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Slane is to Irish pubs what a riotous drunk is to his neighbor. You want to give it the benefit of the doubt, but sometimes you should keep your distance. The cellar-like room looks pleasant enough, with exposed brick arches and an inviting U-shaped bar. But the five TVs and a satellite radio pulsing out power rock are more Bergen County than County Kildare—especially when jacked dudes fresh from Tiger Shulman’s Karate show up to do sweep-the-leg-Johnny “shocker” shots that might include a Jäger Bomb (Jägermeister and Red Bull). This place is best encountered during the day when one can actually hear someone talk and feel the breeze from the open-air front. — Andrew Paine Bradbury