Mackey's Public House

Public houses ('pubs' for short -- who knew?) have long been an integral part of the social fabric in Ireland and England. Less so in downtown DC, but I'm not one to let history or geography get in the way of another opportunity to try the wings. Our server Tim came by wearing a fun-o-meter pin that looked something like this, and I asked for for wings extra crispy and why the fun-o-meter was only registering about 70%. "This is about as fun as it gets."

Mackey's website explains that "The main bar area is decorated in the style that was popular in Dublin in the late 19th and early 20th centuries," but it was a nice night and we sat out front with our drinks. There's plenty of outdoor seating from which to watch L street go by. We were there at about 9:30 and paid full price for the wings, though apparently there are both happy hour and late night specials. That's fine. We were sipping whiskey and beer and enjoying spring.

Unremarkable wings. They were hot enough, and they were spicy enough, but they lacked flavor. Take it from my dining companions who said, in this order, "highs and lows but you don't have the middle," "it's like my life," and "it's like a cheap rosé." Not exactly a ringing endorsement. I agree with them: these wings are unexciting. So here's a video of a tractor playing percussion on Sweet Georgia Brown.