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October 2007
Belly Up To The Bar
By: Larry Duffy
Creative Director
A couple of pints of Guinness, a friendly game of darts and suddenly my life is an Andy Capp cartoon. That’s what happens when a pub goes in down the street. Not that I’m complaining mind you. On the contrary, the opening of Ruskin O’Brien’s in New Town is a wonderful thing. Ruskin’s provides the opportunity for these simple pleasures right here in walking distance of home. It provides an opportunity to gather with friends and share a drink or a meal. It provides an opportunity to make new friends at the table or bar stool next to you. You may even choose to dance the night away as many did on a recent Saturday night.
Ruskin O’Brien’s is our newest "third place". After contending with the concerns of home and job it is vital to have that third place where a person can gather socially in a public setting. You can read all about it in Ray Oldenburg’s book "The Great Good Place" in which he delves into the physchological aspects of this human desire for social contact. Personally, I intend to do all my research on the subject at Ruskin’s.
Upon my first visit to Ruskin’s, I was stuck by just how easy it was to forget that I was in my own community. Swept up in the atmosphere and the conversation with friends and neighbors I felt as if could have been anywhere. That’s exactly what a good pub does.
It lets you forget for just a little while all those immediate nuisances in your life and focus on other things. You can come up and engage in discussions on topics as trivial as the Cardinal’s swoon or as grave as politics and war. The only cost of admission to participate in this round table is the price of a cold beer. It’s just icing on the cake when you step out the door and realize home is just a short walk away.
On a recent week night after the kids had gone to bed, instead of sitting on the couch flipping through two hundred channels of inane television, I opted to meet friends at the bar for a beer. On that night, Ruskin O’Brien’s’ proprietor Brian Garber was good enough to lend us his darts and we threw a game or two. I was probably twelve years old the last time I threw darts so it was fortunate that no one was injured. Still we had so much fun playing that we drove to South County the next day to buy our own sets. With geek-like solemnity we tested different weights and grips as if we knew something about it. The darts came with a cool carrying case and I spent half the ride home in the backseat arranging my accessories and flights. It was the most fun I’ve had since organizing my G.I. Joe footlocker as a kid. The thing about darts is you don’t have to be any good to have fun. Personally, I throw with all the quivering precision of Charlie Callas on a caffeine jag but I’m not about to let that stop me from playing. I realize it’s the camaraderie as much as the competition that makes the game enjoyable.
On an unseasonably cool September evening, Ruskin’s hosted New Town favorite, Pole Position. It was time to break out the Ocean Pacific and Members Only and dance to some eighties tunes. (I might be the only person who thinks Members Only jackets are still cool, but Bob Mitchum wore one till the end of his life, so with that I rest my case). Music from that decade really runs the gamut from good, bad to ugly, but everyone had a great time dancing to some excellent songs and some guilty pleasures. The place was packed and people came and went as wedding receptions and a block party had New Town alive with activity. Everywhere I looked I saw the smiling faces of people enjoying themselves. As a summer full of outdoor events in New Town winds down, it is comforting to know that Ruskin’s is there to keep the party going.
Sunday afternoon following Pole Position it was back up to Ruskin’s for the Rams game. In a laid back environment filled with young and old alike, I swilled diet coke and devoured chicken wings and loaded fries with a gluttonous depravity not seen since the days of Nero. A little recovery food for the night before. Speaking of the food, it is excellent with a nice mix of traditional pub fare and some interesting Irish specialties like the cabbage and potato dish colcannon. The corned beef sandwich is already on the menu but as the weather cools look for some hearty Irish stew to appear. Chef Rich Grzyb has big plans and the menu is likely to evolve and expand.
Brian and the crew at Ruskin O’Brien’s are working hard to be the neighborhood hangout that New Town has been clamoring for. They are striving to be a good neighbor and welcome addition to New Town and from what I’ve seen they are achieving those goals. It’s the places like Ruskin’s that become the heart of the community and I only look forward to the day when the entire corner of Rue Royale and New Town Lake Boulevard is bustling with restaurants, ice skaters and revelers. Ruskin O’Brien’s will sit proudly in the center as the great good place that got the ball rolling.
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