A perfect table setting requires pristine linens and polished cutlery, except at off-Broadway restaurants where waiters set every table in postapocalyptic Vienna. Avoid avant-garde eating with today’s Groupon: for $10, you get $20 worth of American fare at Mackey's American Pub in Manassas.
Mackey’s American Pub sates nostalgic appetites with a familiar menu of custom-grilled steaks, succulent seafood, and pub-inspired sandwiches. Buffalo bites ($8.26) don a range of sauces to battle for victory on the checkered tablecloths, and loaded potato skins ($6.88) blanket themselves in cheese, sour cream, and bacon bits just like at sleepovers with Mr. Potato Head. Heat from the grill seals seasonings into the drunken rib eye—a 14-ounce jowl exerciser glazed in bourbon ($16.51)—and a duo of seasoned crab cakes ($16.51) towers over side selections ranging from crisp onion rings to cheese-drenched broccoli. The designated smoke-free upstairs dining room proffers unobstructed whiffs of each hearty aroma, while the smoking club downstairs regales cigarette savorers with sporting events on 12 high-definition and plasma televisions alongside periodic poker nights, darts tournaments, and karaoke. Mackey's also serves locals in need by supporting the Hilda Barg Homeless Shelter, SERVE Homeless Shelter, and the Lupus Foundation, seasoning each steak with philanthropy like a charity-auctioned saltshaker.
Mackey's American Pub
From the long wooden bar at Mackey's American Pub, you can catch a sporting event, some karaoke, or even live music. But even without these draws, crowds would come simply for the pub eats: ribeye steaks glazed in bourbon, crab cake dinners, and burgers served with sauteed mushrooms on a bagel bun. Smoking is allowed on the first floor, though the second-floor stays smoke-free.