Sólás
Sólás, a lively Back Bay pub whose name means “comfort” in Irish, is nested along Boylston Street within a couple blocks of the Copley Square hotels. Since several of our affiliated organizations hold meetings here from time to time, I’ve adopted Sólás as kind of a home base when in Boston. On arriving in Boston early Friday afternoon, we dropped our bags in the room and headed over for a quick pint and a bite to eat. Sólás lives up to its name; the first floor pub is laid out like your family room, with fireplaces and cozy nooks. Sólás has been said to be a place that invites you in and asks you to stay. The staff is warm and friendly, and the drink menu is extensive. Food quality is excellent, although the service is -- at the same time -- prompt and slow. Don’t mistake the attention from the wait staff to mean that you will be getting something to eat soon. Not the place to come if you are in a rush, so get your order in and relax awhile. You’ll feel welcome and never feel rushed. I can recommend the Shepherd’s Pie. Herself leans toward the Ham & Cheese Toasties.
The Black Rose
On my first trip to Boston in the late ‘70s, I discovered the Black Rose and was introduced to draft Guinness for the first time. J,M&J, we created a monster. I started out with Black and Tans, but quickly asked to have the training wheels removed!
Veronica, yo , who hails from the Pacific Northwest, and Seamus, yo shared some calimari here in March and even got Britney, yo to try her first squid at that time. For an OSU Buckeye, she’s got spunk! This trip we stopped in for dinner on the one free night we had. This is one of the partiest pubs in Boston. Good Irish music, food, and Guinness! You can’t go wrong at the Black Rose.
Not certain who these attractive folks are, but they appear to be enjoying the craic at the Black Rose.
Hennessy’s
My first visit to Hennessy’s was six months prior to the Boston convention, when national and chapter staff come in ahead for a “look-see” – and some ostensible staff education. A group of our natstaff dined at Mamma Maria in the North End on the last night in town. Bailey, yo (see Alligators on a Party Barge under links) was severely under the weather, so she and the natstaff lightweights caught a cab back to the hotel. Not that B’yo can’t hold her own. She subsequently gave up a kidney, so we’ll cut her some slack on that trip. Veronica, yo, Britney, yo and Seamus, yo accompanied by the Russdog decided to extend the evening, so we stopped into Hennessy’s for a nightcap. The Russdog is constantly amazed at Seamus, yo’s uncanny knack for quickly zeroing in on the best pub around. What can I say? It’s a gift! The entertainment on the evening was a solitary folk-rocker, who covered a nice mix of Bob Dylan, Van Morrison, the Beatles, and Tiny Tim. With a few drinks, our group is pretty much self-entertained, so I think we enjoyed O’Whatshisname. As one thing frequently leads to another, the nightcap had a few friends, and we may have closed the place.
On this occasion, herself and I decided that we hadn’t really had much of a chance to kick around Boston on our own. So with convention ended and no one else to tend to, we opted for a later shuttle back to DC and set off to walk part of the Freedom Trail. Full knowing we would pass at least a few pubs on the way, I promised her lunch in my favorite Boston pub. She knows by now that my favorite pub is the next one! We ended up walking by several pubs on our way, but I held off for Hennessy’s. Try the Traditional Irish Mixed Grill, a combination of Guinness-marinated steak tips, Irish sausages, Irish bacon, with baked beans thrown in to make it Boston.
The Kinsale Restaurant & Pub
The Kinsale is a recent addition to the Government Center complex. It sounded like it had possibilities when I searched online, but in person, it appeared like too many other formula Irish restaurants. We took a quick peek, but moved on. I’m put off by nouveau gourmet Irish dishes that look like a Jenga tournament winner.
Kennedy’s Irish Pub & Restaurant
When queried by herself how I even saw a pub that was two blocks off our path and over our left shoulder, I reassured her that I was a Guinness-seeking missile operating on autopilot. We only dropped in for a quick look around, as we had just finished off a hearty lunch at Hennessy’s and were heading back to the hotel to pick up our bags to return home. This one will have to wait for the next trip.
My first visit to Hennessy’s was six months prior to the Boston convention, when national and chapter staff come in ahead for a “look-see” – and some ostensible staff education. A group of our natstaff dined at Mamma Maria in the North End on the last night in town. Bailey, yo (see Alligators on a Party Barge under links) was severely under the weather, so she and the natstaff lightweights caught a cab back to the hotel. Not that B’yo can’t hold her own. She subsequently gave up a kidney, so we’ll cut her some slack on that trip. Veronica, yo, Britney, yo and Seamus, yo accompanied by the Russdog decided to extend the evening, so we stopped into Hennessy’s for a nightcap. The Russdog is constantly amazed at Seamus, yo’s uncanny knack for quickly zeroing in on the best pub around. What can I say? It’s a gift! The entertainment on the evening was a solitary folk-rocker, who covered a nice mix of Bob Dylan, Van Morrison, the Beatles, and Tiny Tim. With a few drinks, our group is pretty much self-entertained, so I think we enjoyed O’Whatshisname. As one thing frequently leads to another, the nightcap had a few friends, and we may have closed the place.
On this occasion, herself and I decided that we hadn’t really had much of a chance to kick around Boston on our own. So with convention ended and no one else to tend to, we opted for a later shuttle back to DC and set off to walk part of the Freedom Trail. Full knowing we would pass at least a few pubs on the way, I promised her lunch in my favorite Boston pub. She knows by now that my favorite pub is the next one! We ended up walking by several pubs on our way, but I held off for Hennessy’s. Try the Traditional Irish Mixed Grill, a combination of Guinness-marinated steak tips, Irish sausages, Irish bacon, with baked beans thrown in to make it Boston.The Kinsale Restaurant & Pub
The Kinsale is a recent addition to the Government Center complex. It sounded like it had possibilities when I searched online, but in person, it appeared like too many other formula Irish restaurants. We took a quick peek, but moved on. I’m put off by nouveau gourmet Irish dishes that look like a Jenga tournament winner.
Kennedy’s Irish Pub & Restaurant
When queried by herself how I even saw a pub that was two blocks off our path and over our left shoulder, I reassured her that I was a Guinness-seeking missile operating on autopilot. We only dropped in for a quick look around, as we had just finished off a hearty lunch at Hennessy’s and were heading back to the hotel to pick up our bags to return home. This one will have to wait for the next trip.
Slainte!!
