Kitty Hoynes, you saw it with that Guy

/ September 27, 2014
A famous visitor left his mark at Kitty Hoynes in downtown Syracuse.

A famous visitor left his mark at Kitty Hoynes in downtown Syracuse.

I had lunch this week in downtown Syracuse with my great friend Jim McKeever, author of terrific blog Irish Investigations. As we usually do for our sessions of catch up on life with my dear wife Karen and his great girlfriend MG and our offspring, which leads to memories of our years together at the big daily and tales for the big plans for days, week and years to come, we chose Kitty Hoynes.

Hard to believe we fit all of this talk into an hour, isn’t it? Anyway, Kitty Hoynes, this quite authentic Irish Pub of ours, is the place. Owner David Hoyne once again stopped by our table to chat and make sure all was well on all three sides of our equation.

Jim is going to run the Columbus Marathon next month in his old college environs. He and many thousands of runners will chart the 26.2 miles through The Ohio State University. Jim and I both are in our Beddian Birthday year, born in 1957, and the fact that my friend can and does get his body through the process of training for and completing multiple marathons yearly both amazes and fascinates me. Being that I’m kind of proud of myself when I take my push cart out of the trunk for my nine-hole golf league, I say double bravo, Jim.

With Jim in serious training and me in maintenance stage — 185 pounds, holding, and proud of it — we split a vegetarian flatbread pizza, with Jim adding a side salad while I went for a cup of onion soup. Delish. It reminded me that blogger Mark of Exile on Pain Street brought up to me in a comment a couple weeks ago that he saw Kitty Hoynes on The Food Network’s “Diners, Drive-ins and Dives.”

Indeed, host Guy Fieri visited David Hoynes’ joint during a trip here in 2012.

Which brings me to the wall hanging in the pub I used to illustrate this post above, and my tie in to this weekend’s Ryder Cup matches.

Ian Poulter does his work on the Golf Channel. (Getty Images).

Ian Poulter does his work on the Golf Channel. (Getty Images).

Hey, golf fans, doesn’t Fieri remind you of European golfer Ian Poulter? As a matter of fact, that guy Poulter is doing quite well in the early hours right now as I watch him partner with Rory McElroy, with a hole advantage over Ricky Fowler and Jimmy Walker in the morning session in day two of the Ryder Cup as Europe continues to hold its team lead over the United States. But all that can change quickly. The cup concludes with 12 singles matches tomorrow.

Here’s the source for the photo of golfer Ian Poulter.

What’s the longest distance you’ve ever run, and would you do it again? Would you go with the salad or the soup with te flatbread pizza? Would you consider an Irish Pub a Diner, Drive-In or Dive? Do you have a favorite Irish Pub where you live, and if so, share your best story from the joint please.

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68 thoughts on “Kitty Hoynes, you saw it with that Guy”

  2. once again, I’m going to focus on the food. (though congrats on your healthy successes 🙂 ) Why can’t I have salad AND soup? I’ll have blue cheese dressing on the side and will use it sparingly. An Irish pub could be a dive if it’s divey enough, but not a diner or a drive-in, nope. Very nice to have friends to dine with 🙂

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    • I think you are right about the dive possibilities, but this place sure ain’t a dive, Liz. Although I am not going to bad mouth dives because they certainly serve certain needs at certain times for all of us. 🙂 Soup and salad has also done that for me, I have to say, but never in a dive.

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  3. Hurray for the maintenance stage! I can’t even see that at the end of the tunnel. You are disciplined. I thought his blog was titled “terrific blog Irish Investigations,” and I thought that was a bit prideful, but then I figured it out. Doh!

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  4. I admire runners. Literally dreamed of being one. For years I would dream of running. Every time I would start a running program I would injure foot/ankle/knee. I know a few who will be running that marathon. Cheers to all of the runners. My longest distance is over three miles and I knew I was on my way to running forever. Blew out a foot again. So now I hike. And my ever trusty steed, my bike (longest distance in one day 126.2 ) 🙂

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    • Colleen, I told Jim as we ate lunch that day that he should contact you about being in Columbus that weekend. Bloggers being in proximity and all …

      It is tough on the joints, that running thing. So I hear. My daughter is now a runner, with her terrific boyfriend George. They are young, in their 20s, yet I fear for those leg woes for them already. I love the replacements you have found, friend. 🙂 For you, of course.

