Fremont Public House

The bartender was really cute so instead of asking for a beer I asked her to make me a cocktail - the Prospector's Punch. 

It was delicious. 

I was getting hungry, and there was a restaurant in the hotel and it looked good... but I just didn't feel like a sit-down dinner in a hotel. 

So I bet you can guess where I went. 

My Brother's Place

 

This was my favorite bar of the day and the reason is likely obvious to any of you who have been reading my blogs for more than a few months: It reminds me of the Dark Horse (RIP).

The bicycles in the rafters, the random road signs, the smoking section, the offensive bumper stickers, the laid-back crowd.   

Fremont Provisions

This place was cool - if a little sterile. 

Although any place that serves draft beer in a dimpled mug is cool in my book. 

I had a Mexican lager that I had never before heard of, and it was delicious. I wish I could remember what it was called. 

They had several flavors of boneless wings, but it wasn't yet dinner time, so I had one beer and moved on. 

Mose Public House

Way better than the last stop, I guess. I wasn't a big fan of the lighting. But the bartender was nice and the Coors Light was cold. 

McClure's Saloon

When you enter a bar on a weekday between the hours of noon and 5, you never know into what world you are stepping. 

This is why I love doing so on road trips. 

Perhaps it is a rooftop bar and you strike up a conversation with the bartender, who pours you a strong mojito and two cans of Mountain Time. She is friendly and slightly sad and she reveals that she is working her ninth day in a row in order to save up enough money to move out of her mother's house. She hands you the check when you ask for it and says nice to meet you and when she goes downstairs you leave a $20 tip on a $30 check and know she will be happy to receive it. 

Other times, the only customers in the bar are men in their 60s best described as "unemployable." They are talking about guns and hitting on the 22-year-old bartender. One of them announces "I am old, and short, and broke, but at least I have good hair and a big dick." 

You drink your Silver Bullet in 90 seconds, leave two dollars on the bar, and exit without making eye contact.

World's End Brewing Co.

 

The place did not have much charm - though, compared to the next place I visited, it was the Ritz on Mother's Day - but the kolsch was delicious, and I told the bartender that. 

The brewer was sitting next to me and thanked me. He recommended some other beers, but it was time to move on.

Rooftop Social

 

You know how much I love rooftop bars in mountain towns, and this was no exception. 

I started with a mojito then added two cans of Mountain Time. 

And then had some cold elote dip. 

The Owl Cigar Store

I could not begin to tell you how happy this place made me. 

- The name

- The interior

- The old school countertop mini jukebox

- The low prices

- The fresh-off-the-flattop burger wrapped in wax paper

- The waitress who called me "Baby"

There are lots of places like this scattered around the country that try to emulate the feel of a long-gone era. 

This one is actually stuck in that era.