The Sevens Boston, MA
Was introduced to the Sevens when my brother Bill was living on Beacon Hill in Boston. The Sevens is right on Charles Street (77 Charles St - thus the "Sevens") near some of the oldest real estate in Boston. Either at the bar or being crammed together with friends at the small tables, the Sevens has the ability to draw you in and can be there for hours until you realized you haven't left. Dart board in the back could get dangerous after a few beers. Good pub grub if you need bolstering. The Sevens can be your whole evening or you can make your way up Charles Street to the more down market/younger crowd at Beacon Hill Pub then to the Harvard Gardens then you can go to the lobby of the former jailhouse turned hotel, Liberty...although its open lobby bar has lost some panache it still is a good experience.
No cars are in Ocean Beach as such no designated driver as such everyone is free to drink (unless they are getting back on their Grady White to head to the mainland) as such its a boozy bar. Sits right on the Great South Bay but to be honest I don't think I've ever noted the water while in the bar. One of the few places now-a-days that you can get pitchers of beer but always ended up drinking some kind of vodka drink by nights end. Clash's London Calling is on the jukebox or they may have a live band playing similar. The pool table always seems to have been kind to my suspect skill but they cover up the pool table as the night moves on as during the summer this place gets packed after midnight. After it finally closes, late at night, it was time to find a summer rental or a space in the dunes to crash before the first ferry....now can afford the luxury of a water taxi but be aware of being on one on a choppy night sitting next to someone who was over-served.
The Fullerton Hotel now looks like a relic as it now sits in the shadow of the Marina Bay Sands Hotel but that's a good thing in my book. The Fullerton occupies a space that was once an old beautifully built post-office, a remnant from Singapore's British past. The Post Bar sits off the open lobby of the Fullerton. You can choose to sit at the island bar, at high tables or on couches on side rooms and a patio that are off of the bar room. The cocktails are well crafted....although not in the barkeeps repertoire can put together a Dark & Stormy for you but I've had a variety of other rum and vodka based drinks. I have come into the bar for an early night-cap after coming in from an evening flight from HK. But really the bar is at its best when having a few drinks after work, and to set up for a night that you can head on to the Ku De Ta bar atop the MBS with a super-cool view or my preference is to head to Clarke Quay and its many many bars...there is an outdoor lounge bar that is always packed with people that is open late into the night. One place I may suggest you bypass is the Long Bar at Raffles...yeah it is another bar listed as the "best bar in the world" but the one time I went there it seemed as if the tour bus just dropped off a fresh batch of grannies. I didn't even stay for a drink as the place or the clientele smelled like moth balls.
I am sure this one doesn't rank high among pubs in London but I find this place having a neat location and good mix of people. Location is atop Carnaby Street and it is settled into the boutique shops and restaurants that are on this closed to traffic road. As there is no car traffic, the after-work or after-shopping crowd can bleed into the street. When the pub isn't packed, the outdoor seating provides a place to enjoy some pints and watch the mix of locals and tourists descend on Caranaby Street especially around the holidays. Inside you will get your one or two tables of tourists but I don't mind since when I am in London I am a visitor myself. Last year they hoisted a Santa Claus in a moon suit high above the street for Christmas decorations but after a few pints Santa looked more like a space-age Jerry Garcia. Spaceman Jerry actually was up well past Christmas in 2011 but was always a welcome sight from the heated outdoor tables. I look forward to seeing him and the Shakespeare's Head soon.
Luxembourg is really a tale of two cities or better described as an Upstairs Downstairs (like from the old Alistair Cooke Masterpiece Theater days). Upstairs in Luxembourg city is where you have the Duchy's government buildings and also where the cities banking and investment fund industry lies. It also has quite a number of fine restaurants some on or just off the city squares. On a summer night you may find a small orchestra playing pops playing in the Place d' Armes' bandstand. Downstairs you find the Grund (eng. ground) which is a place of less genteel fun. There are great restaurants down here but you also find some great lively bars. When in Lux recently, the Foals were playing a live show in a courtyard of government buildings and the bars on the road in the Grund leading to the show site were packed with many people on the street drinking Bofferding lagers or DieKirch pilsners. I made my way into one bar, Liquid, that was something of entering a dark cave on a still bright summer late evening. Finding a spot at the bar wasn't easy but the coming and goings of the crowded bar allowed me to find some space. But then I heard a live jazz band playing in the back room so I moved to a couch near the band. The band wasn't really playing on a dedicated stage it seemed as if they were just hanging out and playing some instruments. The band was playing jazz but if you listened closely you could tell they were covering hip hop songs Kanye, Enimem, Jay-Z...funny stuff...but the guys would get half way through a song and seemed as they had a enough and would grab some couch space and continue their conversation and their beers. Could have spent alot more time in this place but had late dinner reservations but I certainly will return.
We will continue to explore more of the greatest drinking spots later. Cheers!
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