Out to Lunch: Finn MacCool's

It's the week before St. Patrick's Day, and that, to me, means an opportunity to have some Irish comfort food. So imagine my shock when I opened up the lunch menu at Finn MacCool's and there is NOTHING at all Irish on the menu. That's right, read it and weep — no Shepherd's pie, no bangers and mash, and no corned beef and cabbage.

Why? According to the friendly waiter, the well-established restaurant is under new ownership, including a new chef (as of a week and a half ago), and the entire menu has been overhauled. What was once a good place for a burger and a Guinness has turned into more of a surf and turf (heavy on the surf) restaurant. If you don't eat seafood (and I don't), your choices are going to be rather limited at the revamped Finn's. And if you are a vegetarian, forget it. There is nothing at all for vegetarians on the lunch menu — even the salads are laden with seafood.

There are eight "starters" ranging in price from $6 to $14. All are seafood, with the exception of the onion soup and possibly the soup of the day (which on this day was chicken tortilla). Chicken tortilla soup in an Irish place? I was getting very nervous. There was also a raw bar with oysters and shellfish.

There are five entrée salads, ranging in price from $8 to $16. All except the Caesar salad had seafood. Some sounded extremely interesting, such as the Sesame Crusted Ahi Tuna salad, described as containing Napa cabbage, citrus segments, hearts of palm, black forbidden rice (I didn't make this up — that's what it said), and red chili coconut vinaigrette. There were a total of eight entrées ($10 to $14). Only three were not seafood — a Cajun chicken grille, a Meyers Angus burger, and the Prime Rib French Dip sandwich. The others were all seafood, ranging from an upscale fish and chips to a shrimp po' boy. The menu was the sort you might see in a Manhattan restaurant — with much fancy descriptions and unusual ingredients. There wasn't even the slightest nod to Irish foods on the menu.

I had the Prime Rib French Dip sandwich with horseradish au jus for dipping. Although the entrees come with a choice of salad or fries, the waiter didn't ask us what we wanted and just brought fries (which, as it turns out, was undoubtedly the right choice). The well-done beef was served on a toasted baguette, with a mound of shoestring fries. A note about the fries: I was a bit crushed to see the new menu because the old Finn's has something I adored — big steak fries with gravy. So I was a bit doubtful about whether any other sort of fries would compare, but these blew the old ones out of the water (or hot grease, as the case may be). The fries were perfectly done, with their skin on, sprinkled with sea salt and a hint of rosemary and garlic. These were first-class fries. The sandwich was good, but not spectacular. The beef was fine, and tender enough, but I would have liked more of the tasty au jus for dipping (it had a very mild horseradish kick).

One of my companions had the fish and chips — tempura battered Chatham Cod. It was served with a pile of fries and cups of tartar sauce and cole slaw. It got a good review, although I noticed that she didn't bring home her leftovers. My other companion got the spiced shrimp and avocado po' boy sandwich. Like my sandwich, it was served on a flavorful toasted baguette. It contained sliced, medium-sized shrimp, bacon, avocado, tomato and pesto mayo, and was served with fries as well.

We all agreed that the quality of food in this new incarnation of Finn's was better than the previous. However, I, for one, miss the Irish foods, despite the fact that they were not the best I'd had.

Service was attentive, but a bit slow. We were there for close to an hour and a half (although, to be fair, we did not order right away). Prices are a bit high — lunch for two, without drinks, including tax and tip was $34, and this just included the entrée and nothing else. The atmosphere is very nice — two rooms of white-clothed tables and cozy booths by the bar. The exposed brick, and pressed-tin wainscoting is also very attractive. For people who love seafood, or are looking for a more upscale dining experience, Finn's might be the place to try. It would work for an unhurried business lunch, as long as no one is vegetarian.

I'll note that we were told that they will be serving corned beef and cabbage next week (the week of St. Patrick's Day) for both lunch and dinner.