I live around the corner and our neighbors get together for happy hour every Friday in winter (in the summer we hang outside at a neighbor’s home); we almost always go to Mayslack’s. I have mixed feelings about this place; I remember when it was a lot cooler and they had great local bands playing every weekend. Now it’s mostly cover bands that play for tourists that come to see Old Northeast. The atmosphere is decent; sometimes the jukebox is too loud, but whatever. The service can be sketchy; when it’s not busy, it’s sometimes hard to get a server to see you (that sounds weird, but it’s kind of typical in the restaurant business). We almost always are served by Ali, and we adore her. She always knows what we like to drink and she is very attentive, friendly and tolerant of our sometimes irritating behavior.

The food is decent here; I’m pretty sure most of it comes frozen, but it’s good bar food. I love the fries! Their chicken tenders are great and so are their boneless wings. I used to like their burgers (though they definitely start frozen), but they recently started using Baldinger buns (same as McDonald’s) and they have never been the same. They don’t butter or toast the buns or anything and they are plain, no sesame seeds. Ick. It just makes me feel like I’m eating at McDonald’s. Bad move, Mayslack’s; for thirteen dollars, I expect better. Now, if you’re hungry and want something to share with a table of people, the Slax fries with the seasoned sour cream is the way to go.

I wait till I am about to burst to go to the bathroom, or I just walk home. The bathrooms are horrible. The locks are broken on the doors, there’s no heat, it’s often out of towels and there is almost always standing water on the floor. The toilets are not anchored to the floor, so they wiggle around when you sit down. A horrible place to do your business. It’s my biggest complaint about this place.