| The New York Optimist |
| "Just as the historian can teach no real history until he has cured his readers of the romantic delusion that the greatness of a queen consists in her being a pretty woman and having her head cut off, so the playwright of the first order can do nothing with his audience until he has cured them of looking at the stage through the keyhole, and sniffing round the theatre as prurient people sniff round the divorce court." (from G.B. Shaw's preface in Three Plays by Brieux, 1911) |
| Irish novelist and playwright, one of the great names of Absurd Theatre with Eugéne Ionesco, although recent study regards Beckett as postmodernist. His plays are concerned with human suffering and survival, and his characters are struggling with meaninglessness and the world of the Nothing. Beckett was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1969. In his writings for the theater Beckett showed influence of burlesque, vaudeville, the music hall, commedia dell'arte, and the silent-film style of such figures as Keaton and Chaplin. |
| William Butler Yeats |
| Shades of Green Pub and Restaurant, is owned by Patrick Cormican originally from Aughrim, Ballinasaloe, County Galway. Pat's pub experience began in his youth back in Dublin City. In 1969 he decided to pursue his dream and move to New York, where he started out as a bartender. After many years, this determined and affable Irishman moved on to open as he says himself, "The" Shades of Green. He's a dab hand at making a Hot Toddy or an Irish Coffee, and his special Whiskey Sours could tell a tale or two! Lucky for him, his skills run in the family — Pat's own son John Patrick has been helping out since he was 8 years of age. |
He Wishes For The Cloths Of Heaven HAD I the heavens' embroidered cloths, Enwrought with golden and silver light, The blue and the dim and the dark cloths Of night and light and the half-light, I would spread the cloths under your feet: But I, being poor, have only my dreams; I have spread my dreams under your feet; Tread softly because you tread on my dreams. |
| Samuel Beckett |
| George Bernard Shaw |
| "No man is rich enough to buy back his past." "Good resolutions are simply checks that men draw on a bank where they have no account." "Men become old, but they never become good." -- “Lady Windermere's Fan” |
| Oscar Wilde |
Shades of Green
A lovely Irish bar and Bistro
When you walk into Shades of Green a
restaurant bar located at 125 East 15th
Street One block away from
Manhattans famous Union Square the
first thing you see is all the pictures and
drawings hanging on the wall of famous
Irish poets and writers like William
Butler Yeats, George Bernard Shaw, Pat
O’Brian, Samuel Beckett, James Joyce,
and Oscar Wilde, and all I could think
was here are the greatest literary giants
of history inviting me to sit down and
have a pint of my favorite ale while you
ponder the meaning of life and figure out
what your going to say to the beautiful
lass sitting at the end of the bar.
If your out of words and your game is a
little off maybe you should brush up on
your poetry and take some advice from
the kings of wordplay hanging on the
wall above the comfortable dining booths
behind the bar which make a perfect
place to have a private and romantic
conversation. I had the opportunity to
visit this little gem of a bar this past
Monday night to attend a party for the
film Kabluey by Irish writer Scott
Prendergast. I showed up a little early
and was greeted by Paul Tiernan the
bartender who by the end of the evening
had not only made me feel right at home
and like he was a friend for years but
entertained the hell out of me with his
heavy Irish brogue and antics.
So John what type of magazine do you
work for he said as each word he spoke
had a cough like punctuation? And
believe me I wish I could translate in
words the way his accent shapes and
turns ordinary phrases and conversation
into fodder for films (a quick reference
for a film that represents this Irish
accent under the backdrop of a New
York City scene is “State of Grace” with
Sean Penn and Gary Oldman) Well Mr.
Tiernan I called him, I am doing a write
up for a film called Kabluey and I hope
to speak with the director but I am a
little early and I could use something to
wet my whistle.
Well John you have come to the right
place, and boy was he right. With a nice
selection of beers on tap Guinness, Bass
Ale, Stella Artois, and Harp Lager and of
course Budweiser and Bud Lite he
started the evening out perfectly for me
with an ice cold Stella in a frosty mug.
The music in the background playing
was classic rock and roll by the Rolling
Stones, The Beatles, the Allman Brothers
and a long list of others which when I
get a little tipsy always remind me of
something other worldly and mysterious,
but that’s part of another story that you
can read about a live music venue called
the cutting room as in get your head cut
boy on the stage of the devils theatre!!!
Yikes!!!Anyway I chatted with Paul the
bartender who I liked referring to as Mr.
Tiernan as he wound me into another
strange and wonderful evening in the
city.
So Mr. Tiernan what are your famous
drinks?
Well John I could make you an Irish Car
Bomb, a Black and Tan, a Snake Bite or
a Half and Half and I thought to myself
the last thing I needed at that moment
was to get a snake bite turning my leg
black and tan and end up in a car where
an Irish bomb goes off leaving me half
and half before I had the opportunity to
meet the cast and crew of the movie I
was there to review.
But seriously if you do end up a little half
and Half after several of the specialty
drinks Paul makes at Shades of Green no
need to worry there is a menu of
delicious things to eat that will sober you
right up!!
A lovely Irish bar and Bistro
When you walk into Shades of Green a
restaurant bar located at 125 East 15th
Street One block away from
Manhattans famous Union Square the
first thing you see is all the pictures and
drawings hanging on the wall of famous
Irish poets and writers like William
Butler Yeats, George Bernard Shaw, Pat
O’Brian, Samuel Beckett, James Joyce,
and Oscar Wilde, and all I could think
was here are the greatest literary giants
of history inviting me to sit down and
have a pint of my favorite ale while you
ponder the meaning of life and figure out
what your going to say to the beautiful
lass sitting at the end of the bar.
