Antone's Grill & Pub

Our notes from our first visit in December of 1994:

This is a small bar in a free-standing unpretentious building. One of the neon signs in the windows advertises a "Lite burger" (as in Miller Lite) and the lights over the two pool tables inside advertise Lite. But 12 of the 15 taps are devoted to microbrewery beer or quality imports. Since the selection changes seasonally, we had a good choice of Christmas beers.

This is a basic blue-collar place, with a Molson mirror here, a J&B mirror there, a couple of stuffed-and-mounted fish hanging on the walls. There is seating for about 20 at the three-sided bar, as well as four booths and three small tables that you can pull a stool up to. The night we stopped by, a couple in the corner were picking out wedding invitations.

Within months, the tap selections had grown by 30 (now there are 38) and we'd heard it had become a popular spot with commuters in white shirts and ties. We stopped back by the following July with some trepidation. We found:

There's still same three-sided bar, the same basic menu, the same stuffed-and-mounted fish on the walls. The regulars already had their controllers in hand for that evening's NTN trivia competition. They were watching the 6 o'clock news. The weatherman warned viewers about the danger of sunburn under clear Fourth of July skies. "What's UV-9?" a customer asked. "It means I have to wear my sunglasses in here tomorrow," another said.

October 1997