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One of the few Madison
Square Garden area bars without Blarney in its name, Stout tries to
class it up a little bit. "Class" here is a very very relative
term in this case. It's not as if you're going to find yourself walking
into the Oak Room or something, but at the same time this thing isn't
a glorified OTB or crackhouse way station. They may try to sell this
place as an Irish pub, but I’ve been to Ireland and calling
this joint an Irish Pub is like calling Chuck E. Cheese a local pizza
shop. It's actually a giant warehouse of a sports bar dressed up in
what seems like a weird medieval theme upstairs, and a winding map
of rooms that seems to never end. I honestly had no idea the place
was quite as gigantic as it actually is, but if you go to their site
and scroll around the photos section, you'll discover that this thing
has more hallways and twists and turns than the subway corridors under
the Port Authority. We actually went there to watch a University of
Texas bowl game (with actual fans of the team), and ended up sitting
in the cellar. I've never been a big proponent of subterranean dining
and drinking, and this place has certainly not changed my mind. It's
odd to me sitting somewhere that had no windows and would trap you
like rat fricassee if a fire were to break out. The management of
the restaurant leaves a bit to be desired, as we soon learned when
a couple of our party wasn't there at the time of our reservation
and we were rudely shuttled to a table that was clearly built for
midgets and pygmies. Of course the rest of our party eventually showed
up, and we ended up squashed at that table with borrowed chairs and
a rotating eating schedule so that we could all grub without having
to put our plates in our laps. I guess it was ultimately our problem,
but the attitude was less than desirable. Anyway, the food was typical
bar food, the beer was cold, and the TVs plentiful. The whole low-ceilinged
thing--especially compared with the soaring space upstairs--was a
little off-putting, but watching college football in what felt like
a fraternity basement (although one of the nicer frat basements I've
seen), seemed not completely out of place. So if you and twenty of
your closest friends are really aching to see that Rams game, and
you like drinks and burgers and don't really care for authenticity,
then come on down to Stout and be sure to get all your buddies to
show the hell up and grab a space. [MF]
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