FAREWELL, MCHALE'S! I first heard of McHale's Bar & Restaurant during a brief encounter on a southbound Amtrak train. Phyllis spoke well of the theater district watering hole. I never heard from her again, but I heeded her advice, went to McHale's, liked it a lot, and returned from time to time over the years.

The old-fashioned bar consisted of two rooms: the front portion consisted of a long bar and booths; the back was a rudimentary "lounge" with some plush booths and some plain tables and chairs.

When McHale's recently closed, it followed in the doomed footsteps of Ye Olde Tripple Inn, another unpretentious area bar with plenty of "personality." Like the Trip, it was sacrificed to make way for a big residential building. There is some word that it might, somehow, make a comeback.

Here's the diner-like exterior.




















Here's a detail of the menu collage on the exterior.




















And here's a farewell from the restaurant.




















I'll miss the joint.

Photos: David Marc Fischer