McGonigle’s Irish Pub
3512 E. Main StreetI’m not even going to pretend I don’t hate talking on the phone. I rarely talk to anyone other than my wife or my mom. I’ve always hated it and text messaging has made me despise phone calls even more.
That holds true when it comes time to order carry-out. If I really want something, I will suck it up and make the phone call but places with online ordering win out most of the time.
I had a day pretty much to myself at work in the middle of last week. I had some housekeeping things to do around the office and a late afternoon meeting but for the most part, it was a leisurely day. I started looking for some place to order lunch from and came across a really surprising place that has online ordering.
McGonigle’s Irish Pub is on East Main Street in the Eastwood Plaza near the intersection with Nazareth Road. I’ve seen advertisements for the pub before but never even given it a thought when we’ve discussed meal plans. Being on the Eastside of town on a road we rarely drive on. The restaurant is marked by a green awning jutting out from a shopping center that has clearly seen better days.
I put my order in from the office then made my way down Main Street hoping to time it out right to the ETA I was given when I ordered. They were a little backed up when I walked in so I took a seat at a table in front of the bar.
The restaurant isn’t very big but it was bigger than I expected it to be. The main room is L-shaped with the bar wrapping around the kitchen. There are pub tables in this area and a doorway that leads in to a dining room. There were quite a few people eating lunch and it seemed the the wait staff knew everyone so I assume they’re lunch regulars. The place is covered with green carpeting on the floors and wood slat paneling on the walls. It feels like an Irish Pub but at the same time, it’s not overly in your face Irish Pub either.
My order was the McGonigle’s Burger which was served alongside fries and a pickle.
The sandwich is huge. It’s a full pound of meat divided between two patties. The sandwich has three types of cheeses, bacon, lettuce, tomato, and mayo. The sandwich wasn’t as daunting as I expected it to be. The burger patties are frozen beef but they were still juicy and had a crispy but not burnt exterior. The cheeses are layered on different levels so each one is distinct depending how you bite into the sandwich. The sandwich was delicious but I chose to skip the mayo (I hate mayonnaise) and that left it a little dry. I’m not sure what I’d put on it though..I’m not a condiment guy…most likely, I’d order it like this again and enjoy it again just as it is.
The fries were frozen battered french fries. They were good but the one pound hamburger is enough to eat on it’s own. I snacked on the fries over the course of the afternoon eventually finishing them all. Again, a condiment would have helped these a little but I’m not a condiment guy. They were fine as they were but I may have added a some mustard for dipping.
My bill for lunch was a little over $16. I never would have guessed McGonigle’s Irish Pub was a place to get a meal like this. In the ten years I’ve lived in Kalamazoo, I don’t think anyone has ever mentioned the place to me and it’s a shame. They have pretty good pub food and there’s not a lot of places like it on the east side of Kalamazoo.
SW Michigan Dining 