Scratcher Cafe

It’s St. Patrick’s Day, so you know every Irish pub in this town will be packed to the gills with bellowing guys in green plastic tophats. Probably a good night to carefully seek out a low-key setting. Scratcher, located just below street-level and lacking a sign denoting Irishness (look for an X scrawled between a pair of eyes), flies well under the radar. Candlelight, brick walls, hard, mismatched chairs, $6 pints and Jameson, ($4 during happy hour from 4-8pm), and maaaybe a U2 marathon swirling on the ipod all make for a fine St. Paddy’s day in my book. Scratcher, which is Dublinese for “bed,” can get a bit boisterous later in the evening, but remains relatively goon-free.

209 E. 5th St., between Bowery and Second Avenue