Cathy O'Clarke owners Cathy and Mel Slawik know Irish hospitality. Although Slawik's not an Irish name, Cathy's ancestral name is O'Clarke from County Cork. They enjoy their customers, and that enjoyment spills over to their customers and employees, making O'Clarke's a pub very much in the Irish tradition of a community gathering place.

With green walls, dark wood, and seating for just 135 people, the interior evokes the feeling of an Irish pub. Even the pints they serve express Irish hospitality-they're bigger than American pints. Cathy has also set her Irish touch to the menu, of course, including a number of recipes and a style of cooking that have come to her through her family, but modernized, she noted. Every day she comes early to the restaurant to make the breads. "The soda bread that we serve is sweet.

The one that I grew up with wasn't. That's how it was made then," Cathy said. "We tried different ones, but the one that is really popular is the one with raisins and currants." "All deserts are homemade," Mel said, emphasizing the care they give to being in the Irish pub tradition. "All sauces are scratch sauces."

Originally from Delaware, Mel and Cathy Slawik have been in the restaurant business 25 years. When they came to Marco Island 13 years ago, they opened the Fat Pelican as a New York style deli. They opened Cathy O'Clarke's five years ago and have maintained the deli menu for lunches and carry out. Mel pointed out that they give the same special care to their deli foods as the Irish. "We do our own corned beef and pastrami," he said. "We marinate the corned beef four to six weeks before we serve it. We make our own rye bread."

To go with the Irish fare, O' Clarke's keeps 16 beers on draft. Many of them are seasonal. "We have lighter beers in the summer. In the winter the heavier beers, more ales," Mel said. The restaurant has a full liquor license and a wine cellar with 600 varieties. Wine is sold by the bottle at retail price with a $10 corkage fee, which can be a very good deal for those who purchase a higher priced bottle of wine. Diners may also order wines by the glass from $4.50 to $7.50.

In addition to traditional Irish foods, such as corned beef, bangers and mash, shepherd's pie, and Irish stew, O' Clarke's menu offers several steak, rib, and chicken entrees as well as pizza and a variety of seafoods, including coconut shrimp, lobster, grouper, scallops, and mahi mahi. Mel especially recommends their Coconut & Pecan Encrusted Grouper. In season-Christmas through April-O' Clarke's provides music on the small stage in the bar seven nights a week. Much of the music is Irish, such as that of Guinness, Peter Robertson, and others who regularly do the east coast tour.

During the off-season months, entertainment is four nights a week. Mel and Cathy Slawik offer great food drink and entertainment, but mostly they offer Irish hospitality, which Mel observed, "is all about enjoying what you do and enjoying your customers."

Reviews: On the menu culture clash