P.J. McIntyre's. Cleveland, Ohio

17119 Lorain Avenue

Guinness Tag: $7.00 | Overall Rating: 8.65

Today's Dedicated Pint: Cleveland SWAT

The closest Irish Pub to Ireland here in the States is in Bar Harbour, Maine, which makes sense. Once my book, Stepping Foot Inside Every Irish Pub in America, published, I said, "Alright, we gotta go to Leary's Landing in Bar Harbour." So, we packed the car and started heading towards New England. Cleveland was our first stop of many, including Buffalo, Syracuse, Albany, Boston, Salem, and Portland.

P.J. McIntyre's was the first Pub on the list of many throughout this massive Pub crawl towards the shores of Maine, and it started the trip off with a bang. As I write this, I'm currently 21 Pubs deep before heading into Leary's Landing tomorrow evening, and as much as I liked P.J.'s; buckle up! The Pubs from Boston are doozies, and I can't wait to tell you about them. One of them charged me 13 bucks for a Guinness (the most expensive pour out of the 150+ Pubs to date), another one left a memorable quote of, "I got a limp dick and a stiff liver," and a few of them made it to the Highest Rated Pubs List on the website. No Reubens have been consumed yet, but there's still time.

Anyways, P.J.'s is a Pub of the people, as they offer $3.00 20oz Mich Ultras on the regular and $3.00 Guinness during their "Irish Power Hour" on Fridays! Three flippin' bucks for a Guinness! Sign me the hell up. On a Friday, too? Lord. It lays its bones next door to a Papa Johns inside a building that was once an old appliance store.

My pour today was delivered in a traditional pint glass, and the pour itself was a bit underwhelming, but who cares. It's a good day, and I'm not picky at these prices. As I sat on my cushiony barstool and looked around, I noticed many pleasant things, such as the superior crown molding, swell ceiling tiles, stained glass, a fireplace, novel light fixtures, layered stone, and essentially ZERO Cleveland Browns merch. I'm a Bengals fan, and I hate the Browns. It's obvious this Pub gets many Browns fans under its roof during NFL Sundays, I was expecting to see a bunch of Browns crap on their walls. Nope. Literally none. I love it. You guys got rid of Baker Mayfield in exchange for Deshaun Watson... idiots. Everytime I think the Bengals are the worst professional sports team in history, I always get reminded of the Cleveland Browns. What is it about Ohio and its.

They offer everything you need and want on the taps, including local brews as well as the basics like Magners, Harp, Carlsberg, and Smithwicks. The whiskey choices are worthy of a nod, and the bartenders are dressed in soccer jerseys. It's a fun vibe in here. They reminded me of what Irish people are so famously known for: the friendliness and warm hospitality. They played authentic Gaelic music the entire time we were there, and the bar itself is a huge horseshoe styled countertop that holds about 30+ heads.

I didn't snag any food here, although my local contact told me the grub is something to write home about. The interior decor is authentic, with notable touches such as mileage markers to various Irish cities, and a ridiculously large advertisement screen (like the tiny one you'll find in The Mallard). The hightop tables along the windows are really neat, the front door is awesome, the curb appeal totally works, and the bathrooms are disgusting. Not as bad as Shady O'Grady's in Cincinnati, but they're not pretty.

There's a large event space downstairs for those looking to gather in mass capass. To me, this Pub seems to fit in the category of, "come while the sun is still shining." I imagine the place can get a bit sloppy past 10 p.m.

I came, I drank, and I took a pee in their bathroom. I'm off to meet up with perhaps the biggest badass in all of Cleveland at a nearby place called Danny Mac's. Thanks, PJ's, you are certainly on my good list, and I'll be happy to tell everyone I know to pay a visit to your door whenever they're in CLE. There's not much I can say about you that's negative, but sometimes other people just have a better atmosphere. There's nothing you can do about it, it is what it is. You guys are solid, and unless my liver tells me to fuck off... I'm sure I'll be back for those $3.00 Guinness pours.

"Trust everyone, BUT, always cut the cards."

Slainte!