Midweek Late Nights
The middle of the week. Some may call it a School Night. It’s a forbidden time to go out for some. For those who are brave and bold… a whole new world is there for the taking.
I know what you are going to say. “But Brandon… some of us work really hard for a living and we just don’t have time during the week to do that.” I feel you. The thing is… I’m just offering a door for you. You don’t have to walk through it… but I will offer a glimpse of what's on the other side. All I’m saying is… maybe do it once every three months or so. It's a break from the norm and I think everyone needs to have one of those every once in a while.
First things first. You don’t have to party hard. The ambience is basically what you are looking for. Surprise! There won’t be that many people out. Usually. And of course it will be dictated by where you live… so on and so forth. For this article… I will be detailing my experiences here in Portland.
The Pandemic really drove me to try this a tad bit more often than I usually have ever done. Some of it is making up for lost time but there is a whole other reason. Cabin fever. When you’ve been stuck in solitary confinement? AKA… your place. Unless you live in a McMansion… you know what I am talking about. I get restless. Also… however amazing I am… I do miss hanging out with other people. That’s why the bar is the perfect setup for me. I can relax and the ambience of people chatting is refreshing. Bonus points if the bar is actually good at promoting fun conversation between patrons. The bartenders hold the keys to this and THIS is yet another reason why during this time of ALL times… is why I like going to places in the middle of the week.
The work staff nowadays are sadly always swamped. Overrun. Understaffed. Guess when that is alleviated… ever so slightly? During the middle of the week! It feels like the time before March of 2020. That's a great feeling to have. Normalcy. What even is that? Oh yeah… it's any time before the Pandemic started. I would say after 10pm is where you will find that magic time. It’s late enough that most people are in their beds but late enough to find those spots that are trying to push back into normal operational hours. I applaud them for this. These tiny baby steps are what will slowly bring back that feeling of normalcy.
One of my favorite places to go here in Portland is Loyal Legion. An excellent bar. They may look like just a Craft Beer bar… but it is SOOO much more. It’s kind of like an onion. First layer is all Craft Beer. Then you get in there and you see an impressive selection of liquor. Then you notice that there is a chic-ness that gives some elegant vibes. Great design choices with leather(?) seats in their booths and then just the extremely long bar that tells you that this place can HOP… when maxed out. Then you keep peeling that onion and you find out that there’s a freakin Speakeasy downstairs! What?! Come on.
What really has sold me on Loyal Legion is the bartending staff. They are a delight. Especially in the middle of the week. There are not that many patrons late at night and they can dedicate some time just chatting with you about what kind of specialty cocktails they can make. Or you can talk about something that you want and they will try and make it for you. So. Much. Fun. You didn’t hear it from me but they do some fun stuff with Absinthe. Also… I hope I don’t need to say this but… be nice and sometimes the stuff I was just talking about will happen. Being nice opens a great deal more doors than rudeness.
Give Loyal Legion a try if you are in Portland. It’s more than meets the eye. Or… if you are elsewhere. Just try going to a fun bar in the middle of the week… you might see and feel exactly what I’m describing. That sense that everything is going to be alright and that we may just yet… get out of this pandemic and back to some kind of normalcy.