If your out of words and your game is a
little off maybe you should brush up on
your poetry and take some advice from
the kings of wordplay hanging on the
wall above the comfortable dining booths
behind the bar which make a perfect
place to have a private and romantic
conversation. I had the opportunity to
visit this little gem of a bar this past
Monday night to attend a party for the
film Kabluey by Irish writer Scott
Prendergast. I showed up a little early
and was greeted by Paul Tiernan the
bartender who by the end of the evening
had not only made me feel right at home
and like he was a friend for years but
entertained the hell out of me with his
heavy Irish brogue and antics.
So John what type of magazine do you
work for he said as each word he spoke
had a cough like punctuation? And
believe me I wish I could translate in
words the way his accent shapes and
turns ordinary phrases and conversation
into fodder for films (a quick reference
for a film that represents this Irish
accent under the backdrop of a New
York City scene is “State of Grace” with
Sean Penn and Gary Oldman) Well Mr.
Tiernan I called him, I am doing a write
up for a film called Kabluey and I hope
to speak with the director but I am a
little early and I could use something to
wet my whistle.
Well John you have come to the right
place, and boy was he right. With a nice
selection of beers on tap Guinness, Bass
Ale, Stella Artois, and Harp Lager and of
course Budweiser and Bud Lite he
started the evening out perfectly for me
with an ice cold Stella in a frosty mug.
The music in the background playing
was classic rock and roll by the Rolling
Stones, The Beatles, the Allman Brothers
and a long list of others which when I
get a little tipsy always remind me of
something other worldly and mysterious,
but that’s part of another story that you
can read about a live music venue called
the cutting room as in get your head cut
boy on the stage of the devils theatre!!!
Yikes!!!Anyway I chatted with Paul the
bartender who I liked referring to as Mr.
Tiernan as he wound me into another
strange and wonderful evening in the
city.
So Mr. Tiernan what are your famous
drinks?
Well John I could make you an Irish Car
Bomb, a Black and Tan, a Snake Bite or
a Half and Half and I thought to myself
the last thing I needed at that moment
was to get a snake bite turning my leg
black and tan and end up in a car where
an Irish bomb goes off leaving me half
and half before I had the opportunity to
meet the cast and crew of the movie I
was there to review.
But seriously if you do end up a little half
and Half after several of the specialty
drinks Paul makes at Shades of Green no
need to worry there is a menu of
delicious things to eat that will sober you
right up!!
| Appetizers New York style buffalo wings w/ blue cheese 6.95 Chicken fingers w/ honey mustard 6.95 Mozzarella sticks w/ marinara sauce 6.95 Cajun style calamari w/ spicy tomato herb sauce 6.95 Tempura vegetables w/ balsamic honey 6.95 Homemade zucchini fritters w/ Caesar ranch 6.95 Sautéed spinach and mushrooms w/ red wine & Parmesan 7.95 Homemade chili 5.95 garlic bread 4.50 French onion soup 4.00 soup of the day 4.00 Entree's 14 oz NY sirloin steak 18.95 Baked chicken breast wrapped in bacon 14.95 Breaded chicken breast w/ homemade tomato sauce and melted mozzarella 13.95 Herb crusted cod filet w/ julienne vegetables, creamy white wine & scallion sauce 14.95 Fresh Norwegian salmon filet, broiled or blackened 14.95 Shades of green classic shepherd's pie 12.95 Dublin style fish & chips w/ malt vinegar & tartar sauce 13.95 Traditional Irish bangers w/ homemade mashed potatoes & baked beans 12.95 Homemade chicken pot pie 12.95 Sun-dried tomato & mozzarella ravioli w/ garlic oil 12.95 |
| Salads Seasonal tossed greens 4.50 Caesar salad w/ bacon, egg, toasted croutons and parmesan 7.95 w/chicken 10.95 Pat's own grilled chicken w/ tomatoes, peppers, onions, potato salad & coleslaw 10.95 Spinach, mushroom & artichoke 9.95 Sandwiches Hamburger 8.95 turkey burger 7.95 veggie burger 7.95 Grilled chicken breast 8.95 add- ons 1.00 Roast turkey breast w/ bacon, lettuce & tomato 8.95 Honey chicken w/ sautéed onions & Monterey jack cheese 9.95 Con ed chicken breast w/ Canadian bacon, melted Swiss cheese & bbq sauce 9.95 Steak sandwich w/ grilled tomatoes & onions, mustard seed mayo 12.95 BBQ pork wrap w/ tomatoes and onions 9.95 Cajun chicken Caesar wrap 10.95 all sandwiches served with French fries |
Homemade Desserts My recommendation is starting with the French Onion Soup For an opener and then the 14 oz NY Sirloin steak. And don’t forget to get some french-fries or mashed potatoes as a side Lets keep the tradition going here!!! Ask for Paul Tiernan the best Irish Pub Bartender in New York and you can quote me on that, a and I cant forget to mention the waiter, F. Michael Haynie who was as gracious a waiter as you can get in an Irish pub in the city I thought of him that night as Paul’s side kick in a warped superhero movie I was making in my mind. But don’t tell them that I intend to go back there for the Banger’s and Mash!! |
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