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      • 🙂 He had mentioned awhile back about being here for the marathon. If all would work out I would definitely be there. But it appears now I will be heading in the opposite direction of the marathon. 😦 Children in need get top priority. But, we will see, one never knows what might work out! 🙂

        I have finally had to succumb to the realization that running is not for everyone. So now I hike and have been doing a good bit of that. But biking has certainly won my heart. Even though there is precious little time for THAT now. 🙂

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      • I walk Ellie B aka Dogamous Pyle, and when winter moves in, I walk in the big mall. I just make sure that I’m always moving at least 30 minutes a day, or else, Mark gets cranky and bigger and unhealthy. I know your hiking and biking is your way to better health, mental and physical. I can tell from here, my friend. 🙂

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      • Thank you Mark. I do try. Though of late have been struggling. I just started a new phase of healthier eating. The working out isn’t the problem, it’s the eating!

        I am finding out as I type this if I’ll be babysitting Saturday….

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      • Yes, the eating part has always been troublesome for me, too, Colleen. Stress drives me toward bigger portions, and comfort food …

        Babysitting on Saturday keeps you from exercising and make you eat, too, I’d think, 😦

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      • Guitar lessons! Love that, Colleen. Are you just starting out, or is it more advanced? You should post about it if you’re just starting out, motivate some folks about trying something new. 🙂

        Yes, take the young ‘uns for group exercise, how cool that would be!

        But, food. I just had a banana for breakfast, and that’s it until lunch, a bologna sandwich.

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      • Oh the guitar is about a year and a half long now. And I have to say, I am STILL a beginner. It’s not easy for me but I so badly want to do it. Fortunately I have a wonderful instructor.

        I may have to take you up on your suggestion about the guitar. 🙂

        That’s not a wholelotta food Mark.

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      • I admire you learning the guitar, Colleen. A lot.

        Don’t worry about the food thing. Chicken, potatoes and broccoli coming for dinner. Yum. No sugar added Klonkdike Krunch bar for dessert.

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      • Klondike has two No Sugar Added bars, in six-packs, vanilla ice cream, chocolate covered, regular and Krunchy. Also awesome: Skinny Cow No Sugar Added vanilla ice cream sandwiches, just like we got when we were kids, five packs. In the “ice cream novelties” dairy freezer in my supermarkets. Low fat ice cream in them, too. Taste great, healthier.

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  5. When I was in middle school, ions ago, before I was blessed with Rheumatoid Arthritis, I was a fast runner. I had loooong legs (don’t know where they went) and was faster than everyone including the boys. That was my only experience with running. At least it was a good one, right?

    I want you to know that after having gone to the Umass Homecoming football game today (they lost) 😦 I am sitting in my living room with my aching feet up watching Syracuse vs. Notre Dame ONLY because of you. I told Mr. B that you are quite the fan and he said, “Yea, this is REAL football”. 🙂

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  6. Um, I’m not a fan of running Mark, but have always loved walking. I can do it again, but only short walks with the aid of my walker, and have an MS walk scheduled for October. It’s just a short one, but will be a huge victory for me, since almost a year ago 3 doctors told me I would never walk again.

    I have a favorite drive in, The Big Dipper. It has a long history with my high school days, and well before I ever made it to high school. It was “our” school hang out, where we all went on weekends for burgers and cokes, then parked the cars in the back and partied tamely until curfew, which in this town was pretty early back in the day. It’s still the OCHS hangout, and when my youngest sis comes home, she still stops by there for the burgers and fries, even though the rest of us have realized they really aren’t all that great. In fact, they are just plain nasty, but I guess she fled the nest too early, and is still sentimental about the old hangouts.

    Glad you had a good day with Jim.

