Callahan's Irish Pub

Finally, the actual death of Callahan's.  This use to be one of the only places that catered to the upper classmen, grad students, and professors in town.  Then they decided to go 18 and over like Pinch, but worse, turn it into the Carbos/SIN/whatever else they  called that hell hole of a dance club next door.  Now instead of Callahan's, it is Saluki Bar and Grill.

A large half rectangle bar is the impressive center piece that it always has been.  There use to be a huge selection of all things booze.  Some really nice whiskeys, lots of other good liquor.  High top tables and a room for pool tables.  Now, it is similar, but TV's in every direction.  It went from Irish bar, to dance club, to sports bar.  

With the identity crisis, the somewhat decent beer list and huge liquor selection dwindled.  Then, my favorite pub grub spot outside of Mugsy's stopped serving food.  It use to be one of my favorite spots for fish and chips.  Service was always hit and miss, though really passive now.  

The reinstated kitchen is a joke.  Store bought wings, and mozzarella sticks.  Crappy burgers and wraps.  Some of the best pub grub in Carbondale turned to pre packaged crap.  Avoid.

It is one of the better places in Carbondale to go for well assembled mixed drinks. They tend to be more consistent than other Carbondale bars in handling complex drink orders. I haven't had as much trouble here as at other places in Carbondale.

The seating and reliance on server coming to tables for the operation of the bar tends to provide a natural limit to how crowded the bar can get. Even on Saturdays it is a bar that it is possible to have a conversation at.

The food is good but not stellar during the hours they serve it.

I might be biased-- I'm a bartender from a bigger city.  I got served decently quickly, but one bartender was a bitch and totally screwed up a basic drink.  The second bartender also totally screwed up the same basic drink, but put like 2x the alcohol in it (as opposed to half from the first) so I didn't mind as much.

The bathrooms are past security, but the door/security guys didn't seem to give a damn anyways, so getting in and out was easy.  Weird overflow with the dance half, a lot of girls in really slutty outfits.  Interesting experience for people watching!