The Henry Hudson Pub

Ale, man, ale’s the stuff to drink
For fellows whom it hurts to think:
Look into the pewter pot
To see the world as the world’s not.
And faith, ’tis pleasant till ’tis past:
The mischief is that ’twill not last.

-- A.E. Housman

Yesterday, after spending the day helping Nora get moved into her new apartment, we decided to find a pub close by. Let me say since I bought a house on the northwest side of town I have been disappointed in the quality of the bars & pubs in the area. All of them are neighborhood pubs where the local high-school graduates who still live at home can go to meet up with their friends and retain the insular cliques they formed back in middle school. The unwritten dress code apparently calls for jeans and a tee-shirt--if you wear something with a collar you might be putting on airs.

Henry Hudson's Pub sits nestled under the 290 and 1960 intersection. Henry Hudson the explorer, as you may recall, sought the Northwest Passage in 1609 and again 1610. So based on the name you might expect a New England style pub in the tradition of Cheers, or perhaps a nautically themed pub with ships' wheels and nets along the walls. And of course you would be wrong. As Yogi Berra might have said: It's just like the others, only more so.

We decided to stay for one drink. I have to say up front that the bartender was very friendly. He introduced himself and learned our names. How often does that happen? Around the bar gathered a loose confederation of twentysomethings. One of the more vocal drunks made sure everyone knew his brother was the owner, and that his sister (right there beside him) was off-limits. We were just about done with our drink when this fellow started pointing at me and yelling "Leo! Leonardo di Caprio!" I frowned at him. "You are very drunk," I pointlessly told him. "Leonardo!" he yelled again. Now everyone was looking at us. I don't mind if people get a little silly, but when you're not equally toasted, a drunk is as annoying as anything you can imagine, and I wanted him to shut up. "Look," I yelled back at him. "I'm not going home with you again!" That brought him up short. Having no response, he turned back to his friends and left us alone.