CLUB WATCH
O’Daniels Gin Mill: There are no strangers in this neighborly place
If you’re looking for a bar where you can relax over a few brews with a jeans and T-shirt crowd, O’-Daniels Gin Mill & Grill in Lackawanna fills the bill. Just down the road from Ironworkers Local 6, you won’t find many people drinking Appletinis or scanning BlackBerrys here. Frequented by a neighborhood bunch, including off-duty fireman, policemen and iron workers, there’s no pretense here—just friendly people, good beer and extraordinary food.
My friend Jill and I stopped in early on a Wednesday night, not the busiest time. The bar stools are peppered with locals, all men, watching a baseball game on a flat-screen TV and kibitzing with bartender Bobby Kuebler. There’s no dart board, no pool table and no video games—just good, old-fashioned tall-tale-telling over a pint of Murphy’s stout.
A line of tables runs alongside the bar and fans out into a small dining room, where an eclectic collection of albums covers the walls: Johnny Cash’s “At Folsom Prison” and B. B. King’s “Friends” hang next to Janis Joplin’s “In Concert” and the J. Geils Band’s “Full House.” As we walk back toward the bar, we catch a glimpse into the galley kitchen where young chefs Brian and Dan joke as they whip up a risotto dish.
We grab a seat at a table next to the well-worn wooden bar, and waitress Tracy Clipper drops off a menu and a handwritten list of specials. She chats us up like old friends, telling us about the Friday fish-fry crowd and the waiting list for tables the previous night. “We’re like a big family here,” she confides, “and I wouldn’t work anywhere else.”
The menu — as varied as the album covers — offers several appetizers and sandwiches, alongside full blown dinners like Bleu Raspberry Steak and Chicken & Shrimp Risotto. As we check out the choices, we listen to Rolling Stones’ and Talking Heads’ tunes pumped out via satellite radio. David Byrne’s “Burning Down the House” puts us in the mood for real bar food: Jill orders chicken wings and I settle on a grilled bologna sandwich.
Clipper serves up the wings —crispy, meaty and perfectly sauced—good enough to rival Anchor Bar or Duffs. And the grilled bologna, a treat I haven’t enjoyed since childhood, tasted just like I remembered.
Bobby the bartender brags up the Oktoberfest celebration that the bar is hosting through Oct. 24. “It’s as popular as St. Patrick’s Day here,” he tells me. “We put up all kinds of lights and serve rouladen, sauerbraten, Wiener Schnitzel, bratwurst, potato pancakes — that kind of stuff. Everyone who shows up loves it.”
I ask Bobby why, with so many bars around, people should end up at O’Daniels. “Anyone who comes in here is treated like we’ve known you all our lives,” he boasts. “No matter who you are, you’re part of it, even if you’ve never been here before.”
And he’s right. •
O’Daniels Gin Mill & Grill
1305 Abbott Road, Lackawanna
823-7052
Scene: Friendly, working-class Cheers, where everybody knows your name—even if they don’t.
Music: Classic rock via satellite radio at a volume you can chat over.
Drinks: Murphy’s, Southern Tier Pumpkin Ale, Sam Adams October Fest and Kona at $4 a pint; domestic beer $3; imports $3.50. A decent selection of wines at $4 and up.
Dress: No one’s looking, come as you are.
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