PHOTO by ROSHEILA ROBLES

Winter in Long Beach is really just an excuse to wear a sweater with your skirt—and that’s perfectly fine. (Snow? Fun. Shoveling? Not.) But there is the occasional chilly evening where no one—not even New Yorkers—can scoff at you for donning a knit hat and thick scarf, and these nights are cause for celebration. Sometimes (as opposed to all of the times) it’s nice to be cold: You can see your breath in the air, you can cuddle on the couch, you can drink warm alcohol. Maybe this means you make a pot of mulled wine, or add a little hot tea to your Christian Brothers. Or maybe you happen to find yourself at Gallagher’s Pub and Grill on Broadway, where quiet nights are a welcome surprise, a night’s respite from the bar’s usual fare of friendly drunks and deafening (but fun) decibel levels. On a night like this, you hang your coat over the booth, loosen your scarf and order a round for the table—Fat Tire for a friend, Newcastle for another, and a Very Nutty Irishman for yourself. Why? Because it makes you feel silly and warm—kind of like free wine at a gallery opening, but now you’re tucked in the corner of a pub and sipping a warmed-up concoction of vodka, Frangelica and Bailey’s Irish Cream. The taste is, naturally, delicious (is Bailey’s ever not?) but the overall effect—read: buzz factor—is kicked up a notch by the vodka. Buzzed and warm—it’s a lovely feeling. Enjoy it while you can, because it’ll be 87 degrees by noon tomorrow.

GALLAGHER’S PUB AND GRILL 2751 E BROADWAY | LONG BEACH 90803 | GALLAGHERSLONGBEACH.COM

Tags: Drink of the Week, nutty irishman