O’Reilly’s Taproom & Kitchen satisfies a hankering for Irish food

• By Phantom Diner

OK, Phantom Phans, this might surprise you.

Because March is a month in which we, or at least a lot of us, celebrate Ireland, the wearin’ of the green (not so much the Irish song, but the actual wearing) and St. Patrick’s Day, I had a hankering for foods related to same and, because I heard good things, I ended up (gasp!) eating hotel food, even though I wasn’t traveling.

I know, I know, hotel food is almost exclusively reserved for when one’s away on business with not a lot of leisure time, maybe in an unfamiliar place, and the best, easiest out for dinner is whatever the hotel you’re staying in is offering.

But these learned-from-experience reservations can be set aside when in comes to O’Reilly’s Taproom located in the Best Western Central Hotel & Conference Center off Union Deposit Road on Harrisburg’s East Shore.

Stay with me.

First, bar/restaurant looks like an upgraded version of an old-school Irish public house. There’s lots of wood and brass, a large wrap-around bar in the middle of the room, Irish flags, hanging lights, a fireplace, bookshelves, some high-top seating, banquette seating, regular table seating, booths and the very wide selection of beer and booze.

There’s a couple dozen beers on tap, including the impeccable Guinness Stout and its delicious, too-infrequently-seen sister, Smithwicks’ Irish red ale. The list, both on-tap and bottled, offers plenty of craft beer as well, plus old standards.

Prefer cocktails or something to sip after supper? O’Reilly’s has plenty of single-malt Scotches, including Glenmoragie Highland and the iconic 16-year old Lagavulin.

Same goes for Irish whiskey, with choices such as Green Spot and Redbreast.

Secondly, the staff here is about as friendly as you’ll find in any restaurant. And the bright, open venue is warm and welcoming. You won’t feel like you’re in a hotel restaurant or bar.

The food menu includes small plates, soups and salads, sandwiches and burgers and regular entrees. But I went there for the “Classic O’Reilly’s” section.

I admit a small-plate listing of “Irish Nachos” ($10) caught my eye. But the menu description sure made it seem like they’re just regular nachos somebody decided to call “Irish.”

And I was tempted by the “Pot O’ Gold,” $16 worth house-smoked wings, cheese logs, potato skins, spinach and crab dip. But that seemed like a meal for five.

Instead, I indulged my weakness for potato skins, which go nicely with beer or almost any aperitif. They were delicious. Four to the order ($9), easy to share, made with cheddar cheese, bacon bits and scallions and perfectly crisped.

A dining partner liked them, too, but made the comment, “Too much bacon,” to which I replied, “An impossibility.”

We passed on salads because we were in a taproom. And we considered the “Irish Burger” served with thick-cut bacon, cheese sauce, Swiss cheese, onions, mushrooms and fried potato pancake ($13). But we stuck with the original intent of going “classic.”

For my partner that meant flame-grilled meatloaf with veggies and mashed potatoes served with a slice of Irish soda bread that our server said came from a Philadelphia bakery and that I said tasted like dessert.

My choice? The signature “St. Patrick’s Pot Roast” ($17). And I’m not even a big fan of pot roast fan, which too often can be flat, dry and tasteless. But this pot roast, served with root veggies and yummy mashed potatoes, was moist, full of flavor and accompanied by a slice of that delicious “dessert” bread.

Other “Classic” entrees include fish n’ chips, shepherd’s pie, bangers and mash and more, most priced in the $15 to $18 range.

And, as mentioned, there are regular entrée options such as grilled ribeye steak, crab cakes, house-smoked ribs and salmon, though the latter comes glazed with Jameson’s Irish whiskey. These entrees from the low- to high-$20s.

O’Reilly’s has been around a long time and is rightly known among local beer lovers for having one of the best beer menus in the region.

But it is more than that. It’s also good comfort food as reasonable prices in a pleasant, feel-good surrounding.

Give it try this month. And if you’re at the bar, don’t forget to offer a toast, slainte (slaan-sha), Old Irish for “health,” as in “to your health.” You might surprise someone.

 

O’REILLY’S

800 East Park Dr., Harrisburg; Best Western Premier Hotel

Open all day every day for breakfast, lunch, dinner and 4-to-6 pm happy hours

Takes major cards, lots of lot parking; separate outside entrance; 717-564-2700.