It's been a couple of months since the Butcher's Tears taproom closed. I'm still not over it. And we still haven't settled on a replacement.
We've been giving Checkpoint Charlie a try for the last few weeks. It's an OK pub. But it still doesn't feel like a local yet. Why not? That's a tricky question. One I'm not sure I can answer very well. Because it's not about logic. It's about feelings.
What makes you feel at home in a pub? It's a complex question. At least part of it to do with interaction. With the barstaff. With other customers. It doesn't have to be anything very profound. Or very long. Just a few sentences. Or even just a few words. It doesn't need to be much. Even a simple smile or nod.
That isn't happening at Checkpoint Charlie. Maybe we just haven't been going there long enough. Or it could just be that there aren't many others who go there every Saturday. I can't say that I've recognised any customers there yet. Or any of the servers. Perhaps because it's quite a large pub. I'm not sure.
Whatever the reason, we're not feeling Checkpoint Charlie. So we're going to try somewhere else next Saturday. One of the places that was on our initial list of possible new locals. Sound Garden.
It ticks most of the boxes. Including the most important one: decent beer at a decent price. It's also closer to home for me and the kids. Which is important for a lazy git like me. At the moment, while the number 2 tram is diverted, we can get there directly. Which is another plus. OK, it's further for Will to travel. But he's often swanning around in the jungle somewhere.
Let's see how Sound Garden goes. Maybe it will work out. Or maybe we'll give Checkpoint Charlie another try.
Must be an Irish bar nearby? Someone in there might know where to find a good pub.
ReplyDeleteWhat about Arendsnest? My only time in Amsterdam, early October, they had an amazing number of bock beers on tap.
ReplyDeleteThat said, my local for the last 20 years has been where my buddies all hang out. I've suffered through some lousy bartenders but keep going there as I can always strike up a conversation with someone over a beer.;
A relaxed atmosphere where I feel at ease with myself and my mates. Where everyone is going about their business in a similarly relaxed way, whether it is drinking, eating, nattering, playing pool or darts. No loud music, preferably no music at all and no tv screen blaring out utterly shite nonsense. Ease. Ideally smoke free. Smiling, friendly service at the bar, with chit chat if wanted. No scrums or long lines of people waiting to be served at the bar. Tables cleared regularly. Decent toilets. No kids, not in a bar. Good snack food but it is NOT a restaurant, like Wetherspoons is. Wetherspoons is a restaurant that sells beer, it is NOT a pub. Smiling, welcoming bar staff who are genuinely interested in the customer as a person, not as a wallet.
ReplyDeleteI haven't been to the Netherlands for maybe 40 years but back then there seemed to be lots of pubs called "brown bars" that reminded me of old UK pubs of the Nags Head or Rose and Crown variety where old geezers would sit and play dominos and nurse pints of mild. There was one near the youth hostel where we stayed and I was introduced to dark beers like bocks. I drank there daily for a week and the bar guy was very friendly and I even got into a couple of chats with locals.
ReplyDeleteNext stop was the Hague and we stayed with a couple we had met in our travels and took up their offer of accommodation. When I asked what the bars and pubs were like and could we pop out for a few beers I was met with horror... they are all brown pubs here, why would any civilised person darken the door of such a place?
I remember those pubs clearly .. are they still around?
Bribie G,
ReplyDeletethere are still plenty of brown cafes. Just not one that offers everything we're looking for.
Greetings, Ron. Yes, I'm still around. Just have not been reading beer weblogs recently.
ReplyDeleteHere in Illinois, the Illinois Craft Brewers Guild is running its "#DrinkIllinois" summber scheme. Get to 25, 50, 75, or 100+ brewpubs and taprooms; get a (physical) passport stamp in its book [Which truly does too closely resemble the genuine United States passport - why did the ICBG not select a more beer-reminiscent color like brown or gold?]; get to the prescribed number; mail it off to the ICBG [the address is NOT anywhere within the passport - look it up online]; and you could win a $25, $50, $75, or $100 gift card.
I'm up to 55. The last date to get passport stamps is 11 August.
All this preface is because this past Sunday, I went out to a distant suburb, Elmhurst, IL. on a train, and the first venue I hit was a new branch of Phase Three Brwg. The venue's World-Wide Web site showed its food and beer menus, and even gave out its wi-fi SSID and passport.
I get there, order a beer, and get the passport stamp. Since nobody seemingly wanted to engage me in conversation, I haul out my magenta Windows 8.1 laptop, turn it out and look for the venue's annotated wi-fi network.
I do not find it.
I run a small utility program which does not require myself being logged on to the internet, which finds all the wi-fi networks in the vicinity.
I discover the wi-fi networks of three Volkswagen autos parked on the avenue abutting the brewpub. But I do not find the wi-fi network the venue was heralding.
I get to the Internet by accessing the unencrypted network of the next-door Irish pub which is closed for vacation until the 17th.
So - if there is a next time I get to this part of Elmhurst, the first call is going to be in the Irish pub next door which just might be more convivial then Phase Three. I think how the venue treats you is what ultimately makes you want to return there again (and again).