An Irish Pub Christmas "Sandwich"

Christmas Day at The PubScout's house is reserved for family, food and gifts, with good beer being prominent among them. But the days prior to and after Christmas are for going out to spare the missus, who is Christmas's Chief Chef, more culinary drudgery.

And with family visiting this year from the Tarheel State, a Christmas "sandwich" was in order. This year we sandwiched two of Jersey's finest Irish pubs around the big day, and they were specifically, not randomly, chosen.

For Christmas Eve, we worshipped at the altar of the Woo Wizard of Main St. in Metuchen, otherwise known as Hailey's Harp and Pub. The consistent quality of the food (with that fabulous potato-leek soup as a cockle-warmer), the array of good beer and the reliable hospitality Chris Flynn and Moshe Atzbi imbue into their servers as well as their parlor are all the reason anyone needs to visit.

Our non-drinking family guests loved the decor and the food, with a special praise for the soup, the Bangers and Mash and the Salmon. Me, I found solace in a few Founders All-Day IPA's and a Neshaminy Creek Bock. My food, whatever it was (I don't recall), was good, too. We even found time to show Harp-Cade to our visiting female teenager, who was attracted to Galaga.

But, as we had the important business of the annual fireside reading of C. Clement Moore's classic to attend to, and because we wanted the staff to get to their own own homes for Christmas cheer, and because we are geezers, we didn't linger in the pub past two hours. Hence the first slice of bread was laid down.

Next day was Christmas--the meat of the sandwich.

But the following night, it was time for the top slice of bread, because who wants to cook and clean for 100+ people two nights in a row?

Answer? The Kilkenny House in Cranford. The venerable extension of real-life leprechaun Barry O'Donovan was packed to the gills with revelers who must have wanted the same sandwich we did. Another Irish pub whose atmosphere says "Warm Welcome," the Kilkenny House is also known for a fabulous beer list and equally fabulous food.On this night, the legendary Shepherd's Pie was ordered by two of us, along with a fabulous Sole dish and an equally fabulous Shrimp dish.

My beer of choice was the incredible Ommegang Nirvana IPA. Of course Barry's portions are so large you either finish them and have one beer or take some home and have two. Guess which road I took?

And after many years of visiting this classic pub, we also had the very first opportunity to meet Barry's lovely wife Peggy, and it became immediately clear that Barry, like me, had married "up" considerably.

Every bit as gregarious as her husband, she was as delightful as the room she lit up, which was "Damien's Room." Dedicated to a man named Damien Owens, who was both a pleasure and a treasure to know and who passed too soon, the room is kind of like a giant "snug," a nook so popular in many Irish pubs. And it's only fitting that this giant snug is named for a guy with a giant heart.

Our guests were as enthralled with Kilkenny House as they were with Hailey's Harp and Pub.

Not that North Carolina doesn't have Irish Pubs.

They probably just don't have them like this.