SYRACUSE, NY -- What to say about today's long-awaited opening of Clark's Ale House:

Beer, beef and 'bout time.

Roast Beef on DiLauro's kimmelweck bread and beef barley soup at the new Clark's Ale House in Syracuse.

It's been 1 year and 67 days since Ray Clark announced he would reopen the ale house that bears his family name. That's 432 days of anticipation, aggravation and anxiety.

The wait ended at 11 a.m. today when Clark's opened its doors at 100 E. Washington St., on the corner with South Salina street.

It marked the return of a beloved local watering hole that, in its original incarnation at the corner of Clinton and Jefferson streets in Armory Square, was known for "22 drafts and one sandwich," the lack of TVs and live or piped-in music and its role in kick-starting the craft beer scene in Central New York.

If you're counting, its been 4 years and 36 days since the original closed.

Check out the photo gallery above for picture's of Friday's final preparations. And here are 5 things to know about Clark's, then and now:

1.

When the original Clark's opened in 1992, it had 22 taps featuring many then-unknown craft beers and hard-to-find imports. The new Clark's has 35 taps (including two for hand-pulled or "cask conditioned" beer). It also has two draft wines -- one red and one white. It carries 18 bottled wines, including 6 from New York state. You'll also notice Clark's serves Murphy's Irish Stout, but not Guinness.

2.

The old Clark's served its beers primarily in standard 16-ounce pint glasses. The new Clark's has 11-ounce dimpled mugs with handles -- the same kind you see at country pubs in England or at McSorley's Old Ale House in New York City. Prices for glasses of beer range from $1.50 for beers like Genesee Cream Ale and Saranac Black Forest up to $6 for Lindeman's Framboise, a Belgian ale. Most crafts and imports fall in between. You can always buy two at a time (that's more than a 20-ounce Imperial pint) and there are both 32-ounce and 60-ounce pitchers.

3.

You'll notice a slight change in the famed Clark's Roast Beef sandwich. The original was served on an onion roll. The new Clark's serves roast beef on kimmelweck bread, from DiLauro's Bakery on Syracuse's North Side. That makes the sandwiches closer in spirit to the Buffalo favorite, the Beef on Weck.

4.

The food menu is still limited, but more emphasis is on New York state sourcing. In addition to the old Clark's staple of New York-made Croghan bologna, there's Lebanon bologna and cheese plates featuring Smoked Gouda from Muranda Cheese in Waterloo, Brie from Kenton's in Trumansburg and Cheddar from Cuba Cheese Shop in southwestern New York. And for stinky cheese lovers, there is Liederkranz, an American knock-off of Limburger. Cole slaw, a fresh garden salad and beef barley soup round out the food options.

5.

Now, as in the original, Clark's takes its inspiration from English pubs. The new place has an even more Old World look, with its dark wood and etched glass windows. Decorative features include Fuller's London Pride taps as door handles, dozens of former tap handles mounted above the bar, and the return of the English-style red phone box. Look for the "ring the bull" game in the dining room on the Washington street side, and other artifacts that will remind Clark's veterans of the old days.

Clark's is open 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. Monday to Saturday and noon to 8 p.m. on Sunday.

And there's still no TVs or music.

Don Cazentre writes about food, beverages, restaurants and bars for syracuse.com and The Post-Standard. Contact him by email, on Twitter, at Google+ or via Facebook.