Irish Village (Heart & Crown) corner of Clarence and Parent in the ByWard Market, Ottawa, ON (now with photo)

This picture was taken directly from The Irish Village Web-site and, again, I hope I'm not in shit.

The Irish Village is is four pubs in one. Unlike Hurley's which is one pub with many rooms, The Irish Village is many pubs connected. The difference? Well, The Irish Village has an entrance to each of its 'rooms' and washrooms in every 'room'. They really do exist as separate entities, but you walk freely from one to the other with your drink in hand.

The Heart & Crown is the front room (which is what appears over the door). The bar is on your right, the stage is in the front window, and there are plenty of tables. There is a lot of hardwood and glass. If you keep going, you will find yourself in The Snug. This is my favourite place in the pub (In Ottawa, I just call it The Pub...like I do in Montreal with Hurley's). The Snug has two very special tables in it. They are my favourite tables! They have walls and doors! No kidding. It almost reminds me of a train car. You can go in there and close the door! Neither the doors nor the walls go to the ceiling (total privacy is not ensured...but close). There is Waterford Crystal behind the bar that is to die for. There is stone, a woodstove, and Danny McGarry will treat you very well! There is also a patio that moats two sides of the building.

From there you can go to Mother McGintey's which is the largest of the quad. Oh, you can watch sporting matches in The Snug and in Mother McGintey's. Big screens and big fun! Bigger acts play on this stage. They recently expanded it and it's awesome. Larry and Pat own this pub. I know Larry very well and consider him and his wife Michele good friends. Lar, I feel for the poor aul horse. There are 2 bars in this pub and you should see the job Julie does decorating for any event (Halloween, special events, etc). I don't think that's in her job description, but she does it anyway! That's Julie! Thanks for the shirt, girl; it's quite the conversation piece! There is a large patio (which, due to the lay of the land, is a second-story patio) off the back of the pub. It's dynamite.

Also in the corner between The Snug and Mother McGintey's is the smoking area that we just call The Courtyard (for the life of me, I don't know which pub that belongs to). Anyway, due to the City of Ottawa's bylaw banning smoking in all public places...Lar has an outside area that is beautiful. It is multi-leveled with tables, chairs barrels for stand-up tables, 4 famous red tables (one of which I want, Larry...the one where our famous horse story took place). The walls of both Mother McGintey's and The Snug are done so they look the outside walls of a small place and you are in the lane. Brilliant! There is a tent over this in the winter and there are heating lamps. You really don't know you're outside. You can see and hear the band, have your smoke and your beer, and a way t'go!

Roisin Dubh (The Black Rose) is downstairs from Mother McGintey's and is like a typical little Irish pub. It is very impressive with a feeling of times past. I don't spend much time in that part of the pub, but I have been to a party there (thanks, Larry) and it is a great little place.

I have to tell you that there are different menus for all these places. The Carnivore pizza (I believe this is on the Mother McGintey's menu) is to die for and the Leinster Pasta is one of my favourites (thanks, Isabelle). Their food is spectacular. I really wouldn't even put it in the category of 'pub grub'...though you can get that stuff too. Go have a look at their menus!

The happy hour gang here is great. I was only in Ottawa just under two years and I have much emotion for this pub and these people. It's the only place I go in Ottawa, and that is not likely to change. I tell you, it was really great having that pub as a newcomer to the city. A great local! We are all in the same hockey pool...in which I finished dead last this year (PedroKnowsHockey). We go to hockey games together, we spend afternoons on the patios. We have the Irish festival in September. We thank GOD for our VIP cards! Peter organizes a honkin' golf tournament every year. We chat in the snug after work, we listen to Brian & Kevin, which is a WHOLE other story, and will be the next posting. It will fit well with the Hurley's thing too. OK, good.

So, The Heart & Crown, Irish Village is something pretty frickin' great. It's been wonderful to me and it's a place I will always want to be. I love it there and I miss it something fierce. I laugh so, so, so much there (thanks, Peter). Yeah, Peter's outlook and his one-liners are great (he's also pretty quick on the raydar)! I'm even laughing as I type this. Again, I have to leave out names and stories (so my pals don't KILL me outright).

I'm going to sign off and post this (and get to the Brian & Kevin stories that combine Montreal and Ottawa)...oy oy!

Michele, have a watermelon cooler for me! I have a box of 'em in the fridge!

Stay tuned for Brian and Kevin.