Where are you a "Regular"?

In My Humble Opinion
21

In Virginia Beach, I’m at the Off-Shore once or twice a week. The place is filled to the walls Friday and Saturday nights, so I’m there usually on a Monday or a Tuesday until seven (I hate the crowd bars on that stretch of Shore Drive bring in.) It’s on the way home, my girlfriend works at another regular haunt of mine (below) those nights, and I stop in this one to get full pints of Yuengling at a decent price. And yes, I rarely have to tell them what I want (only if a different girl behind the bar is filling in for Tara) or even how I tip.

Another place I’ve been a regular at is Summer’s Past, also in Virginia Beach. I started going there regularly when a friend of mine bought into the business (his dad was the sole owner for awhile.) about five years ago. When my girlfriend was looking for a job she could do with no experience, I guided her towards there. I close with her three nights a week (so that she doesn’t have to be there alone from 1 am to whenever she gets out.) Drinks are really inexpensive, and the food is also (plus it’s really tasty.) But the clientel, while nice people once you get to know them, come across as stereotypical trailer-park denizens and old retired guys with nowhere else to go.

When I first separated from my wife, I was a regular in a pub in downtown Portsmouth, Virginia. I lived within walking distance of it, but stopped going. I had slept with too many wimmen that were also regulars, and I got tired of the dirty looks and thrown drinks when I went in there with a date. But since I don’t live close to there anymore, I don’t really miss it.

22

For years the spouse and I have been Thursday-night regulars at The Garret, a great little pizza joint in Campbell, CA. They’re actually a small chain and for awhile we were regulars at one of their other restaurants until they opened The Garret, but now we go there every week. They know us, and as soon as we come in the pizza cook waves at us and starts making our “usual” and the counter guy’s already pouring our preferred sodas. We pick up the local alternative-rag newspaper (and the other, better one every other week) and have a nice leisurely time scarfing pizza and reading. It’s great.

The Thursday-night thing came from our college days when we used to head downtown (San Luis Obispo, CA) for the Thursday-night farmer’s market (yummy barbecued ribs and ice cream). Ever since then we’ve associated Thursday nights with “go out and do something fun, usually involving food,” so it works out.

23

There used to be a pub in San Bernardino called The Pig’s Ear that was my home away from home. More people called there for me than left messages on my machine. My name was on at least 4 different plaques on the walls (Keg Club, Hogshead Club, Homebrewer Club, and one other that I forget at the moment), and we used to meet several nights a week for “Book Club.” :smiley:

About the only other place I am a regular is a local Chinese restaurant, where I don’t even have to order any more. I just walk in and sit down.

24

I am a regular at two small bars in town. We go to The Inn the most as we both like the atmosphere better and it is a definite “everybody knows your name” place. And you never have to order your drink because they already know what you want.

The second we only go to on Sunday. We refer to this as “church”. We usually just watch movies or play the touch screen game. Sometimes there can be six sets of eyes on the screen when we play photo hunt. ( a game that shows two pictures and you have to find the five differences from the picture on the left to the right) It can be quite funny yelling that you see a difference in the two pictures and trying to describe to the touchy what you see. “that black thingy over the window thingy that is next to that vase thingy is different” It is timed so you have to get all five and if you hit one wrong it takes away time and you also hear a “BOONNKKK”. It sounds kind of dumb typed out but it sure is funny when 6 people are playing and yelling at the same time. But we still don’t have the high score. Yeah we are not the smartest nor have the best eye sight :stuck_out_tongue:

25

I’ve been at the Marriott Courtyard in Minneapolis so much in the past few months that I qualify as a regular. Last week, I sat down in the dining room, and a server walks up, bearing a beverage for me. Yes, my life is so sad that the servers at the hotel restaurant recognize me and know exactly what I want to drink before I have a chance to ask for it.

26

My sweetie and I are regulars at Sansone’s. That’s where we met!

I also am recogized at this little hole-in-the-wall Chinese place, and at Fuddrucker’s.

27

First-name terms in the local pub - but hey, it’s a little village, so that’s excusable. Mind you, there’s a couple of other pubs I could be considered an ‘occassional regular’. I’m also a late-night shopper at the supermarket, and so an familiar with the checkout staff who work the night shift.

28

I just realized how much of a regular I am when I had dinner and a couple of four beers at my (figuratively) bar. Myself and the waitstaff were joking around and hollering, and to keep it short, coasters were flying everywhere, when the front door opened, one of them says “ooh, theres a customer here”, everyone frowns, and one of them went to help this intruder. :slight_smile:

29

Thirteen years ago I was living in Tokyo, and I frequented a tiny, dark, smoky, noisy bar/restaurant establishment named Antigua. Very cool proprietor, wonderful Argentine food (the owner and sole employee had traveled extensively in South America), good cheap red wine, good music. A few roaches, but oh well. I was in an “I’m gonna be a writer” phase, and I spent many nights in a corner there, scribbling in a notebook and drinking. I had long hair then, and was clean shaven.