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  8. 11 miles is my longest run, and I’d never do it again. If I were being chased for that long, I would finally just surrender because my chaser clearly wanted to catch me. 🙂

    7 hours until kickoff, my friend! 🙂

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  9. How cool that you met up with Jim! To answer your questions: I took up running one August several years back. It only worked because I was frustrated about a number of things and getting physical helps during these times. Truth is, I hate running though. I think pubs have their own category. I love pub food and ambiance. And recently I went to one with my daughter in Edmonton to celebrate finding her wedding dress. I had a Feta Cheese burger and fries. 😀
    Diana xo

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    • Excellent pub food choice, Diana, and a great reason to celebrate, too! I’m not a big fan of feta cheese, though. I would have opted for cheddar, I think. To each their own (cheese choice).

      Jim is quite the runner, huh? Good for you to start and appreciate its benefits during frustrating times even though it may be something less than your favorite pastime. Bravo. And, fyi, Jim and I try to meet several times a year at least. We are very good old friends for 30 years. When we worked together at the big daily, we even had a period of a few years when we shared the same cubicle!

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      • I like all kind of cheeses Mark. I never buy feta so I partake when I eat out! Also, that’s when I indulge in French fries…something else I don’t make at home anymore.

        Yes I know you and Jim are old friends, in fact, I started following his blog on your recommendation. I’m enjoying it very much. 🙂

        Diana xo

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      • Yes, I see your fingerprints on his blog and that makes me a happy camper. Of course, in my champions tour moments, I forget if I told you that we shared the same cublicle at the big daily. So hard to keep track of these things.

        So feta and fries has a great sound to it, doesn’t it? 🙂

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  10. glad that you and jim had a chance to catch up, i enjoy both of your blogs, so fun to image your conversation when together. that sounds like a great place, i love irish pubs and dives of all kinds. and wow to jim for doing the upcoming marathon. i’m not a runner at all ,but did do the avon cancer 3 day walk of 60 miles a number o years back and it was hard but wonderful and i cried at the end.

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    • I love the concept of that walk to help the fight against cancer, Beth. Bravo to you for logging 60 miles in three days. That is quite impressive, you know. And wonderful, and I, too, would cry at the end in those circumstances.

      When you come visit Syracuse we will all eat and drink a beer at Kitty Hoynes either before or after the Chiefs-Mud Hens game just because we can. 🙂

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  12. First of all, too bad you aren’t coming to Columbus, Mark! I would have met you after you cheered Jim on at the Polaris Mall, where there is a Cheesecake Factory, California Pizza Kitchen, “The Pub” and also, Molly Wu’s, an upscale Asian cuisine restaurant. I like The Pub the best, since I order a hard apple cider there, a pretzel burger or a reuben, then I would generally order a salad! My brother has run marathons for years and wins either a first or second place in his age group. He likes the Columbus Marathon, but I find it to be very windy and hard to keep up with the corners that he places me to hand him bottled water. I liked going to a challenging marathon in Bettendorf, Iowa, Mark to watch him run, it had a bridge across to an island and back off the bridge to go into neighborhoods. I have been ‘forced’ to run half of 5K’s as a partner, when he has begged me to. Smiles and I will be rooting for Jim to capture the “Title” in his age group. Those over 50 year olds run fast!!

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    • You should contact Jim, Robin! He’ll be out there for the whole weekend, I know. At least tell him about your favorite places. Being my age, it’s been awhile since his school days at The U. Although his sons went there, too!

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  14. hi mark, the Ryder Cup brings out the European in The British (which is for the most part well hidden the rest of the time!) It looks a bit close for comfort this year.
    I used to love running but now i keep myself limited to running for trains or buses – which I did this morning. I too admire Jim for his marathon efforts.

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  15. Mark, thank you for all the encouragement for the marathon! Speaking of MG, we watched the documentary, “Spirit of the Marathon,” last night. Fourth or fifth viewing for me, first for her. It gets me smack in the heart and soul every time, and is part of my training regimen. Columbus should be great, with friends running and spectating. Great catching up over lunch in such a fine Irish establishment! See you again post-race, my friend.

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