During this country's earliest days, the public house was the center of the community. It served many purposes: tavern-restaurant-community hall-post office-information center-et.al. The baby boom, the federal highway system and the inception of suburbs filled with Pete Seegar's ticky-tacky houses sounded the death knell of the pub's importance to the community.
When I moved to Fells Point, the amount of local barss staggered me - first figuratively, later literally. Repeated visits gave insight to each establishment's disposition. Some catered to locals and had its stalwart regulars; others tried to attract tourists and imbibers from the outer counties.
During the ensuing decade and a half, the look of Fells Point has changed. As the neighborhood wrestles with gentrification; many of the older places find themselves displaced. I know many who bemoan the departure of established local watering holes. As the Merry Pranksters counseled, Nothing Lasts.
While I don't normally use my musings and doggerel as a bully pulpit, I want to extol DogWatch Tavern as it approaches its first anniversary. This is not a typical Fells Point bar. It offers a fine menu which changes seasonally. It has a sports-viewing area with couches and cushioned chairs. It has other trappings that should make a Fells Point local cringe, i.e. beer pong played with a volley ball and 5-gallon buckets.
While the accoutrements may not elicit a locals' feel, the staff does. Everyone who works there makes you feel like it's your bar. Just a few weeks before they opened, I talked to one of the owners. She told me she wanted to have a tavern where the locals could feel at home. To quote a badly-timed attempt at a political rallying cry - Mission Accomplished.
Located at 709 S. Broadway, you should check it out and see for yourself. While they do not stock Green Chartreuse, they can introduce you to an interesting libation called a Powerball - as ever - BB
"There is nothing which has yet to be contrived by man by which so much happiness is produced as by a good tavern or inn." - Dr. Samuel Johnson
While I don't normally use my musings and doggerel as a bully pulpit, I want to extol DogWatch Tavern as it approaches its first anniversary. This is not a typical Fells Point bar. It offers a fine menu which changes seasonally. It has a sports-viewing area with couches and cushioned chairs. It has other trappings that should make a Fells Point local cringe, i.e. beer pong played with a volley ball and 5-gallon buckets.
While the accoutrements may not elicit a locals' feel, the staff does. Everyone who works there makes you feel like it's your bar. Just a few weeks before they opened, I talked to one of the owners. She told me she wanted to have a tavern where the locals could feel at home. To quote a badly-timed attempt at a political rallying cry - Mission Accomplished.
Located at 709 S. Broadway, you should check it out and see for yourself. While they do not stock Green Chartreuse, they can introduce you to an interesting libation called a Powerball - as ever - BB
"There is nothing which has yet to be contrived by man by which so much happiness is produced as by a good tavern or inn." - Dr. Samuel Johnson