After two years of being a regular there, I left Tokyo. Two years later, I went back for a visit, and stopped in one night at Antigua. I had cut off all my hair and grown a beard, but the owner recognized me. He leapt to his feet, put on my favorite music tape, opened a bottle of the cheap red wine he knew I liked, and declared a party. It was fun to be remembered after so long.

30

This is fucking sad.
I used to be a regular in most of the hottest, coolest clubs in Chicago. Spent $1500/week in them, EASY. Sometimes in a night.
Now, the money is gone, and I’m a regular at the Chili’s in Tupelo, Mississippi :frowning:

31

Now, the Model Cafe in Brighton/Allston. I live right near there, and the bartenders know how to make good, cheap drinks :slight_smile:

I used to be a regular at Flann O’Brien’s in Mission Hill, but I live too far away now. I could take a bus there, but the buses don’t run late enough, and a cab home would be too expensive to pay for regularly. I miss Flann’s, though. The bartenders were mostly Irish (actually from Ireland, not just of Irish descent), and not a lot of students went there. It was good, good times.

32

I’m a regular at the Yokohama sushi bar in Fort Myers, FL. They call me “Chibby.” If it’s busy and I ask for a refill, they tell me to get it myself. I’ve seen more waitstaff cycle through there…

Across from my office, the sub shop guys just ask me if I want the usual. They know what I want.

33

Hey, I’m a psudo-regular there too. Is your name on the beer wall?

I used to be a regular at a great little Irish pub in Portland ME called Empty Pockets, I think. It opened right before I moved there, and, sadly, it closed right after I left. They all knew my name, and would start pouring my beer when they saw me walking up to the door. They also had a fun tradition of giving away Irish Car Bombs to the regulars when a certain song came on (they had about 5 CDs they kept in a random shuffle). Good times.

Eonwe, stop making me miss Burlington. Your post made me laugh, as I’m wearing my old Vermont Pub and Brewery T-shirt today.

34

Naw, I refuse to drink the Zima.

It’s a funny place, though; I’ve seen more pseudo-celebrities in there than you can shake a former child star at.

Stranger

35

The Raven in Washington D.C. It’s gone from dive bar to hipster bar, but it’s still pretty cool. And It’s two blocks downhill back to my place if I’ve had too many. The bartenders know me and know my drinks, which I appreciate.

36

The Oxford Sports Bar in Havre Montana. I’m not sure how they justified being called a sports bar since they didn’t have a TV, just a pool table and a dart board. I was on the dart team with Bob my Boss, Charlie a student farmer and ex-navy buddy ( we were on two ships that collided) and Chris a fine upstanding young man who probably got a divorce from hanging around with us too much :rolleyes: We’d be at the Ox’ on Wednesdays for darts unless it was an away game at anothe pub, Tuesdays for practice, Fridays to finish the work week, Saturdays on general principle and lunch several days a week. Russ the bartender would always have a beer poured for me when I sat down in the evening or a dog and coke at lunchtime. When I asked if I could run a tab he told me to go fuck myself so I really felt like family.

Lately we were regulars at a hoity toity Scottsdale bar, Barcelona, mainly becuse the saleman who paid the tab like Nikki the bartender. A real sweet girl but centerfold material and she knows it. She always had a fresh drink for me even when I didn’t want it. She quit and started at a new place so the whole work crew started goin there for (mar)'tini night. It’s a more relaxed atmosphere but I miss the bacon wrapped prawns at Barcelona. I shocked Nikki by ordering a Beam and 7 since I usually had beer. She asked how long I had been drinking that and said “since before you were born little sis.” considering she’s 30 it’s amost true. :smack: Cripes, I’m a dirty old man.

37

I spent my early and mid 20’s as a regular of The Melody Bar in lovely New Brunswick, NJ. So many good memories, not only of the Melody, but of The Roxy, directly across the street. My sister and I were regulars of both, with the Melody being our favorite. We never paid a cover, drank comped drinks, and called the DJ (Matt Pinfield) a friend.
The bar closed a few months before I moved to California. I’d always hoped it would reopen. It never did, and the building was demolished a couple of years ago.

I was also sort of a regular at The South River Pub, in NJ, not really because I was in there a lot, but because a lot of my friends were, so it felt pretty homey on Sunday afternoons while watching the football games.

Now I think my husband and I are slowly becoming regulars of our town’s newest brewpub - Russian River Brewing Company . The beer is fantastic, the pizza is awesome, the staff is great, the bar has hooks under it! Really, what more can you ask for?

