Bring your Bros to Brogan's

I've been to Garcia Brogan's on two separate occasions in the past weeks and I think those brief, albeit hazy, recollections can combine to form a decent bar review.

My combination of experiences is fitting for a Bar known for being a hybrid of Mexican and Irish. The food, drinks and atmosphere all conform to this duality of cultures. I'm not a picky drink, so Mexican tequila and Irish whiskey both hold appeal, but I was impressed by the interior.

Garcia Brogan's is a fusion of Mexican and Irish themes.

Separated into two halves, Brogan's boasts a Irish style pub with an island bar flanked by TV's along with a Mexican themed cantina that offers more of an open dance area. I thought this was a cool and creative idea.

Unlike my trips to the gritty bars such as Finn's and Charlie's, Brogan's was much more of a college oriented establishment. The crowd was vibrant, engaged and lacking the underlying signs of broken spirit that come with living in Lowell for too long.

In terms of price, the key at Brogan's is to find the chink in their armor. And that chink comes in the form of PBR. While a Coor's Light on draft cost upwards of $5, the old stand-by, PBR, was only $2.50. Naturally, I found this opening and worked it to the fullest, ordering three PBR's while watching some MLB playoff games. Brogan's is definitely a good place to bring some friends to watch some sports or play some trivia games (which they do every Wednesday).

Overall, Brogan's occupies a unique position of being a college bar without being a "party" bar. In my eyes it maintains a level of classiness that separates from convoluted  drunkenness and hook-up heaviness that occur when a bunch of college students congregate in the same place.

Cheapness: 2.5
Beer Selection: 3
Atmosphere: 4
General Crowd: 3.5
Romantic Potential: 3.5

Karaoke Night at Finn's Pub

When it comes to bars, there are weekend crowds and then there are weekday crowds. The discrepancy between these two brands of bar-goers can often be very significant.

The cluster of people at Finn's Pub last night was so prototypical 'Wednesday' that it was hard not to laugh at times. And, to make things more interesting, it happened to be karaoke night.

By the front door of this Irish themed pub with strikingly green walls was a microphone stand for aspiring singers to serenade the sparse audience with their vocal prowess.

The fish tank at Finn's. I presume the fish is named "Finn."

A bearded guy, who apparently thought a plaid shirt and plaid shorts were a viable combo, definitely stole the show last night. His rendition of the popular song "Some Nights" by the band fun was possibly the worst thing  I've ever heard.

Swaying with the mic, this shameless singer ignored all sense of tone as he inserted his own made-up lyrics where he forgot the real ones. The climax came when he hit the high notes by literally screaming nonsense for about 15 glorious seconds. By the end, I was in stitches. This performance was so horrible, that it was awesome.

Another prime-time performer was an older man dressed in a military shirt and hat. His criticism of the plaid singer was pretty harsh, so I expected him to deliver when his turn came. He opened with the Guns N' Roses classic "Sweet Child O' Mine." His raspy voice filled with tones of subtle anguish and wisdom was able to belt out a pretty good song.

Unfortunately, he didn't quit while he was ahead. His next choice of "Closer" by Nine Inches Nails was a very questionable one. I may just be me, but I find something off putting about an old military man shouting the lyrics "I wanna fuck you like an animal" before an audience of about 10 people. After finishing his dark and uncomfortable set, he returned to his seat near my friend and I to tell us, "I think I sent the message." If the message was that he is a potential psychopath, then that message was well sent.

This was our cue to leave, so we quickly downed the rest of our beers and departed Finn's before things got weirder.

Cheapness: 3
Beer Selection: 3
General Crowd: 3
Atmosphere: 2
Romantic Potential: 1.5

Beer done right at Beer Works

After beginning my expedition through Lowell's bar with the Worthen and Charlie's Pub, I realized I needed a change of pace. That change was Beer Works and, though I've been there multiple times before, I knew it was worth a review.

Beer Works undoubtedly has the best beer selection I've seen thus far and I don't expect any other Lowell bars to surpass this place in that category. Looking at the sign showcasing their beers presented the overwhelming task of choosing from a list where everything seemed appealing.

Beer Works' panoply of beers changes by the season.

After much deliberation, the two beers I tried were pumpkin works ale and a nut brown ale. Comparing these two beers to the PBR and Miller Highlife I've been drinking at the previous bars is like comparing a five star restaurant to McDonald's.



Nut Brown Ale from Beer Works

Though the wide array of unique beers is the main draw for Beer Works, the bar is also a prime location to sit back and watch some sports. As a sports fan, it's always pleasing to see some flat screen TVs aligned on the wall behind the bar.


 I visited Beer Works in late September, but the winter months of hockey season are usually when the house is packed. Only a few minutes walk from the Tsongas, Beer Works is one of the best pre-game spots. And, there is the added benefit of pre-gaming with high quality beers as opposed to pounding Natty Ice in a cluttered apartment.

The atmosphere at Beer Works is very family oriented. Observing the seating area, it seemed like many people were either out on dates or part of group outings. I wouldn't call this a college bar aside from before a hockey game, but I definitely appreciated the vibe.


