Callaghan's Irish Social Club, Mobile

It could have been five o’clock in the morning when I walked out into the silent Alabama Street in front of Callaghan’s Irish Social Club. The quiet loneliness was reminiscent of an hour when everyone’s tucked in tight. But it wasn’t half that late. So what was it that made the expanse out in front of this joint seem so melancholy?

I couldn’t put my finger on it. I could however, as I turned around to give the building an over-the-shoulder second glance, feel the haunted hairs on the back of my neck stand up. If this moment had been written with cinematic intentions, I’m quite sure that I would have been directed to stand in the middle of the intersection so that the cameras could panoramically capture the sense of déjà vu that rendered me momentarily paralyzed.

“Oui m'dame!” A well-groomed spirit whispered in my ear.

“Pastis.” 

I thought. Hand to chest, as the sparklers began to pop and snap in my consciousness. Of course. Two tops lined up so intimately that an impromptu family-style banquet was inevitable, a casual atmosphere that more “expects” than it “accepts” diners hopping from table to table at a moment’s notice - heady with gossip, and a patina that takes a floor to ceiling approach as it lends character to everything from the faded photographs to the bathroom sink.

I have ALWAYS been a fool for the floors at Pastis!  Source: www.makesomething.ca

Callaghan's Irish Social Club: 916 Charleston Street, Mobile

Callaghan’s did time in the twenties as a Butcher Shop, something it has in common with Pastis and a fact that I found to be more of a side note than an explanation for the eerie similarity. Don’t get me wrong, architecturally, there are definitely striking parallels.

But this was something more. An ambiance, an electricity, an atmosphere of camaraderie and belonging so intoxicating that the moment you pass through the doors to leave it behind ... The lack of it’s like cold water on your face. And the quiet stillness is all the more exaggerated.

Whether you’re having Croque-Monsieur and and a Glass in Manhattan’s Meat Packing District or a Burger and a Whiskey in Mobile’s Washington Square, you’re certain to be comforted by the cuisine, captivated by the company, and a wee bit weepy to leave it all behind.

For the Meatheads: Holeman & Finch Public House, Atlanta * Ted’s Butcherblock, Charleston * Mr. P's Butcher Shop & Deli, Birmingham * Revival Market, Houston * The Cannibal, New York

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