Drinking good beer in good company
Many folks think the greatest compliment one can pay a bar is to call it "Cheers-like."
In fact, during tourist season in Boston, you have to stand in line just to walk through the Bull & Finch,
the tavern that was used in the exterior scenes of the popular television series. Over in the Back Bay,
you can buy a T-shirt that reads, "No Norm. No Cliff. No Carla." on the front, and "Just Sam," with the
Samuel Adams logo, on the back. The Samuel Adams Brewhouse, which uses the name under an agreement with
the Boston Beer Co., serves as the bar for the Lenox Hotel. The joint is perfectly pleasant, but going
there, you don't get the sense that this is where the people who actually work in Boston drink. They
probably head to Jamaica Plain, to Doyle's Cafe or the Brendan Behan Pub.
Despite more restrictive D.U.I. laws, cable TV and all the other reasons Americans consume only 20
percent of beer in bars (in England the number is more like 75 percent) the corner bar, a.k.a. the
neighborhood tavern, or "your local" if you want to sound British, is an entity that has existed
in the United States for decades and lives on. Some people are lucky enough to have a nice,
friendly pub that serves good beer within walking distance of where they live; people who
live in the Fremont neighborhood of Seattle immediately come to mind. For others, a decent,
comfortable pub is within a short drive of our homes.
This is hardly a new concept. In 1950, an advertisement appeared in Look magazine
with the headline "What's your idea of a tavern?" and in it, Detroit tavern owner
Stuart Kelley was quoted as saying:
"To me, a tavern is a really a neighborhood 'club' -- something like the 'pubs'
they have over in England. It's a place where decent people can meet their friends
in their off-hours, and have something to eat and a drink or two, without spending
a lot of money.
"You see, there are millions of people in this country who can't afford hotels, restaurants
and country clubs when they want an evening out after a hard week's work. That's where the
neighborhood tavern fits in."
And that's what many of us are still looking for. Of course, we expect flavorful beer as
well. In cities such as Seattle and Portland, scores of places neighbors once considered
dives have been turned into gentrified alehouses. Our bias remains more toward the places
where old regulars still drop in for a pint -- such as Seattle's Fabulous Buckaroo and
Wedgewood Alehouse & Cafe. Some of the Buckaroo's customers look a little like the
cowboy on the great neon sign hanging out front, and the Wedgewood has the last
horseshoe-shaped bar in Seattle and sells plenty of Rainier.
We've picked out a few of our favorites. They are all places where, we think, anybody
should be happy to have everybody know your name.
Northeast Taproom
Reading, Pa.
The Corner Bar
Kalamazoo, Mich.
Baumgartner Cheese Store
& Tavern
Monroe, Wis.
The Sharp Edge Beer Emporium
Pittsburgh, Pa.
Antone's Grill & Pub
Cranford, N.J.
October 1997
