Restaurant review part deux: Delaney’s Irish Pub in McKinney

by Nancy Krabill of of Blog From Afar

Those of us who live north of the tectonic divide that is, for some, LBJ Freeway, or even Northwest Highway for some, appreciate local eateries that don’t sport a corporate logo or run commercials that interrupt our TiVo viewing at night. As is true everywhere these days, restaurants come and go, lighting up darkened retail space with color and hope, only to slink away too soon.

Delaney’s Irish Pub has been around for awhile. Gary tried the Shepherd’s Pie awhile back to no great delight, so we’d driven by without stopping. A neighbor told us to try the burger, so we did. Strange logic of the suburbs: in town, I’d turn my nose up at an Irish pub where the specialty was a burger, but here, north of Highway 121, the rules are different. We’ll take a good burger in a sushi joint if necessary.

And, pictured above, there it is: “The Burger Bomb”! There really is an Angus burger hidden under there, loaded and topped with fries, cheese, and chili. Best of all, it was great. The food took a while to arrive, which we took as a hopeful sign that the burger was cooked to order, not queued up and cooling since 11am. Even better, the blackened chicken salad was also fresh and tasty, hot and not rubbery, with some real nutritive greens thrown in with the requisite iceberg lettuce.

It was a treat, and I didn’t even miss the Shepherd’s Pie. Seems to be a neighborhood joint, with a local policeman joining businesspeople and just plain folk at the tables. Personal preference: I could have done without the multiple jumbo screens blaring sports. Piquant moments: watching a gal in her 30’s dining alone at the bar, sipping a glass of wine, doing a little midday gambling on a computer screen with the hunched-over, back-to-the-door posture of someone nursing an addiction, alone. The modern-day equivalent of Degas’ L’Absinthe drinker, she ate quickly and slipped back out into the harsh light flashing off the concrete parking lot. She’ll be back, I think, and so will we.