The Knot is totally back!

A great Irish pub is reborn in Evanston

The Celtic Knot is back…totally!

People who knew the place were saddened when Celtic Knot in Evanston closed. Well, it’s back, now on Central Street, and the shepherd’s pie is to die for.

My wife and I dropped in on Friday night just to see how it was going at the Knot. We always like the Breslins, and hoped they were doing well with their old venture, now reborn.

First, eating on the patio is delightful. So is eating inside but there’s no giant oak tree above you to shelter you from whatever is happening in the sky, and you can’t hear the robins inside.

So, if it’s nice, eat out!

I have been lectured enough by actual food writers and restaurant critics in my day to know I am just not smart enough to do that kind of thing myself, so this is all just personal observation.

I cån enjoy eating most things and get very excited by peanut butter and jelly on a hard roll. I’m not very discerning but a very cheap date.

I pondered the menu for, perhaps, 30 seconds and settled immediately on the pie. The server noted they had a great special, a classic Ruben sandwich with all the required trimmings.

That’s the kind of thing you can only find in a New York deli. But the thought of corned beef with saurkraut and thousand island dressing on marbled bread…pretty tempting.

Next time, I think.

So, the pie came in one of those little crocks that was so hot it guaranteed the dish would be warm until it was finished. Warning…you don’t want to grab the handle to move that pot unless you have something thick between you and the surface.

Shepherd’s pie is one of those “everything in one place” meals that presents lamb, vegetables, mysterious seasonings and a great gravy all hidden under a cap of mashed potatoes.

I had one in the west of Ireland years ago and I asked what was in it and the restaurateur responded, “Everything.”

You can either eat from the top down and discover what’s in there or smoosh it all together at the beginning, my choice.

Sauteed lamb, carrots, peas, onions, they all came swimming up through the gravy.

A long time ago, a band I was part of played an entire two hour show in one of the old Knot’s back rooms. The new Knot doesn’t have that. But it has a good space up from where you might catch John Williams on his accordion playing Irish classics like he master he is. Some other Irish players sometimes join him for a great session.

Long story short, let the road rise and the wind at you back carry you straight to Central Street in Evanston. The Knot’s right up there.

!