Allentown Pubcrawl
By Lisa Brown and Ron Ehmke
THE MISSION, HANDED DOWN BY EDITOR (AND LONGTIME ALLENTOWN RESIDENT) ELIZABETH LICATA: TO VISIT EVERY BAR ON ALLEN STREET IN ONE DAY, THEN DESCRIBE THEM ALL IN 600 WORDS OR LESS. (SPOILER: WE FAIL ON ALL COUNTS.)
 |
|
Photos by Don Kreger
|
A GRAY, RAINY SUNDAY
IN EARLY SEPTEMBER
4:30 p.m.: Don, Ron, Lisa, and David join Elizabeth on the cozy back porch at Adonia’s (20 Allen), latest of many gay bars on this site. David’s bloody mary is spicy; no mix here!
4:45 p.m.: Cathode Ray (26 Allen). When it first opened, this video-themed gay bar felt cutting-edge, but a decade and a half later, it’s quaintly retro. The smoky sidewalk patio is packed. David and Ron both return their blood marys as undrinkable.
5:10 p.m.: Spree photographer Cheryl Jackson joins us at Q (44 Allen). In its earlier incarnation as Mickey’s, this was a favorite dive of David and Lisa’s; now it’s a swanky hangout. Posters promote “Hake-e-oke” with musical theater maven Michael Hake on Mondays. Not to obsess about blood marys, but Q’s are easily the best of the three.
5:40 p.m.: K. Gallagher’s (73 Allen) is closed, so Colter Bay (561 Delaware) becomes our first straight bar of the evening, as evidenced by the display of mounted deer heads. Our fifteen-minutes-per-bar curfew flies out the floor-to-ceiling window here, thanks in part to the extensive beer selection.
6:20 p.m.: We lose Elizabeth and Cheryl but gain Spree writer and current Allentown resident Jessica Keltz at Frizzy’s (140 Allen). Despite a faint whiff of antiseptic, the raw wood walls make the place feel rustic. We lament the current broken state of the trademark photo booth.
6:50 p.m.: Gabriel’s Gate (145 Allen) is a homecoming of sorts for David, Lisa, and Ron, who all lived around the corner from it for years and spent many a cold night by the fire (and many a warm one on the back patio). Mindful of a babysitter needing relief, we vote to postpone the bars west of Elmwood, share a beer with late arrival Scott Propeack, and call it a night.
 |
|
Photos by Elizabeth Licata and Jill Shanley Morlock.
|
AN EVEN GRAYER, RAINIER SATURDAY IN LATE OCTOBER
5 p.m.: In the intervening month, Ron has succumbed to a wicked cold, recovered, and passed it to Don, who does not attend tonight as a result. Neither does David, due to a schedule conflict. Lisa and Ron reconvene with Elizabeth in a bar none of us are used to visiting before midnight—the Old Pink (223 Allen). Other than a fresh new mural outside and an adorable dog near the front door, little has changed since 1987.
5:28 p.m.: Bill Morlock and Jill Shanley Morlock meet us at Mulligan’s Brick Bar (229 Allen), a place most of us have avoided forever. Turns out to be the kind of tavern that, if we’d stumbled across it on an out-of-town Crawl, we would totally love, along with the grade-A bartender.
5:45 p.m.: Allen Street Hardware Café (245 Allen). Mark Goldman’s contribution to the neighborhood is an intimate upscale bar/restaurant. Ron raves all night about the flavor-packed potato soup.
6:17 p.m.: Jessica rejoins the group at Staples (253 Allen), a place seemingly invisible even to people actively seeking it out, but well worth the search. Newcomers Lisa, Jill, and Bill are ready to move in.
6:40 p.m.: On to the Bends (256 Allen), another joint we have all long avoided that turns out to be relatively pleasant when nearly empty. (Jessica: “At night, there’s a certain fight-about-to-break-out factor.”) Everyone notes Jill’s fondness for switching from wine to mixed drinks and back, prompting a new round of an ever-raging debate about whether mixing types of alcohol makes the hangover worse. (Next morning she’ll be up practicing Bhangra dancing with friends before 10 a.m., while Bill, who sticks to beer, will be in bed till 2.)
7:06 p.m.: At good old reliable Nietzsche’s (248 Allen) we watch bartender Bill (no relation) trace a shamrock in the foam of a Guiness and listen to the epic backstory behind this flourish while a band plays Celtic music (with improvised verses set in Cheektowaga). The stage is lavishly decorated for the annual Halloween bash.
7:30 p.m.: Our journey winds down at Sample (242 Allen), home of teeny-tiny mega-delicious morsels and inventive cocktails. The staff is in costume for the big night, and the beer on tap favors the macabre: one called Nosferatu, another a “Devil Ale.” The honey lavender martinis are a hit, along with an applesaucy variation. We celebrate our efficient work by sticking around another hour and a half.
Lisa Brown and Ron Ehmke are writers with a shared affection for neighborhood bars. To invite yourself along on a future Pubcrawl, email rehmke@buffalospree.com.
Back to the Table of Contents
Back to Top