Rosie McCann's

THE BUZZ ON ROSIE McCANN'S

Happy Hour Monday–Friday 3:30 to 6:30

Food:  Onion Rings - $5, Irish Nachos, Reuben Rolls - $6, Rosie’s Wings - $7, Pub Sliders, Chicken Bites, Quesadilla - $8, Bacon Wrapped Prawns - $11, Crab Cakes - $12

Wine: Estancia Chardonnay and Bonny Doon Big House Red -$4

Beer:  Coors Light - $3, Draught Beers - $4, 23 oz. Draught - $6

Specialty Cocktails: Irish Ice Tea - $5, Wild Irish Rose - $6, Lucky Lemonade or Grapefruit Drop - $7

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 Jo's Review

We’re back. It has been a while since we have had a blog entry. Not for lack of trying. Life gets busy and we end up going to the happy hours we have enjoyed over the years but haven’t hit up many new ones lately. Thank goodness we are venturing out again.

 

So we managed to squeeze in a happy hour at Rosie McCann’s the other day.  A lovely pub/restaurant located in downtown Santa Cruz.  This place is on the second floor so you get to look down on everyone on the mall while sipping some fine booze and tasty eats. 

Julie was sitting at the bar when I got there and I realized that the bartender looks very familiar. Turns out its Lisa the same bartender that works at El Palomar right down the street. O.K. so I know a lot of bartenders but remember I’ve been in this town for 29 years now, it’s bound to happen.

It’s a good size place, long bar with a long row of beers on tap, lots of tables off to the front part overlooking pacific ave, and in the back a very fancy looking lounging area with big screen TV’s. It has that nice Irish flare going on with cute sayings all over the place.

 

Thirsty as I am I go for the 23 ounce Prohibition Ale while Julie tries one of the specialty drinks on the menu a Lucky Lemonade. We’re looking over the happy hour menu and decide on the fried calamari, Rosie’s wings (of course), pub sliders, and a specialty of the house Rueben rolls. The place is fairly empty, it’s a Wednesday night, so we are chatting it up with Lisa and discussing all of our upcoming events we want to do. That’s probably why we haven’t had a blog entry in a while; too busy doing other things as well. Just not enough hours in a day.

The food starts coming in and we dig in.  The calamari arrives first with the wings. The calamari has both slices of the steak part and the tentacles along with some fried jalapeno peppers in it and a nice aioli dipping sauce. It almost looked like it was fried 2 different ways. Can’t say I cared for it much. It was a little overcooked so the tentacles were dried up and not much flavor. The best part was the peppers. 

 

The wings were good, fairly meaty and the right tang to them so I will give them credit for that. The sliders and the Reuben rolls show up next. The sliders are ok, not sure why I order them usually more bun then meat for me and they tend to be a little dry. These were no exception, a little dry but they had good flavor. The Reuben rolls were the hit at the table though. Take a Reuben, pastrami, sauerkraut, Swiss cheese, Thousand Island dressing and wrap it in a wonton and deep fry it, yummy. It had a nice dipping sauce to go with it as well but I liked it just the way they are.

So were munching away and laughing it up and yes the happy is starting to kick in. I decide to go with a smaller version of the ale the next time (16 ounce) and Julie tests another specialty a Grapefruit Drop. 

We managed to eat everything up and down the drinks just in time for the next event for the evening.  A trip to MAH (Museum of Art and History), just down the street for a featured exhibit of the Kinsey African American Art & History Collection.

So happy hour at Rosie’s was good. Some of our appetizers were good and some were not but they had others to try. I’m sure everyone could find something there to enjoy.

Jo’s rating: 3.5 shots

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Julie's Review 

I walked up the steep familiar stairwell off Pacific Avenue mall to reach Rosie McCann’s Irish Pub and who should I see behind the bar, but none other than my favorite bartender Lisa, who serves us every Thursday night at El Palomar!  I was thrown into a moment of brief space time consortium confusion, until she explained that she had just started working at Rosie’s on Wednesday nights.  They are lucky to have her.

 

I took a seat and looked at the Happy Hour menu – anxiously awaiting Josephine’s arrival, since I was both hungry and definitely ready for a drink.  I decided to start with a Lucky Lemonade for $7 (usually $9) which is made with Seagram’s Sweet Tea vodka, fresh lemon juice, and lemonade.  I chatted with Lisa and restrained from taking that first sip until Jo finally arrived. She snapped my photo and I could enjoy the refreshing Lemonade. It was tasty, but I decided to try something a little sweeter for my second drink.

Josephine ordered the 32 oz. draught which is a pretty, darn large glass of beer.  Then we quickly got to down to the matter of ordering food. We ordered Rosie’s wings, Reuben Rolls – deep fried rolls filled with corned beef, Swiss cheese and sauerkraut served with a spicy Aioli sauce”:  Panko breaded calamari with parmesan cheese and sliced jalapenos and Pub Sliders – three mini grass fed burgers with cheddar cheese, mayo, lettuce, tomato and onion.  We were both excited by the variety of choices.  I would have liked to try the Bacon Wrapped Prawns but at $11 they were a bit too pricey for Happy Hour.

 

Jo and I caught up on things and walked around the pub.  There is a spacious front area overlooking Pacific Avenue.  The back area has been created into a lounge with tv screens and comfortable sofas.

The food arrived promptly.  Lisa is a great bartender and took care of us quickly.  I don’t usually get a chance to chat with her on Thursday nights. 

My favorite was the Reuben Rolls.  They were delicious – even though I’m not a big Swiss cheese fan.   Six pieces of heaven served with enough greens to call it a salad.  I was also impressed with the calamari – it had both tentacles and straight pieces, but it had roasted jalapenos and parmesan cheese.  I love jalapenos and the spicy aioli sauce. 

 

The sliders were also good – loved that they had cheese, mayo and lettuce and the chicken wings were tasty.  I’d definitely come back for this food!

 

I ordered a Grapefruit Drop for $7 (usually $9) made with Absolut Ruby Red vodka, triple sec, fresh lemon juice, cranberry juice, grapefruit juice with a splash of sweet “n” sour with a sugared rim. Now this is my kinda drink.  Loved it!

 

Josephine and I chowed down on all the wonderful appetizers and chatted with Lisa.  She was getting off work and there was a bit of confusion with trying to split the bill between our credit cards, but it all got straightened out.

 

All in all, it was a lovely little spot.  The drinks were good; the food delicious, the service from Lisa was great.  Having happy hour on Fridays and lasting until 6:30 each night is a real plus.  The only problem was it was a bit pricy for a happy hour.   I will be back to have some more of those Reuben Rolls, though!

 

Julie’s rating:  4 Shots!!