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No cliche is more fortuitous than that of the Irish bar. Happily, drunken benevolence, Guinness taps, and Irish whiskey are in no short supply at straightforward drinking hole Paddy Maguire's. Nor are white Christmas lights, decent classic and current rock on the jukebox, photos of firefighters and jockeys, and doors that are (as the bar makes a point of advertising) imported from the old country. Play pool with the locals in back, cluster in the narrow front with the office workers and occasional tourists, or chat with the usually Celtic and always affable bartenders as you dawdle over a carefully poured duotone Black and Tan. Better yet, take this fine opportunity to taste test the relative merits of Jameson versus Bushmills. If the luck of the Irish is with you, perform the experiment with the peaty, slightly higher-end Jameson 12 and Black Bush for the only $1 more. Stereotypes aren’t always bad. — Kristal Hawkins