Kilpatrick's: Cleanest Bar in Town

Kilpatrick's has done a great job of recreating a modern Irish pub-house feel in the center of Ithaca, with a beautiful copper bar, a warm fireplace, high ceilings, large picture windows, all which make it easy to kick back and enjoy one's time at Kilpatrick's Publick House. Why the cleanest bar? Copper, in addition to being beautiful to look at, is a natural antiseptic and germicide.

Very generous portions; if you are hungry this is the place to go. CornBeef and Cabbage is a popular choice; the CornBeef is not fatty and has a firm texture - adding a tad of the homemade mustard and let your mouth enjoy the contrasting flavors - we thought it was amazing. Red Cabbage and Beet juice give the cabbage a moistness that makes even non-cabbage lovers want another taste. The mashed potatoes are both plentiful and divine - made with roasted garlic, Gorgonzola cheese and fresh pepper. Plan on letting our a button on the ol' pants for this meal. As one would expect from an Irish themed menu there is lots of lamb to be ordered and it does not disappoint. We tried the Lamb Lollipops with cranberry relish, an appetizer suitable for hand-eating (everybody say Viking Meal!); the lamb was moist, tender and cooked exactly how we ordered.

Hotel Bars and Restaurants have that vibe which makes chatting with strangers easier and Kilpatrick's bar has that vibe; it makes the bar scene warm and inviting, odds are you will have just such a chat with your bar-mates over a beer. Feel like a bit more privacy? Kilpatrick's has three private booths complete with a small LCD TV.

The prices are higher than average, but then the entree portions are very large so it evens out in the end; 2 people could easily share the Cornbeef and Cabbage entree; we did. Doing so freed us to order more appetizers and enjoy the beer selection a bit more.