Carney's Pub & Grill

I go to out once a month (at least) with a long-established group of friends, and we talk about where we'd like to meet up for drinks. We've been hanging out for years.

So where do we go? We want a place that can accommodate our varying tastes for drinks -- overwhelmingly tap beers. We want a place where we don't have to shout over the other noise in the place. We also want a place that's got other people -- ambience.

We have been at other places, but we settled on Carney's, and all of us are really happy with the choice. Nothing with us is ever set in stone, so we re-evaluate. But we've been at Carney's for 6 or 7 months now, once a month, and it's the best place, by far, we've been.

Why? The selection of tap beers is great and getting better. Contrast this to other spots -- paging Fox and Hound, please pick up the white courtesy phone... -- and the difference is stark. Now, if all you care about is a cold glass do Coors-Bud-Miller light, you don't need to come to Carney's; any place will do. Go to The Tap to Ozona or wherever. But if you want a great selection of American beers that ranges all over and changes with regularity, then Carney's will keep you interested. It keeps me and my friends interested, to be sure. For example, they recently added Honker's Ale from Chicago. They also have the full selection of the amazing local Karbach beers, all on tap. Awesome stuff.

On Tuesdays, pints are $2. Wow! That's close to free.

The service is good. Is it fabulous? Not quite, and there's a good amount of turnover in the bar tending staff. I'm not sure why, and that's a bit of a concern. I hope that the owner realizes that most of his patrons aren't there for shallow eye candy. I've met the owner a half-dozen times. He's there all the time, and seems like a solid person who invests a lot of himself in the place. That bodes well.

I've had bites of the food there. My friends have had more. I'm not a super big fan. Things seem to be over-cheesed (the processed variety) and not distinctive. Fries are at best passable. Burgers are just ok for bar food.

In sum: If you're in BCS, and going out to a non-Northgate place with a group of people whose tastes in beers will vary, Carney's is sure to please. It's hard to imagine that my group of buddies and I will find a replacement soon.

Wow, the selection of Texas craft beer may be the finest in town. Enjoyed several from Karbach and a great nutty ESB from Independence Brewing Company. Place is really growing on me as the crowd is a real nice mix of students, TAMU folk, and townies and has a real "local" (in the English pub jargon) feel to it.  Ok this is my new hangout. See ya there.

Nice large selection of drafts, but they missed the local one, New Republic Brewing, brewed in College Station.