Biddy
McGraw's Irish Pub,
6000 NE Glisan St.,
233-1178. Inexpensive.
Sunday roast dinner special. The lamb roast reviewed here
was $9.95. Other Sunday roasts may vary in price but are
consistently alluring.
Nice Touch: Dark
and chewy brown bread (that looks a little like how zucchini
bread looks only without any zucchini) comes with the soup
or salad appetizer.
Breakdown before the big move: Biddy McGraw's Irish
Pub was an elbow-to-elbow Hawthorne shanty with a reputation
for killer black and tans and a sporadically active, but
mostly overlooked, kitchen. Save for the Sunday roasts,
which for five years were almost always on offer and growing
in popularity, the appearance of nightly dinner depended
on whether or not the tiny kitchen was an obstacle course
of storage boxes.
And now, after the big move: Ahhh, space. Space
makes a happy barkeep. And space makes a happy chef, who
makes a happy meal, which, in turn, makes us all so very,
very happy. And while you might miss the crammed-elbow-jib-jab
representing the ghost of Hawthorne Biddy's past, you might
just as easily discover that the new ocean of hardwood and
modest tables is a homey place to down a pint and engage
in a hearty Irish supper.
By acquiring a full commercial kitchen and plenty of exciting
closet space, Biddy's has expanded its menu and recommitted
its interests to nostalgic homemade meals, none of which
is more robust and rooted in history than the traditional
Sunday roast.
Pot roast is the default roast for most of us, wouldn't
you agree? It's not that when I hear the word "roast" my
thoughts leap instantly to pot, but I do think of a nice
5-pound beef round that's been stewed all afternoon with
carrots and potatoes and black pepper.
At Biddy's, roast dinners often break from the predictable
red-meat rigamarole. Recently I took company with light
and succulent lamb shanks that had been braised and roasted
just long enough to allow for easygoing wrist cuts with
a fork. Not unbearably fall-apart was this roux-covered
lamb; instead, it was tender and still hanging on to a supple
pink middle.
The roux was made with a bundle of whole mint leaves and,
of course, flour and the drippings from the lamb's roast
pan. Though pungent, it was not a blanket for the meat;
think of it as a shawl or a scarf of flavor and style.
Good as this lamb was, the pumpkin-apple curry soup overshadowed
the main course. As I was told by the single chef/server,
the soup was started on Saturday morning. This gave the
apples a chance to really seep into the broth and the curry
a chance to mellow out. It was a fruity soup, bright and
chipper despite its seemingly autumnal persona. The hot
apples slid down like applesauce in a red skin, and there
were even subtle hints of mint leaves floating around, which
combined with the curry to produce a somewhat Indian flavor.
Furthering the Asian aspect of this particular roast, a
crunchy pile of vegetables sautéed in Mongolian fire
oil held down a corner of the plate. Yet they were not the
only veggies; Sunday roasts almost always involve some form
of potato--classic baked, boiled new-style, cheesy au gratin,
etc. And why not? Potatoes are versatile, filling and economical;
along with meat, they are the heart of a workingman's meal.
Biddy's boiled, multi-herb red potatoes were the style
of the day, and they were served in steaming halves, squealing
for butter. Of course, I did not down very many of them,
knowing as I do that if I cash out the spuds I'll end up
over the edge of bodily comfort. But I felt safe and secure
knowing they were nearby, just in case the urge should arise.
Even without the potatoes, such abundance found in this
roast dinner necessitated a take-home bag for the dessert.
Our sweet specimen was an oven-hot slice of gingerbread,
that, had I been able to eat it at Biddy's, would have been
smothered in a dollop of heavy white cream. Caution: Bring
a wheelbarrow if you're the sort who insists on eating every
course.
Most Sunday roasts at Biddy's resemble this affair in content
if not in taste, flair and price. There will be pork roasts
and pot roasts with Yorkshire pudding, and maybe even some
roasts of poultry down the line. For sure, though, Biddy's
will need to add some kitchen help as things get more settled.
Now that it's got the proper kitchen and dining room to
back up its hidden talents in home-style Irish cooking,
I bet Biddy's Sunday roast thing will really take off.
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