The Ciao at McCray's

Several months ago, I heard about a new Irish bar in Midtown that served very good Italian food. At first, I thought I misheard. It just seemed absurd. My first trip to McCray's 6th Street Tavern was after the Park Tavern St. Patrick's Day party, and to be honest, while I know I had fun, I didn't remember much about the food. After a return visit on Friday night, I know why. The food isn't really that memorable.

Now, don't get me wrong. McCray's offers many beers on tap, a good-looking clientele, a couple of plasma TVs and a rumor of a beer garden coming in the back and has established itself as one of the best bars in Midtown. I will definitely go back to drink a few pints. But, this isn't necessarily a blog about fun bars. Its about food, and McCray's isn't worth the trip for the food alone. Its a fun bar, that has better food that your standard bar fare. But to call this "very good Italian food" is a big-time stretch. First, the menus is fairly limited. And the items that are featured you would expect to find in a Holiday Inn's "Italian Night"- spaghetti and meatballs, rigatoni with meat sauce, chicken parm and you pretty much have it covered. Not that the rigatoni is bad, but its sort of average as far as Italian food is concerned. With the plethora of other dining options in Midtown, I would definitely hit a place like Little Azio's or Baraonda first, and then hit McCray's around 10 or 11- when the place begins to fill up. Of course, after an all-day alcohol-centric event like St. Patrick's Day or this weekend's Music Midtown, a trip to McCray's may actually hit the spot. Grade: C+