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Business & Tech

Charmed by A Terrible Beauty

Celebrate spring with some Irish music and pub food and beer at A Terrible Beauty Irish Pub.

There are a lot of ways to celebrate the vernal equinox--the beginning of spring--and with more light to look forward to there are more reasons to venture out of the house and into our community.

For many cultures, the equinox is the start of a new year. With last weekend’s brief respite from a rainy winter, we chose to break ground on our raised beds and began planting fava beans, carrots, lettuces and escarole. Hard work--turning the soil, seeding careful rows, watering and cloching.

When you finish plowing the soil, where do you want to go? , indeed.

I had read that on Sunday nights, A Terrible Beauty has a live Irish session from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m., so I scheduled our dinner plans around music. I am half-Irish after all; I married an O’Hara and have traveled from County Cork to Dublin.

When we arrived at 6:30 the downstairs floor was packed with diners, some doing a brief jig by the musicians before exiting. Our first impression was that the vintage hardwood bar is impressive, to say the least, as is their beer selection.

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While the boys ordered a couple of Black & Tans ($6 pint), I ordered a straight-up pint of Guinness. I knew the cream on top wouldn’t be as heavenly as it was in Ireland, but it’s also a lot faster to arrive.

With a huge selection of beers on tap, I switched to a locally brewed Snoqualmie Spring Fever made with fresh crushed coriander. (I love spring blends such as this--girly as an apricot Hefeweizen, yet hearty and exotic.)

Unfortunately there were only three of us, so we could only delve so far into A Terrible Beauty’s lengthy menu. We’ll be coming back, trust me, especially after seeing more than a few Shepherd’s Pies pass our table.

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I wanted to sample the St. Killian Cheese Bites (Camembert in Smithwick’s batter) but was convinced to go slightly healthier with Guinness & Garlic Mussels & Clams ($10). Lifting the hot bowl atop, we unveiled two dozen mixed hard-shell clams and mussels in a heady, blond, garlic cream sauce, laced with basil strands. Not so Irish-feeling or Guinness-y, but delicious with sides of toasted/buttered bread. Way more authentic than the Irish Nachos.   

As an ex-New Yorker, when something is called a “Soon to be Famous” Reuben ($10), I have to order it.  A Terrible Beauty’s is a hugely delicious $10 Reuben, with in-house roasted corned beef (loved the pickle, too).

My Mister, Kenneth O’Hara, was all about the Donaghadee Harbour Codfish & Chips ($10). Lightly battered and tender, I shared more than a forkful, while tapping my foot and tipping back my pint.

Our friend Griffin decided on the County Cork Corned Beef 'n Cabbage ($14). My grandmother’s maiden name was Corcoran, so I was mighty pleased by this choice. It was served on an impressively huge plate that any farmer would be pleased to eat after a day in the Irish countryside. Layers of thick, yet tender corned beef were surrounded by Champ--salt and peppered mashed potatoes mixed with spring onions--red and green cabbage half-globes steamed with a mustard butter sauce. Hooray for delicious cabbage and fork-tender Corned Beef!  

Terrible Beauty’s Irish Market is something new I look forward to exploring further. They offer a deli case of Pasties, Beef ‘n Stout Pies, Irish cheeses, and house-made rashers for sale.

A Terrible Beauty
201 Williams Ave. S.
Renton  
Phone: 425-227-3396


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