This August evening followed a winding path us to Reilly’s, on the corner of 67A and 145, the former site of Nelly’s that recently changed ownership and just started serving food this past week. (Remember the Saloon? How about Darby’s? Before that?)

The winding part? Not the distance – within two miles for half of us. But, the destination was Plan B. The Freehold House, the former site of Old Country Inn, was Plan A until reservation tries were not answered, knocks on doors led to empty rooms and closed doors, and finally news from the Pub indicated FH had closed after only a month or so in operation.

Given all that, a pleasant experience awaited, although it did give a scare at the beginning.

 The menu is good ole American-Irish. Almost ten appetizers – calamari, chicken wings, pretzels and onion rings, chicken tenders, fried mozzarella, PEI mussels, beer battered mushrooms –accompanied a soup and variations of house and Caesar salad for starters.

 A sandwich array included spicy chicken, Reuben or Rachel, garden burger, beef burger, turkey burger, Swiss mushroom burger, and a Reilly burger. Joining this list was the Mains list: bangers and mash, fish and chips, St Louis BBQ ribs, penne vodka, filet mignon, and lemon chicken Franchise (sic). There are a few items that allowed the claim of American-Irish label.

 Our table of seven tried almost half of these. Not expecting much, we surprised ourselves with a big thumbs up, especially for very fair prices, made even fairer by entrée prices crossed out with numbers $2 lower.

 Two desserts awaited, with Don and Kriss ordering the chocolate mousse, a chunky version we seldom see, and more chocolatey than most. Enjoyed by both.

 Water around started the drinks, with several beers filling in. Three orders of Fiddlehead were changed to other choices when told the computer froze on that entry. Other beers awaited.

 Ambiance:

            The interior has not changed much since the days of Nelly’s. A cavernous space rings a 20 foot bar. When one stands, the entire capacity can be seen.

            The almost separate side room seating 50 is still available, as is the building’s front-wide deck for outdoor dining.

            Spare, with no pretension, Reilly’s will not be confused with fine dining but that probably bodes well for the local community and for the bikers. Even a nice night out could make one choose Reilly’s.

            A common bugaboo – noise – was not an issue, even when a half-dozen tables filled

while we were present. A busier evening might have been different.

            Rain earlier in the day had cooled off a very warm stretch of weather. Thus, indoors had an easy time of climate control.

            It was a comfortably casual fit that fit our moods.

Service by Dina was, for the most part, good. The negatives were mostly beyond her control.

            She was pleasant, sincere, and a good representative for a new restaurant.

            Making her life a little tougher was the Fiddlehead freeze. After waiting almost ten minutes, that reality was announced and we smoothly changed to another choice. The wait time for drink orders was semi-long after the “oh, no one had taken your drink order” was noticed.

            The time between the three trips for entrée delivery was longer than comfortable. However, better than expected food and a visit from the owner counterbalanced that.

The bill for the evening, as usual, varied per couple. A soda, a burger, no dessert could get one out in the $50 range; a drink each, main selection, one app, one dessert was heading to the $90-$100 range, more depending on drinks. Most of us felt pricing was fair and were comfortable saying we would return, a result unlike Nelly’s.

Topics ran the usual gamut.

            Number one was checking how Ken was feeling, given that he was absent this evening, staying home and not feeling up to snuff. Although we did not dwell on it, the writer would be remiss not to record our concern.

            Number two was Deb K’s wrist, enveloped in a foot long cast. Recovery is happening but all of us could imagine the frustration not riding horse, not gardening, not golfing, not baking as usual.

            Number three was the heavy rain in the local area earlier in the day, especially after a very dry July leading into August. The Teators seemed the most relieved, with a break from the daily hauling of ten buckets of water for the flower garden across the street.

            Other topics: the Notar account of their trip to the Maritimes (by car), upcoming Notar trips, Kalli, Chay’s golfing, swimming pool closing prep, Florida house sales (the Adamses), a Quinn wedding, owner Mike coming out to greet us midway through the meal and giving some of his history, a lessened mowing schedule, the school years soon starting (NOT, or not of our concern that much), lack of apparent business sense at Freehold House, Deb K’s limited baking output, encounters with friends-in-common, what keeps us occupied, and a sundry list of other topics shared between friends.