O’Hara’s at WTC Ground Zero

by The Calhoun Sisters | May 28, 2010 | Restaurant Overviews, Travel

Yesterday some of my co-workers and I were in New York City sightseeing after a few days of being in a conference. We were in the World Trade Center ground zero area looking for the memorial and stumbled across O’Hara’s Restaurant and Pub. The area is under heavy construction, so O’Hara’s and other nearby buildings have scaffolding covering them, which makes it a bit difficult to see the businesses below.

O’Hara’s Restaurant & Pub

When we arrived the restaurant was packed, fortunately we got the best seats in the house–right in front of the air conditioner (it was 90 degrees in NYC) and these seats also gave us access to Arlene the bartender. We were very lucky to have these front row seats with access to Arlene, a native New Yorker, who told us about her 9/11 experience and shared with us her 9/11 scrapbook. She also gave us some excellent travel tips, such as take the Staten Island Ferry, which is free, to see the Statue of Liberty and a recommendation for an excellent restaurant in Little Italy.

The wall behind O’Hara’s bar is covered with patches that have been sent to O’Hara’s by fire fighters from all over the U.S. and on another wall is a poster of many of the fire fighters that lost their lives that day. The patches, poster, scrapbook, and Arlene’s stories were very moving and when we found the memorial for Engine Station 10 just across the street, the memorial really had an impact on me. It was also very amazing to have just seen the photos of the piles of debris and the overwhelming amount of dust that covered the area after the attack and how it had all somehow been cleaned up.

Arlene the Bartender – Note the patches on the wall

The food was great at O’Hara’s. I had a chicken BLT that was made with thin slices of grilled chicken and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Robert, one of my co-workers had a meatball hero sandwich and from the umm’s that he was making while he was eating it, I could tell he was really enjoying it. Keith had the Manhattan burger, which was hamburger patty with a thick slice of sautéed onion covered with melted mozzarella cheese. Jenny had a veggie burger with melted blue cheese.