Had a nice dinner last night.  Even though it was a little later than we normally eat (which is early by most people’s standards) – we had no problem getting a seat at the Irish Times

We decided to sit outside on the rooftop:

The decor of this place is really fun.  The first floor is like a pub with TVs and a bar.

The second floor is more laid back with a brick decor and a smaller bar.

Then you go outside to the roof for seating.  There is also first floor outdoor seating.  It is much larger than I would have expected.  I think it would be so fun to come here for some football games  (1st preseason game this weekend!!! Yay!!).

The menu has some interesting crossovers on it:

I decided to go for the crabcake sandwich with sweet potato fries:

This came on a giant kaiser roll, and I just ate the bottom half of the roll (like it is pictured here, only I moved the veggies).  The taste was really good.  It was made with potatoes instead of bread crumbs, which gave a nice soft texture to the crab cake.   I also loved that this didn’t have a bunch of bell pepper in it.  I find the pepper flavor can really overwhelm the crab. I was a little disappointed that it was deep fried, though.  I think traditional crab cakes should be pan sauteed.    I ate about 1/2 the fries.  I got those because John wanted sweet potato fries, but his entree didn’t include them!

He got the Irish Boxty:

This is a potato pancake stuffed with curry chicken, carmelized onion and mushrooms.  It was griddle cooked or something, because it had an interesting crispy texture outside with softer inside.  The flavor was very good (with me avoiding any mushrooms!).  Wonderful curry flavor, but not hot at all.  Definitely an unusual dish.The green beans were too oily, though.  Next time we need to remember to ask that side veggies not be coated in oil or butter.

Took a stoll afterwards in Congress Park.  There was a large patch of lilies there with the most heady aroma.  It almost knocked me right over!

After strolling for a while, John wanted his dessert.  We checked out a couple places and then decided to go back to Uncommon Grounds – which is our favorite hangout in Saratoga.  This time instead of bagels (haha), we got a sweet.  John decided on a hazelnut torte cake and I got an almond finger with coffee (decaf).  Nummy.  John didn’t even wait for my picture before digging in.

All in all a nice evening.  We don’t do sit down restaurants very often, but we will be coming back here – especially for music.  Wish I could have had some beer, but too many calories!  I really wish I could get a sampler size of beer instead of the pint size.  Maybe I could write to them and get them to take a hint? 😀

I’ll be back later with NROLW and the regular scheduled post!