Read the table tent
placards at the Two Fools Tavern and you'll learn that this is where the
craic is mighty. An old Gaelic term pronounced "crack", craic refers to the lively essence of the pub experience, a unique and
sometimes loud combination of good friends, good times and of course,
good pints.
Craic is a word
for which there is no exact English translation even though there are
some 9,000 pubs in the Emerald Isle. In Ireland, pubs, or public
houses, are a focal point of the community--as much as the local church.
It's where friends gather for camaraderie and commiseration.
The sale and
consumption of alcoholic libations is perhaps the pub function with
which most Americans are familiar. Most public houses offer a
range of beers, wines, spirits and soft drinks with beer tending to be
the most popular adult beverage.
In recent years,
serving food has become a more important function of the public house
throughout the British Isles. Yeah, I know what you're
saying. Good food at an Irish pub is an oxymoron.
When it comes to the culinary arts,
Ireland (just like England) is the Rodney Dangerfield of Europe; its
cuisine receives absolutely no respect. Irish food is regarded as bland
and unimaginative, especially when compared with the haute (and haughty)
cuisine of France.
Having spent three years in England
partaking of wonderful pub food throughout the British Isles, I rise to
the defense of this maligned region's food, especially "pub grub" which
is actually quite good. Even 20 years ago, we found many pubs serving restaurant
quality meals.
A
defining element of a pub's identity is its exterior signage.
Public houses throughout the British Isles have been required since the
12th century to erect signs outside their premises. Typically, a
pub's signage will include both the pub's name and a graphical element
(essential because in the Middle Ages, a large percentage of the
population was illiterate).
A pub's
name and graphical identity tell a lot about its character. The
name Two Fools Tavern along with its graphical identity of two
harlequin-style buffoons seems to convey a fun and relaxed ambience.
In that respect, it fits right into the Nob Hill district.
In the British Isles where I've seen pubs named The Spread Eagle and Cow
& Snuffer's, the name Two Fools probably wouldn't warrant a double-take,
but it's pretty unique for Burque.
The
Two Fools Tavern exemplifies the Irish pub concept that in recent years
has caught on like wildfire in America. It's a concept not without
its detractors. One European Web site denounces the "Irish
Pub Plague," equating the Irish pub template as "the
McDonalds of the pub trade." Talk about no sense of humor.
The Two
Fools Tavern could not possibly hope to duplicate the authentic Irish
pub experience (especially not without the garrulous Irish), but it's 4,711 miles from Glasgow for gosh sakes.
For Anglophiles like me, it's only a few miles away and for that we're
grateful.
Besides, the Two Fools Tavern provides just about the most European feel
of any tavern in Albuquerque. It's possible American culture will
never lend itself to any pub becoming a social hub for an extended
community, but most visitors should enjoy their experience and even the
food.
From
the outside, the Two Fools Tavern could pass for a pub in the British
Isles with its bright blue facade, potted plants in box-shaped planters,
Old English signage and Tudor style use of wooden planks. The
theme continues inside the pub where dark wood accents and Irish
brickerbrack add a homely but masculine feel.
Even the small, stylish tables and chairs are traditional and lend an authentic Irish feel.
The
Tavern is the braintrust of entrepreneurial Tom White and the fine folks
who have given New Mexico such dining establishments as
Scalo's Italian Grill, Pranzo's Italian
Grill (Santa Fe) and
Il Vicino.
Adult libations
include Guinness, the world-famous Irish beer brewed since 1759.
At only ten calories per ounce, Guinness (which claims to have bottled
the craic) is the favorite beer of the Emerald Isle. Also
available are beers brewed in New Mexico, Mexico, England, Oregon,
Holland and Ireland. On tap are California's Ace Pear Cider and
other popular favorites.
The menu is more akin
to what we were familiar at Irish restaurants than what most pubs
served. That means such appetizers as Scotch eggs, hard
boiled eggs wrapped in sausage and bread crumbs then cooked to a golden
brown and served with pub (Boar's Head) mustard.
More often than not,
Scotch eggs are served cold and even though that isn't the case at the
Tavern, these were more than passable. The sausage was mildly
spicy and the bread crumb crust not too thick.
For generations, the
most popular working class take-away food has been fish and chips
which in Ireland are usually served in paper-bags with grease-proof
inner-lining. Not surprisingly, fish and chips are the most
popular item on the Two Fools menu.
At the Tavern, fish
and chips are served in a platter with a faux newspaper lining.
Portion sizes range from "one and one", the traditional Irish way of
ordering one piece of fish with chips to three pieces of fish with chips
for the larger appetite. The fish is a house ale-battered haddock.
It is lightly battered to a golden brown hue.
Diners in Ireland
normally eat their chips with salt and vinegar. The chips at the
Tavern are very much Americanized (thin and crispy) and don't sop up the
vinegar as well as the flaccid white potatoes used for chips throughout
the British Isles.
Still, good fish and
chips in America are hard to find and these are better than we've had at
other so-called Irish taverns in New Mexico. The homemade tartar
sauce is equally sweet and savory and in the whole, very good (though
you can also drench your fish in vinegar as we did).
Served with the fish
and chips is a sweet coleslaw with tangy bits of apple. It, too,
is quite good.
On
Sundays, a traditional all-day Irish breakfast is a welcome sight
indeed. If you've never had an Irish breakfast, you're in for a
real treat.
At the Tavern, this
breakfast consists of two eggs cooked your way, Irish rashers (bacon),
breakfast bangers (sausages), mushrooms, grilled tomato, black and white
puddings (sausage made from pigs' blood, suet and seasonings) and Irish
brown bread.
Irish rashers is an
elite class of bacon, some of the very best in the world. Rashers
are
made with a meatier belly cut than the streaky American bacon and have
an almost ham-like appearance.
Even in the British
Isles, many people never acquire a taste for black and white puddings
based solely on its composition. Seasoned well, these puddings can
become addictive. Among the seasonings easily discernable on the
Tavern's pudding is allspice which has a taste reminiscent of cinnamon
or nutmeg.
For $1.25 you can add
English baked beans to the Irish breakfast. Unlike American baked
beans which use molasses, English baked beans are made with a tomato
sauce. It's what we enjoyed least in our meal.
Four homemade sweets
are available with which to finish a grand meal. The bread
pudding, made with Bailey's Irish Cream and Jameson whiskey sauce is
roughly the size of a small meatloaf. It's big enough for a family
of four to share.
About the only thing
missing at the Two Fools Tavern are the ubiquitous dartboards you find
in public houses throughout the British Isles. Certainly not
missing is a lively ambience that while not entirely authentic is about
as close as you'll get in Albuquerque.
