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I like St.Stephens Green. This is my second time here and I like it just as much as the first time I was here.

Tonight, I am here with the Irish mob- Timoney, Gallagher and Ferry. We try to get together someplace, every four weeks or so to eat, catch-up, argue, laugh and solve the more important problems of the world.

We have not been out since January. Timoney was in tax season, which does to your social life what the third trimester of pregnancy does to your sex life. Gallagher and Ferry have been away to the island of their souls, visiting relatives, sitting in pubs, thinking, writing.

Gallagher was interviewed on Irish radio about our upcoming elections. The interview was done in the Irish. No small feat for a Yank. Well, when you get down to it, no small feat for anyone to be speaking the Irish language, outlawed by the English. Much as it is no small feat only 40 years after Jim Crow, and less than 140 years after slavery, we have a black man running for president.

Ferry was back in the West of Ireland, with his brother, and their friend Jimmy Kelly, visiting the place of his dad’s birth. The farm and its small home is vacant now of Ferry’s for the first time in 150 years. The hearth was cold and the home damp. A troubling sense of an ending of some sort.

The Irish, whattayagonnado. A group of lazy, good for nothing, mackerel eating, hard drinking, uneducated, violent people, prone to music and poetry. What good can come of them?

St. Stephens Green has a wonderful group of people working to make you feel comfortable. No, they are not working at it. This is an attitude that is natural and part of their positive, helpful spirit. More then any place I have been, the folks here are working together and it sets a very positive mood.

Monica is a waitperson who knows the menu, knows how to smile and, hey! She was terrific. Last time I was there it was much more busy but Monica was the same. A professional. Everyone helps everyone out. That makes for smooth service and happy customers. Hopefully, large tips.

The beer and wine menu are more then you would expect. Two of us ordered a Voigner. It was okay, but more like a Gwertztraminer. Drinkable but not what I expected from a Voigner. I had a Zinfandel with my main course and that was very good.

Gallagher ordered a beer and Ferry tried for a Jack Black but settled for plain old Jack. Around the table we were pretty sure he would have settled for an Inver House, or Old Philadelphia.
For dinner we shared two orders of steamed clams with chorizo, bacon, tomato, white wine and garlic toasts. $11. They were savored and scooped up quickly. Dining is sometimes a dichotomy.

Usually, I am of the opinion, when you have something as natural as clams you should treat them as gentle as possible. Steam them and eat them. But, this was an interesting concoction and took nothing away from the clams. Something like a clams casino but the clams retain their juiciness.

For main courses, I had the falling off the bone beef short rib gently served on top of a risotto. Ferry had salmon, Gallagher went with scallops in a flakey crust, Timoney had the large and luscious pork chop.

You know the food is good when everyone stops talking and is busy eating.

Before, and after dinner, we talked about family, health, the diminished rain forest in Brazil. We fussed about semantics, finally realizing we all agreed with the particular point in question. Of course words, are never JUST words. Is, is never just, is.

Do people act beyond their everyday needs or is there thought about future generations? Will world population growth make all of our conversation a mute point? Is there incentive outside of our here and now to try and do things better or, as one person suggested, is it blasphemy to think mankind has control of anything? And what about the trust we put in each other for all of what we know to continue as we know it? Our dollars, our debt, our present wealth and future, is all predicated in our faith, that we will all continue to accept what we define as value.

The Confederate States of America, convinced a slew of people, their paper money was of some value. Accepted for payment for labor, goods, and debt. How did that work out?

The Irish, whattayagonnado!

Somebody said, “Last night my wife said, ‘Come upstairs and let’s have sex.’ He responded, ‘Pick one, I can’t do both!” baddapumb bump.

St. Stephen’s Green is a keeper. Easy going atmosphere, better food than you would expect, great service, good choices for beer and wine. Yes, we will be back.

$60 each including tip and a number of wines, beers, Jacks, coffee, and after dinner drinks. You can do it for much less if you are thinking about future generations. But when you are solving the future of the world, $60 is not that much.

How lucky are we.