a tome and a tipple
Books and bars would seem to go together like Chianti and tuna salad, but actually they're a ubiquitous pairing. After all, we all know what Hemingway, Fitzgerald, and Steinbeck were doing when they weren't crafting masterpieces? Travel most anywhere, and you can experience a merger of literature and libations.
In Los Angeles, for instance, you can enjoy the library-inspired decor at The Study, Library Bar, or The Wellesbourne. And Barkowski, a 1960s retro-themed bar in Santa Monica, honors Charles Bukowski. There are library-themed bars everywhere from Amsterdam (Pulitzer's Bar) and Paris (Library Bar at the St. James) to Philadelphia (Library Bar at the Rittenhouse) and Dallas (Library Bar at the Warwick Hotel). At London's Scarfes Bar, drink names honor everyone from Oliver Twist (Just One More) and Harry Potter (Polyjuice Potion). Or you can just get your Rowling fix at The Lockhart Cocktail Bar in both Toronto and Montreal. Yes, there are literary homages in unexpected places. Like Houston, where Under the Volcano takes its name from a macabre 1947 novel by Malcolm Lowry, and where you can add stand-up comedy to your Kipling at Rudyard's.
There are taverns with literary pedigrees, like New York City's White Horse Tavern, once a haunt of Jack Kerouac, Dylan Thomas, Norman Mailer, and Hunter S. Thompson. Or Pete's Tavern in Gramercy Park, where O. Henry supposedly wrote The Gift of the Magi and Ludwig Bemelmans wrote Madeline. Of course, Bemelmans Bar on the Upper East Side is a piano bar adorned with the author-illustrators paintings. Sloppy Joe's Bar in Havana, Cuba, was a favorite of Ernest Hemingway and Graham Greene. The Carousel Bar in New Orleans drew Tennessee Williams and Truman Capote. London's Spaniards Inn, dating back to 1585, featured in the work of everyone from Charles Dickens to Bram Stoker (there's also a Dickens Tavern in both London and Longmont, Colorado, and a Bram Stoker's Pub in Bucharest). And any fan of J.RR. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis must visit The Eagle and Child in Oxford, where the duo used to share stories. Then again, Tolkien fans can pull up a stool at The Green Dragon in New Zealand, once a part of the Hobbiton film set and now a working pub. Or the Lord of the Rings-themed Shire Bar in Killarney, Ireland.
There are bars with books. Denver's BookBar is, as the name implies, part bookstore and part wine bar. Or you can opt for books and booze at the Battery Park Book Exchange & Champagne Bar in Asheville, North Carolina. New York City's Hudson Bar and Books is part cocktail bar, part cigar bar, and all decorated with bookshelves. There are rooftop bars that fit right into a hotel experience, like Bookmarks at New York's Library Hotel. And there are bars with Game of Thrones-themed doors: Belfast's Dark Horse is one of ten of them in Northern Ireland, in fact. The doors were carved out of toppled trees from the Dark Hedges (a GOT filming site). In London, you can enjoy a pint of Watson's Wallop at The Sherlock Holmes in London, or sit at a booth made out of books at The Fable Bar. Or order a vodka-and-Monster cocktail at The Mary Shelley in Bournemouth., where the Frankenstein author is buried. For that matter, make your way to the heart of Edinburgh's Old Town and Frankenstein Pub ("3 floors - 3 bars -- 1 Monster Experience"). However, if you want some ghoulish decor along with the occasional burlesque show or tarot card reading, try The Lovecraft (inspired by H.P.) in Portland, Oregon.
Lucky enough to be staying at the Ritz in Paris? At Bar Hemingway, the bartenders are well-versed about the fellow who used to frequent the place. Journey to Normandy and channel Agatha Christie at Club Hercule Poirot in Le Havre. Or make like Alice at The Rabbit Hole in Chicago. Poe's Tavern is in Sullivan's Island, South Carolina, where Edgar Allen Poe lived while serving in the military. Regain your youth at Oscar Wilde in New York City. Double your literary pleasure at Fitzgerald & Faulkner in Graham, North Carolina. Stop by a James Joyce Irish Pub -- everywhere from Athens, Greece, to Tampa, Florida, and from Baltimore to Berwyn, Illinois. Gatsby? He lent his name of a sports bar in Arlington Heights, Illinois; a bar and grill in Manhattan, a lounge in Geneva, Switzerland; a whiskey bar in Shanghai; and a gentleman's club in Canton, Ohio. And if you want to toast the Bard, your choices include The Shakespeare at the William in New York City and Shakespeare Pub in San Diego, not to mention a smattering of Shakespearean pubs in the U.K.
