Memphis Foodie

A recent visit to Cooper Young ended the night up at Celtic Crossing for dinner.  Scott and I went to Alchemy for a couple of drinks and then headed to Celtic for some grub after.  It was later at night, so Celtic had a band inside.  We wanted away from all of the noise, so we chose to sit outside in the heated patio.

Heated patios, I believe, are one of the greatest inventions.  You get to sit outside in the middle of winter and relax, without freezing.  Celtic has a great patio, so I love that I can take advantage of it during 20 degree temperatures.  They even had a big flat screen outside, so we could watch the Grizz dominate while sipping a beer.  There was only one other table other than us, so it was pretty quiet.

First, the staff at Celtic is great.  The doorman was super cool, and our server got us everything we needed.

We got a goat cheese dip as an appetizer.  Scott really likes cheese, so this is usually how we start our meals: with big bowls of cheese.

We both agreed that the dip was pretty bland.  However, goat cheese is a very mild cheese, so we blamed it on the cheese.  I ended up just munching on the pita wedges, which were still warm.

Then our food came out.  Scott got the Irish Burger, which is described as “8 oz. of sirloin topped with imported Irish muenster cheese and rashers”.  Rashers, if you did not know, is a fancy Irish word for bacon.  We had to ask.  His came with fries.

I ordered the Grilled Carribean Jerk Chicken Sandwich, which is a “grilled chicken breast served over a red onion and cranberry salsa”. I got red potatoes with mine.

When we tried our food, we realized that we could not blame the blandness of the goat cheese dip on the cheese.  We had to, in fact, blame it on the restaurant itself.  Our food was equally as bland as our appetizer.  Neither the burger nor the chicken had any seasoning on it.  My red onion and cranberry salsa was just that: mashed up cranberries and onions.  Nothing else.  The fries were soggy and, like everything else we ate, bland.

We were both starving, so we devoured it all.  However, I would have much rather walked down the street to Young Avenue Deli (had they not had a cover) or Cafe Ole (had their kitchen not been closed).

The next day, we found out from an actual Irish man that maybe we could perhaps blame it on the food and not the restaurant.  According to him, Irish food is traditionally very bland and nothing to write home about.  Apparently, Celtic Crossing did it right by sticking to their roots.  However, on the other hand, traditional Irish food does not serve up burgers and chicken sandwiches.  Therefore, we are left confused as to what to think of Celtic Crossing.  Is the food due to the bad kitchen or the bad traditions?  Either way, we can agree that the food was not great and we won’t be coming back to eat.

However, Celtic has a great beer list, so it is a possibility I will be back to drink.  They have a great happy hour as well, and apparently a good Sunday Brunch too.  Trivia has its possibilities as well.  St. Patrick’s Day is always a blast here.  However, most of the time I just find it overcrowded and a little annoying.  But, hey, maybe that is how you like your evenings to be.  Celtic Crossing is never my first pick (or second, third, fourth, fifth, or sixth), but that does not mean I won’t be back.  My friends seem to love it, so you may see me tagging along too.

You can find out more about Celtic Crossing by visiting their website, where you can also view their menus, or Facebook page.  For more reviews, check out Yelp, Urbanspoon, Trip Advisor, or Gayot.  You can find their menus on All Menus or Marks Menus as well, or read a write-up about them from The Commercial Appeal.