pharr Rd.
(404) 816-3300
Cost: manageable, unless you sit around for 6 hours at a time. Not that IÂ’ve done that. Or anything. Or, you know, not often enough to comment on.
Best time to visit is: Weekend afternoons. At least, that’s my preference. Some folks would say that after midnight is really the best time, but I find it difficult to find parking that late. (If you’re in buckhead at that hour anyway, you should drop by—the kitchen is open late, too)
Amenities: 37 beers on draft. 60 or so in bottles. An internet jukebox, a pool table (just the one), three dart boards, dive bar ambience. And a late-night kitchen.
Coolest feature is: well, at one point, I would have said the bar staff. The folks here are still cool, but ever since Kat movedÂ… o.k., thatÂ’s a loaded issue so I wonÂ’t go there. LetÂ’s just say the owner is an asshole, and a lot of little things need improvement, but the bar is still an o.k. place to hang out.
Order suggestions: A White Pizza, with spinach. And the Greek Salad is good. Beer—take your pick.
Description:
I’d like to consider myself a connoisseur of the dive bar experience, having been in a number of both “good” and “bad” dives, but I’m not sure if McTighe’s qualifies on those grounds. The overall feel of the bar is a bit grungy, from the patio through the dining room and into the bar/gameroom area, but it’s clean. (a bit cluttered, but clean) There’s the brickabrac that one associates with the national-chain-pretending-to-be-a-neighborhood-bar concept that is so popular today, but in this case it actually is authentic, organically grown crap (plus the occasional car door) attached to the walls and ceiling. It’s also a cop bar, with an interesting mix of police memorabilia gracing the walls as well.
The bar décor may seem to range all over the map trying to find an identity, but McTighe’s does have one key focus: here we have an genuine sports bar in enemy territory. This is Steelers country, and the Pittsburgh black and yellow is all over.
The crowd in here is usually a mixed bag, with the blue collar, white collar, and occasional student all hanging out. There is a large contingent of regulars who call the place home, though newcomers arenÂ’t discriminated against. ThatÂ’s part of the charm of the place. A dart league takes up a fair amount of space on Wednesdays, and of course the place is packed 5-quarts-to-the-gallon when the Steelers are playing football, but otherwise it is just a local pub (if we can stretch the definition that far).
The food deserves a bit of notice as well. I like the pizza. I like the prices. I like a kitchen that stays open past 1 am. They also do salads, and sandwiches, and a few bar-food type things (wings, burgers, etc). ItÂ’s all good stuff.
Oh—and 37 beers on draft. Did I mention that? I hang out here a lot. I’m not sure what else needs to be said.
Page created: September 21st 2004 11:21 AM
Page updated: January 15th 2005 08:19 PM