O'Rourke's Public House

Had a great lunch at O'Rourke's today. Very attentive wait-staff, who got us in and out quickly with wonderful food. Thank you ladies, I will be back.

Good food, literally across the street from the ND campus.  Prices are a bit high compared to similar pub offerings across the Midwest. Did I say good food?  Oh, fair service. I sat at the bar, and the three people behind the bar were much more concerned about cleaning shelves, drip trays, and cooler doors, than my experience or the 5 other people sitting at  the bar.  I was there from 6:45 pm to 7:30 pm. Shouldn't they clean from like 2-4 in the afternoon, or after last call?  I don't enjoying watching people clean and then serve me food without washing their hands before they touch my plate or glass. Just saying....

Been twice now, and now I can safely say: nah.  I'd rather go to Fiddler's

1st time - smart, professional server.  Totally on top of her game.  Prompt.
2nd time - very nice server, very attractive, for those who care.  Not very knowledgeable about beers, but it wasn't a problem as she had a handy list with descriptions!  Very good humor.  Otherwise totally competent.

So, the food is not great.  Fried pickles were too salty, but hey, that's not really a surprise.  The burgers just aren't very good, though - they taste a little assembly line.  And the toppings that are available are neither authentic nor all that good.  Guacamole was bland.  Pulled pork was ok, though quite fatty.

Actually, meat is really the name of the game here.  You remember that one Onion article, "America's #1 condiment is meat"?  This is what they're talking about.

The "authentic" irish food seemed reasonably ok.  Once again, meat heavy.

Food prices are somewhat high, but portions are enormous as well.  I'd say the value is not bad, when considering both quality and amount.

Beer though?  Hilariously overpriced.  7.50 for a pint of domestic craft beer, I think it was.  At Fiddler's it's usually more like 6.00, and is often lower.  And the selection was middling.

So....yeah.  I'd rather just go to Fiddler's.