Stubborn Love | Maggie’s Place | Connolly’s on 47th | Reilly’s | YouTube Rabbithole
If you’re new to Week to Week Notes, ever since I started doing Pint&Pen&Papers I’ve made it a rule to do one song off The Lumineers’ first album every month. I always enjoy these because their great at telling stories and honestly their music is such a humbling listen with a good message. Stubborn Love is the 7th song on their debut album and may or may not be my favorite of theirs. If you’re a fan of The Lumineers, you definitely know this song, and if you’re not, well this is a hidden gem. Stubborn Love is about about second chances and forgiveness. The music video shows the perspective of a child in the back seat of a car watching her parents’ relationship unfold out the window. You could also look at this song in an allegoric way and you could replace “she or her” with “life.”
Life will eat you up and spit you out. Any relationship worth a damn should leave its mark. That’s a part of life, you’re better off embracing it.
When the couple was younger, they did just enough to stay together. When things went cold, they stuck together. The singer refusing to be told that it can’t be done is the Stubborn Love element.
Everybody that’s ever loved someone or something can relate to the feeling if you’ve lost it. How it just gets numb. The opposite of love isn’t hate, it’s numbness.
Keep your head up, shoulders straight, and be hopeful.
The singer is acknowledging his flaws and doesn’t blame her. If the girl in the song had treated him like that he’d have done the same. I always thought the next line was “I always thought you were close” so the highways signs say we’re close is throwing me off but still works. Not reading the signs anymore is him learning to just embrace the feeling that comes with Stubborn Love and him not trusting his own eyes is him acknowledging his own stubbornness.
@YouTheReader keep your head up, shoulders straight, and be hopeful. 🫡 Great tune, I need a pint…
Guinness Challenge Season #1
@Kids don’t try this at home. Not just because you’re underage and will have plenty of pints to drink if that ends up being your thing when you’re older but also because Guinness is actually best served in a pint glass from a tap. A pint of Guinness varies depending on the drinking establishment. If the keg it sits in is rarely poured, it can lead to some underwhelming taste. Rather than stealing gimmicks, I’d like to start taking Notes while drinking Guinness. My grandfather from Connemara, who I never got the chance to meet, Thomas Davis, used to drink pints and by all accounts was a self-taught thinker. The one rule I’ve imposed on myself is that I will only have 1 pint per sitting from each establishment I review, so @AnyoneWorrying, don’t worry about my drinking habits. The Guinness Challenge is to “cut the G” on your first sip (more like a gulp and a half). If this is your first time hearing about it, I didn’t come up with the fun challenge @YouTheReader can try the next time you have a Guinness. The 0.0 to 10.0 scale will be extraordinarily nuanced but as a reference point, the only perfect 10.0 I plan ever to give out is at the Guinness Factory in Dublin one day.
Song On In The Background: All Along the Watchtower by Jimmi Hendrix
Notes if you can’t read my sloppy scribble: It’s pissing rain outside. James is the bartender. Maggie’s Place is under the Stout and Half Pint umbrella. Knicks just lost Game 1. The shepherd’s pie is “fantastic.” Maggie’s Old-Fashion raisin honey they make their own. The Helmsley is James’ favorite to make. Their crowd is mostly a mix of tourists, Chase Bank, and Broadway. Warriors vs Kings Game 7 on TV, who ya got? The place is actually named after the owner’s mother’s name, it became Maggie’s Place after she passed. Here is the pub’s story…
Maggie's Place was opened in October 1974 by Teddy & Maggie Whelan. It was the realization of their American dream. Teddy & Maggie both immigrated from Dublin in 1958. Teddy came over on Aer Lingus's first transatlantic flight and Maggie soon followed on the S.S. America out of Cobh in County Cork. Teddy & Maggie both started out in retail; Teddy was a shoe salesman and Maggie at Elizabeth Arden. They then worked together in the Irish Pavilion at the 1964 World's Fair. Later Teddy moved on to Downey's, a famous theater bar on 8th Avenue. Teddy would tell great stories about playing cards after hours at Jason Robard's apartment (with Lauren Bacall yelling at them to go home) and of Peter O'Toole dancing in the bar. At the same time, Maggie worked at the Irish Pavilion on 57th St before Tommy Makem owned it. Maggie's Place is the oldest family-owned restaurant & bar in the Midtown area. In 1992, Maggie & Teddy's son Martin took over Maggie's Place, renovated the space, and brought in his brother Mark, a Culinary Institute of America alumnus. They have built on their parents’ American Dream and now own 11 other restaurants throughout Manhattan. In 2007 Martin had his first child. Her name? Maggie (Margaret when she's misbehaving). Of course, we don't know for sure, but she just may be greeting our customers at the door in 2030! (Source: Maggie’s Place) I look forward to grabbing another pint of Guinness at Maggie’s Place again soon!
Song On In The Background: Surrender by Cheap Trick
Notes if you can’t read my sloppy scribble: This is not the Connolly’s with the roof that Pearl River used to ransack on Saint Patrick’s Day, that is on 45th. NYPD and FDNY badge hanging up behind the bar. Niall is the bartender and he is from County Tyrone. Their chicken curry is recommended. Niall is a Bills fan with Josh Allen being his favorite player. He loves The City. Connolly’s opened in 1996, it was the original owner’s last name. Niall stapled the QR Code and Week to Week Notes Card to the wall by the bar. Much appreciated… 🥲… sorry don’t know where that is coming from 🫡.
I’ve learned over time that it’s best to keep some goals close to the vest and just put in work, but yeah a huge goal with Pint&Pen&Paper is to establish a genuine face-to-face relationship with pubs&bars in The City. Maybe one day a Week to Week Notes QR code could be on a few more walls and some dining tables. I was already having a great day drinking pints of Guinness in the pouring rain but Niall doing this without me even asking honestly was an awesome feeling. I’ll be sure to have much more detail on Connolly’s when I visit the one on 45th, but I also look forward to grabbing another pint of Guinness on 47th again soon!
Song On In The Background: I Will Wait For You by Mumford & Sons
Notes if you can’t read my sloppy scribble: Kate is bartending with Alex who is from Galway City. The Roisin Dubh is Alex’s favorite pub in Galway City. Kate’s is Cozy Joe’s in Mayo. Reilly’s is named after the owner. Bird on Fire chicken sandwich is recommended. They love NY, “I find New York to be very welcoming.” Besides their fine pint of Guinness, Reilly’s House drafts and Brooklyn Lager are popular. Kate is a fan of the Rangers. Reilly’s draws a crowd for English Premier League. The owner is from Caherlistrane, County Galway. The Miss Understood Herring is their recommended lunch grub. There is a “The Quiet Man” John Wayne movie poster hanging up on the wall.
I had a great conversation with Kate and Alex. I always love Noting favorite spots across the pond. After doing some research “The Quiet Man” is a film where John Wayne stars as an American boxer who returns to his native Ireland and falls in love with Maureen O’Hara. The filming of the movie took place at the village of Cong, Ashford Castle in County Mayo and Oughterard, Lettergesh Beach, Ballyglunin Train Station, & Maam in County Galway. I look forward to grabbing another pint of Guinness at Reilly’s again soon!