OK, Nutty and I were in the middle of a South Street crawl. We were hanging out with a girl that we met at The Plough and the Stars a week earlier. We just left Manny Browns and their craptabulous nachos and we were meandering through the hip-hop crowd in search of somewhere sane to hang our hats and to throw a few back. 

Then, there it was. Practically jumping out of a backdrop of a steamy South Street night. No, not the life-size Chef Boyardee standing guard out front, but above him a sign that read: "Ceol, Caint agus Craic." This is gaelic for "Sing, Talk and Laugh." I don't know a more welcoming invitation to a couple of wayward pubcrawlers.  

Life-sized Chef Boyardee notwithstanding, we entered this establishment expecting to find a lame attempt at an Irish Pub. I mean, after all we are on South Street - a place where most bars go with quantity over quality (remember Mardi Gras 2001 - serve anyone with a pulse?). But The Blarney South is a bit different. 

You enter the Blarney South and the bar extends along the right hand wall to about the half-way mark of the place. If the bar were full, there would probably be about 20 patrons bellied-up. Behind the bar is a boatload of bric-a-brac. We're talking antique cribs, a few mini and life size knight's in shining armor, a green "Erin go Braugh" flag, and assorted signage. At both ends of the bar are 13 inch TV's keeping you up-to-date on the latest sports scores. 

The taps call out the normal bar brews, nothing overtly Irish: Harp, Guinness, Sam Adams, Yuengling, Bud, and Killarney's (a Budweiser brew). If anything, I'd like to see an Irish Pub weighted a little heavy towards other Irish beers like Caffrey's or Murphy's.

Opposite the bar, against the wall is an area devoted to baseball memorabilia. If this were a sports bar I'd understand, but in an Irish Pub, what gives? The baseball memorabilia doesn't even have to do with Philly. They've got old tyme picts of Babe Ruth and a few other old coots that the casual baseball fan would never name in a million years.

Just past an antique globe light lantern and you're into a sit-down area with tables and chairs scattered about. If there happens to be a live act playing this area is the place to be. The live music usually plays in a little area between this area and the bar. If you grow tired of watching a guy play Wild Rover for a third time, you can always stare at the Blarney South's interesting red, yellow and black mural that shows a castle and an knight on a horse. Sure the mural has nothing to do with Ireland and who has ever heard of an Irish Knight, but what the hell, it's a distraction.

Since it's an Irish themed bar amidst the South Street madness, it winds up attracting a friendly crowd of people in their 20's & 30's. Depending upon the musical act, the crowd might run older. If you're in the neighborhood and you're looking for a break from the other bars in the South Street area, just look for the life-size Chef Boyardee standing guard.