[Real Detroit Weekly] Where's the (Corned) Beef?

Corned beef dinner at Dick O'Dow's. Photo by Nicole Rupersburg.

"Irish cuisine" might sound like a bit of an oxymoron – they basically just boil everything for eight hours and then pile it all together on a plate. But, you know, that isn't necessarily a bad thing. Take corned beef, for instance: brined then boiled for several hours until it turns the angry pink of a third-degree burn* but tender and juicy when properly sliced or chopped up and thrown into a hash, corned beef is the cornerstone of Irish cuisine. And, because metro Detroit is multi-cultural and we are lucky to have such diversity, the many Jewish delis in the area also slice up a mean kosher nosh of corned beef with their knishes. While some say the brines differ slightly between the two cultures, Irish pubs and Jewish delis alike will go through thousands of pounds of this stuff this week alone. But enough kibitzing; cead mile failte!

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*Note: Probably would have been funnier if I had said, "...the angry pink of a drunken Irishman." Oh, hindsight.

[Real Detroit Weekly] Dick O'Dow's

Photo by Nicole Rupersburg.

It can be hard to find a place in Biiiiiiiiiiiiirmingham where you feel comfortable enough to kick back and enjoy a few pints in your jeans and tennies without feeling out of place. Dick O'Dow's offers exactly that kind of laid-back, casual atmosphere, a dark corner pub (though not really on the corner) in the midst of all the bright lights, big city bars and restaurants and lounges of B-ham.

Open since 1996, Dick O'Dow's has been one of Birmingham's best watering holes for many years, and while they most certainly served food during this time, it wasn't until after the smoking ban went into effect in May 2010 that customers started seeing them less as a bar that serves food and more as a restaurant with a great bar.

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[Real Detroit Weekly] O'Connor's Public House

Photo by Nicole Rupersburg.

When Whitney Houston said "Crack is whack," she wasn't talking about the craic ("crack") at O'Connor's. (P.S., "craic" is Celtic for super-fun party times.) O'Connor's is where the craic is! 

O'Connor's Public House in Rochester is the kind of place you wish all Irish pubs would be: warm, inviting, comfortable, friendly, full of outstanding food and beer: in other words, bloody brilliant. 

There's a reason O'Connor's feels so much like an authentic Irish pub, even if you've never been to Ireland to make the comparison. Everything in the bar was built or salvaged in the U.K. then shipped over; the pub itself is a faithful recreation of an actual Irish pub. When people talk about whether or not a place is "authentic," just know that this place is the real deal.

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Real Detroit Weekly: Gus O'Connor's

Fair warning: Irish hospitality often comes in the form of Jameson shots.

“As a public house we feel we’re more than just a neighborhood bar,” says Executive Chef and General Manager of Gus O’Connor’s in Rochester, Michael Keys. “A public house is a spot where everyone is comfortable and feels welcome. We’re a meeting place for the whole community.”

Talk about true Irish hospitality — as soon as I walked in the door, I was invited to join a group already sitting. Within minutes I had a pint of Magners Irish Cider in front of me, a true Irish cider that until recently wasn’t even available in Michigan. This stuff is Veuve Clicquot compared to Strongbow’s Tosti Asti Spumante — real cider, not that sugary kids' stuff. I followed this with a shot of Jameson (this is how the Irish say hello and goodbye), which was followed by a perfect pint of Guinness. Well, hell, when in Dublin …

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