McAllister's Tavern

Two blocks from where book club meets, on the corner with the dry cleaners that closed in 2021 and the dry cleaners that took over after and is also struggling. Dark wood, dim light, a decent draft list, no television. The kind of place where you can hear yourself.

T. and I have been ending Thursdays here for the better part of a year, on the nights when the discussion ran long enough to need an after-party but not so long that anyone has to be home. McAllister himself is rumored to be a real man who comes in on Tuesdays. I have never seen him.

I do my best work as a friend in this room. The bar height is right, the noise floor is right, and there is no requirement that the conversation arrive anywhere in particular. We have settled some good arguments here. We have failed to settle better ones.