Critic's Review
They finally finished the renovations at Waxy's; they were supposed to be done before the winter but they missed just about the entire season with delays. I just noticed they were open so I thought I'd check it out.
With Briny's and Maguire Hill closed, this is the only Irish pub left in Fort Lauderdale.
The place certainly looks better from the outside. It appeared to me as if they'd dropped the O'Conner from Waxy O'Conners, but they just seem to call it both names. Waxy's is easier to fit on the T-Shirts, I guess.
It was a beautiful 81 degree day, and I thought about eating outside, but I was afraid that a group of smokers might show up, so I decided to sit inside. outside is kind of chunky if you ask me.
I wasn't sitting at the bar with the day-drinkers, so I got a table and ordered an iced tea. They opened the place up so now the bar is in the middle of the room.
I contemplated the fish and chips, but I've been having bad luck with that lately; so I went with the bangers and mash. The same dish I'd had 7 years ago on my last visit to Waxy's. The price has moved from $9.50 to 13.95.; a 47% increase in 7 years. I wish my condo had appreciated that much.
Tea is served in mason jars with handles; a gimmick that was amusing in 2010 but serves no purpose today.
The tea was terrible; I'm not sure how you make tea this bad. Out of many 100s of iced teas I can only remember 1 this bad at Rice and Dough.
How would you even make tea like this? Tea is water and tea bags, right? This is like Snapple consistency. You can't make this with tea bags.
I thought about asking for something else, but I didn't. The owners were huddled in a corner not far from where I was sitting; the entire family including a kid.
The food came out in 10 minutes.
At first glance I was horrified; could this be what I ordered? Shouldn't Guinness gravy be a lot darker than this? I tasted a bit of the mash with the gravy, and it was just flour and bouillon gravy. Pretty lame. I dug out the sausages, which were also much different than what I got the last time.
I tasted the sausage and it had a very strange texture; like a turkey meatball. Their old menu claimed the sausages were "imported"; the new menu says "local"; imported was better.
Also, the onions weren't caramelized; this dish was a complete disappointment. The potatoes were unseasoned but would have been fine with good gravy and/or good sausage; unfortunately I had neither.
About halfway through, they turned off the music and turned on the sound to a soccer game. This is a fantastic lunch atmosphere.
Meanwhile, the flies were starting to really annoy me. There were a lot of flies; so many that I could easily catch a couple on camera.
I ended up eating most of the sausage despite them not really tasting like sausage. I asked for my check and I was out the door.
Conclusion
I didn't like one thing about anything I had here, from the foul tasting iced tea to the chewy sausages and the floury gravy. I asked about the ownership and it's the same as it was before; but I'm guessing that the chef is new. You'd think that Irish people would notice at least that the new version of bangers and mash doesnt even LOOK right; I guess they don't really care.
This place is about soccer and soccer only. Don't come here unless you like soccer. And don't expect very good Irish fare.
8/1/2011
Waxy O'Conner is closed for renovations; they planned on opening in October, but it will be a lot longer than that.
Waxy's is one of those places that you might get a bad idea about if you've never been inside. When you drive by it on E17th Street, there's usually a bunch of dudes on the patio drinking and smoking. This is a place where Euros gather to watch Soccer. During big games, like the world cup, the place overflows into the parking lot.
Inside, Waxy's is your standard Irish pub. A bit on the old side, they have a big room air conditioner humming away to help the central air which struggles in the summer months. There's a big bar and of course, nice big flat screens to watch the games.
When there's no game on, it's a pretty quiet irish put. With no windows inside, you'll hardly know you're right on a main drag.
I ordered some iced tea, and this is another place that's cutting back on lemons. They give you a little sliver that can't possibly make an impact on a 16oz iced tea. This is a trend which is really becoming an annoyance.
I decided to go with some Irish fare, so I started off with the potato leek soup. It's only available in a bowl, and it's one of those narrow bowls so it's not all that much. At $4.95 it's enough as a starter.
The soup isn't a smooth puree; it's a bit lumpy and a bit salty. Not great and not bad. For a main course, I had the bangers and mash.
Lumpy mash, caramelized onions and 3 well-browned irish sausages; comfort food at it's finest. Surprisingly, it wasn't as flavorful as expected. It would have benefited with some extra onions or a bit more seasoning in the gravy, but overall it was decent bar grub.
As Irish Pubs go, Waxy's is a few dollars cheaper for lunch than Maguire's Hill or The Field. The bangers and mash were only $9.50 here, which is a fair price for what I got.
