An unsolicited testimonial for the Irish Rover.

I've always been a fan of the Irish Rover on Frankfort Avenue in Louisville, which has been in business for 26 years.

The Reidys have busted their humps throughout, but the aspect of their business experience that speaks to me is success in executing an existing idea -- the Irish pub, as opposed to the German beer hall or Belgian beer cafe -- by establishing a constant core of daily undertow, while allowing for creativity and evolution around the edges.

Conceptually, the Irish pub is not a kaleidoscope. It does not spin and whirl. It resists fads. It has a timeless foundation of certain beers, spirits, meals and design. The core is unvarying, and moving away from the core, more about it remains the same than changes, but of course change is allowed ... in context, so long as new trifles don't compromise the fundamental appeal. 

There is a reason why Irish pubs can be fond all over the planet. Part of it has to do with the power of the Irish historical narrative and the nation's diaspora, although I'd submit that a greater quotient of the world's fondness for Irish pubs pertains to their uncanny ability to be a chain-like templates of cozy predictability while at the very same time retaining uniqueness from one to the next.

You always know what to expect, and yet every pub is different.

This is a supreme balancing act, and it is not to be undervalued. The Irish Rover has excelled at doing so for quarter-century, and I deeply appreciate it. The tail does not wag the dog. The essence is what matters, with complementary sprinklings of newbie to keep things fresh.

It's about keeping focus, filtering the bedlam, and most importantly, having the confidence to stay the course. The latter might be most difficult of all, as something about the American "free" market always has sanctioned the ephemeral over the bedrock. Maybe we really are this flighty and unmoored, but I persist in thinking there are commonalities capable of uniting us.

To repeat, I love the Irish Rover, even if I don't make it there often enough. It's a pub that is what it is, and doesn't try to be what it isn't, while still managing to have a bit of something for everyone.

Or, to me, a model.

New England (New York) Vacation Vignette 4: Spike Dailey's, a great little pub in Dunkirk.

It says so right there on the menu, and I'm inclined to agree: Spike Dailey's "arguably (is) the smallest pub in New York." Located in Dunkirk just a stone’s throw from Lake Erie, the joint is small. The last time I saw a pub this small it was aboard a train (a bar car in Austria).

My only regret is that pub owner Aisling Pheenan, who hails from Dublin, was too busy to have her ear bent. Following are a couple of photos borrowed from her Facebook page, which I hope convey a smidgen of the ambiance (and size). 

An excellent place, indeed. We were staying at a hotel roughly 100 yards away, and Diana spotted the sign for an Irish pub. Spike's was it. Unfortunately I'd already eaten Beef on Weck down the street, or I'd have had one here.

I tracked down a small Irish pub called Spike Dailey’s that had rave reviews for its Beef on Weck. This is essentially a roast beef sandwich served on a kimmelweck roll with a side of hot horseradish. The roll is the secret here. A kimmelweck is like a Kaiser roll, only it’s topped off with big flakes of salt and caraway seeds. This combination is so good, because it’s actually quite simple. All the flavors meld together in a mouthful of deliciousness. After a long day on the water, a hot sandwich, cold beer and potato chips and salad hit the spot.

Our visit to Spike Dailey's came on the final night of the trip. We'd traveled much the same northerly route both directions: I-71 from Louisville to I-171 in Cleveland OH, then down I-90 to Western Massachusetts, via local roads from Albany NY (headed up) and I-91 to Springfield MA (coming back).

The journey was split in half both ways, with nights in Erie PA (outbound) and Dunkirk NY (return). On July 4 the overnight in Dunkirk had the benefit of coming in a hotel by the bay, with the north lawn hosting Independence Day revelers. Just a few steps toward the city's pier, from where the evening's fireworks were detonated, was a delightful strip of tiny commercial spaces in a single building, maybe 8 in number, including at least two bars, a pizza joint, a sweet shop and a boutique or two with restrooms and an ATM located square in the center.

From a beer drinker's perspective, this proved to be a fine layout for a summer's civic fireworks party, given that there apparently are no laws prohibiting cups of beer being carried around.

And they were. It was a mellow crowd spread down the lakeshore, a fireworks display that impressed even this Grinch, and a nice coda to the journey.

Thirst -- or, "20 of the best pubs in Ireland."

Remember.

Paddy Not Patty: A Modest Proposal to the People of the New World

It’s Paddy, not Patty – EVER.

Now, get ready for some eye candy. If these pub reviews don't make you thirsty for a pint of the black stuff, I'm not sure what will. I've plucked just one example from twenty.

20 of the best pubs in Ireland: readers’ tips (The Guardian)

To celebrate St Patrick’s Day, readers salute the idyllic locations, great music, bonhomie and creamy stout of the island’s brilliant pubs

The Marine Bar, Pulla, Co Waterford

On the fringes of the Ring Gaeltacht (Irish-speaking area), the Marine Bar has been keeping the locals watered for more than 300 years. Nowadays the pub is known across the sunny south east for its traditional music sessions, led by owner Christy O’Neill. Hunker down for some ballads (participation welcomed) after a day’s exertion on the wild Copper Coast or cycling the excellent Waterford Greenway. Friday night fireside sessions are the most popular, but there’s music throughout the week. The black stuff optional, but highly recommended.
-- Steve Kirby

THE BEER BEAT: Photographing traditional Irish storefronts for posterity, like the Railway Bar.

The loss of storefronts in Ireland is a lamentable cultural atrocity. It isn't restricted to pubs, but of course I'm enraptured by one of the pubs pictured in the article.

The photo above accompanies the article. The one below is from 2011. The Railway Bar's actually looking a tad fresher.

The flowers are a nice touch, and the pints of Guinness ... even better. Here's a photo of a multi-purpose joint in Sligo, which I snapped in black and white back in '85.

Or this one, I believe in Cork, from 1987.

It's too bad about the disappearance of these traditional commercial features. For a revealing look into the way that Irish pub fronts (make that, entire Irish pubs) are conjured at home and installed in "shells" around the world, jump here.

A Last Look at Ireland’s Disappearing Storefronts, by Anika Burgess (Atlas Obscura)

Photographing the colors and typography of traditional Irish shops.

On a narrow street in the town of Wexford, in the southeast of Ireland, is B. Corcoran, a men’s clothing store. It’s been in operation since 1956, a fact which is evident from its storefront: above a painted olive green exterior, a wedge-shaped sign spells out “B. Corcoran Ltd.” in burgundy scripted lettering.

Storefronts such as this one are a visual treasure for the graphic designer Trevor Finnegan. For the past eight years, in his spare time, he’s been exploring and photographing traditional Irish stores all over the country. The ongoing project is a way to document an important part of Ireland’s visual traditions and crafts, says Finnegan. “Their unique design style and the typographic styles really appeal to me,” he explains. “They are the face of local business and the give a real sense of friendliness that you find in these types of places here in Ireland.”

There’s another reason that Finnegan wants to document the storefronts: they’re in decline. Smaller, family-run stores suffered during the recession, he says. “With many young people now living and working in the bigger cities such as Dublin, Cork, and Galway, many of these shops just simply closed down.” There is also the seemingly inexorable shift toward larger or more homogenous stores. “People’s shopping habits have changed and bigger chain stores have moved into towns across Ireland,” he says, “which has really affected local smaller businesses like these ... ”