photo by Warren Gamley

photo by Annie & John Schmidt
some more photos

It is in the Pearl, kinda, and suddenly, it looks like it's in the Pearl. And I know there were reasons that they had to change, but I miss the old place. And I'm not crazy about the food. It's okay, but not worth the pretension you see here.

I took an out of town friend on a tiny beer crawl a few days ago, and it was really helpful to hear what she had to say. First of all, we walk in the entrance, which has a step. I think the step was added.

I remembered meeting friends at Bridgeport recently, and seeing a woman in a wheelchair outside seething because the main entrance wasn't accessible, and the wheelchair entrance was locked. It was drizzling, and she had had to send someone in from her party to get them to unlock the door.

We walk in and walk up to the iced cobras to get a beer. They aren't quite iced yet (too early in the day), but they are gorgeous—all stainless steel shinyness, and the multiple taps on each. I was looking forward to showing her the glass rinsing mechanism which chills the glass, and makes the carbonation less likely to stick to the glass, thus improving the beer's nose. She's a beer geek, she'll love this.

It's 2 in the afternoon and about 3/4 of the tables in the bakery/pub area are full. A waiter barks at us to find a seat, and someone will wait on us. Sigh. My friend would like tastes, as she's never had Bridgeport's beer, but now we'll have to ask the waiter—another obstacle.

The waiter brings a large bottle of water and glasses—nice touch! He's there immediately after we've sat, so my friend is furiously searching the menu for the beers. I try to draw this out by making some small talk so she can read the menu, but in the end, she ends up with a beer that she finds too sweet.

We look around the room. It's full of ordinary people with a little cash to throw around. They're all nicer dressed than us, and I'm in my dress clothes.

Later, we're in Henry's and I mention that it's very see-and-be-seen, and she says that Henry's is a lot more comfortable and less audacious and conspicious. She mentions too that there didn't seem to be any bike parking (there isn't) and that there wasn't any outdoor seating (there isn't) at Bridgeport. But it is right there on the Streetcar line, though there's no door on the Streetcar side (why?).

They do have pub/bar/bakery and restaurant menus, and for the neighborhood, the prices are quite reasonable.

Beerwise, they have their beers, and as far as I'm aware, no guests. They also appear to no longer be doing seasonals other than Ebenezer. Here's what they have on:

• India Pale Ale
• ESB
• Black Strap Stout
• Ropewalk Amber
• Blue Heron
• Suerpris!
• Porter
• Old Knucklehead barleywine