Question: is maclaren's pub a real place?
Answer: NYC reality: MacLaren's is based on NYC pub McGee's (240 W. 55th St.; 212-957-3536). Bays and Thomas spent time there during their “Letterman” days, and made McGee's padded booths and muraled walls the show's focal point. The pretend pub is named for Bays' production assistant Carl MacLaren.