Sure, in "Othello" Cassio tells Iago, "I have very poor and unhappy brains for drinking. I could well wish courtesy would invent some other custom of entertainment." But until then, click on a link below -- 44 of them, of course -- to drink in some literary surroundings.
In Los Angeles, for instance, you can enjoy the library-inspired decor at The Study, Library Bar, or The Wellesbourne. And Barkowski, a 1960s retro-themed bar in Santa Monica, honors Charles Bukowski. There are library-themed bars everywhere from Amsterdam (Pulitzer's Bar) and Paris (Library Bar at the St. James) to Philadelphia (Library Bar at the Rittenhouse) and Dallas (Library Bar at the Warwick Hotel). At London's Scarfes Bar, drink names honor everyone from Oliver Twist (Just One More) and Harry Potter (Polyjuice Potion). Or you can just get your Rowling fix at The Lockhart Cocktail Bar in both Toronto and Montreal. Yes, there are literary homages in unexpected places. Like Houston, where Under the Volcano takes its name from a macabre 1947 novel by Malcolm Lowry, and where you can add stand-up comedy to your Kipling at Rudyard's.
There are taverns with literary pedigrees, like New York City's White Horse Tavern, once a haunt of Jack Kerouac, Dylan Thomas, Norman Mailer, and Hunter S. Thompson. Or Pete's Tavern in Gramercy Park, where O. Henry supposedly wrote The Gift of the Magi and Ludwig Bemelmans wrote Madeline. Of course, Bemelmans Bar on the Upper East Side is a piano bar adorned with the author-illustrators paintings. Sloppy Joe's Bar in Havana, Cuba, was a favorite of Ernest Hemingway and Graham Greene. The Carousel Bar in New Orleans drew Tennessee Williams and Truman Capote. London's Spaniards Inn, dating back to 1585, featured in the work of everyone from Charles Dickens to Bram Stoker (there's also a Dickens Tavern in both London and Longmont, Colorado, and a Bram Stoker's Pub in Bucharest). And any fan of J.RR. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis must visit The Eagle and Child in Oxford, where the duo used to share stories. Then again, Tolkien fans can pull up a stool at The Green Dragon in New Zealand, once a part of the Hobbiton film set and now a working pub. Or the Lord of the Rings-themed Shire Bar in Killarney, Ireland.
There are bars with books. Denver's BookBar is, as the name implies, part bookstore and part wine bar. Or you can opt for books and booze at the Battery Park Book Exchange & Champagne Bar in Asheville, North Carolina. New York City's Hudson Bar and Books is part cocktail bar, part cigar bar, and all decorated with bookshelves. There are rooftop bars that fit right into a hotel experience, like Bookmarks at New York's Library Hotel. And there are bars with Game of Thrones-themed doors: Belfast's Dark Horse is one of ten of them in Northern Ireland, in fact. The doors were carved out of toppled trees from the Dark Hedges (a GOT filming site). In London, you can enjoy a pint of Watson's Wallop at The Sherlock Holmes in London, or sit at a booth made out of books at The Fable Bar. Or order a vodka-and-Monster cocktail at The Mary Shelley in Bournemouth., where the Frankenstein author is buried. For that matter, make your way to the heart of Edinburgh's Old Town and Frankenstein Pub ("3 floors - 3 bars -- 1 Monster Experience"). However, if you want some ghoulish decor along with the occasional burlesque show or tarot card reading, try The Lovecraft (inspired by H.P.) in Portland, Oregon.
Lucky enough to be staying at the Ritz in Paris? At Bar Hemingway, the bartenders are well-versed about the fellow who used to frequent the place. Journey to Normandy and channel Agatha Christie at Club Hercule Poirot in Le Havre. Or make like Alice at The Rabbit Hole in Chicago. Poe's Tavern is in Sullivan's Island, South Carolina, where Edgar Allen Poe lived while serving in the military. Regain your youth at Oscar Wilde in New York City. Double your literary pleasure at Fitzgerald & Faulkner in Graham, North Carolina. Stop by a James Joyce Irish Pub -- everywhere from Athens, Greece, to Tampa, Florida, and from Baltimore to Berwyn, Illinois. Gatsby? He lent his name of a sports bar in Arlington Heights, Illinois; a bar and grill in Manhattan, a lounge in Geneva, Switzerland; a whiskey bar in Shanghai; and a gentleman's club in Canton, Ohio. And if you want to toast the Bard, your choices include The Shakespeare at the William in New York City and Shakespeare Pub in San Diego, not to mention a smattering of Shakespearean pubs in the U.K.
Sure, in "Othello" Cassio tells Iago, "I have very poor and unhappy brains for drinking. I could well wish courtesy would invent some other custom of entertainment." But until then, click on a link below -- 44 of them, of course -- to drink in some literary surroundings.
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