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Saturday, March 21, 2009

Shady McGrady's

Shady McGrady's Pub, Harrisburg Pennsylvania © Susqueats.com 2009

On Verbeke Street, just up from the Broad Street Market, is a neighborhood bar that finds itself being visited by patrons from far beyond the surrounding streets.

Beerheads from far and wide search out Shady McGrady's strictly for their over-the-top selection of beers. Owner Scott Thomas believes that his pub has one of the best selections of top quality beers in the State, and a stroll down the taps would make it hard to argue with him. I was only there five minutes before I heard someone who had just walked in say "My God... they have that on tap!!!" and I think that such exclamations occur frequently in front of Shady's modest u-shaped bar.

Shady McGrady's has a full 24 taps. With that much real estate you expect a fair share of macro-brews. Not here. Only one macro, and a Guinness, and the rest are all top-end micros or hard to find brews.

What about the food? Shady McGrady's offers a bar menu consisting of many of your usual subjects like wings, pizzas and your other fried favorites. But you get the sense that it is served more as a convenience to their patrons who want to get on to trying their next beer.

In addition to the draft beers, Shady McGrady's offers an ever expanding selection of bottled beer. In keeping with their craft brewed philosophy, many of these are hard to find specialty beers from around the country and the globe. They even feature one beer that is literally from all around the globe. Dogfish Head's Pangea is brewed with ingredients from each of the world's continents.

If you subscribe to the "beer is food" or "liquid bread" philosophies, Shady McGrady's is the place for you.

Shady McGrady's is only open evenings and it is a smoking bar, so plan accordingly.