D4 Irish Pub & Cafe opened its doors in a high-rise in Streeterville in November, on the ground floor of a sparkling new building aptly named "The Streeter." It looks like an Irish pub, has a semblance of a what the British call a snug (tucked into the far left-hand corner of the dining room), has a wide range of draft beers and draft combinations (black and tan, half and half, and others), has more than 30 bottled beers to choose from and has a number of Irish dishes.

In the main, though, the menu at D4 (short for Dublin 4, an affluent part of Dublin and some of its suburbs) tilts as much in the direction of contemporary American as it does Irish. For example, shrimp and grits, "Southern style" pulled pork sandwich, Buffalo wings and, hold the phone, "Chicago Style Pizza, 10-inch deep-dish pies."

That's a first for me -- deep-dish pizza in an Irish pub. But then the culinary landscape is constantly changing, so not much surprises me anymore. No, I didn't try the pizza (and the pizza with corned beef just seemed wrong to me). It could very well be a good pizza, but I was here for Irish fare. If I want deep-dish pizza in Chicago, I will go to Uno or Lou Malnati's.

So it was Irish fare -- or fare sprinkled with an Irish this or that -- from start to finish. Starting with Irish smoked salmon. "Roses" of salmon were set between slices of toasted brown bread with the usual fixings -- hard-boiled egg, capers and onions -- arranged in the center. A nice touch was the dollop of Boursin cream cheese. In all, a decent appetizer, with the silky and smoky salmon the star of the show.

I tried (on two occasions) the soup of the day. It seems as if the kitchen is hung up on the idea of cream soups. One day, it was bean; another time, it was potato. Not great, not bad, but this time of year I really enjoy a chunky soup.

Leading the appetizer parade are the mussels. A bevy of Prince Edward Island mussels (the BMW of mussels) came to the table. The "meat" of the matter was barely visible in the rubble of shells rising from the bowl. Once the plucking and picking started, it became a nonstop marathon to get to the bottom, right up to the point of going after the broth (garlic, thyme, Belgian ale enhanced) with a spoon.

Moving on to entrees, I made the mistake of ordering a corned beef and cabbage special. The cabbage was not a wedge; rather, it was stewed to the point of turning into sauerkraut (not good at all). The corned beef was dry, the potatoes were roasted chunks (like breakfast potatoes) and not a carrot in sight. A small jar of Colman's mustard came along, but where was the horseradish cream? An Irish pub with terrible corned beef and cabbage? What's it all coming to?

Probably the star of the show was the chicken pot pie. A fine, toasty puff pastry served as a lid for the good stuff underneath. When the lid was pierced, steam rose from the oval platter. This baby had my wife from the first whiff. Under the lid was a creamy and flavorful melange of chicken, peas and carrots. Fine dish.

Also quite good was the fish and chips. "Harp tempura battered cod" is how the menu kicks off the description. I had the lunch version, which was three "tubes" of golden cod, the cod sweet and flaky underneath the crisp and light tempura batter. The skin-on chips were excellent, too. There were cups of ketchup and tartar sauce on the plate, and malt vinegar on request.

Of the four desserts available, two were tried. The cinnamon brioche bread pudding was a generous slab of pleasure (enough for two to share) that was immersed just a bit in what the menu calls creme fraiche but appeared to be creme anglaise. Nevertheless, the brioche was moist, flavorful, studded with golden raisins and apricots, and strewn with candied pecans to the point of delicious.

Ditto for the molten chocolate brownie, which was, yes, slightly molten, with a lot of chocolate and a bit light and spongy (not the consistency of a brownie as we know it, that is). The brownie was in the pleasing company of a raspberry sauce and crushed walnuts.

Pat Bruno is a free-lance writer, critic and author. E-mail brunoeats@aol.com.

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