October 5, 2006 Issue                                       

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©2006 The Chestnut Hill Local

Irish music, blarney, food, revelry at Shanachie
by LEN LEAR

Co-owners Gerry Timlin (left) and Ed Egan (right) are delighted to have Brian Duffy, a frequent TV performer and authentic Irish leplechaun, as their executive chef.

When owner Gerry Timlin, 56, gets up to sing at Shanachie (“storyteller” in Gaelic), a two-year-old Irish pub at 111 E. Butler Pike in Ambler, he says with a sly grin, “If you have any requests, don’t ask for them. It’s my place. I’ll sing whatever I want to sing.”

But there are always thorns in high cotton, and there are always customers who make requests. So when a customer yells out, “Do Danny Boy,” Gerry responds, “OK. I’ll do it at 10 of 2 a.m.” (Of course, he promptly sings Danny Boy — beautifully.) “If I do your request, we may slip an extra charge into your bill, and you may be so bombed, you won’t even know you’re being charged.”

Ask Gerry about a song one hears way too often, and he may say, “It’s in everything but the crib at Christmas.”

Some musicians think the sun comes up just to hear them crow, but not Gerry. He is funny, as well as a gracious host. He often walks customers to the front door after their dinner. “It’s an Irish tradition,” he explains, “to walk you to the front door. That way I can make sure you leave.”

Gerry Timlin sings at Shanachie whenever he wants to, and no one can stop him because he’s the owner.

The story of Shanachie Irish Pub & Restaurant originated in Coalisland, County Tyrone, where Gerry Timlin developed an early interest in traditional Irish music. By 16, he had won the first of many international song contests. In 1972 Gerry came to the U.S. as part of a folk music band called The Jolly Tinkermen.

“We sang one night at the Irish Center on Carpenter Lane in Mt. Airy,” said Timlin. “Eventually we performed all over the country. We had lots of fun. It’s a great way to see America while you sing for your supper. I lived outside Washington, D.C., for a while and in New York and in Chicago, but I really liked the people in Philadelphia the most. That’s why I settled here.”

After one performance, Gerry met Ed Egan, now 51, a native of the D.C. area who was “raised on Irish songs and stories.” Ed was a lawyer who also worked in the insurance business, but he and Gerry shared a dream of owning an Irish pub. Eventually they examined several locations and decided that Ambler was the place to be. “It was already undergoing a renaissance,” explained Ed, “and we thought it had a good chance to become the next Manayunk.”

The curtain-raiser in the belly of the feast was October 1, 2004, after a year-long renovation. Prior to becoming an Irish pub, the building that houses Shanachie was a dollar store (although nothing costs a dollar there now). We ate in what was previously the greeting card section, which is probably a good place to sit if you’re having a happy birthday or if you hope to get well soon or if you expect to have a Happy Halloween in the near future.

Now you might think that finding a top-of-the-line gourmet chef at an Irish pub would be like finding an elephant on ice skates, but at Shanachie that’s what you have in Brian Duffy. “A friend told me about Brian,” said Egan. “He had a TV show on the Food Network at the time, which was certainly impressive, and he was the chef at Sonoma in Manayunk.” (Now Duffy does cooking demonstrations on Thursdays on 10, a show on Channel 10 at 10 a.m.)

“We contacted Brian, and the more we talked, the more we liked each other,” said Egan. “When I first mentioned Gerry’s name to him, he said, ‘What an amazing coincidence. Gerry sang at my 21st birthday party at Annie’s in Ardmore.’ That pretty much sealed the deal.”

Shanachie, of course, offers lots of pub classics like Shepherd’s pie (beef and lamb with carrots, onions and peas in brown sauce with mashed potatoes; $14.95); Irish beef stew (traditional hand-cut beef with carrots, potatoes and onions with brown bread, $14.95); fish and chips (flash-fried ale-battered cod with Irish chips and remoulade sauce, $14.95); Celtic cheese board with farmhouse cheeses, berries, flat and brown breads, hazelnuts and fruit puree ($9.25); and cottage pie (roasted chicken and vegetables in a creamy broth, topped with puff pastry and baked, $15.95). The average entree price is between $10 and $20.

The smoked salmon spring rolls appetizer with goat cheese and a dill dip ($7.95) was just so-so, but we loved the Irish potato boxty — a glorious pancake with Maytag bleu cheese and fried asparagus ($6.95) and the grilled salmon special in a tarragon brown sugar glaze, resting in an inspired jumbo lump crabmeat sauce ($21.95). Desserts of chocolate chip cheesecake and peanut butter mousse were wonderful.

There are lots of beers to choose from. We thoroughly enjoyed the Pyramid apricot weizen and the Smithwick’s red ale. And one thing you absolutely must order at Shanachie is the homemade potato chips, which are called “crisps,” not chips. They are addictive.

Our excellent, personable server, Kevin Cooper, lives right across the street from the restaurant, which represents his “revolution against the gasoline industry.” I recognized another server, Chris Butler, who worked at Penguin Photo in Chestnut Hill from 2002 to 2004.

Shanachie has a non-smoking dining room, but smoking is allowed at the bar. “I did not have the guts to make the whole place non-smoking,” admitted Egan. “I hate smoke myself, but we do have a good (smoke-removal) system at the bar ... If Pennsylvania wants to go all non-smoking in restaurants, I’d be all for it.”

The restaurant, which is across the street from the Ambler Theater, features live entertainment (they never feature dead entertainment) every Wednesday and Thursday night beginning at 8 and every Friday and Saturday night beginning at 9. (Shanachie get lots of after-the-movie business.) On Tuesday nights any area musician is invited to join in their traditional Irish music jam session, starting at 8.

Both lunch and dinner are served daily. There is a Happy Hour Monday through Friday, 4:30 to 6:30 p.m., and a Sunday brunch. For more information, call 215-283-4887 or visit www.shanachiepub.com.