38

I’ve got a few places I haunt with some regularity.

First is La Colombe a coffee shop just off Rittenhouse Square in Philly. Some of the best coffee I’ve ever had outside of Europe or South America (they roast it themselves). It’s got a predominantly artsy crowd, but, unlike most shops, they clientele are friendly enough that you don’t have to avoid anyone you don’t already know. I’m regular enough here that they’ve got my order ready by the time I reach the cash register.

Second is La Terrasse, a bar up on UPenn’s campus (also in Philly). Just a couple of blocks from where I work, its just a good place to kick back, relax, and have a pint or two before heading off to whatever other work I have to do that night. It’s pretty generic as far as bars go, but, the happy hour special is decent (and runs from 6-midnight) and they’ve got mostly imports on tap.

Not as regular as the rest, but my favorite Philly spot is Eulogy. It’s a really small Belgian pub in Old City that, among other things, has amazing mussels, and a beer menu with more pages than their food menu. Anytime a doper’s in Philly I’ll gladly take you here just for an excuse to go myself. :smiley:

39

I often hang out at the restaurant where my husband works, so I’m on a first-name basis with all of the staff and many of the customers. I help wrap chopsticks and things when it’s busy.

Some Korean places on 32nd Street. Daedong, the video rental place, the 2nd floor PC room across the street, Chorus. When I still lived in Greenpoint, I used to be in Beacon’s Closet every day, buying up all the books. They moved now, they don’t sell books anymore, and I don’t recognize any of the people, but that’s the way it goes.

40

Not really these days, for anyplace with a social atmosphere (discounting the various vendors I’ve patronized for many years).

I did spent a lot of time over almost twenty years at a Houston pub called The Ale House, enough so that: a.) when life began to interfere with my nightly habits (started a business and was domesticated), the manager wrote me a letter to ask if I was OK, b.) a new waitress, upon seeing my credit card and based on graffitti in the women’s restroom, said, “So you’re Ringo!” (the graffitti said - I had to ask - “Ringo for President in '88!” - the year I turned 35), c.) when they added the downstairs room with the fireplace, I figured I’d pretty much paid for it myself, d.) the one time I went in there a little light on blood sugar and passed out, the bar staff drove me home in my car and tucked me into bed and e.) well, there’s too much more.

There was a fine and dandy little Italian restaurant here for many years, Cafe Edi, where I ate ~3 times a week for almost as many years. I liked them initially because they were close to home, had good food and exotic beer (not as easy to find 20+ years ago) and they were never crowded. I established a good relationship with the staff, in particular the maître d’, Ali, who seemed to enjoy my SO of much of that period (non-native English speaker, he favored the word “romantical”). I remember one night when he’d seen me circling the block (parking was tough), and when I finally walked in, he had my favorite beer open on “my” table, and was waiting at the door to give the chef the “go” sign on my usual entree.

Since I liked the place, I pumped it to my friends and acquaintance, worried a bit as I was that they’d not make it. Finally, after a few years, they caught some positive buzz and seemed to catch on. It started to become a place where you could actually meet people. During that golden period, I remember a Saturday night when I took my father and my stepmom there for my father’s birthday. As we approached, we saw that the foyer was full, and there was a line of about 20 people standing outside the door (seating capacity was ~50). When we turned away, Ali ran out on the sidewalk and grabbed me, and seated us immediately. And fawned over my parents all during our visit.

It was enjoyable, and I have many good memories. One New Year’s Eve I met my cousin there for dinner, and later we met my SO at a club where we had a grand old time. The next night, SO and I went to Edi, and Ali came up to the table and said to her, “Where were you last night? New Year’s Eve and this poor man was here all by himself!” Nice wink, Ali. She said, without hesitation and looking at me with evil eyes, “You said you were out of town!”

She had a wicked sense of humour. Poor Ali! I had to chase him down and explain that it was a wisecrack. Another time I went there for lunch with a particulary attractive vendor’s rep who, from the back, very much resembled my SO. Ali approached our table from that perspective and, when wheeling around in front of us, looked at her and dropped both his jaw and little leather booklet. Priceless moment.

Ultimately, they were victims of their own success. They remodeled extensively (a friend who’s in the biz has often quoted to me the axiom, “If it’s workin’, don’t mess with it!”) and felt the need to upgrade the staff. What this meant to me was that nobody working there knew me anymore, and they became just another high priced Italian restaurant. I quit going. They eventually died. R.I.P.

Another place that few Houstonians would admit to having been a “regular” is Lola’s, one of the premier dive bars in my experience. I haven’t been in a bit, but I did spend quite some time there during the '80s and '90s. I guess you might call it an “Art” bar.