WHY WILLIES?
I've been stopping by Madfish Willie's Cyber Saloon since the place opened, and I've been trying to figure out exactly what it is that makes it so compelling. I mean, it's just another blog, right? A few words & links & "so what? everybody's got one"
No.
Willie's is different. It really *feels* like a bar. I swear you can hear the tinking of glasses & murmured conversations, plus plenty of good-time laughter over by the bartender. And it's not just *any* bar. It's not the kind of bar run by an old, retired factory worker and solely patronized by his rummy chums. No, this is the kind of bar you thought bars would be like when you were 17 and couldn't get in. You heard the rumors of fun and frolic and pretty ladies, and you thought it'd be a special, magical place. Then when you finally reach "the age" you find out bars are really about sullen drunks and pool hustlers.
Willie's is the kind of place you only see in beer commercials, with lots of laughter and pretty waitresses and good friends all around. There's an atmosphere of joviality that permeates everything, from the very professional drink recipes to the really atrocious jokes that you stopped hearing in the third grade.
If it were brick & mortar, you'd walk in and feel at home before the grinning bartender even had a chance to give you a friendly wave (which would probably be all of about 5 seconds. The barkeep is more convivial than an Alderman running for re-election).
Madfish Willie's is the quintessential "fine drinking establishment". Drop by & tell him Harv sent you. First drink's always on the house.
ADDENDUM: I'm sure nobody has, but if you've ever read Spider Robinson's "Callahan's Crosstime Saloon"... yeah, it's like that.
posted by Harvey at 7:25:45 PM permalink HOME
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