Historic taverns
Chicago's John Barleycorn saloon serves as a reminder that the desire to enjoy beer in the company of others is strong. John Barleycorn is a former "gangster bar," one of the speakeasies that flourished during the failed social experiment of Prohibition.
Today, you can visit museums that once were taverns, but thankfully, you can also visit places that once were taverns and still are -- and, as an added bonus, many of them serve flavorful beer. You can get a decent beer at Fraunces Tavern in Manhattan, where George Washington once tippled, or enjoy Northwest craft beer in Washington's oldest bar, The Brick (yes, the Roslyn joint featured in the television show "Northern Exposure").
Some of these saloons are famous and some are semi-famous, but they are still pubs where people gather to drink and talk.
When we were in Heinold's First and Last Chance Saloon in Oakland, Calif., during the holidays, a Santa that hung on
the door played a Christmas tune whenever the door opened.
Recently, one of us (quite sober, honestly) sent a glass of Rogue Smoke flying at the Deer Park Inn in Newark, Del. "You just got here, and you're flagged!" a regular said, using a term everybody else at the bar understood. He was drinking from a pitcher of Coors Light. The bartender came over to wipe down the spirit bottles now covered with beer. "Don't worry," she said. "This is the Deer Park. A lot worse things happen."
