Pub 199 of Mt. Arlington is a meat lover’s paradise

When I worked as an advertising account manager in 2013 and 2014 (thank god that’s over) my main job duty was to pretty much call every business in Morris County and solicit them for advertising. I always got interesting – sometimes rude and sometimes surprisingly receptive – answers from whoever had the misfortune of picking up my bored call. However, I still remember what the busy employee at Pub 199 said to me when I called them on one fateful day.

A little background – Pub 199 is, without a doubt, a Morris County landmark that’s pretty much packed to the brim every night of the week. And for two good reasons: One, the menu features incredibly reasonable specials including tasty entrees like a New York strip, snow crab legs or king crab legs paired with two dozen clams and fries for $26 – $39 and two, the restaurant and bar is covered with owner George Markou’s various catches of deer, fish and exotic game including rhinos and giraffes.

So, back to my story. I called and, as usual, asked the person on the other end of the line (probably as I was planning out my next blog post) if they would be interested in advertising, if I could schedule a rep to come and see them, yada yada yada. And for the first time, the employee laughed.

“Dude, have you ever been in here? We have to turn people away. We definitely do not need to advertise.”

There is no sales line that can follow up with that fact. I laughed and said I understood and wished them a good day.

READ: Osteria Radici is Allentown’s new culinary gem

To this day – as it has been since 1989 when George and his wife bought Pub 199, formerly Rooney’s Pub – Pub 199 is still the legend it has always been, even after it burned down in early 2013 and had to be completely rebuilt, taxidermied heads and all. My grandpa still insists on going there whenever we go to dinner (and says, “We can go to Pub 189, or whatever the hell it is”) and I still always order the snow crab legs.

The beer selection is always limited, the clientele is always in jeans and the servers are always busy. But, every table is also always full and there is always a smile on every patron’s face.

Pub 199

Where: 199 Howard Blvd, Mt Arlington, NJ 07856

Call: (973) 398-7454

Website: None (big shock there)