Critic's Review
With the Riverfront literally torn down, the only remaining venue is Briny's, and the only time I would consider coming here is on St. Patrick's day.
The dopey city had the parade on March 10 instead of March 17, so there was no sign that it was St. Patrick's day until getting very close to Briny's. The Riverwalk was empty at 3:30pm, and the structures for the St Pat's celebration were all shrink wrapped and unpopulated.
Out in front of Briney's, there were long lines for the 2 taps if you wanted a Guinness. $6 for a pint in a plastic cup.
Inside it was the same as always. The same dude with the guitar doing long sets of Irish songs (who still can't sing) with an appearance by the bagpipers.
Lots of people eating mozzarella sticks and corned beef on marble rye. Same exact everything as every other year here at Briny's.
Review 3/11/17
With the Riverfront largely abandoned (with a plan to tear it down and put up condos later this year in the works), Briny's live on, like a cock roach after a nuclear war. I go to Briny's 1 day a year; the day of the St Patrick's Day parade. The parade is the Saturday before St. Pats (even if St Patrick's Day falls on a Saturday), and I'm usually not into doing it again a few days later.
Briny's takes on the nautical decor that was in vogue in the 70s, with all sorts of stuff hanging in their large, covered patio.
The crowd is the same, but something quite noticeable is that the place is really dirty. All of the hanging stuff is covered in dust; like it hasn't been cleaned in years. The owners have been trying to sell this place for years.
One thing also the same is the singer dude is cranking out the Irish Tunes.
The sound quality was awful however; I had a very scratchy speaker near me; looking up it was held together with tape.
One think I didn't like is that they have a setup outside where you get a pint of beer for $5. But inside at the bar, they wouldn't take my cup; they gave me a 12 oz cup for the same $5. Just annoying stupid bar tricks that kept me from getting a beer at the inside bar.
One thing different about the Briny's St Pat's crowd is that the people are more down to earth than the typical tourist stops. This is not exactly a gucci crowd.
Fancy stuff. The Singer Dude guy played a very long set; and they're no break in the action. Another group comes on while the Dude is on break and belts out some tuned from the 70s and 80s. They really know the crowd here.
Back before I started this site, I had some Shepard's Pie at Briny's and it was so bad I thought it was a joke. That was before I understood Fort Lauderdale. They have some fancy machine that puts out the mashed potatoes pastry bag style; but it wasn't real food. Seeing some of the food coming out here, I see things haven't changed. Some bangers and mash with the pastry bag potatoes. I'm always temped to try the corned beef, but they don't even have a sign up telling you how much a plate is.
Conclusion
Briny's was an interesting place in 2007, but now it's kind of an old relic trying to hang on. You can't come here at night, because it's dark and the Riverwalk doesn't have adequate security. So Briny's is a weekend afternoon spot that gets enough business 2 days a year to keep it going.
Every year it's a bit less interesting. The same thing over and over gets dull over time.
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