Maybe I'm biased and have only a one track mind, but the Germantown that I know, the one that I'm constantly writing about has a bar on every other corner. They're the establishments that I frequent, throw down in, and spend my hardly earned money in. Sure, there are a few restaurants, a few stores here and there, but the places that stick out to me are the ones that have neon beer signs that light up after dark, and their juke boxes can be heard from outside when you're walking past.
I love the Nach Bar for its great beer selection and its hipster crowd that are so fun to people watch. I love Check's Cafe for its old time feel, cheap drinks, and down home food. And the Zeppelin Cafe is another bar/restaurant that I've quickly grown fond of, because for lack of a better explanation, it just feels like a pure Germantown establishment. All of these places do. They're all incredible places to just go and grab a drink, kick back, unwind, and be yourself in. Truthfully, that's what I look for in a bar anymore as I get older. The clubs are weak to me, and honestly, who wants to pay escalated prices for watered down drinks while watching twenty-year olds bang on the dance floor? Buying a six pack and watching porno will most likely give you the same frill, and for that matter, it will probably save you fifty bucks and the embarrassment of popping a boner in public.
Anytime I'm going to grab a drink before the sun goes down, for whatever reason, I stop at either Old Hickory Inn or Flabby's, just right across the street. I love both of those spots, and mostly because of the uncertainty of what you're going to find inside of those places. Some of the best conversations of my life have come from pre-nightfall buzzes with older men of the neighborhood telling me about how they knew my grandparents, and what this place used to look, feel, and be like when they were in their youth in comparison to what it is now. But I'm sentimental when it comes to such things, and enjoy learning the history of the neighborhood that I grew up in, the one that raised me, and the one that I raised hell in.
This is only a piece of what's to come, a shard, and a glimpse of the bar scene that thrives in Germantown daily. Over the next few weeks I'll be writing more about these places in hopes that I can elude you readers into trying out some of these bars that you've never been to, and for some new to the area, maybe never heard of. Support your local neighborhood bar scene, because without that, these businesses go under. Preserve what is great, and hold a place for it close to your heart, so it will be around for the generations after you.
Photo courtesy of Damian Gerlach
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