Top Welsh and Scottish Pubs in St. Louis, Missouri
“Bless the MacKenzie’s and the MacKenzie childer, their sons and daughters for a thousand years to come.
Be Ye gracious and send down mountains of snuff and rivers of whiskey.
And, Oh Lord, send down pistols and daggers.
And, Oh Lord, build up a great wall between us and the Irish
And, put broken bottles on top so they cannae come over.”
Hey, wait a minute. I know some very fine Irish fellows. Anyway, below are three of the best Celtic bars/restaurants in St. Louis. (One Scottish, two Welsh) We’ll save the Irish ones for later.
DRESSEL’S PUB at 419 Euclid Avenue in the Central West End is where St. Louis intelligentsia love to hang out. The owner, John Dressel, is both a poet and a bard, and a writer of some note. He makes yearly pilgrimages to Wales to lecture and teach and was awarded “Best Poem In The English Language” a few years ago. Hundreds of portraits of literati and a Mozart tape loop tend to encourage an elevated frame of mind. Fortunately you don’t need that much of an IQ to down a few pints of Double Dragon and munch on the city’s best fresh cooked to order potato chips. A rotation of soups, dinner entrÃ?©es, and stew selections adds to the good mix of salads and sandwiches. After you have stuffed yourself, go upstairs to the Pub Above to smoke a good cigar and taste some rare Prince of Wales Welsh whiskey.
LLYWELYN’S PUB located at 4747 McPherson is just a couple of blocks over from Dressel’s. This is more of your working class type of Welsh pub. Try the Cattleman’s Lunch, a large sandwich and a bowl of hearty stew. The freshly made potato chips rival Dressel’s at times, and the Welsh rarebit is delicious. If you’re intestinal tract is fairly active, dig into the Shepherd’s Pie. This thing must be a couple of pounds of mashed potatoes, ground beef and cheese. Layer upon layer of it. Definitely not for the sluggish, but tasty never the less. I love the ambience of this place: dark, green, and noisy, but still friendly. The big red Welsh dragon that graces the front door is totally cool.
THE SCOTTISH ARMS is on Sarah Street, also in the Central West End. This is the newest addition to the Celtic scene in St. Louis and really the only authentic Scottish pub. Owner and native Scot Allistair Nisbet will usually greet you at the door dressed in the traditional kilt. At times his brogue is so thick it’s a little bit hard to understand him. And you might need an interpreter to figure out what menu items like cock-a-leekie pie and Ptarmigan consist of. But, if you take the World Whiskey Tour and sample some of the finest Scotch whiskey the Highlands has to offer, you’ll probably just point at the menu without caring much anyway. And oh yes, they do have a slightly watered down version of Haggis. For the daring among you, here’s how to make it at home.
Ingredients
1 sheep’s stomach or ox secum, cleaned and thoroughly scalded, turned inside out and soaked overnight in cold salted water
heart and lungs of one lamb
1lb. Beef or lamb trimmings, fat and lean
2 onions, finely chopped
8oz oatmeal
1 tbsp salt
1 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp ground dried coriander
1 tsp mace
1 tsp nutmeg
water, enough to cook the haggis
stock from lungs and trimmings
Method
1. Wash the lungs, heart and liver. Place in large pan of cold water with the meat trimmings and bring to the boil. Cook for about 2 hours.
2. When cooked, strain off the stock and set the stock aside.
3. Mince the lungs, heart and trimmings.
4. Put the minced mixture in a bowl and add the finely chopped onions, oatmeal and seasoning. Mix well and add enough stock to moisten the mixture. It should have a soft crumbly consistency.
5. Spoon the mixture into the sheep’s stomach, so it’s just over half full. Sew up the stomach with strong thread and prick a couple of times so it doesn’t explode while cooking.
6. Put the haggis in a pan of boiling water (enough to cover it) and cook for 3 hours without a lid. Keep adding more water to keep it covered.
7. To serve, cut open the haggis and spoon out the filling. Serve with neeps (mashed swede or turnip) and tatties (mashed potatoes).
