Matt Murphy's   

To spend an hour at Matt Murphy's is to fall in love: with the bartender's brogue, with the rare ales, with the... Irish cuisine? If this phrase sounds like an oxymoron to you, you've clearly never stepped through the draft-muffling velvet curtain into the city's most captivating pub. Depending on when you visit, you may be greeted with strains of the Pogues or the full frontal assault of a live seisiun (the pub often features traditional Celtic rave-ups after 10PM). The weathered stand-up bar and mismatched tables are adorned with flowers and the walls are graced with black-and-white photos of the Old Sod -- a part of it so sodden that one senses the key to the pub's predominant design motif: a row of rubber Wellingtons on a shelf near the ceiling.The coziness of the room is complemented by a menu packed with comfort foods -- if Ireland had Jewish mothers, they would instinctively gravitate toward dishes like these. Those haunted by visions of tough meat and glutinous tubers will be reassured by appetizers like the potato-leek and turnip soups, served in wide bowls with scribbles of cream and pepper. The happy surprises continue with the entrees, most of which are accompanied by hand-cut chips and smoky homemade catsup. Regulars reserve especially high marks for the fish 'n' chips (which arrive wrapped in the morning paper) and the shepherd's pie (widely regarded as the city's best). -- Julia Clinger