My only gripe with Beer Works is that it isn't very easy on the wallet for a college student. The two tall beers I ordered ended up costing $15. The quality clearly justifies the price, but sometimes it's more economical to explore other options. Personally, I use Beer Works as a reward for the completion of a hectic week and as a reminder to my palate that real beer does exist outside the realms of the UMass Lowell campus.

I'll probably revisit Beer Works in October, so here are some upcoming beers to look forward to.

Cheapness: 2.5
Beer Selection: 5
General Crowd: 3
Atmosphere: 3.5
Romantic Potential: 3.5

 

Charlie's: A Dive too Deep

In realistic terms, Charlie's Pub is located near the intersection of Merrimack and Cabot. Figuratively, it sits somewhere near the intersection of semi-belligerent drunkenness and dwindling self-esteem.

I visited Charlie's last Friday with a group of four friends and was immediately forced to amend my mental picture of a "dive bar" to include this quest into the true underbelly of Lowell.

The Charlie's crowd seemed to have meshed with the atmosphere of the bar itself to form a sort of teetering organism grasping at the straws of respectability. Perplexed, I swiveled on my stool to observe my surroundings:  short-skirted women gyrated on an empty dance floor as older men down the bar spewed incomprehensive banter back and forth. I wasn't sure what I had gotten myself into, but, like someone slowing to observe a car crash, I decided to stay.

This haven for down-and-outers featured a live band that could really only be described as "live" in the sense that they were living human beings. Otherwise, they were just a collection of garage banders painfully churning out some tunes. This got me thinking about the precarious position live music can put a bar in. Music can make or break the vibe of a night, unfortunately this band did the latter.

I think I'm too young to be a cynic, so here are a few positives I could dig up at Charlie's

• The interior itself had some interesting features. There was a spacious floor with multiple pool tables in addition to a dart board and jukebox. We didn't partake in any of these activities, but they certainly could have served as good distraction from the rest of the place.
• Cheapness (in a good way). I was able to grab a couple 24 oz. PBR cans for only $2. For a financially strapped college student, this can put a simple on your face at any bar.

After about an hour in Charlie's my friends and I exited and came to the simultaneous agreement never to return. Was this just a rough night at Charlie's or is this one of Lowell's worst bars? I think my ratings will reflect my answer to that question.

Cheapness: 4
Beer Selection: 2
Crowd:1.5
Atmosphere: 1.5
Romantic Potential: 1.5

It Starts at the Start

For a blog about bars (and in essence, drinking) it seems obligatory to preface by saying that I am of legal drinking age and I am not using this as an excuse to drink. Most college students don't need an excuse to do so anyway. Also, I don't want to run myself broke with this blog, so I probably won't be talking about many $10 martinis...my apologies in advance.

I want to embark on this journey through the bars of Lowell because it's an opportunity to explore the pulse of a city steeped in diverse history. Bars stir this cultural melting pot and each individual niche serves as a piece to the puzzle of a city I've often found difficult to understand beyond the confines of a college campus.

Now that the introduction is out of the way, it's time to get started with my visit to the Worthen

Lowell's original pub is a fitting place to start a blog about bars.

House.

Rumored to be frequented by Jack Kerouac, Lowell's patron saint of bar hopping, and the poet Edgar Allen Poe, the city's oldest pub holds true to its historic roots. Portraits and paintings of vintage Lowell adorn the interior and a rickety wooden door leads to the outdoor patio (smoking area). I normally find accessories like this pretentious, especially in "college bars", but I think surviving for over 175 years gives the Worthen the right to hang just about anything on the walls.

After tuning out the hip-hop music, it actually was easy to picture Poe pulling up a stool and jotting down a few lines of "The Raven" while sipping some ale in a dimly lit corner. The building's cottage-like appearance and nostalgic dinginess seem conducive to a brooding poet.

This is  apparently not a bar on the radar of many UMass Lowell students. My two friends and I were the youngest group there by an estimation of 10 years on this Friday night. I had no problems with this though. It doesn't make much sense for such an old-fashioned place to cater a bunch of transient 20 somethings. The Worthen is a place with a homey feel meant for the real Lowellians.

After listening to some music on the jukebox (another nice touch) we brought an  $8 pitcher outside and watched the Lowell night slowly meander by through the wafting cigarette smoke of adjacent drinkers. An outdoor area in any bar is a huge plus for me because it provides the opportunity to get fresh air (obviously) while reflecting on your surroundings.

This was my first visit to the Worthen and I somehow felt unable to appreciate it to it's fullest extend. Maybe with a few more years under my belt and some historical research I'll be able to return to the Worthen one day with a more refined perspective.

To add a degree of objectivity to an otherwise subjective bar review, I think it's necessary to have some criteria for evaluation. The determining factors may change over time, but I think these make sense for now. Rating are on a 1-5 scale  with 5 being the best.

Cheapness: 4
Beer Selection: 2.5
General Crowd: 3
Atmosphere: 4
Romantic potential: 1.5