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Sunday, December 4, 2016

The Long Hall of Manhattan (Women Always Have Been Allowed!) Inaugural Review Our Coverage Sponsored by Fresh Origins

The Irish Chicken Curry, a bestseller and a big hit!  
Perfect with a pint of Guinness.

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Owner of The Long Hall, Jonathan Kennedy with the best Guinness in Manhattan
"We aspire to be a tribute to the great tradition of authentic Irish cuisine celebrated in a classy pub atmosphere.  The Long Hall is a nod to both rural Ireland and Victorian pubs and groceries.  Not only do we sell Guinness well but also our guests enjoy our Chicken Curry and Irish Stew with HP Sauce.  
From 1766 until 1952, the original Long Hall in Dublin is known for being the bar serving men only with women served from the hallway through a hatch-happily this practice has been abandoned.  Their longevity is well-respected in addition to their quintessential Victorian style, and their loyalty is also to be admired." -Jonathan Kennedy

The real Miracle on 34th Street this Christmas is that we finally have found great Guinness in Manhattan; the last time it was of this quality was at Thady Cons (where Mover and Shaker Derek Dempsey was discovered) which has been closed for years.  Open since May 2015 and owned by Jonathan Kennedy of County Dublin and Cathal Clarke from County Sligo, The Long Hall in Manhattan is located on 34th Street between Park and Madison and we distinguish Manhattan not only because that is our geographic concentration but also because the original Long Hall is in Dublin.  

The original Long Hall has only had three owners we understand, and they date back to an origin in 1766 and did not allow women until 1952; women would have to order from a hallway through a hatch up until then.  We are glad to say that this Long Hall, which is unrelated to Dublin's but they were inspired by the name-has always welcomed women.  
If more venues with Irish cuisine were as focused, serious and detail-oriented as The Long Hall, they'd be featured by now but the truth is, it's very hard to find great Irish cuisine outside Jimmy Neary's and Paul Farrell's Kings' Carriage House.  
Interestingly enough, Jimmy and Paul are from Sligo and Dublin respectively as well like Jonathan and Cathal.  

It was quite clear from our initial phone call that The Long Hall is in it to win it.
During our first visit to The Long Hall, we worked exclusively with Jonathan Kennedy, who seems a highly dedicated owner.  His partner, Cathal Clarke was not present but we understand he absolutely knows what he is doing as he graduated from the Jimmy Neary school of hospitality, and you cannot beat that.

"Cathal Clarke and his family are all from Tuppercurry and are neighbors of mine in County Sligo and they are three fields away from the Neary's.  His grandfather and great-grandfather were teachers and my brothers were all in school with his great-aunts and uncles.  When Cathal came to New York, he worked for me and he was one of the top bartenders here at Neary's and he ranks with the best.  I'm very proud of him for the success he's achieved," Jimmy Neary tells Whom You Know.

We began with the Brussel Sprout Hash, above.  Onions and potatoes join the soiree brussel sprouts are having and the best ever dill creme fraiche accentuates their innate goodness.  Anyone using creme fraiche is a serious restaurant.  Two eggs on top add color and nutrition to this winner of a salad.  We count five salad options on their menu which is to be commended and rare to see at an Irish venue.
Served cold, the stuffed avocados with grilled shrimp were an edible achievement and a compelling choice.  The presentation was flawless and they are accentuated with cilantro.  The Long Hall's menu is Irish American and has a lot of depth.  Jonathan suggested we try the "Everything Pretzel" which is served with options of IPA beer cheese sauce (we liked this one better) and honey mustard.  Maybe they will even add dijon someday!  We would never think to order pretzels but you can be assured these are fantastically fresh and an ideal snack to munch on.
The meat entree we chose was the Irish beef stew.
This is how it is presented.
Jonathan said we absolutely had to have HP sauce on it.  We've never seen anyone get so excited about a sauce that they didn't personally create and besides that we thought we knew everything about Irish and English food but in fact we did not.
You need to meet HP Sauce and note that it is English and stands for Houses of Parliament.
Our associates from a major fashion brand in England say that this sauce is a national treasure!
Mover and Shaker Paul Rejer (and if you don't know him 1. You Should and 2. He is so detail-oriented that MLS brought him over from England to tell the MLS referees how to do their job) states: "HP Sauce is a brown fruity sauce that compliments a good old English breakfast and blends well.  It adds contrast in taste to savory bacon, sausage, fried eggs and more.  As Americans become more educated about our cuisine, they will get up the HP Sauce learning curve like Peachy finally has! It is better than tomato ketchup."
So, once you add that HP sauce you are ready to dive into the Irish stew, which is authentically Irish.  We expected it to be browner and less red but we were corrected and now know that this is what real Irish stew looks like.  Potatoes, carrots, turnips along with beef sourced from a fine Irish local butcher waltz in Irish gravy: perfect for a cold day.
That is how it looks with HP Sauce properly applied.
"You cannot have Irish stew and not have HP.  It's essential with the unique combination of tomatoes and molasses that Americans need to get up to speed on!"
-Jonathan Kennedy
The secret to their best seller of Irish Chicken Curry, which is another phenomenal choice, is McDonnell's Curry Sauce!  It flavors and embellishes the chicken with half rice and half chips (remember NOT french fries!).
Chris O'Donnell (awesome BC EAGLE!!!) and Johnnie-O is this by your family?
Note this is McDonnell, not the brand with the yellow arches.  Although maybe they are also of Irish descent...
We opted to try the cheeseburger -The Long Hall Beef Burger- as well with cheddar and it arrived perfectly medium, as ordered.  The bun is fresh and so is the lettuce and tomato-a "hit the spot" kind of burger!
Every Irish, English, and Scottish pub in America we have ever been to thinks that they make the best fish and chips however they cannot fool the girl that has lived over there in those places and eaten it over there and additionally is now a food critic.  We still say our pal Mover and Shaker Alison Blyth is the best in America with her Go Fish and Go Brit but The Long Hall has the best fish and chip experience in Manhattan!
Battered Cod is uber-fresh and battered just right.  IRISH mushy peas are sublime and note any daft Americans reading that these are CHIPS, not french fries.  On any cold day, which for Manhattan is for the next 5 months straight at least, you want to eat this and drink Guinness at The Long Hall as the weather absolutely calls for it.
We cannot overemphasize how great the Guinness is here and we were delighted to sip it with Jonathan; you would think we were Italian from the amount of Italian reviews published (we also love sipping Barolo with Vito!) but we are in fact Irish, and avid readers know that Peachy was a student at UCC for a semester so is familiar with Irish food firsthand.  Diageo North America: we think you should make personalized pint glasses for them!  And thank you to our good friend Gillian Murphy of Cork for personally bringing us to the Guinness factory in Dublin during our last trip and giving us a firsthand education on it in college.
Right now The Long Hall goes through fifty kegs of Guinness a week.
Won't you help Peachy drink them to reach a hundred a week?
The Long Hall is Terrific Takeout and we look forward to seeing what they do next!





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