HELL'S KITCHEN — The city will be flush with Guinness this St. Patrick's Day weekend, but the best of the black stuff is found in Hell's Kitchen, according to its bartenders.
Thanks to the neighborhood's solid Irish roots, the far West Side pours some of the city’s finest Guinness, they say. The secret is a blend of technique and equipment.
“Oh, you definitely have to let it set,” said Tom McQuaid, 66, owner of McQuaids on 11th Avenue who works behind the bar every day.
McQuaid does a three-point pour, meaning he fills a glass with Guinness in three different phases, letting it sit in between. He’s not sure exactly why this is optimal. “It’s just the habit of doing it,” he said.
Dublin's Guinness Storehouse has an official six-step guide to pouring the perfect pint, which takes more than two minutes.
McQuaid's Guinness can’t be too cold and he gets his keg-to-tap lines cleaned once a month to keep the flavor clear, he said.
McQuaid hails from Monaghan, Ireland. He came to the United States in 1970 and has been tending bar ever since. McQuaids was once a longshoreman’s bar, he says, but now caters to a mix of construction workers, tourists and late-night professionals from nearby advertising firms.
At Landmark Tavern down the street, Tom Hummel goes for the two-point pour preferred by some Irish bartenders. He maintains that even if all Guinness is created equal, by the time it hits the glass there is plenty of room for distinction.
“No, it isn’t all the same,” said Hummel who's been tending bar for 40 years.
The secrets had to be learned over time, he said. “The way it’s poured, how it’s kept,” he said.
The Landmark opened in 1868, before 12th Avenue existed. The Hudson used to come up to its door, Hummel said. His pint goes for $7.50.
But Hummel’s not a Guinness man.
“What do I drink?” he said. “Coors Light.”
